SANTA CRUZ — The Santa Cruz Police Department, responding to allegations of racial bias made public this week by a Bay Area woman, announced an internal investigation into officers’ conduct.
In a Facebook post, the department addresses community concerns arising in the wake of Kulwa Apara’s publication Monday of an essay titled “VIP While Black: The True Story of a Black Woman’s Assault in the Liberal Town of Santa Cruz, CA.” Apara wrote on the site medium.com that she had purchased VIP tickets at the Catalyst nightclub for a Bone Thugs-N-Harmony concert more than a year ago when she was assaulted by the venue’s security guards and improperly ejected from the property. Her essay goes on to include allegations against Santa Cruz police officers responding to the scene.
Efforts to contact Apara for comment this week were unsuccessful. Catalyst representatives said Thursday that they were trying to make contact with Apara in the wake of her essay. The management, an official said, is taking the issue seriously.
In its statement, posted to Facebook, the department also said it takes seriously any allegations of discrimination or racism.
“The victim is a woman, African American, and Muslim, which is relevant to the complaint’s designation as a Category One complaint. A complaint based on racial discrimination, prejudice, or bias,” the statement read, in part.
According to recorded 911 audio from Dec. 21, 2019, an ambulance was dispatched at 11:44 p.m. to the Catalyst for a reported assault victim and police officers were simultaneously on their way to the scene.
The police department’s post rebuffed several points in Apara’s piece, including asserting that it had recorded her as a victim of assault, not a suspect, and that the department filed the case with the Santa Cruz District Attorney’s Office within three days of the incident.
Santa Cruz County District Attorney Jeff Rosell said Thursday that his office’s records showed the police department forwarded police reports Dec. 27 for a related misdemeanor battery case.
“Three individuals, including Ms. Apara, were listed as suspect/victims,” Rosell said. “It means when the police department sent this over for a misdemeanor battery, they listed three people that were suspects-slash-victims. One is a suspect and the other half of that is a victim.”
Generally, Rosell said, complaints come to his office where someone is both a victim and a suspect in a crime based on cross allegations of the people involved.
Michael J. Gennaco, who has been contracted as the City of Santa Cruz’s independent police auditor for the past year, said he was informed recently that Santa Cruz Police Department was undertaking an internal investigation of its officers related to Apara’s allegations. He said he believed that the department has had the investigation for “some time,” but was unable to provide specifics.
The department has already begun providing some of the materials of its investigation for Gennaco’s review, he said. Ultimately, he audits the outcome of the investigation to assess for objectivity, fairness, timeliness and, to the degree there is a result, that the result is based on principle and evidence. An annual report of such audits, along with the auditor’s findings and recommendations, are typically shared once a year with the Santa Cruz City Council’s Public Safety Committee.
Later, according to police, a synopsis of the investigation will be made public through the department’s online “transparency portal” on its website.
The department is asking witnesses or those who have information about the incident to send it to Santa Cruz Police Department Professional Standards Sgt. Scott Garner at sgarner@citysantacruz.com.
Editor’s update: This article has been updated a response from the Catalyst.
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