De La Torre Says Probe 'Exposed the Cancer' in SMPD

School board member Oscar de la Torre, who was the subject of a child-endangerment investigation by the last year, wants major changes in the SMPD. He wants to be compensated for the money he spent defending himself as well. Also, De la Torre’s legal team is looking at possibly pursuing further compensation for what he says has been an assault on his character.

De la Torre said he was not satisfied with that an independent review of the investigation released Monday. The report, from the Los Angeles County Office of Independent Review, criticizes elements of the investigation but concludes it was appropriate the investigation took place.

The investigation began last year after the police received a video from Tim Cuneo, superintendent of the , showing a racially charged fight in March between a Latino teen and black teen. Both were students and one, De la Torre says, a known gang member. The fight occurred near the , which is operated by De la Torre.

In July, the SMPD concluded after a four-month investigation that De la Torre should be charged with child endangerment because he failed to stop the fight that began at Samohi and—in the opinion of SMPD lead investigator Sgt. Dave Thomas—encouraged it to continue. The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office declined to file charges.

The OIR report states that it was appropriate for the investigation to take place because “the initial evidence presented to the police department provided an ample basis to initiate an investigation into the possibility of child endangerment or related crimes.”

However, the OIR concluded that during the probe, Thomas used techniques “such as advocating a point of view and feeding witnesses information that do not comport with the ‘just the facts’ orientation of common investigative practices.” The review team also wrote that Thomas’ investigation report “contained an unusual mixture of facts and advocacy, and was not a dispassionate rendering of the facts.”

De la Torre, who said he has spent “tens of thousands of dollars” in legal fees to defend himself, said the report does not do enough to clear his name.

“The intent of all this work by Sgt. Dave Thomas and the police department was to put me in jail, put a felony on my record, take me away from my family and force me to spend a tremendous amount of money on my defense,” said De la Torre, who has had multiple conflicts with the SMPD on various issues, including how to eliminate gang violence.

De la Torre continued, “I probably would have recovered better from a gunshot to the leg than dealing with the emotional scars, the anxiety, the false allegations and the character assassination that I was subjected to.”

As evidence the SMPD acted appropriately in pursuing the investigation, the OIR noted a judge determined there was probable cause a crime had been committed when he approved a search warrant. SMPD spokesman Sgt. Jay Trisler told Patch that this conclusion by the OIR is an example of why the department will not be issuing an apology, which De la Torre has requested.

“There are two different entities that said the investigation was appropriate,” Trisler said, noting the OIR and the judge who approved the search warrant. “We’re a professional organization. We are open to suggestions. We will address them department-wide, including the recommendations from the OIR report.”

Among the seven recommendations in the report are the creation of an investigation guideline manual and the implementation of a “more robust review process” for investigations. De la Torre said the recommendations are not good enough because they do not force major changes in the department. He wants Thomas removed from investigation duties and a review to be conducted of all his investigations that have led to arrests.

“This is the first time that we have exposed the cancer,” De la Torre said. “And I hope that the city government is not afraid of the police officers union and does the right thing.”

De la Torre said the SMPD has targeted him specifically during his years as a community activist, and he has five documented cases proving this. He said others have also been targeted. Trisler said this is not true.

“That’s his perception,” Trisler said. “I don’t think we’re doing anything to give him that perception. It is not Chief [Tim] Jackman’s goal to target him.”

Trisler said De la Torre is “going back to old feelings” he had with former SMPD Chief James Butts, with whom De la Torre had several conflicts.

“Chief Butts isn’t here anymore,” Trisler said. “Chief Jackman is his own individual.”

Patch contacted Santa Monica city officials for comment on this article, but none would address De la Torre’s belief that he should be financially compensated for the situation. De la Torre said he wants an item placed on an upcoming agenda regarding this issue. If a council member doesn't do so, he will place the item on the agenda as a resident.

Councilman Kevin McKeown wrote in an e-mail to Patch that he suspects the OIR report “contained difficult reading for everyone involved, but [I] trust that it represents an unbiased outsiders' analysis of what happened.” 

[Correction made at 10:38 a.m.: "Santa Monica County District Attorney" has been replaced with "Los Angeles County District Attorney."]