[HPN] ALERT: San Diego FORUMS 2-24 & 3-2: Investigate police slaying of homeless man, activists say FWD homeless man, activists say FWD

[Tom Boland]

SAN DIEGO FORUMS ON POLICE "DEADLY FORCE" POLICY FEB 24 & MAR 2 (THURSDAYS)
Call City Hall for times please.

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PLEASE CIRCULATE FORUM DATES below to nonviolent defenders of life & liberty:

[San Deigo, CA, USA]

"Mayor Susan Golding has announced a public review of the [San Deigo Police
"deadly force"] policy at a City Hall workshop scheduled for 10 a.m. Feb.
22. Experts and members of the community are expected to give testimony.

"Additional community forums with police officials are to be held Tuesday
at Rosa Parks Elementary School, 4510 Landis St.; Thursday at the Scottish
Rite Center, 1895 Camino del Rio South; Feb. 24 at Smythe Elementary
School, 1880 Smythe Ave.; and March 2 at Southwest High School, 1685
Hollister St. The times for the forums were not set as of yesterday."

http://newsfinder.arinet.com/fpweb/fp.dll/$stargeneral/htm/x_dv.htm/_ibyx/cg0302
6/_itox/starnet/_svc/news/_Id/641145966/_k/Qnb6gc6nCTjKkRr2
FWD  Associated Press - AP Wire Service - Feb 23, 2000

SAN DIEGO POLICE DEFEND FORCE POLICY IN WAKE OF SHOOTINGS

SAN DIEGO (AP) _ Community members who applauded the police
chief's efforts to make more non-lethal weapons available to
officers also called for more training and investigation into
officer involved shootings.

The discussion came Tuesday when the City Council held an
informational workshop about the department's use of deadly force
in the wake of a controversial fatal shooting earlier this month of
a stick-wielding transient who lunged at officers. The council was
not scheduled to take action.

The Feb. 8 shooting of William Anthony Miller, 42, prompted
heavy criticism from residents who questioned whether officers
should have used deadly force. Miller was shot 12 times.

Timothy Winters, a pastor and former San Diego officer,
suggested that training was the key.

``Our police will function at the level of their training. If
all that they have is weapon, a pistol, that's what they'll use,''
Winters said. ``If they're trained to use any other means to
apprehend a subject ... then the whole picture will be changed.''

Community groups and members of the public have also criticized
the department for the death last summer of former pro-football
player Demetrius DuBose, who was shot by two officers as they
attempted to arrest him for burglary.

The district attorney concluded that officers were not
criminally liable for shooting DuBose. No decision has been reached
in the Miller case.

So far this year, officers have shot and killed three people. In
1999, officers fired on seven people, killing five of them.

The department's top brass defended the lethal force policy.

``I don't know where the misnomer comes up that we shoot to
kill. We actually shoot to eliminate a threat,'' Assistant Chief
John Welter told the council.

The lethal force policy allows an officer to fire when there is
``a reasonable belief that a subject (or animal) poses an imminent
threat of death or serious bodily injury to the officers or another
person.''

Officers are trained to shoot at a suspect's torso because the
legs or arms are more difficult to hit and less effective in
stopping someone, he said. ``If one or two shots don't stop the
subject ... he can fire back,'' Welter said.

The department is assembling a use of force policy committee,
with appointments expected by April 1, Chief David Bejarano said.

``We will continue to review the department's use of force
policy but it will always allow an officer to defend himself or
herself against the threat of great bodily harm or death,''
Bejarano said.

The chief has already stepped up efforts to add canine units,
offer more training on communication and active listening skills,
and put in each patrol car a stun gun and a shotgun that fires
beanbags.

Jordan Budd, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union,
questioned the effectiveness of the Citizen's Review Board. The
board, which was approved by voters, doesn't have its own
investigative authority. Its recommendations are based on the
findings of the police department's own internal review and the
district attorney's office investigations.

AP-WS-02-23-00 0303EST
Received  Id AP100054497F0D59 on Feb 23 2000 06:53

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