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Hello.

Thanks for joining us for sustaining us here on KLCS PBS.

I'm David Nazar.

We're hearing a lot these days about police reform.

This became much more of an issue here in the US after the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd during the summer of 2020.

Then more demands for police reform in January 2023, after the Memphis police killing of Tyree Nichols.

Protesters, activists, politicians, they all demanded change, whether defunding the police, federalizing the police or some kind of reform.

This is a complicated problem.

Most folks agree the vast majority of police officers are brave and good people who do everything possible to keep our communities safe.

And demonizing all cops?

Well, it's just not fair.

With that said, obviously, yes, there are problem cops out there like Minneapolis, like Memphis and other cities where some police departments must improve.

So we ask the question, just how does law enforcement make those improvements when necessary?

To find some answers, we travel to Orange County, California, and the city of Santa Ana, a city that's had many of its own policing issues over the years.

We hit the streets with a Santa Ana police chief to try and get a better idea of how cops and community co-exist for a better future.

So this is your hood.

This is your neighborhood.

Yeah, it is.

It is.

This is kind of a flashback here.

This.

This corner here.

Thousand Westbrook and Shelton spent a lot of time here.

Santa Ana police chief David Valentine is a proud native of this great city.

Chief Valentine spent his childhood in high school years here, admittedly had some run ins with the cops, got involved with the wrong crowd, gave his mom and grandma some added stress, to say the least.

And yet, some years later, graduated university with honors, got several degrees and then returned here for a career in law enforcement and entire life in Santa Ana, California.

And when many Santa Ana natives leave this city in the hopes of finding a new life, David Valentine chose to remain and give back to his community.

As a young rookie officer over 30 years ago, one of his first assignments was, of all things, patrolling this intersection, his street.

Back in the day, the department had asked him to reach out to some of the residents here to collectively decide if this neighborhood should be accessible to the public, given its danger zone.

What you had in the 1970s and 1980s was this street.

Brooks Street ran all the way west to Bristol, major thoroughfare.

So a lot of part of the crime that occurred here.

Shootings and shooting gallery, as we call it, heroin sales, and that people would just literally drive by and then they're on a major thoroughfare and head north or south.

So here I am.

Imagine I'm a rookie officer and I'm knocking on doors.

The apartment complex is here, and I had friends that lived here.

And so they see me in this uniform now, and I'm asking them about, what do you think?

And of course, the response was, yes, we want it shut down because we need we need additional safety.

It's dangerous here.

Chief Valentine's outreach years ago on behalf of the Santa Ana Police Department helped lead to new traffic engineering out here.

The city was trying to find ways to keep the kids and parents of this troubled intersection safe.

In part, this was the beginning of what was to be a citywide campaign to try and rid Santa Ana of the overwhelming gang violence, homicides, robberies, drug warfare, crime and graffiti that had plagued this area.

Well, fast forward to today.

There is a new outreach of sorts.

And David Valentine, now chief of his department, is once again trying to lead the way and for good reason.

Santa Ana is trying to rewrite history in a manner of speaking some of its policing history.

It's a given that over the decades, the department has had thousands of brave officers like Valente, who have unconditionally put their lives on the line to protect the residents of the city.

This cannot be argued.

This is a fact.

These officers have been and are today heroes to many in this community.

With that said, over the decades, this urban metropolitan Orange County city of over 300,000 people has also witnessed its share of policing problems.

This is also a fact that cannot be argued.

Critics have cited things like a cop versus community mentality, police abuse officer misconduct, civil rights violations, multimillion dollar lawsuits, lack of oversight and accountability, a lack of transparency, and what some say was a public distrust of the Santa Ana Police Department.

This has been documented over the years in TV news reports, newspaper articles, legal filings.

These are issues that Santa Ana police chief David Valentine is not going to argue over today.

Many in this city, even including some of the critics, say Valentine is affecting change and improving the department and the city like never before.

Chief Valentine said this effort began with what he terms sustainable policing, which involves inclusion, investment, outreach and genuine community engagement.

This toy giveaway here in the chief's old neighborhood is a good example.

Because of the pandemic, we had to adjust on how we engage the community safely.

So what we came up with was pop up community events.

And so whether it's, you know, traffic safety, bicycle safety or we just want to touch base with, you know, families and kids in the neighborhood and provide them items that are that are donated to us.

We just announced on social media where we're going to be we show up and and and engage, you know, kids, families.

And it's just an opportunity to say, hello, how are you?

How are things going?

Here's a little something.

Let me introduce you to my.

Come on in here.

Come on in here.

So, so.

So this is the team is part of the team.

Melissa and Nancy.

They are our police service officers.

So they're responsible for getting that information out to the community, saying today, this mid-morning, we're going to be at the corner of Broken Shelton.

