Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: JUNE 2016 9 T he union that represents cor- rections officers in Santa Clara County’s trou- bled jails in California is suing Sheriff Laurie Smith. The lawsuit alleges that Smith violated rules meant to protect the peace officers’ personnel records by releas- ing guards’ text messages to both the media and also the chair of the jails-improve- ment commission. There’s just one problem – a judge has already deter- mined that the contents of those emails, many of which are rife with racist and sexist slurs, are public records. The text messages were found during an internal investigation of a deputy sheriff. The texts were unsealed last November. According to the San Jose Mercury News, Judge Arthur Bocanegra ruled Nov. 17 that the search warrant and “all supporting affidavits, probable cause statements, attachments, and seized documents” were to be unsealed and “made part of the public record.” That seems pretty cut and dry until you dig deeper. Observers say the guards’ lawsuit appears to be con- nected to a long-standing beef between Sheriff Smith and retired Judge LaDoris Cordell. Cordell chaired the jail- improvement commission, which was created after the beating death of a mentally ill inmate – allegedly perpe- trated by three guards now charged with murder. Cordell and the major- ity of the commission have called on the Board of Su- pervisors to seize control of the jails from Smith. They say there are mul- tiple issues – the foremost being transparency. So here’s the timeline: The Mercury News first reported on the content of some of the text messages last December. Those messages created a firestorm of controversy and prompted calls for indepen- dent oversight of the jails. When the story broke, the corrections officers threat- ened to sue the sheriff and the county. But they didn’t actually file the suit until Cordell claimed publicly that Smith showed copies of the mes- sages during a meeting at Hobee’s in Palo Alto on March 3. In a short statement issued by the acting president of the union, Julio Alvarez said the following. “The CPOA is responsi- ble for protecting the rights of our members. It’s clear from Judge Cordell’s emails that there have been seri- ous violations of members’ rights and we are going to court to protect those rights.” The lawsuit seeks an order directing the county and sheriff to abide by the state penal code section that bars disclosure of information contained in peace officers’ personnel records to third parties not involved in the investigations. Considering a judge has ruled the text messages are now (and have been for months) public records, the lawsuit seems like a long shot at best. Corrections union suit over emails a long shot In the course of litigation, timing is paramount 8-bay Charging Dock The Prima Facie® body worn camera collects full motion video while combining even more advanced features; high resolution digital stills greatly enhance the documentation of crime scenes, and audio-only recording is convenient for interviews or collecting witness statements. The automatic IR illuminators allow action to be seen in total darkness, and the 2 inch LCD screen allows recorded media to be instantly reviewed. The unique two-way radio interface allows the Prima Facie to replace existing chest mounted microphones, reducing weight and bulk. Prima Facie provides all of these features without the use of constricting multi-year contracts, giving you the freedom to decide your agency’s own data management plan. Copyright © 2016 Safety Vision, LLC All Rights Reserved. Find out more today! www.safetyvision.com 800.849.9621