Documented Misconduct and Alleged Misconduct by the Pacifica Police Force:

Last Updated on 9/13/2005

Here is where you will find all the misconduct which is being documented for possible legal action. Please feel free to e-mail me and add your own stories. In addition, if you like, you can be added to the list of those interested in legal action against the city. You can also just submit your story and remain anonymous, but it will be posted in another section of the website. Please include as many details as you can.

The information here was gathered first hand by either myself or another credible source unless otherwise noted. Scroll down and look for the new entries which are labeled as new and which have been added in the last 30 days.

NEW - Pacifica Police Possibly Violating California Smoking Labor Code 6404.5 and California Code 7597:

September 6th, 2005: I wasn't going to post this because I don't want to focus on such small issues, and this is indeed a small issue to many people including me. But after speaking further with the person who sent in this possible incident of misconduct, I decided it would show the reckless nature of the Pacifica Police Department towards the citizens of Pacifica. This alleged misconduct occurred at Linda Mar Shopping Center, on September 6th 2005. Two police officers were standing outside of the Starbucks and Hawaiian restaurant  taking with a civilian. Since the tipster did not see the name of the officers in questions, I will have to rely on the descriptions of both police officers. One of the officers was a heavy set man and the other was average size with a dark skin tone, possibly Hispanic or Italian with glasses. The officers were an estimated 5 feet from the entrance of the Hawaiian restaurant and the officer wearing the glasses whom was average size was smoking a cigarette.

California Law states "No employer shall knowingly or intentionally permit, and no person shall engage in, the smoking of tobacco products in an enclosed space at a place of employment" and California code 7597 states "No public employee or member of the public shall smoke any tobacco product inside a public building, or in an outdoor area within 20 feet of a main exit, entrance, or operable window of a public building, or in a passenger vehicle, as defined by section 465 of the vehicle code, owned by the state". Although it is not clear whether police officers smoking within 20 feet of a private business is a violation or not, but we have contacted the California Attorney General for guidance in this area.

Now, this alone is poor conduct in my opinion, but the fact that a pregnant woman, children, and citizens were all outside in close proximity to the police officers second hand smoke (not to mention the citizen whom was engaged in a conversation with the officer) shows this police officers disregard for the citizens health of this city. I personally feel the police should set an example for the children of the city and I don't want the children of Pacifica thinking it is ok to smoke. I feel this incident once again shows how the Pacifica Police feel they are above the law. I also believe this show a lack of ethics and leadership within the department. I am going to e-mail this complaint to the Pacifica Police Department and will keep you posted on any and all updates.

Update 9/13/2005 - Six days and so far no response from the Pacifica Police Department Chief Pat Brennan. I did not expect them to actually take the time to respond to the complaint, but it was an attempt to open the communication lines between the citizens of Pacifica and the Pacifica Police Department. Therefore, since the Chief of Police, Pat Brennan, seems unwilling to work with Pacifica Police Watch, we are currently working on contacting the Mayor and council members.

On the Pacifica Police website, in the message from the Chief, Pat Brennan writes "I take great pride in leading a Department of high integrity with such dedicated employees and being allowed to serve the citizens of the City of Pacifica as their Police Chief. If I, or any of our employees can be of service to you, please feel free to contact us." Seems our many attempts to contact him was useless. Now, to be fair, just because he did not send a return message does not mean nothing was done, but we did expect some kind of return message. We will attempt to contact the department one more time to get the Chiefs opinion on all of the misconduct we have documented and to try once again to work with the department to make the city a better place. We will keep you posted on any and all communication between Pacifica Police Watch and the Pacifica police department.

Excessive Speed and Dangerous Driving:

I went out this 4th of July as I did last 4th of July to watch fireworks in Pacifica, great show by the way, thanks to all the Pacificans. Last year I had seen the police officers driving in my estimation in excess of 50 miles per hour (although not verified with Radar or Lidar) up Rosita Road where children and people were lighting off their fireworks in the street.

This year I planned to bring my camcorder out but forgot it at the last minute, but once again, I seen the police driving down crespi drive, and once again speeding when children and citizens were present in the streets lighting fireworks. They must have been driving in my estimation in excess of 40 mph down crespi. I sure hope someone who is reading this had their video camera out and running and seen some of this dangerous and high speed driving without emergency lights. This struck me as extremely stupid and it seems the Police Chief either does not care or does not have control of his police department.

We need a change in leadership before someone gets killed or badly injured one of these years by police officers driving crazy down streets filled with children! If anyone else noticed this, please send me your comments.

The Pacifica Police Know Tricks to Pulling You Over and Violating Your Constitutional Rights:

I have been wanting to report on this for some time now, but I have been swamped with work and school work. But, back when Sergeant Buchanan came to our Neighborhood watch meeting, he said something to the effect that the Pacifica Police know tricks to pulling anyone over any time they want. He went on to say the Pacifica Police know how to look for little things to pull over targeted people. Therefore, they do not rely on probable cause, but instead actively seek out any way possible to pull people over in Pacifica, and may even lie to accomplish these unconstitutional police stops. The conclusion can then be drawn that the Pacifica Police may violate your Constitutional rights and know how to if they feel they want to pull your vehicle over!

