An administrative investigation has been launched into the circumstances surrounding an arrest leading to allegations of excessive use of force by Santa Maria police officers after a bystander made a video recording of the incident two weeks ago.
The video showing the Oct. 20 arrest went viral, with some people alleging the officers used excessive force as one punched the suspect and another deployed a police dog against the non-compliant man.
“Because of the fact I saw a couple of things I’m concerned about, and obviously the public interest in this one, I took the next step, which is to have a formal administrative investigation,” Chief Phil Hansen said.
That level of investigation means the officers involved have the right to attorneys and union representatives, which can take time to schedule.
Due to logistics, Hansen said, he could not estimate when the investigation might be completed.
The incident began when an officer spotted an erratic driver speeding past vehicles at a stop sign.
The suspect — identified as Alejandro Meza Hernandez, 27, of Santa Maria — drove into the opposing lane and blew through the stop sign, endangering the public and police, the chief said.
The officer attempted to conduct a traffic stop, but Hernandez plowed through other intersections with stop signs, according to police.
Officers conducted a felony stop — at gunpoint — and Hernandez exited the vehicle, but still appeared to balk at following orders.
At one point, police officers jumped on Hernandez as he sprawled on the asphalt and continued to struggle, with at least one punch thrown and the police dog deployed, according to the video recording.
Days after the incident, a group of activists from Central Coast Alliance United for Sustainable Economy staged a rally in front of City Hall, chanting, “No justice, no peace, no violent police” and other slogans.
In addition to voicing frustrations, the rally served as a method to suggest solutions, according to Abraham Melendrez from CAUSE.
He said people have concerns about the Santa Maria police conducting the investigation, and have asked the agency to implement implicit-bias training and other similar efforts in the future.
“We’re calling again to take this more seriously, because it’s something the community wants to see,” said Melendrez, who urged people to attend Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
But Hansen cautioned against a rush to judgment, noting viewers of the video lack context involving Hernandez, who was suspected to be heavily under the influence of methamphetamine or some other combination of drugs.
“You don’t know why this person’s not stopping, so you treat it as a dangerous situation,” Hansen said, adding that the man didn’t comply with orders or only partially complied at times.
With the man keeping his hands under his body, officers did not know if he was reaching for a weapon, the chief said.
“I have some questions about tactics that were used, and some concerns, but I’m going to give it an objective look, and I’m not going to draw any conclusions on it until I see the whole thing and listen to the interviews,” Hansen said.
The conclusion could lead to additional training, policy changes or discipline, he said.
Hernandez was charged in Santa Maria Superior Court with evading police, resisting arrest and driving under the influence of methamphetamine..
He also has two other cases from this year, including a felony charge of vehicle theft for allegedly taking a motorcycle without permission in August and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.
His criminal history includes other cases dating back to 2010, and in 2017 he was charged with possessing a firearm and being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to court records.
On Oct. 30, in addition to admitting the probation violation for the 2017 weapons case, Hernandez pleaded guilty to the stolen vehicle charge from last summer for a sentence of one year in county jail and five years of probation.
He also pleaded guilty to evading police and resisting arrest for the Oct. 20 incident, with six months in jail for each charge.
However, the sentences will be served concurrently, giving him a total of one year in jail.
During his current arrest, Hernandez did not receive injuries beyond scrapes and a puncture wound from the dog bite, the chief said.
The department’s use of force numbers show 5,943 arrests in 2016 with 104 uses of force and 35 citizen complaints.
A year later, the agency logged 5,587 arrests with 108 uses of force and 29 citizen complaints.
For 2018, officers arrested 5,283 people with 175 uses of force and 22 citizen complaints. The increase stems from a policy amendment expanding reportable incidents involving force.
“It’s very very minimal,” Hansen said of use-of-force incidents.
All uses of force get some type of review to ensure officers’ actions followed department policies, and to determine if any additional training should occur, Hansen said.
While CAUSE called for an outside investigation of use of force, Hansen said it is not commonplace to outsource those reviews.
“We’re a professional organization that’s introspective, and we will objectively look at this, take appropriate steps and move forward,” Hansen said.
CAUSE’s Melendrez also urged the city to make police body cameras a priority, something the chief said likely will be implemented at the some point in the future.
With more than four decades of law enforcement service, Hansen joined the Santa Maria force as a commander amid efforts to rebuilt the department approximately six years ago, and said he cares deeply about the department and its reputation.
“We’ve worked extremely hard in this department — I think most people know that — to have the most professional department we can, to have a culture of service and treating people the right way, but it’s still a dangerous world out there,” Hansen said.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.