And we have some goodies.

And so, again, it's just an opportunity to engage children, families, let them know that we're here for them.

And again, it's very important that we focus on this.

This is a large part of what we do.

Come on down.

Come on, Eileen.

There was just no one get us when I was going, okay?

Okay.

She.

She.

She's going to go with this or not?

Na na na.

Surprise.

Teens.

Okay.

Okay.

I used to go.

Okay, Steph.

Have a great day.

Okay.

Our killer plan was for the little one.

I have a barb.

Okay, Perfect.

Perfect.

Perfect.

Okay.

Musical train.

I bet I met a homeless rookie.

Today's toy giveaway.

Like many recent Sapd outreach events, has been a success for the department and the community.

As Valentine says, it's all about banding together when this happens.

According to police statistics, there is less gang violence in these high risk neighborhoods, fewer shootings, less crime and greater trust of law enforcement.

Sort of a new and improved Santa Ana.

And yet sometimes there are reminders of the past.

For example, something interesting happened while we were out here with the chief as he was talking to neighbors and handing out toys.

This resident approached me.

She was first thanking me for organizing the toy giveaway.

I told her I had nothing to do with the event.

I was a news reporter interviewing the chief.

That's when she began telling me about some of her safety concerns here the gangs, the violence, the cars speeding through this intersection.

So I asked the chief to speak with her.

Although here's the thing.

She changed her story when talking to the chief.

Instead of complaining, she kept praising him for the toy giveaway.

I asked the chief about this back in the car.

Why the mixed message?

It was an interesting dynamic.

I don't know if you noticed that as she began to tell me her concerns.

When you and some of the other officers walked over, she sort of changed her tune and then she started praising you guys as if she was a little bit afraid, a little bit timid to really say what was in her heart about all her fears.

That was an interesting dynamic.

Yes.

Yes, I certainly noticed it as well.

And my my initial thought is that the appreciation of police officers here in the city that makes up the vast majority of this community.

I think people can get kind of, you know, narrow minded perspective when they hear certain narratives.

You can't trust the police.

You can't talk to the police.

And unfortunately, some of this starts with you're in the family with with parents and grandparents and uncles and aunts and, you know, don't don't look towards the police and look this other way.

How do we address that?

We have to continually break down those communication barriers.

I myself, growing up on that very street, I remember my mom telling me, don't go, don't look at the police.

Don't the police will take you away.

You know, if you do something wrong, we've got to change that narrative that the police are here to provide a service, to help, to support.

But we can't get there.

We can't bridge that gap unless that's the family we were talking to earlier.

Yeah, we can't bridge that gap if we don't sit back and say, okay, put ourselves in their shoes and and share as much information as we possibly can.

The other thing, you know, five years ago when I took over as chief, one of the key components of put in place was getting back to the basics.

You know, I didn't reinvent the wheel.

What works what works is encouraging officers that when they're not going from point A to point B on a call for service, that they have the ability to get out of the car and talk to folks.

That talking has led to a better cop community relationship in Santa Ana.

Neighbors don't seem to fear the police as much as they used to in the city.

And officers have a greater patience and empathy for the residents.

Basically, each listens to the other with greater respect, not just hearing each other, really listening.

David Valentine Can take credit for some of that.

As chief, he has had to be a lot of things to a lot of people a politician, a police officer, a partner, a friend, a therapist, whatever the situation requires.

But chief's resume kind of explains why he's qualified to take on these demands.

Chief Valentine was nominated to serve as president of the Orange County Chiefs of Police and Sheriffs Association for 2022 2023.

This is a county that has over 3 million residents.

He's been with Santa Ana P.D.

over 30 years.

The chief is a graduate of the FBI National Academy for California Peace Officer and Standards Training Command College and the Harvard University Program for state and local government leaders.

Those those are important investments in community based engagement and policing to make sure that the people get to know us.

And and we encourage that at every level in the organization.

I make it very clear to my officers that, you know, we're here for the community and we're very blessed by the opportunity to serve in this role.

And yet I hear you and I appreciate you.

Yet, with all that said, why do you believe that there is still fear from the citizenry and the officers?

In other words, it's not just unique to Santa Ana, your department chief.

Really, every senator, every city I've ever reported in.

I've noticed that often when I'm reporting on a story, people want to talk to me and tell me how bad things are.

And then when there are cops around, they sort of change their tune.

Why is there this undercurrent of fear?

Do you believe?

And how can that be true?

Okay.

So sadly, unfortunately, I think it's a narrative that sells, The narrative that sells.

And it's, you know, this kind of from perspective and philosophy that that people can get drug into.

And we're also our own worst enemy when officers engage in misconduct.

And we as leaders don't address that openly and assertively.

That erodes community trust.

No matter how much investment that we have in our community.

