Quick Take
Santa Cruz Police Chief Bernie Escalante said an initial review of body camera footage found no policy violations during the arrest of a cyclist on the city’s Westside last week. Still, he said the department has launched an investigation into the incident, which prompted excessive force complaints from witnesses.
Santa Cruz Police Chief Bernie Escalante said an initial review of body camera footage shows “no clear violations of policy or the law” in how police officers acted during a high-profile arrest of a cyclist on Santa Cruz’s Westside last week.
Last Wednesday, Santa Cruz police officers stopped 29-year-old Teran Whitley on his electric bike near the intersection of Bay Street and West Cliff Drive for a traffic infraction. He was arrested and charged with three misdemeanors: resisting arrest, possession of marijuana over 1 ounce, and giving a false identification to police.
Some bystanders took video of the incident and alleged that the officers responded disproportionately in both numbers and force; some of those bystanders proceeded to file community complaints that the responding officers used excessive force when arresting Whitley, who is Black. The police department is investigating the incident.
In a statement posted on social media Friday, Escalante said that Whitley was stopped for failing to yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk, and that he was pulled over and provided false identifying information. He reaffirmed that Whitley was not injured, and that he was booked into the county jail. Deputy Chief Jon Bush previously told Lookout that Whitley was released later last Wednesday.
On Monday, Escalante told Lookout that in the camera footage “it appears that the stop and detention was legal,” and that because there were issues properly identifying Whitley, the department’s procedure is to take him to jail for identification. “Unfortunately, the individual resisted and the officers were in a position to use force in order to place him in handcuffs and take them to the county jail.”
However, Escalante said those initial findings will be subject to a closer review over at least the next several weeks: “We will break the incident down more thoroughly to make sure that is truly correct.”
He added that officers did not give Whitley a ticket for the traffic infraction because they decided to pursue the three misdemeanor criminal charges instead. However, the traffic violation is included in the report sent to the district attorney’s office.
Escalante said Santa Cruz Police Department leadership will conduct an internal investigation, and the independent police auditor — created by the Santa Cruz City Council in 2003 — will review its findings. That review entails an assessment of whether the auditor agrees with the department’s findings and believes the department conducted a broad enough investigation. Escalante added that any excessive force allegation is sent to the California Commission on Police Officer Standards and Training for review, too.
“They usually kind of grade us on our overall investigation,” said Escalante. “In some cases, they’re critical of our investigation and in some cases they agree with everything that we did.”
In the previous statement published on social media, Escalante said the investigation will include reviews of all video footage, including officer body camera footage, and officer and witness interviews.
Escalante said it’s difficult to say how long the investigation will take, but that the department will interview the officers who responded to the scene and the witnesses and draft a report. He said the process will take “at least several weeks.”
Escalante added that, should SCPD take disciplinary action, the consequences would depend on the circumstances. If a suspect is injured, or if excessive force or racial bias allegations are proved to be true, he said for example, “it’s probably everything from termination on down, because those are pretty bad.”
“Sometimes it’s an honest mistake, or it’s a totally intentional and egregious act,” said Escalante. “Those are two totally different circumstances that get weighted on the overall decision.”
He said that the findings of investigations are made public, but whether there is disciplinary action, and what that action is, will not be released.
Elaine Johnson, president of the NAACP Santa Cruz County branch, released a statement saying that the witness video is “disturbing” and “has understandably raised concerns within our community.”
Johnson told Lookout in an interview Monday that the NAACP is taking the incident very seriously, and that she has met with Escalante and Whitley to “ensure a good process is in place.” In her statement, she urged the community to give Whitley privacy: “We must allow him the space and time to heal without interference or intrusion.”
“Our primary focus at this time is the health and well-being of Mr. Whitley. We are committed to supporting him in his journey toward healing, and we are actively working to ensure that he receives the care and support he needs during this challenging time,” Johnson said in the statement.
Johnson also implored the public to refrain from spreading misinformation while investigators gather information and investigate the incident: “We have confidence that if any changes are needed in SCPD response protocols, they will be made.”
She told Lookout that the community needs to have all the evidence before knowing what needs to change.
“If we need to have change, let’s figure out what that needs to be together,” she said.
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