The City Council in Santa Ana, Calif. voted this week against reinstating a police officer who was fired following an infamous marijuana dispensary raid caught on camera.
Council members voted 4-3 in favor of challenging the reinstatement of Santa Ana Police Officer Brandon Sontag during a closed session Tuesday before formally filing their appeal in Orange County Superior Court this week, city spokeswoman Alma Flores told the O.C. Register.
Mr. Sontag and three other members of the Santa Ana Police Department came under fire following a controversial raid conducted in May 2015 against a local marijuana dispensary, Sky High Holistic. Sky High’s attorney released surveillance footage in the aftermath that suggested Mr. Sontag stole food from the pot shop and attempting to destroy one of its CCTV cameras, spurring criminal charges and the termination of all three officers involved.
After being fired by Police Chief Carlos Rojas, Mr. Sontag appealed to the city’s personnel board and was subsequently reinstated following a 5-2 vote last year. The City Council took aim at that decision earlier this month, however, and decided following further debate Tuesday to appeal that ruling.
Reinstating Mr. Sontag in light of the tape-recorded incident reflects conflicting views on police discipline, Ms. Flores indicated to the Register this week. The City Council entered their appeal in Superior Court prior to a Wednesday afternoon filing deadline, she said, though attempts to obtain a copy from both the city spokeswoman’s office and the Superior Court website were not immediately successful.
The three dissenters who votes against appealing the officer’s resignation – Mayor Miguel Pulido, Jose Solorio and Juan Villegas – previously received financial support from the local police officers’ union in the form of roughly $400,000 worth of campaign contributions, the Voice of O.C. reported Wednesday.
Councilman David Benavides, who voted in favor of the appeal, denounced his dissenting colleagues during Tuesday’s vote, local media reported.
“We have an opportunity tonight to hold an officer accountable for actions that he took under the color of authority, after having our management release him from his position … and you voted against filing that appeal to hold this person responsible,” Mr. Benavides said, according to the Voice of O.C.
The president of the local police union, meanwhile, raised concerns Wednesday over the officer’s initial firing.
“The citizen Personnel Board in fact overturned Chief Rojas’s decision. The evidence proved the discipline and investigation at the direction of Chief Rojas was mishandled,” Santa Ana Police Officers Association President Gerry Serrano said in a statement. “When our members make a mistake they expect to be held accountable as long as it’s reasonable, consistent and done in a legal manner. These are the same rights any citizen is entitled to when confronted in any legal process.”
Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna declined to comment on pending litigation, but confirmed Sontag “is not currently employed by the city of Santa Ana,” the Register reported. The two other officers fired following the raid, Nichole Quijas and Jorge Arroyo, are still appealing their termination.
Sky High was awarded an $100,000 settlement last year by the city in response to a lawsuit brought over the 2015 raid.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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