In August of 2011, after the beating death of Kelly Thomas by Fullerton police officers at the downtown train station area, the City hired Michael Gennaco of the Office of Independent Review (OIR Group) to independently investigate and make recommendations.
In the 2012 report, Gennaco made 59 recommendations on how to improve police department operations, most of which were made during that year, according to then-Acting Police Chief Dan Hughes (who replaced Chief Sellers, who resigned). (See the Link for the complete report at the end of the article)
Unfortunately, the Fullerton Police Department purges records every five years, as do most law enforcement and local city and county governments, citing California law requiring retention for at least five years. So, anyone wanting to review records older than five years (except in the case of ongoing litigation) is generally out of luck.
However, according to the Gennaco report, though the practice of purging records every five years is not unusual among law enforcement agencies, the California law that requires retention for at least five years – “is a floor, not a ceiling. Purging documents limits a longer review of FPD culture and, in the case of employee misconduct, prevents the City from fully responding to Brady requests and inquiries from other agencies should a separate officer seek employment with them.”
Results of the “Systematic Review of the Fullerton Police Department” were presented to the city council and the public on August 21, 2012. Recommendations covered hiring practices, training, use of force, various policy issues, and more. While Gennaco found no “culture of corruption” at the department, he did find a “culture of complacency” in operations, including supervision, training, and communication. He commended Chief Hughes and the department for implementing most of the recommendations in the report.
Some of the recommendations made in the final “Systemic Review of the Fullerton Police Department – August 2012”:
Recommendation 1: The Department should work with the City to develop a corps of officers specially trained and committed to interacting with the homeless population so that there can be round-the-clock coverage by a homeless liaison officer.
Recommendation 21: FPD leadership should continue to encourage its line officers and supervisors to engage with the Fullerton community in a manner consistent with a true community policing model.
Recommendation 23: FPD supervisors should be exposed and must regularly acquaint themselves with ethics-based leadership principles.
Recommendation 27: FPD should continue with its new orientation of recruiting police candidates from diverse resources.
Recommendation 28: FPD should reorient officers’ philosophy with regard to the use of force by promoting alternatives to force to resolve situations in the field.
Recommendation 37: FPD should modify its Taser use policy to rule out more than three applications of the Taser and to prohibit prolonged Taser applications.
Recommendation 40: FPD should develop a policy that would prohibit officers who used, directed, or witnessed force from interviewing the person upon whom force was used or civilian witnesses about the force incident.
Recommendation 47: FPD should develop protocols so that training staff reviews force incident investigations and provides meaningful input in an individual and systemic way to improve the training of officers.
Recommendation 52: FPD should make effective use of the one-year probationary period for newly hired employees and should not hesitate to remove officers should concerns about the officers’ performance be identified.
Recommendation 53: FPD should develop protocols to ensure that complaint response letters address each of the allegations raised by the complainant.
Recommendation 57: FPD should develop protocols that would extend the purging of internal affairs investigations and disciplinary records to at least five years beyond the employment end date of the employee.
Recommendation 59: The City should consider creating an independent model of oversight to ensure its Police Department objectively and thoroughly investigates critical incidents and allegations of misconduct and renders objective disciplinary decisions.
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Categories: Local Government, Local News
Wow – FFFF commenters are so obsessed but obviously failed to even bother to read the Gennaco report or the over a year of Observer reporting on everything connected to the unacceptable killing of Kelly Thomas. Your always false personal attacks on my family are weird too.
Glad to know you believe the Kelly Thomas murder was “unacceptable.” Almost like a pillow fight that got a bit out of control.
So, your brother was not removed from his CEO position at Orange County Human Relations Commission by the Orange County Board of Supervisors?
Sharon Kennedy’s mantra when called out on her short sighted conclusions regarding most social, political and economic complexities the Fullerton Observer often cuts and pastes from other media sources ” . . . obviously failed to even bother to read . . . ” Here is an eye-opener fact, Sharon, many people who challenge your assumptions graduated from college where reading comprehension required to get a degree. Did you graduate from college and dropping ourt of the first semester of the 13th grade aka Fullerton Community College does not count. My apologies to those who did not graduate from college but do grasp the enormity of humanity.
Who paid for the Gennaco Report?
Fullerton “cop bootlicker” Observer concerns itself with improving Fullerton Police Department? Sharon Kennedy, “editor” of this “newspaper” and sister of Rusty “cop bootlicker” Kennedy, the deposed director of Orange County Human Relations Commission, publishes Gennaco’s report that frosted over the beating to death of a homeless, disabled man by Fullerton police in full uniform and in full view of the public. When this murder occurred , the Fullerton Observer posted on its back pages an article scantily outlining the details of this horror and labeled it an “altercation”. Putting Gennaco Report into context, it arose from the city of Fullerton’s municipal government pressing need to hide the fact its police force had a history of gross civil rights abuses against Fullerton’s community. My suggestion to Fullerton “cop bootlicker” Observer is to refrain from commenting further on the murder of a homeless, disabled man by Fullerton Police Department because it is biased entity.
Zenger – I can see from your comment you didn’t read the 53-page OIR Gennaco report. There is a link to the complete report at the end of the article. Not perfect – but though his investigative group misses some big things – like Rincon – it does cover a lot including the sharing issue and the false claims and makes good recommendations. The trouble, in part, with the report is that the police department and city destroys records every five years. California law requires that records be kept for a minimum of five years – but Gennaco said that does not mean records can’t be kept longer and he recommended they expand the purge date. We should demand that they keep records. The city website has been scrubbed of very important documents because of that minimum requirement.
I agree on the records thing. I think at the very least 20 would fit the pace of development in OC… I’ve seen some places that keep every document for over 40!
Kennedy Gennaco ignored Chief “I Hired Them All” McKinley’s 20 year reign of error including importing goons from LAPD, including a one-eyed cop already on disability – Cicinelli, and yes, keeping Rincon on the streets (along with who knows who else). Then there’s the veritable crime wave that went on in the aughts, brutality, perjury, theft, sexual assault, etc. that kept going into the teens. Yet you think the big solution was keeping paperwork. Absolutely pathetic. Typical, but pathetic.
Zenger – Zenger – Zenger – all that (except notably rincon) was in Gennaco report which I urge you to read (it’s at end of article). Luckily the Observer kept the report and so could provide a copy. The city and police department purge documents older than five years and no longer have it. My point is that critical documents like this report should be kept forever. Were you an Observer reader back in 2005 when, alerted by good cops in the department) we did reports on the corrupt police department at that time that led to OC Grand Jury report? Of course you weren’t- as you aren’t now. Try actually reading before you complain.
Then the variety program moved to comedy.
“While Gennaco found no “culture of corruption” at the department…” Like Danny Hughes watching the video of the KT murder “400 times?” Like sharing the video with former police chief and then Councilmember Pat McKinley? Like the cop Rubio who testified at the trial that the three goons were in compliance with policy – a deliberate attempt to undermine the DAs case? Like Andrew Goodrich, the serial liar who claimed KT broke some cops’ bones?
Yeah that Gennaco report was real credible.
Kennedy? Kennedy? Kennedy?