Even after this case has worked its way through the legal system, there's a good chance the public still won't know. Because of laws intended to guard the privacy of police personnel matters, the public and the media have no access to facts surrounding cases of alleged misconduct. Even after the fact, court documents do not say whether the officers involved were found guilty of wrongdoing or punished. This is because all police misconduct cases are classified as personnel matters, something the 1976 Peace Officers Bill of Rights has given privacy protection. The SJPD has made liberal use of this right.
New laws pending approval further hinder public scrutiny and prosecution of police misconduct cases.
He is still waiting for a letter to see if the complaint was sustained or if the officers were exonerated. The public will have no access to the findings. Only when a police officer is charged with a crime by the district attorney do victims, the media and the public have access to information about the case. But from 1991 to 1996, only nine law enforcement officers countywide were convicted of unlawful use of force on the job, says assistant district attorney Dave Davies. Those are areas of the law where only a reasonable doubt needs to be raised to acquit the officer.