Issue link: http://cp.revolio.com/i/1731
56 AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: MAY 2009 When the Drug Enforcement Agency raided a licensed medical marijuana clinic in San Francisco recently, the federal agency did not inform the local police department it would be carrying out the raid, says San Francisco Police Department Sgt. Lyn Tomioka. "It isn't something we assisted them in," she told the San Francisco Chronicle in a recent interview. She added that she has not yet heard from the DEA regarding state or local violations. "I don't expect to hear from them." The DEA's strained relationships with other law enforcement agen- cies and prosecutors is an indica- tion of resistance to evolving drug policies regarding decriminalization, compassionate-use ordinances, and state laws currently on the books in thirteen states with more on the way. Some perceived the raid as a challenge to the authority of newly sworn U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. The A.G. made an offi cial announcement months ago that raid- ing medical marijuana dispensaries and clinics would no longer be a pri- ority of Federal law enforcement. But when reporters called Hold- er's offi ce for comment, the White House referred calls to the Justice Department, which referred calls to the DEA. The DEA said that state law had been violated but would not detail what law or how. Florida's State Attorney Willie Meggs has refused to prosecute cases involving the DEA, and advised state and local law enforcement not to work in collaboration with the Federal agency. For years, San Jose police offi cers have been accused by the public and the media of race-based policing or racial profi ling. And now, after con- cerns over department arrest statis- tics have reached a fever pitch, San Jose offi cials have called in a team of social scientists to examine if racial profi ling of Hispanics occurs. City offi cials have said that a new- ly formed group, the Consortium for Police Leadership in Equity, will study the department and make rec- ommendations for ways to change policies, procedures and training. An offi cial with the consortium said that San Jose Police Chief Rob Davis has been so amenable to their goals that they may make the department a "fl agship" of important national police research, according to recent article in the San Jose Mer- cury News. The request comes as a task force appointed by City Manager Debra Figone is studying why San Jose police have arrested more people for public drunkenness in recent years than any other department in the state. The arrest totals show a dispropor- tionate number of Latinos, a pattern not found in other large cities or even in statewide totals. Offi cials including Mayor Chuck Reed, Police Chief Rob Davis, and Figone are pinning their hopes on the consortium, which already has been called in to study other depart- ments like Denver to mitigate the allegations of profi ling. About 57 percent of those charged with public drunkenness in San Jose are Hispanic, state figures show, though the city's population is less than one-third Latino. A task force put in place by the city to look into allegations of pro- fi ling says the involvement of the consortium is a way to disempower the task force. Task force member Skyler Porras, who heads the San Jose American Civil Liberties Union, called the city's enlistment of the consortium "an end run" around the task force, and "a bumbling way to appease a scandal-plagued but politically powerful police department." The consortium, funded through grants, is made up mostly of univer- sity researchers who likely would spend time interviewing San Jose offi cers and the public, reviewing statistics, and studying department policies. But offi cials with the consortium were quick to point out that they weren't in anyone's pocket. "We are independent," said Phillip Atiba Goff, the consortium's execu- tive director of research. "The police department does not pay us. They don't have to like what we end up saying. We are not interested in put- ting a pretty face on everything." The consortium's fi rst major initia- tive is underway in Denver. Numbers to be studied DEA to A.G. Holder: "We just didn't think you meant that stuff about no raids on medical marijuana." San Jose looks to independent body after allegations Circle number 159 on the Reader Service Card. Reliable Push-to-Talk Always Ready Never Out of Touch SkyTerra Communications 10802 Parkridge Boulevard, Reston, VA 20191-4334 Tel: +1 703 390 2700 www.skyterra.com