An independent probe commissioned by Santa Ana Police Chief David Valentin has concluded that an elite team of officers sharing skull tattoos and implicated in an off-duty assault allegation is not operating as an illegal police gang.
However, the report by the Playa del Rey-based OIR Group also noted serious lapses in the handling by Santa Ana officers of a sexual assault allegation involving members of the department’s Major Enforcement Team in August 2020.
In all, the report appeared to clear the eight-member team of violating state law against police gangs, which prohibits “rogue” groups that violate the law while on duty. OIR investigators stressed that the group has not been involved in any officer shootings since its formation in 2020 and used force in only 3% of its nearly 2,000 arrests.
“Too often, crime suppression teams have taken their mandate to address dangerous behavior as a license to engage in harassment and excessive force toward targeted groups — often without proper supervision and accountability,” the OIR report said. “We do not have reason to believe this is true in Santa Ana.”
The report, however, warned the team against taking an “us against them” attitude.
While it was completed last month, the report was not released until Wednesday, April 5.
Vallentin, in a video posted on the department’s website, addressed the report, saying, “All of this is a testament to the team’s preparedness, restraint, self-discipline and tactics.”
Off-duty incident probed
Valentin ordered the investigation last May amid allegations, some from Santa Ana officers, that the team created by the chief was excessively violent but was protected by the police brass. Investigations of alleged misconduct by team members were whitewashed, critics said.
They pointed to the alleged late-night assault at a Mexican restaurant in August 2020. Two teenage girls alleged they were assaulted and harassed by men at a table said to be occupied by…
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