Pubdate: Fri, 15 Jul 2016
Source: Orange County Register, The (CA)
Copyright: 2016 The Orange County Register
Contact:  http://www.ocregister.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/321
Author: Alma Fausto

3 OFFICERS SEEN ON VIDEO IN RAID OF POT SHOP NO LONGER ON FORCE

SANTA ANA - Three Santa Ana Police Department officers caught on 
video eating snacks during a raid on a marijuana dispensary last 
year, with two of them making fun of a disabled woman, are no longer 
working for the agency.

Cpl. Anthony Bertagna, the department's spokesman, confirmed Thursday 
that Brandon Matthew Sontag, Nicole Lynn Quijas and Jorge Arroyo were 
no longer officers in the city.

Sontag's and Quijas' last day was May 6, and Arroyo's was April 20, 
Bertagna said.

He declined to say if they were fired or left the department on their 
own. "I cannot comment on personnel matters," Bertagna said.

A surveillance video, released by the dispensary's lawyer last year, 
shows the officers during a May 2015 raid of Sky High Holistic 
marijuana dispensary. The city had accused the dispensary of selling 
marijuana without a permit.

The video, which made national headlines, showed officers serving a 
search warrant at Sky High. They ordered customers and employees to 
the ground, and two made demeaning remarks about Sky High volunteer 
Marla James, an amputee in a wheelchair seen in the video.

"Did you punch that one-legged old benita?" a male officer asks a 
female officer, apparently referring to James.

"I was about to kick her in her (expletive) nub," a female officer replies.

The officers disabled surveillance cameras, except a hidden one that 
captured the incident. When the footage surfaced, some thought the 
officers were eating marijuana edibles taken from the shop, but 
prosecutors later said there was no evidence that the snacks 
contained any drugs.

In the aftermath, police Chief Carlos Rojas announced that three 
officers involved in the raid were placed on administrative leave 
while the department investigated whether their actions violated policy.

In March, the District Attorney's Office filed charges of petty theft 
against the three. Sontag also was accused of vandalism in breaking 
some of the surveillance cameras.

All three officers were placed on paid leave. Bertagna previously 
said their status with the department would be determined after an 
administrative appeals process and formal review.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom