San Jose Spotlight
In a frenzied attempt to uncover who's "leaking" details about a councilman accused of child sex crimes to the media, San Jose's top administrators allegedly tried to question more than two dozen police officers -- without informing them of their rights or following an investigatory process.
A legal demand letter sent by the San Jose Police Officers' Association Friday details that stunning accusation, and questions whether San Jose leaders engaged in a cover-up about Councilmember Omar Torres -- the downtown politician accused of soliciting sex with a minor, among other things. San Jose Spotlight exclusively reported last week how at least one elected official's office was warned about Torres' alleged criminal behavior, but a staffer was directed to ignore the message and no action was taken.
The union's letter comes after city leaders ordered San Jose spokesperson Carolina Camarena to ask San Jose Spotlight CEO Ramona Giwargis to reveal her sources, a move that the city manager has since apologized for. In that unusual conversation, Camarena also name-dropped the police union as a source of confidential information on Torres -- a claim the union says is "uninformed, irresponsible and defamatory." The union is demanding a public apology and an investigation into the actions of higher-ups who ordered Camarena to make the bizarre inquiry.
The union's letter says City Hall's controversial actions point to a larger scheme to conceal information on Torres -- and protect others who might've known about his alleged misconduct.
"We are informed and believe that the city recklessly implicated the SJPOA to obfuscate and cover up the potential misdeeds and/or inaction of others, including high-ranking members of city Administration, members of the city council, and/or to unlawfully discover the identity of any whistleblowers, and with the purpose of harming the reputation of the union," Gregg Adam, the union's lawyer, wrote in the letter.
City Manager Jennifer Maguire and City Attorney Nora Frimann denied the union's claims on Friday.
"The letter is unfortunate and inaccurate, and we will be responding to the San Jose Police Officers' Association next week. Our priority continues to be the integrity and continuity of the criminal investigation," Maguire and Frimann told San Jose Spotlight in a joint statement.
The union's letter says city leaders tried to interview 30 officers from the San Jose Police Department's Special Victims Unit for "ad hoc" questioning by their own colleagues in the department's Criminal Investigation Detail. The union alleges that the city's Office of Employee Relations intended to listen in. The intention for the interviews, they added, was connected to the city's "dubious claim that it sought to identify the source of the Spotlight's reporting."
"Deployment of (the Criminal Investigation Detail) to conduct an administrative investigation is itself highly unusual and inconsistent with department policy," the union's letter reads.
The officers were not informed about the nature of the investigation, allegations against them or have union representation, which violates their rights and department procedures.
Union leaders sent rank-and-file police officers a separate email on Thursday lambasting the city.
"The scapegoat tactic to try and lay any blame on the POA, or any of its members, as a media leak and to try and intimidate the independent reporting of journalists and other whistleblowers sure sounds like a cover-up," said union President Steve Slack and Vice President Cat Alvarez. "It is also an affront to anyone who reveres our nation's First Amendment."
Slack and Alvarez said City Hall's "fishing expedition" to uncover sources would've pulled detectives off "an incredibly complex and sensitive case to question them about media leaks."
On Thursday, new court documents revealed the extent of the shocking allegations of child sexual misconduct against Torres.
The filings revealed that Torres is being investigated for "oral copulation of a minor" - and exchanged sexually explicit text messages about minors. The filings also describe texts planning a sexual encounter in which Torres asks a Chicago man he'd been flirting with, Terry Beeks, if he knows any minors. The police filings allege Beeks extorted Torres over the texts and the councilman paid $22,000 to stop him.
In one text exchange included in the police affidavit, Torres asks Beeks if he knows "any homies under 18" while appearing to plan a sexual encounter.
Torres has maintained his innocence. In a Thursday statement through his attorney, he acknowledged the text messages but called them "roleplay."
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