Allegations of Violation of Civil Rights and Police Brutality Leading to Death:

January 2004, The family of Gregory Saulsbury called for Paramedics to assist Mr. Saulsbury due to a bad reaction to drugs. The family was instead greeted by the Pacifica Police Department whom allegedly forced their way into the house and tasered Mr. Saulsbury. Mr. Saulsbury later died. The family alleges, and we believe them, that the police acted aggressively and abusively and entered the house without the consent of the home owners. The city of Pacifica is currently being sued for 30 million dollars after they autopsy report said the taser incident played a role in his death.

Selective Enforcement:

2004: Officer Steve Sheldon pulled my wife over and gave her a ticket for going 52 in a 45. I don't have a problem with that, but I do have an issue with the same officer letting my cousins wife off while going 45 in a 35. He let her off because he said he knew my cousin and therefore would not write her up. Selective treatment is unethical and illegal. In a related case, my good friend was let go 3 times because the officer who pulled him over knew his girlfriend from high school. It is my opinion that officers who have attended high school in Pacifica should not be police officers in Pacifica.  By doing so, this creates a situation where the officer already has many ties to the community which leads to unethical police practices. In addition, the police officers have already formed relationships both positive and negative in which they now act on with authority. We believe the police officers who have grown up in Pacifica should be sent to other cities where such bonds have not been formed. If anything, these police officers should have to complete the Police Ethics course at SFSU offered by Kenneth Walsh. 

NEW: 2005: A vehicles front windshield was smashed by a vandal and the vandal was chased down by the owner of the vehicle. The owner of the vehicle then contacted the Pacifica Police department who told him that they could not do anything about it because he had chased the vandal down. The San Mateo D.A. was contacted in this case and said this was completely untrue and that the Police should have acted on the complaint. The D.A. also contacted the Pacifica Police Department. I am still awaiting a follow up report on what has happened since the D.A. had contacted the Pacifica Police Department. But, it seems the Police lied and did not want to follow up on the complaint. How would you feel if your windshield had been smashed by a vandal and you had chased them down and got their license plate and then reported it to the police who then turned around and said that they could not do anything about it because you chased them and got their license plate? You see, the leadership of the Pacifica Department is not doing its job and we need a change in leadership ASAP. It is my opinion that we should hire someone from outside the city whom does not have long term friendships within the police force. Could you image trying to enforce rules on friends you have grown up with and have known for many years?

Violation of Civil Liberties:

2004. I was following my cousin out of Pacifica when a police officer pulled him over for no apparent reason. He did not break any laws at all. As soon as they walked up to the car and realized they knew him, they let him go. They said they pulled him over because they did not recognize his vehicle. Does this really constitute probable cause? NO! This is illegal and unconstitutional. What if he was black, could they have also pulled him over because they didn't recognize him because he was black and Pacifica is 60+% white? 

Poor Training or Police Brutality?:

2004 A man who had a run in with the police department was handcuffed and sitting on the police car. The man was already subdued and posed no threat to anyone. A police officer then came up and fired his stun gun at the suspect. He said it "accidentally" went off. I guess it was a good thing it wasn't a gun that accidentally went off. This was reported in the Pacifica Tribune, but of course the police used typical spin tactics in their report. I would like to know if the officer went in for further training in order to not have any more "accidents". 

Misplaced Priorities:

September 8th 2004. The street lights were out in Linda Mar and traffic was backed up. Many Pacifica and Half Moon Bay residents were late for work because the police did not feel it was their responsibility to direct traffic. My wife called the Pacifica police department and was greeted by a rude dispatcher who told her the police were not able to direct traffic because they were waiting for calls. It just so happened that I seen police officer Steve Sheldon writing up tickets for parents who were dropping off their kids at Ocean Shores elementary school and who happened to be parked in the red zone. Isn't it more important to direct traffic then to give parents tickets for parking in the red zone for five minutes?

Breaking the Law: 

September 10th 2004. I was behind a Pacifica Police car when a crossing guard at Cabrillo school was stopping traffic to let children cross. But, the police officer in a rush to go nowhere, decided to take off before the kids reached the side walk and while the crossing guard was still in the middle of the street holding up the Stop Sign! The crossing guard yelled at the cop and tried to get him to stop, but he just stopped briefly and said something to the crossing guard and then took off. The crossing guard looked like she could not believe what had just happened and just threw her hands down. It was a bazaar thing to see. I followed him to see if he had a call or something but he just drove to Alacante, turned and parked.  He was in no rush to get anywhere. 

Moving Violations:

Many, many, times I have seen the Pacifica Police violate the laws they are supposed to enforce. These include speeding (non emergency), driving without headlights ( I seen this happen on Rosita Road many times), and driving recklessly. This is something which occurs daily, and anyone can see it happen when they are driving though Pacifica.