"However, I can tell you that given the seriousness of last week's accusations, I am personally looking at everything I know about in our department with an extra close eye. This is not the same as the third party investigation that I formally opened last week of course, this is just me as a leader trying to assess what we can do better and wherever possibilities are identified, to get those wheels in motion as fast as possible."

 

Eureka Police Chief Steve Watson responded to me about two questions I asked/raised in my recent post about the Sacramento Bee article and the "police texts." If you did not read most recent post, it is linked below. 

1. Is Sgt. Terry Liles being investigated currently about complaint /conduct or is there a handling internally of issues about him? 

2. Do you have any knowledge about the identity of the person leaking the texts; specifically that it was someone's wife or girlfriend pissed off?

Chief Watson's response:

"Thanks for reaching out. You are right. As a matter of state law, I cannot confirm nor deny any employee's status as it relates to personnel reviews.

However, I can tell you that given the seriousness of last week's accusations, I am personally looking at everything I know about in our department with an extra close eye. This is not the same as the third party investigation that I formally opened last week of course, this is just me as a leader trying to assess what we can do better and wherever possibilities are identified, to get those wheels in motion as fast as possible.  The language reported to have been included in those text messages is clearly not something I or the department could or would ever condone and I join the community in seeking actionable next steps that provide assurance that something like this does not and cannot occur again. "

Previous post:

https://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2021/03/sacramento-bee-screenshots-identify.html?m=1