A new report is alleging that police displayed a pattern of violent behavior towards protestors and committed civil rights violations during ongoing "Black Lives Matter" protests in Santa Rosa in June.
The 40-page report by the Sonoma County Commission on Human Rights comes after tense confrontations between police and demonstrators ended with tear gas and rubber bullets.
Commission chair Dmitra Smith says her office was flooded with emails from protestors. "And in hearing the protestors' stories we were just seeing that, you know, they didn’t match at all what was being put out in press releases and at press conferences and the like."
The report includes accounts from several protestors who were detained. "Jail conditions, abuses during arrests, officers not giving their names and badge numbers and also a disproportionate use of force against Black, Indigenous and Latinx (protestors)," said Smith.
One protestor alleges he was shot in the face with a sting ball grenade, an injury that required surgery. Another says police were not reading people their rights as they were arrested. Several protestors say women were harassed and officers appeared to be cavalier about coronavirus risks and did not take steps to prevent the spread of the virus among protestors. One said the majority of officers were not wearing face coverings.
Smith says the report shows the most recent in a string of clashes between police and people of color in Santa Rosa.
"When Black Lives Matter happened, there was already a boiling point in the county that’s just been there a long time," she told KCBS Radio. "For too long we’ve just had killings and severe injuries and grotesque use of force. And we might have some listening sessions and then people move on. And what we really need is oversight."
The report is calling for a more comprehensive and independent review of the city’s police department, disciplinary action including termination for officers involved, a ban on military style equipment and an end to a crowd control practice known as “kettling” where officers wrangle protestors into a confined space.
The report has been submitted to the Santa Rosa City Council and Sonoma County Board of Supervisors.
Santa Rosa Mayor Tom Schwedhelm says the city will be releasing a statement in response to the report later Tuesday.