RIVERSIDE COP WINS
ARBITRATION,
SUSPENSION REPUDIATED
A hearing officer has
overturned a 40-hour suspension against Riverside Police Officer
Clifford Mason. Mason was disciplined for allegedly using excessive
force against a fleeing suspect.
The incident occurred on
April 8, 1994, at approximately 2 a.m. Riverside Police Officer Kendall
Banks attempted to stop a vehicle for a broken tail light. The vehicle
fled. A pursuit ensued.
The pursuit lasted for 11
minutes. During the pursuit, Officer Banks saw objects being thrown from
the vehicle. The objects appeared to be drugs in baggies.
Officer Banks was joined
in the pursuit by Riverside Police Officer Charrette. The pursuit
reached speeds of up to 80 miles per hour.
As the pursuit entered
a residential section, one of the suspects pointed a gun at Officer
Banks. Officer Banks, who had been broadcasting the news of the objects
being thrown from the vehicle, now broadcast that the suspects had
pointed a gun at him.
Mason had been monitoring
the pursuit. He listened to the reports of objects being thrown from the
vehicle and he heard Banks' broadcast of the weapon being pointed at
him. Mason drove in the direction of the pursuit in order to be of
assistance should the pursuit terminate.
While in the residential
section, the suspects began circling a block. The officers anticipated
that the suspects would attempt to leave the vehicle and flee on foot.
As expected, the suspect
vehicle came to a stop and three suspects fled on foot while one
remained in the vehicle. Banks and Charrette ran after two of the
suspects who ran in the same direction. One suspect fled in an opposite
direction.
Banks caught up with the
two suspects as they attempted to climb a fence. He pulled one suspect
to the ground. The other suspect continued over the fence. Charrette
attempted to take control of the suspect on the ground while Banks
continued over the fence after the other suspect.
The suspect who had been
pulled down turned on Charrette and took a step towards him with
his head down. Charrette, seeing that the individual's hands were at his
waistband, struck the suspect one time in the head with the flashlight.
The blow resulted in the suspect falling to the ground and Charrette was
able to take him into custody.
Banks continued over the
fence into a yard where the suspect stopped, turned and began to turn a
gun at Banks. Banks yelled into his radio that the suspect was pointing
a gun at him.
Banks kicked the gun out
of the suspect's hands and tackled the suspect and was able to take him
into custody. Mason had heard the broadcast that the suspect had again
pointed a gun at Banks prior to his encounter with his suspect.
Mason took up a position
one block away from the termination of the pursuit. He heard Banks again
broadcast that one of the suspects was pointing a gun at him for the
second time. Mason exited his vehicle in order to set up a parameter.
Within moments, he heard
a crash against a nearby fence. He took a position behind a tree
anticipating that someone would climb over the fence. He then saw a
suspect run from the opposite side of the house.
He yelled at the suspect
to stop and identified himself. The suspect looked over his
shoulder at Mason but continued to run. Mason saw that the suspect did
not have any weapons in his hands so he ran after the suspect.
The suspect crossed the
street and Mason was able to close the distance. The suspect tripped and
fell to the ground. As the suspect got up in an attempt to continue his
flight, Mason caught up with him and tackled him.
The suspect landed face
down and his hands went immediately to his belt. Mason had been chasing
the suspect with his flashlight in his hand. Mason yelled at the suspect
to take his hands out from underneath him.
He attempted to pull the
suspect’s hands out from underneath him. The suspect continued to
attempt to reach for his waistband. Mason struggled with the suspect for
20-to-30 seconds, but the suspect refused to comply with the commands
and Mason’s efforts to remove his hands from the waistband.
Having the knowledge that
one suspect had pointed a gun at Banks, and fearing that this suspect
had a gun, Mason became concerned for his safety as he tired of the
struggle. In an effort to gain control and stop the suspect from taking
a weapon out, Mason struck the suspect three times on the head with the
flashlight. The blows had relatively little effect.
