[BenIndy editor: Former Benicia Police Chief Andrew Bidou figures in this story. During his tenure as Vallejo Police Chief, he is alleged to have told an underling to “burn that bitch,” referring to kidnap victim Denise Huskins. More below, and on OpenVallejo, and SFGate. – R.S.]
Stunning allegation against Vallejo police: Officers bent badges to mark people they killed
Vallejo Police Officer Kim turns his car around in front of police headquarters. Vallejo may have sustained its 14th homicide last night, outpacing all of last year of twelve on Thursday, July 16, 2020 in Vallejo, Calif. Photo: Paul Kuroda / Special to The Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle, by Anna Bauman & Demian Bulwa, 7/29/20
A former Vallejo police captain is accusing the department of firing him for flagging misconduct that included concerns that some officers bent their badges to mark fatal shootings and that a former police chief told an underling to “burn” a kidnapping victim he wrongly accused of orchestrating a hoax.
The captain, John Whitney, said that some officers would bend one tip of their seven-point star for each of their killings. He said he became aware of the practice in February 2019 after police fatally shot Willie McCoy in a Taco Bell drive-through, where he had passed out with a gun in his lap.
Whitney brought his misconduct concerns to Mayor Bob Sampayan, City Manager Greg Nyhoff and then-City Attorney Claudia Quintana, before he was released last August after 19 years on the job, his lawyer, Alison Berry Wilkinson, told The Chronicle.
According to his claim, Whitney was released “for expressing his professional opinions on a variety of misconduct issues within the Police Department.” The claim seeks back pay, benefits, attorneys’ fees and $25,000 for Whitney, who now works for another Bay Area police agency.
The city did not respond to the claim, filed Feb. 21 and amended March 24. Claims are considered rejected if not answered within 45 days, meaning Whitney can now file a lawsuit.
The claim does not mention the badge-bending allegations, but Wilkinson said they will be part of the lawsuit to come.
“I’m not able to speak to those allegations at this time,” Brittany Jackson, a spokeswoman for the Vallejo Police Department, said Tuesday evening. She said Police Chief Shawny Williams, who took over in November, was not immediately available.
Nyhoff and City Attorney Randy Risner did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Assistant City Manager Anne Cardwell told The Chronicle that the city was aware of previous complaints about badge bending.
“I am not aware of any current complaints related to badge bendings being filed with Human Resources, City Manager’s Office or City Attorney’s Office,” she said. “In conferring this evening with the City Manager, he noted that the Mayor had advised him last year regarding rumors of such a prior practice in years past at the Police Dept., and that he, the City Manager, then immediately consulted with former Police Chief (Andrew) Bidou, who indicated it had been previously investigated and such claims had not been substantiated.
“The City takes any claims or credible information regarding potential misconduct seriously and we will follow up with the appropriate investigatory measures, as well as take appropriate action based on information provided.
“Finally, as it relates to former Captain John Whitney, the City cannot comment on personnel matters and/or ongoing legal actions.”
According to Whitney’s claim, the city tied his firing to an investigation into a leak of confidential information, saying he improperly erased data from his phone amid the probe. Whitney said he had only erased personal information; he was exonerated in the leak case, Wilkinson said.
The allegations come as the Vallejo force faces intense scrutiny over a string of shootings in recent years. The state is investigating the department’s disposal of a bullet-shattered windshield in the June 2 police killing of San Francisco resident Sean Monterrosa, while separately reviewing the department’s policies and practices.
Whitney’s claim states that, before his termination, he had raised concerns about issues, including a car stop involving the cousin of Willie McCoy and the “embezzlement of time” by a high-ranking officer.
More explosively, Whitney said that, in 2015, former Police Chief Bidou told the department’s then-spokesman, Lt. Kenny Park, to “burn that bitch” — an alleged reference to kidnap victim Denise Huskins. Bidou retired last year.
The claim also states that Bidou told Whitney to “delete text messages on his cell phone so that they would not be downloadable during the litigation involving the Huskins’ kidnapping.” The city ultimately paid the couple $2.5 million in a settlement.
Bidou could not be reached for comment late Tuesday.
Huskins was kidnapped from her boyfriend’s Vallejo home and held for ransom before her captor let her go two days later. Rather than looking for the attacker, Vallejo police accused Huskins and her boyfriend of faking the whole thing. At a news conference, Park called it an “orchestrated event and not a kidnapping.”
The claim concludes that Whitney was “also retaliated against for truthfully answering questions posed by the City Manager and the Mayor concerning ongoing issues within the Police Department.”
After Whitney’s release, Mayor Sampayan wrote a recommendation letter for Whitney, saying, “Frankly, I believe that because John spoke out about a negative culture on the Vallejo Police Department, his reputation was soiled by those that did not want any ‘dirty laundry’ aired.” The letter was attached to the claim.
Wilkinson said that when Whitney found out about the badge-bending, he sought an investigation of the alleged practice. She said Whitney subsequently ordered supervisors at a meeting of the department’s command staff to inspect officers’ uniforms and collect any bent badges.