We need to make sure that we hold people accountable where, you know, again, we are from the human race.

People make mistakes and they need to be held accountable.

What I as chief will not ever tolerate is for an officer, for example, that consciously disadvantaged is something that there's no room for that unless.

And you said it not mentioned, if I do believe 99% of cops are great, brave, heroic people, but there are 1%, they are just bad cops for everyone, you know.

And I know.

And you can't walk that back.

Correct?

Yeah.

And that's why we need to make sure that it's very clear what our expectations are for officers.

Part of those expectations are written into the chief's five year strategic plan.

Very simply put, this basically defines best policing practices in Santa Ana as part of the plan.

Chief Valentine and the department partnered with the Orange County Human Relations Commission, something that had never been done before.

The chief is trying to improve upon things like oversight and accountability, better consideration and communication of the community and the officers, better behavior and the setting of new goals and objectives for the rank and file.

The chief does not tolerate misconduct from his officers and sets that same standard for himself.

Possibly.

That's part of the reason why he and his department have regained a lot of trust from the community, just as the folks here at the iconic Santa Ana, Bristol SWAT Mall.

Nearly anything and everything is for sale here.

One stop shopping and nearly anyone and everyone knows the chief.

He's part of the family that.

Ran a mutual store, which was the crisis of status.

Oh, wow.

Okay.

You have another key.

I know.

Annual address.

And you're going backpacks.

Pardon me?

He has the alias normally.

Si, si, si, si.

Which was the most elusive.

He get kids look at.

And I guess to be off Quintana's go watch.

It was the bus.

Okay.

Earlier in the car you were talking about de-escalating a situation.

Chief, would it help if your department, your officers had see, for example, field liaisons or facilitators or social workers, someone to help you folks to see if you are reacting to a homeless situation or a domestic disturbance.

Would it help?

It absolutely would help.

It's a focus of our department and has been for the past several years.

Most recently, we contracted with a nonprofit city Net and they partnered with our officers to respond to homeless incidents that are not crime specific.

They just need resources.

They need support.

Wraparound services.

So it's it's a great resource.

The other thing we have in place is crisis negotiators from within the police department.

So we've we've had various successful incidents where we're able to de-escalate defuze and really bring calm to a situation where someone may be experiencing a mental episode and they just need to be heard and then reassured that everything's going to be okay.

Santa Ana residents are being heard more so than in the past.

Part of that has to do with the fact that these days they seem to have more faith in the policing system here, more faith with Chief David Valentine, a city where both cops and community have a voice.

Yes, there's still work to be done.

Policies that can be improved upon, change that can be implemented, relationships that can further be forged.

Possibly a Santa Ana hometown hero can continue to lead the way.

It's special to me personally in that you never want to forget where you came.

Thank you so much to Santa Ana police chief David Valentine and the Santa Ana Police Department.

And now joining me to further the discussion is Officer Selena Lemus.

Officer Lemus is with the Placentia Police Department in Orange County, California.

She's from Placentia, now serving the community where she spent her entire life.

She's been with the department about ten years doing everything from police explorer, traffic cadet, parking patrol officer, now a sworn officer on patrol, Officer Selena Lemus.

Thank you so much for being here.

I thank you for having me.

Let's begin with a lot going on in the news these days.

Officer Lemus, how do you personally walk this fine line as both an officer but also as a citizen?

I mean, you're a human being when you witness, like we all did, the brutal killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, a brutal killing of Tyree Nickels in Memphis.

It was on the news, I ask.

Yes, because obviously you have the unique vantage point, cop and citizen.

How do you bridge that divide, so to speak?

Well, you weren't in a perfectly right policing the city where I grew up.

I always go into everything from a citizen mentality.

You know, this is my city I'm here to protect.

I'm here to provide a job.

Right.

And I think as long as you remember that, that's your purpose there, Right?

People are calling to you for help.

You're there to serve them and do it in a professional.

And yeah, as as professional as you can, you know, and just remembering that you're that you're that service to them, you know?

Yeah.

Is it difficult being a young officer on the force these days or do you kind of just in the first year or two, it's, it's a quick learn.

It has its challenges but like any other job, you adapt and you overcome and you you learn as you go.

I remember we spoke on the phone several months ago when I reached out to you to try and see if I could interview for this report we're working on.

I remember you telling me you had a negative perspective about police.

Talk about that because you had said something like cops were the bad guys.

I mean, you avoided them at all costs.

And then, ironically, of all things, given your opinion about the police back in the day, you joined the Placentia PD as, what was it, an explorer.

Right.

So tell us the personal story.

I think just growing up in the rougher part of town, rougher areas.

I grew up in a very predominantly like traditional Hispanic family where, you know, the women stay at home, the men go to work.

