Santa Barbara City Police Declared Exemplary

The Santa Barbara Police Department got a near standing ovation from members of its Fire & Police Commission, who all praised the police department, its command staff, and Police Chief Kelly Gordon for the department’s “levels of effort, transparency, and data reporting” as being “exemplary.” The commission was revamped in the wake of the George Floyd murder of 2020 to provide a forum for the community to address potential issues of excessive force, police misconduct, and the possibility of ethnically based “bias by proxy.”

According to the first official commission statement, penned by Commission Chair Linda Dozer, there was a 37 percent reduction in use-of-force incidents over the last year, bringing the total from 147 to 93. Last year, the statement noted, there had been 26 complaints of officer misconduct, of which eight were sustained.

So far this year, there have been two. Both are currently under investigation; one was for failure to take reasonable action, and the other was for being disrespectful and discourteous in dealing with a member of the pubic. One of the complaints was filed by a member of the public; the other came from department administrators. “The numbers speak for themselves,” declared Dozer, a former FBI agent.

The commissioners got a significant data dump at last week’s hearing: The ethnic makeup of the police department closely mirrors that of the community at large: 55.5 percent of the city’s population and 51 percent of the sworn officers in the department are white; 36 percent of the city’s population and 33 percent of the department is Hispanic; 1.5 percent of the city’s population is African American, and 3.38 percent of the department is categorized as either Asian or African American.

Though 75 percent of the sworn officers are male and 24.6 percent are female, the department’s leadership is split 50-50 based on gender; nationally, only 4 percent of leadership positions are held by female officers.

City police detain roughly 850 individuals per month: 47 percent white, 41 percent Hispanic, and 6 percent African American. Of those arrested without a warrant, 10.45 were Black, 13.99 were Hispanic, and 9.9 were white.

Commander Charles Katsapis said the data was examined to determine whether there was evidence of “bias by proxy,” meaning whether members of underrepresented communities were overrepresented when it came to police action. “I don’t see any massive anomalies that are cause for concern.” Commissioner Lizzie Rodriguez said the results should reassure members of the communities inclined to be afraid of police to be “less scared.”

Commission Co-Chair Gary Hill was no less enthusiastic, stating, “I think this is incredible. I think the proof is in the pudding.” Hill had another meeting to attend, so time for greater discussion and dissection of the data was limited.

No mention was made during the meeting that former police sergeant Brian Larson — once head of the department’s detectives division — would be facing a termination action in front of the city’s Civil Service Commission later this week answering allegations that he created a hostile work environment for female officers under his command. Larson, who enjoyed a reputation as a talented if abrasive detective, had been recommended for termination two years ago after an internal investigation concluded that 11 out of 13 allegations against him had been substantiated. Larson’s Civil Service hearing started behind closed doors this Monday and is scheduled to conclude this Wednesday. The specific details of internal investigations are not shared with members of the commission.