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 Bikers, activists want review panel to oversee complaints about Modesto Police |
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| Bikers, activists want review panel to oversee complaints about Modesto Police |
   
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A diverse group of bikers, lawyers and civil rights activists Tuesday urged the Modesto City Council to create a police oversight board to address complaints of officer misconduct.
They spoke up for members of the Most Envied motorcycle club, a mostly Latino outfit from west Modesto whose members claim police harass them without cause by pulling them over continually and asking leading questions.
Many of the speakers took exception to police assertions that Most Envied members were affiliated with outlaw motorcycle gangs, such as the Hells Angels.
"If there are crimes going on out there, prosecute these individuals to the full extent of the law," said Mo- desto attorney Ruben Villalobos, who said he grew up with many Most Envied members. "If the crimes aren't there, let these people ride their bikes."
Council members encouraged Most Envied members to file formal complaints with the Police Department. Those documents trigger internal investigations that could lead to discipline.
Without them, council members said, the city has little evidence to support the grievances claimed by Most Envied.
"The policies and procedures are there for you to go in as a citizen and say this happened to me and it was wrong," Councilman Will O'Bryant said.
The hearing put a bookend to a discussion that began last week when about 100 bikers from a half-dozen motorcycle clubs attended a council meeting to support Most Envied. Their presence caught city officials by surprise, and about a dozen officers watched the meeting in the council chamber.
About 60 bikers from the same clubs attended Tuesday's meeting. They represented the same mix of clubs -- Most Envied, Hells Angels, Jus Brothers, Top Hatters and a few others. Only one uniformed police officer was present at the meeting, although a few higher-ranking ones attended, too.
Council members did not say whether they supported the concept of a police oversight board.
Representatives from the Stanislaus County chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People issued the strongest calls for a police oversight board with subpoena power to recover key documents.
Police Chief Roy Wasden said his officers do their jobs fairly.
He pointed to the low rate of citizen complaints filed against the department, which usually gets about 60 complaints a year out of an average of 176,000 cases or enforcement actions.
"I would suggest to you that's not indicative of a police department that's out of control," he said.
Several Most Envied members described specific run-ins with police when they were pulled over and not issued citations, or were detained by officers.
George Garcia, 33, was one of them. He said he gets pulled over often and was slammed against a car last week by a sheriff's deputy.
"If (Most Envied) were an outlaw club, I wouldn't be in the club, because I don't need that," he said.
Four people at the meeting paid tribute to Helen White, the west Modesto community activist who died Friday.
Councilman Dave Lopez, who grew up on the city's west side, described her as an inspiration for young people there. Mayor Jim Ridenour, NAACP representative Frank Johnson and community activist Salvador Vera also praised her work.
http://www.modbee.com/local/story/354282.html
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09.07.2008 12:47 |
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