You want nothing to do with the police, You don't associate with them.

You don't talk to them.

You mind your business.

You know, it may be because of fear of retaliation.

I mean, that's often the case.

You don't you just don't want to be associated to them.

So growing up with that fear of don't talk to them, don't let anyone see you speaking to them, because then they're going to say that you're giving information or, you know, you're doing things you're not supposed to.

You always you know, you always ran without even knowing why you were running.

All you heard was the police is coming and it's bye bye.

So I would say just growing up with that fear of don't talk to them, don't engage with them, had a lot to do with it.

And obviously, when I joined as an explorer, I noticed this big divide between the community and the police department and this misconception.

So most likely, Selena, when you were a young girl in Placentia, I was a younger reporter reporting in that city, Placentia and some of the other North Orange County cities were some of the areas I had reported on in Orange County.

I remember that area was predominantly a gang infested area.

I'm sure that's all you knew back in the day.

I even remember when I was out on these stories.

A lot of the people in the community said there was not this togetherness, so to speak, with the Placentia PD and with your community.

But now, as an officer, is there a better cop community relationship in your city?

And if so, how did that happen?

Selena?

Absolutely.

I would say that that gap is definitely closing, and I would say it had to do with the department realizing that there was that issue.

There is that gap there, There is that miscommunication.

So starting programs like we have what's called the Placentia Citizens Academy, we have them both in English and we have one in Spanish for our Latino community.

And just having, you know, officers like myself who grew up here or who grew up in areas very much like the ones that they're in and communicating with them and doing accommodations, you know, maybe they didn't feel comfortable going to the police department to host one of our meetings at our local, you know, community building, if that's what you feel more comfortable with and answering those questions that, like I said earlier, those misconceptions that they've had, I would say programs like that have truly helped us and we could definitely see the changes that it's made and then coming forward and asking more questions than being more open to, you know, reporting crime or, you know, so definitely we we've seen a change.

Here because obviously there has been a change in Placentia and some of the other cities, as I mentioned, in North Orange County, I've reported on it.

And I have to say this, despite the way cops are demonized with many in the media reporting on police incidents, the majority of police officers today, really 99%, are heroes.

It's as simple as that.

But with that said, look, I'm not a Pollyanna.

There are bad cops.

That's just the reality.

What is the best way to not have these bad cop situations in a community and a police department?

In your opinion?

Honestly, just the transparency.

I mean, I can speak for myself and, you know, all cops in this profession, for the most part, we come here to do a job.

And, you know, this is a very noble profession.

It's a very honorable profession.

We take a lot of pride in the type of service that we provide.

And we always strive to do better.

And with times changing, I think, you know, just keeping that transparency with the public is very important.

The body worn cameras, I mean, look at how helpful that's been on on both ends to the public who wants answers and for us, keeping us accountable, keeping us like, you know, every job.

Right.

You have great people and you have your bad people.

And trust me as an officer, as a citizen here, and I'm speaking for any other officer, we don't want those type of officers just as much as our community doesn't want those type of officers.

And speaking of police reform, Selena, defunding the police seems unreasonable to me.

It seems a bit crazy just for the mere fact in the sense we've got soaring crime rates in Los Angeles, Southern California, all throughout major metropolitan cities in the United States.

Could the better solution be refund the police?

But when I say refund, I simply mean maybe use some extra money for more resources for you folks, for the cops, that possibly we could limit some of the questionable altercations.

Could police work more closely, say, for example, with, I don't know, social workers, community liaisons, mental health experts?

There are a lot of tense situations.

You folks have to defuze homeless situations, domestic disturbance situations.

Maybe folks just need some help out there in the field.

It's a little bit like we were talking about right.

Misconceptions out even speaking to, you know, some friends and family.

You know, when I ask them, like, what does defund the police mean to you?

They have the perception that that means, oh, well, no more, you know, upgrades to your guns or it's just for uniforms or equipment.

And sure, some funding might go to that.

But we need the funding for resources like more training, you know, mental health.

That's that's very important.

One, we're not experts in mental health.

So how about some of that funding for those type of trainings?

Because we're trained per like not perfectly, but we're trained to know the law and to practice it and all that.

But when it comes to mental health and all that stuff, those are resources that are very important to us because those are calls that we're dealing with on a daily basis.

Sounds like we're possibly asking too much of our officers just to go it alone.

Correct.

Selena.

With the amount of training, we could definitely always, always use more training.

Officer Selena Lemus with the Placentia Police Department, thank you so much for a great interview.

I really appreciate you being here.

Thank you.

Thank you for having me.

Now for more information about our program, just click on Cox US dot org, then click.

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Thank you so much for joining us for this edition of Sustaining US Here on KLCS PBS.

I'm David Nazar.

I am David Nazar host of Sustaining US.

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