Telepeer

Santa Ana’s Police Oversight Commission at a standstill, members say

March 7, 2025

The Santa Ana City Council established the Police Oversight Commission in 2022, but nearly three years later, commissioners don’t feel like they’ve really started the work they’ve been tapped to do for the community.

“It’s pretty clear that we’re all a little bit frustrated because there’s not much we can do,” Commissioner Keith Carpenter said.

Aside from meeting and taking complaints, the commissioners have yet to get to what they consider the real work — proposing changes to policing policies and investigating received complaints — and they aren’t sure when they will be able to, Carpenter said. “Unfortunately, we’re in the dark like everybody else.”

Most of the standstill boils down to the lack of an independent oversight director, a new position in the city created along with the commission. The city received five responses to a call for prospective candidates posted in September, however, the City Council has not conducted interviews, let alone made a hire.

City Manager Alvaro Nuñez said at the March 4 City Council meeting that he’ll be bringing two related items to the council soon.

“Hopefully, the scheduling of the candidates for your interview in 30 days, in addition, updates to the municipal code that we think are necessary to make sure that it’s more successful,” Nuñez told councilmembers.

The city manager’s office canceled meetings in November, December and January with little to no explanation to commissioners. City spokesperson Paul Eakins did not respond to further questions about the hiring of a director or meeting cancelations. Nuñez also did not respond to requests for comment.

Councilmember Jessie Lopez said she was told by the city attorney that the cancelations were due to a lack of agenda items.

That wasn’t because of a lack of effort from the commissioners, Commissioner Carlos Perea said.

“Over the last year, via email or from the dais, commissioners have brought ideas, requests and items to be agendized or be brought back to the commission. But that hasn’t happened,” Perea said. “Until the last meeting, it wasn’t clear whether commissioners could agendize items.”

Commissioners were informed by Assistant City Attorney Jonathan Martinez that only the director, with input from the commissioners, can place items on the group’s meeting agendas, Perea said.

Martinez said at the last meeting that in his interpretation of the city’s ordinance, only the director can work with city staff to create the commission’s bylaws, as well as investigate police complaints.

“The City Council needs to reaffirm the commission’s power and scope of what we can cover,” Perea said. “For issues like a police oversight commission, the delay of review of complaints does present a trust issue with the community. How can folks trust the commission with their complaints if they’re not being addressed in a timely manner?”

The commission’s complaint portal was opened to the public nearly a year ago, but without a director in place, city officials have said the commission cannot review possible misconduct cases.

According to the California Peace Officer Bill of Rights Act, no punitive action can be taken “for any act, omission, or other allegation of misconduct” if the investigation of the allegation is not completed within one year of the public agency’s discovery.

“There’s one year from the date of the alleged misconduct that the oversight director would need to complete or begin his investigation,” Martinez said. “If it passes that one-year mark, then the allegation or complaint is time-barred.”

Complaints filed to the Santa Ana Police Oversight Commission are also going to the city’s Police Department for review and investigation, previously raising questions about the true independence of the commission.

Carpenter said complaints could have already fallen off the calendar because of the delay in hiring a director.

“I can’t control when we get a director. The public obviously can’t control when we get a director,” Carpenter said. “How is that equitable when these things are out of our control?”

It took nearly a year for the seven commissioners to be appointed — each appointed by a member of the City Council consecutive with the elected official’s term in office – and they then received months of training on topics such as the Brown Act, the Police Department’s training procedures and use-of-force standards.

Before any real work could begin, one commissioner was not reappointed.

At the Feb. 18 City Council meeting, councilmembers David Penaloza and Phil Bacerra and Mayor Valerie Amezcua voted against reappointing Councilmember Johnathan Ryan Hernandez’s candidate, Amalia Mejia, who needed supermajority support.

“Unfortunately, the commissioner has demonstrated a clear anti-police bias that undermines this responsibility,” Penaloza said, pointing to Mejia’s social media post informing the public on how to report possible misconduct through the commission’s portal following SAPD’s presence at UCI protests last year. “This was not objective oversight, it was a fishing expedition aimed at manufacturing complaints rather than reviewing them fairly.”

“Oversight should be impartial not an activist-driven mission,” Penaloza added.

Carpenter said he thinks the hiring of an oversight director appears to have become political, and so was the choice to not reappoint Mejia.

“If she didn’t violate any ordinances or Brown Act conditions, I don’t see why that’s an issue,” Carpenter said. “I think she’s very knowledgeable. I think she was a benefit to the committee.”

Hernandez said he thinks the council’s views could be affecting the progress of the Police Oversight Commission.

“You have elected officials who are willing to remove people or not allow them to serve in their capacity as a civilian because of disagreement with their educational background or their policy perspectives. That, to me, is a violation of our democracy,” Hernandez said. “It is disheartening to see that not all opinions are welcomed.”

Diverse opinions on the oversight commission are essential, Hernandez said.

“Perspectives like mine that are pro-justice, they’re rooted in protecting both our officers and the community. Although to be pro-justice means to stand against police brutality and police misconduct, it does not mean that you are inherently anti-police,” he added.

Mejia said her social media post broke no rules or laws.

“I think the community should be concerned about these kinds of tactics and moves,” Mejia said. “It’s actually alarming that somebody in leadership, like Councilmember Penaloza, used the word that I ‘manufactured’ complaints, which is untrue. All I did was educate the public on how to file a complaint if they personally experienced misconduct.”

Not only have the councilmembers removed a critical voice from the commission, Mejia said, but they have also set the group back because a new commissioner will need to catch up on training.

“Now this (new) person has to be trained up. They just can’t start listening to complaints,” Carpenter said. “It just becomes a cycle of constant training so nothing can get done. That, to me, is a big concern.”

Penaloza refutes that his decision was politically motivated.

“If there’s a call for mutual aid and officers are responding to a neighboring agency … they should be able to do that without fear of having a commissioner fishing for complaints,” Penaloza said. “I’m proud that we were able to remove her from the commission because someone that has an agenda that is out to get police and law enforcement shouldn’t serve on that commission that is supposed to be impartial.”

Police accountability should not be a partisan issue, Perea said.

“Councilmember Penaloza and some of the council, including the mayor, have been critical of some of us in the commission for informing the community on where to submit public complaints. To me, that is an abuse of power,” Perea said. “We’re seeing this council do what they can to suppress the voices of those that are calling for strict accountability and transparency of the department.”

Hernandez shares the commissioners’ frustrations, he said.

“Since we have passed police oversight, I believe that there have been significant roadblocks in ensuring that the people have an equitable and dignified oversight commission,” Hernandez said. “This commission is a product of the people’s demands and should be a reflection of the community. In Santa Ana, there’s a wide array of diverse opinions and perspectives that are all equally valued, and I hope that this commission reflects that.”

Orange County Register

News Details

Santa Ana’s Police Oversight Commission at a standstill, members say

News

CONTACT INFO

QUICK LINKS

SERVICES

CURRENT NEWS