After 10 badges were turned in and held in a box in the office of Bidou’s executive assistant, Wilkinson said, Bidou told Whitney the repair costs could raise suspicion and cost him his job. Instead, the chief had the badges returned to officers, who were to fix them on their own, Wilkinson said.
“John Whitney repeatedly challenged unethical practices at Vallejo PD, including badge bending and destruction of evidence,” Wilkinson said. “ The City tried to silence him by firing him. Only the Mayor was willing to speak the truth about why Whitney was fired. No one else was willing to do the right thing.”
$100 for not wearing a mask? Contra Costa approves fines for health order violators
San Francisco Chronicle, by Catherine Ho, July 28, 2020
Bar manager Marc Pontavella wears a mask and gloves while making a cocktail for a customer at Teleferic Barcelona in Walnut Creek, Calif. Tuesday, June 9, 2020. They Bay Area is opening at a fairly fast pace, with Contra Costa County announcing plans this week to reopen indoor dining and hair salons soon, while it reports near-record new cases. Photo: Jessica Christian / The Chronicle
Contra Costa County on Tuesday approved fines for individuals and businesses that violate coronavirus health orders, including not wearing a mask.
The county’s board of supervisors passed an urgency ordinance establishing fines for individuals starting at $100 for the first violation, $200 for the second and $500 for each additional violation within one year of the initial violation.
Fines for businesses will start at $250 for the first violation, $500 for the second and $1,000 for each additional violation within one year of the initial violation.
“Some people are just defiant,” said Supervisor Diane Burgis. “We’re trying to get COVID under control and we need people to put on their masks. … We’re not doing it to make money, to try to control people. We’re trying to get control over this disease and get our economy back so we need people to cooperate, put on their mask.”
Contra Costa is the third Bay Area county, and the largest, to pass administrative fines for not following health measures. Napa and Marin counties this month enacted similar fines of up to $5,000 and $10,000, respectively, for businesses.
Officers designated by the director of Health Services, the director of Conservation and Development, and the Sheriff’s Office will enforce the ordinance. The county has received about 200 complaints from residents reporting businesses and individuals that allegedly broke health order rules.
Individuals and businesses that are fined will have the option to appeal the fine within 10 days.
Officials have said they are focusing more on businesses than individuals — such as if businesses are open when health orders require that they shut down, or if business owners are not enforcing mask-wearing among their workers or customers.
Several members of the public called into the virtual meeting to oppose the ordinance, saying it would curtail their individual liberties and that mask-wearing should be voluntary. Supervisors said voluntary compliance and education have not worked to keep infection rates down. Ample research shows that widespread mask-wearing significantly reduces transmission.
Sonoma County and the city of Berkeley are also considering fines for individuals and businesses that do not comply with COVID-19 safety measures.
Vallejo surpasses Fairfield with most Solano Covid-19 cases
Fairfield Daily Republic, by Todd R. Hansen, July 29, 2020
Dr. Bela Matyas, Solano County Public Health Officer
FAIRFIELD — Vallejo has, once again, become the leader in Covid-19 cases in the county.
The city added 49 new confirmed cases to raise its count to 1,142, surpassing Fairfield with 1,124 cases, the Solano County Public Health Division reported Tuesday afternoon.
The total number of cases countywide jumped by 105 to 3,388. The county also reported that hospitalizations climbed back to 50, up from 45 in Monday’s report, and above Friday’s 49 cases. However, the seven-day positivity testing rate fell from 5.9% to 5.8%.
The numbers likely did nothing to turn down the heat on the debate of just how “sick” Solano County really is.
Even Dr. Bela Matyas, the county’s public health officer, has said the numbers offer a mixed message on Covid-19 in the county, but he has said the recent surge is very real and not just the result of big testing numbers.
He told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that because the county is on the state watch list, it will take a great deal of change in the numbers to be taken off that list.
That, in turn, will dictate when businesses can reopen and when students can return to the campus classrooms.
Matyas said there have been discussions about letting elementary school students back in the classrooms because they learn better in that environment, and because of socialization benefits. But trying to keep masks on children, and then have them keep proper distancing, is a nearly impossible task.
Matyas offered that if area residents conducted themselves the same at home or similar social gatherings as they do out in public and at work, with social distancing and other precautions, the problem would be lessened.
He said that 95% of the new cases during the recent surge, say over the past month or so, have been directly linked to social gatherings, and that the last eight residents who have died contracted the disease through family contact.
He did note that there have been some small outbreaks at local assisted-living facilities, as well as the two prisons in Vacaville. But county health surveillance of those facilities caught the presence of the novel coronavirus early and that has helped in controlling the spread.
Vacaville added 15 cases to increase its total to 578, while Suisun City now has 248 cases, up 10, and Dixon added seven cases to reach 179. Benicia’s count is at 80 after six new cases. Rio Vista, with 26 cases, and the unincorporated area of the county, with 11 cases, each added one case.
The number of completed tests is at 50,925, which is 886 more than reported Monday. […continued…]
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