San Jose allegedly tried to question police who were investigating a city official

In a frenzied effort to find out who is leaking details about a council member accused of child sex crimes to the media, San Jose’s top officials reportedly attempted to interrogate more than two dozen police officers — without informing them of their rights or follow a research process.

A legal demand letter sent Friday by the San Jose Police Officers’ Association details this stunning allegation, questioning whether San Jose leaders are guilty of a cover-up over Councilman Omar Torres – the politician from the city center accused of, among other things, having sex with a minor. . San José Spotlight exclusively reported last week how at least one elected official was alerted to Torres’ alleged criminal behavior, but an aide was told to ignore the message and no action was taken.

The union’s letter comes after city leaders directed San Jose spokesperson Carolina Camarena to ask San Jose Spotlight CEO Ramona Giwargis to release her sources, a move for which the city manager has since apologized. In that unusual conversation, Camarena also named the police union as a source of confidential information about 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 senior executives who ordered Camarena to initiate the bizarre investigation.

The union’s letter says City Hall’s controversial actions point to a larger scheme to hide information about Torres — and protect others who may have known about his alleged misconduct.

“We have been informed and believe that the City recklessly engaged the SJPOA to cover up and cover up the potential misdeeds and/or inaction of others, including high-ranking members of the City Council and members of the City Council, and/or to unlawfully discover the facts. identity of whistleblowers, and for the purpose of damaging the union’s reputation,” Gregg Adam, the union’s attorney, 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 respond to the San Jose Police Officers’ Association next week. Our priority remains the integrity and continuity of the criminal investigation,” Maguire and Frimann told San José Spotlight in a joint statement.

The union’s letter states that city leaders attempted to bring in 30 officers from the San Jose Police Department’s Special Victims Unit for “ad hoc” questioning by their own colleagues from the department’s Criminal Investigation Detail. The union claims the city’s Office of Employee Relations intended to listen in. The purpose of the interviews, they added, was related to the city’s “questionable claim that it was trying to identify the source of the Spotlight reporting.”

“(The Criminal Investigation Department’s) commitment to conduct an administrative investigation is in itself highly unusual and contrary to department policy,” the union’s letter said.

The officers were not informed of the nature of the investigation, the allegations against them and have no union representation, in violation of their rights and department procedures.

Union leaders sent rank-and-file police officers a separate email Thursday criticizing the city.

“The scapegoat tactic of trying to blame the POA, or one of its members, as a media leak and to intimidate the independent reporting of journalists and other whistleblowers certainly sounds like a cover-up,” union president Steve said. Slack and Vice President Cat Alvarez. “It is also an insult to all who revere our nation’s First Amendment.”

Slack and Alvarez said City Hall’s “fishing expedition” to identify sources would have taken investigators out of “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 documents revealed that Torres is being investigated for “oral copulation of a minor” – and sexually explicit text messages about minors were exchanged. The documents also describe texts planning a sexual encounter in which Torres asks a Chicago man he was flirting with, Terry Beeks, if he knows any minors. Police allege Beeks extorted Torres over the texts and paid the council member $22,000 to stop him.

In a text exchange included in the police affidavit, Torres asks Beeks if he knows “homies under 18” while appearing to plan a sexual encounter.

Torres has maintained his innocence. In a statement Thursday through his attorney, he acknowledged the text messages but called them “role playing.”

Contact Brandon Pho at (email protected) or @brandonphooo on X, formerly known as Twitter.

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