Police Chief: no evidence of misconduct at Pier
by Garth Meyer
Redondo Beach Police found no evidence of officer misconduct after reviewing body camera footage of an April incident at the new Pier skatepark, during which a 19-year-old alleges an officer “stomped” on his board, sending him flying through the air into a fire hydrant.
Footage reviewed included that of the arresting officer, whom the male skateboarder alleges used excessive force when he was leaving the skate park April 21, after police arrived to clear out skateboarders.
Redondo Beach Police Captain John Naylor and Professional Standards Unit Sergeant Mark Valdivia reviewed the body camera footage, as did Chief Joe Hoffman.
“There’s no basis for us to initiate an internal affairs investigation based on video of the actual incident occurring,” said Chief Hoffman, adding that an investigation would be opened if the subject files a formal complaint.
The skateboarder maintains he has not done so because he fears retaliation.
He was arrested for resisting arrest, delaying arrest, and skateboarding on the Pier (outside the skate park).
The 14-year-old brother of the suspect’s girlfriend told Easy Reader he witnessed the officer make contact with the suspect’s board with his boot as he skated away from the park toward the parking garage.
The suspect also said that, upon his arrest, he gave his phone to a Redondo police officer, which his girlfriend subsequently found hours later lying broken on Artesia Boulevard, after tracking it.
A video taken by another skateboarder at the Pier park April 21 shows police running toward sounds of yelling. The suspect is then seen on the ground, being handcuffed by an officer next to a fire hydrant, as other police converge. The suspect said no officers other than the arresting officer were on the Pier walkway when the alleged incident took place.
The officer never told him to stop or turn around, the suspect said.
“I’m not that dumb, I’m not going to evade a police officer,” he said.
The new park opened in early April.
“It was very popular, (people) were not complying with hours of operation, it required a large response from the police department to maintain order. A lot of the (skateboarders) were noncompliant,” Hoffman said.
The chief added that since the April 21 incident, signage has been improved (closing time is sunset), and private security has been hired to monitor the site.
“It’s a challenging location because it’s not fenced-off completely,” Hoffman said. “Ever since the incident, we’ve seen a significant increase in voluntary compliance. We’ll look at adding measures such as more lighting and cameras.”
“Now that the skate park has been open, and some of the newness has worn off, our complaints have significantly decreased,” Hoffman said. “I would encourage anyone who feels the police department has (acted inappropriately) to contact the professional standards unit about a complaint.”
The suspect’s Notice to Appear in court is July 20.
“If any member of the public has information, we encourage them to contact Sergeant Valdivia at mark.valdivia@redondo.org,” said Hoffman.
Since original publication of this article, identifying information of the suspect and arresting officer has been deleted.ER