Well El Cajon has made national headlines, and again not shedding this community in a good light. This comes after the police involved shooting of Alfred Olango by ECPD officer Richard Gonsalves last week.
Well El Cajon has made national headlines, and again not shedding this community in a good light. This comes after the police involved shooting of Alfred Olango by ECPD officer Richard Gonsalves last week.
Unexpectedly, I was caught in the middle of the first protest that started from the police station, blocked the intersection of Magnolia and Main as they then made their way up Main Street, completely halting traffic as they travelled on the road. As far as police presence at that time I saw only one officer in his car on Main, unable to move, but talking on his radio. But the protestors were met later by a strong force of police officers as they made their way to the original site of the incident.
At that time, protestors were loud, interruptive, and some foul, but I witnessed no violence and considered this part of the protest a peaceful one. But things quickly changed as protests continued through the week.
I barely made it back from a function on Friday to see the entire press release that showed both the surveillance video and the video given to the ECPD. I was terrified that nothing would be done by Friday and the protest would worsen over the weekend. I am thankful that ECPD Chief Jeff Davis, El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells, District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, and all involved in the investigation released the videos to the public and media on Friday. It was the right thing to do, and though there were still protests and some arrests, I believe it calmed the brewing storm in El Cajon——for the moment.
The Local ACLU chapter is questioning the ECPD’s decisions in declaring unlawful assembly twice over the weekend and many are convinced that the shooting was unwarranted and racially motivated, especially since Olango was unarmed and pulled out an electronic smoking device.
I have to say that I am still unsure what position to take on this convoluted issue. There are points on both sides that deserve attention and it is my hope, moving forward, that those involved think about the consequences of their decisions. There is one thing for sure that I believe should happen. If they cannot prove without a doubt that the shooting was justified, this incident should go to trial and not be concluded internally. There is already a great amount of distrust with police departments and too many times everything is handled internally, leaving many questions unanswered and the public guessing at what was accomplished. A trial would take the brunt force off of the police department and the District Attorney’s office and allow a jury to make the decisions concerning this case.
And let’s face it. Both Gonzales and Olango have skeletons that are no longer in the closet, and in neither case does any of the information on either of them help them in this case. The internal investigation of Gonzales’ sexual harassment charges did not sit well with the public, even though he was reprimanded and demoted. And Olango’s past run-ins with police, attempts to deport him in the past do not help his case at all. I am anxious to see if a toxicology report will be released to clear any misconceptions of his behavior during the incident. But either way, there are strong points against each of them and the public is still waiting for many answers. Many are asking me why didn’t they taser him earlier before he drew his arms out and these are the types of questions I cannot answer at this time.
Polls are showing a big divide in how people are viewing this incident and by a small margin, most believe that it was a justified shooting. But the margin of the “unsure” in polling could turn that number 180 degrees. So please, keep the transparency going as much and as soon as possible and by all means address all of the concerns of the citizens, and the ACLU. Too many times, police officers are held unaccountable under the “just cause” clause. We cannot afford this incident to fall under this guise.
And by the way, are you reconsidering the possibility of having a ECPD Citizen’s Oversight Committee? That might need to be brought back to the table.