Mason
"bear-hugged" the individual after the blows failed and tried
to think of what to do next. At this moment, a passing officer, Steven
Pounds, came upon Mason, exited his vehicle and came to his assistance.
The suspect continued to
struggle even as Pounds assisted Mason. The suspect continued to
struggle with such force that Pounds, an ex-Marine who is approximately
six feet tall and 220 pounds, had to strike the suspect seven times with
his closed fist in the ribs. The suspect finally relented and the two
officers were able to take him into custody.
All of the suspects were
apprehended. None of the officers were injured. One of the suspects, it
turned out, had a felony warrant for murder.
Charrette and Banks
received commendations for their actions. Mason received the 40-hour
suspension.
The basis for the
discipline was statements in Mason’s police report. The department did
not feel that Mason should have used the blows to the head.
The department policy
states that a flashlight may be used as an impact weapon, however, blows
to the head are considered deadly force. The department did not feel
that the use of deadly force was warranted.
In his police report,
Mason stated that because he was unable to see or "control"
the suspects hands, he felt the suspect was trying to arm himself. He
was in fear for his life and he therefore struck the suspect in the
head.
Riverside police chief,
Kenneth Fortier and Riverside Captain Dana did not believe that Mason
was engaged in a struggle. They felt that Mason gave two different
accounts.
The first account was
contained in the police report. They both felt that a second, more
detailed account, came out months later when Mason felt he was going to
get in trouble. They both felt that Mason embellished the facts in order
to avoid getting in trouble.
Riverside Police Captain
Jerry Carroll was originally called as a witness for the department.
Carroll was the individual who Mason sought out at a later date to
discuss this incident. It is Mason’s version to Carroll that the chief
and captain did not believe. Carroll, however, testified that he felt
Mason was justified in his use of force and testified to that in the
hearing.
The captain and chief’s
positions were aggressively attacked at the hearing by Mason’s
attorney, Stuart D. Adams, of Silver, Shaeffer & Hadden. It was
shown that they both ignored a memorandum from Riverside Sergeant Meier
to Captain Dana which stated that three days after the incident, before
there was any talk of Mason being in trouble, Mason told Meier that he
had been in a struggle.
Additionally, Riverside
Sergeant Threlkeld was the sergeant in charge of investigating Mason’s
actions, as well as those of the other officers involved in the
incident. Threlkeld believed from the beginning that Mason had been
engaged in a struggle with the suspect prior to striking the suspect.
Threlkeld never put this
in any of his reports because he felt that the only significant factor
was that Mason felt that the suspect was attempting to obtain a weapon
at his waistband. Threlkeld felt that this was enough information to
support Mason’s use of force. Threlkeld recommended that Mason’s use
of force be considered reasonable and he testified to that extent at the
hearing.
Thus, the chief and
captain ignored the opinion of Sergeant Threlkeld and Captain Carroll in
coming to their own conclusion that Mason had embellished a second
story. Further, the chief and captain ignored the recommendations of the
department’s use of force instructors.
Riverside Police
Detective Heredia and Officer Wiesmann were called as witnesses on
behalf of Mason. Both are responsible for the training or Riverside
police officers in the use of force.
Heredia assisted in the
drafting of the department’s policy that was being used against
Officer Mason. Both testified that Mason’s use of force was
reasonable.
The hearing officer felt
that the captain and chief were wrong about the credibility of Mason. He
felt that Mason was extremely candid and truthful in his testimony.
He found it significant
that Mason used the word "control" in his police report. He
found that, while the word "control" is vague and, in
hindsight, language could have been used to better document the
incident, the word "control", coupled with the report of Meier
and the candor of Mason, supported Mason’s credibility when he said
that he was in fear for his life.
The hearing officer
issued an opinion recommending that the discipline be overturned
completely and that Mason be reimbursed for the 40-hour suspension.
Mason, an eight-year veteran of the Riverside Police Department with a
record that consistently exceeds standards, continues with the
department as the department’s instructor in defensive tactics,
specifically for the use of the newly issued telescoping baton and is
also a member of the department’s SWAT team.
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