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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-01-26 Special Minutes of the Special Meeting of the City Council City of Santa Ana, California ki January 26, 2026 SPECIAL OPEN MEETING - 5:00 P.M. CITY COUNCIL CHAMBER 22 Civic Center Plaza Santa Ana, CA 92701 CITY COUNCIL REGULAR OPEN SESSION CALL TO ORDER MINUTES: MayorAmezcua convened the Special City Council Meeting to order at 5:11 P.M. ATTENDANCE Councilmembers Phil Bacerra Johnathan Ryan Hernandez Jessie Lopez Thai Viet Phan Benjamin Vazquez Mayor Pro Tern David Penaloza Mayor Valerie Amezcua City Manager Alvaro Nunez City Attorney Sonia R. Carvalho City Clerk Jennifer L. Hall ROLL CALL MINUTES: City Clerk Jennifer L. Hall conducted roll call. Councilmembers Bacerra, Hernandez, Lopez (arrived at 5.49 P.M.), Phan, Vazquez, Mayor Pro Tem Penaloza (arrived at 5:44 P.M.), and Mayor Amezcua were present. CITY COUNCIL 1 JANUARY 26, 2026 PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Councilmember Benjamin Vazquez ADDITIONSIDELETIONS TO THE AGENDA MINUTES: None PUBLIC COMMENTS—Public comments will be held during the beginning of the meeting for ALL comments on agenda and non-agenda items. MINUTES: City Clerk Jennifer L. Hall reported out the summary of email comments received. four(4) Agenda item No. 9. The following speakers addressed City Council in person: 1. Emma Gottfried requested there be no attacks on the Police Oversight Commission and the Commissions'power and ordinance remain unchanged. 2. Matthew Compton requested the Police Oversight Commissions' power and ordinance remain unchanged, and spoke regarding incidents involving the Police Department. 3. Abraham Quintana requested the Police Oversight Commission retain its power and the current ordinance not be changed, and spoke regarding the Noe Rodriguez and Mario Diaz incidents. 4. David Pulido requested the Police Oversight Commission retain its power and ordinance remain unchanged, and spoke regarding the Noe Rodriguez, Luis Amezcua, and Miguel Chavez incidents. 5. Tanya Nava spoke regarding police misconduct in the City, requested the original ordinance remain unchanged, and seeks justice for Noe Rodriguez, Brandon Lopez, and all the families affected. 6. Carlos Perea requested the Police Oversight Commission retain its power and the current ordinance not be changed, and spoke regarding the proposed changes in the ordinance. 7. Bulmaro Vicente requested transparency and accountability to the public, that the Police Oversight Commission retain its power, and the Commission initiate an investigation into Noe Rodriguez's incident, and spoke on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 8. Jair requested the Police Oversight Commission retain its power. The following speakers addressed City Council via teleconference: 9. Victor Mendez spoke in favor the audit model regarding the commission and recognized the Santa Ana Police Department for their efforts in protecting the CiTY COUNCIL 2 JANUARY 26, 2026 community. 10.Andre Abajian suggested researching Susan Bassie for Police Oversight Commission matters. WORK STUDY SESSION MINUTES:At 5:43 P.M., the Work Study Session was considered. Mayor Amezcua asked when this special meeting was originally requested. City Manager Alvaro Nunez confirmed direction first came about in July 2025. 1. Police Oversight Commission Ordinance Work Study Session Department(s): City Manager's Office Recommended Action: Receive presentation on Police Oversight Commission Ordinance options and provide direction to staff to: 1. Maintain the current ordinance while including clean up language to align with the City Charter and have the Independent Oversight Director be appointed by the City Manager, remain independent from the Police Department, and still vetted by the City Council. 2. Modify the existing ordinance to the staff recommended audit model. 3. Modify the existing ordinance to a hybrid audit/investigation model, reflecting input from the Police Oversight Commission, and recommend that officer involved shootings and use of force that cause great bodily harm are open to investigation at the direction of the commission. MINUTES: Oversight Director Jack T. Morse provided a presentation regarding investigating incidents and/or problematic patterns. Councilmember Vazquez asked whether the Commission is a legislative commission to the City Council. City Attorney Sonia Carvalho confirmed that the Commission is a legislative commission to the City Council per the City's charter which allows for an ordinance to create separate bodies, commissions, and boards so long as the ordinance does not conflict with the City Charter or state law. Councilmember Phan spoke regarding the audit model, in support of the hybrid model, provided edits necessary to support the model, and asked whether the current ordinance prohibits any types of audits. CITY COUNCIL 3 JANUARY 26, 2026 Oversight Director Morse suggested adding language into the ordinance clarifying that the Oversight Director has authority to conduct various types of audits regarding police conduct. Councilmember Phan spoke in support of Oversight Director Morse's suggestion regarding new language to the ordinance and suggested adding clear language to Sec. 2-664 to allow the Commission to make recommendations to the City Council. Councilmember Hernandez spoke in favor of keeping the ordinance as is. Councilmember Bacerra inquired who initiated bringing the Commission ordinance work study forth, whether the Police Officers Association (POA) contacted staff regarding the ordinance, and whether the ordinance complies with AB 832.5. City Attorney Carvalho clarified that revisions to the ordinance were staff-driven based on inconsistencies with the City's charter and not initiated by the City Council, the Mayor, or the Ad Hoc Committee. City Manager Alvaro Nunez confirmed the POA did not contact staff regarding the ordinance. SeniorAssistant City Attorney Tamara Bogosian confirmed the ordinance complies with AB 832.5. CityAttorney Carvalho stated in accordance with state law AB 832.5, the ordinance revisions were made to ensure the provisions align with state requirements, and clarified the rationale for the proposed changes to the ordinance. Councilmember Bacerra spoke regarding the current Ad Hoc Committee's efforts and training for commissioners, voiced concerns with deadlines during the Commission's investigations, and asked whether there would be another entity conducting investigations on top of the Commission when it comes to officer- involved shootings. Oversight Director Morse confirmed entities such as the District Attorney (DA), Attorney General (AG), Internal Affairs (IA), or Police Oversight Director would be conducting criminal investigations and administrative investigations in addition to the Commission. City Attorney Carvalho explained the investigation process behind a police-officer involved shooting, elaborated on the auditor model being a resourceful operations tool, and implementation of the ordinance. Councilmember Lopez asked how many community meetings regarding changes to the ordinance have been held, clarification regarding ordinance language conflicting with state law, and inquired who is responsible for recommendations regarding the ordinance. She requested clarification regarding the City potentially facing litigation if the ordinance is not changed and recommended engaging with CITY COUNCIL 4 JANUARY 26, 2026 the community to gather input on desired changes in regards to the ordinance and bringing it back to the Council. She expressed opposition to the language prohibiting investigations from previous years from being submitted or limiting changes to existing ordinance language. City Manager Nunez clarified all public presentations have been done in formal settings such as Police Oversight Commission or City Council meetings and there have been no community meetings regarding changes to the ordinance. Senior Assistant City Attorney Bogosian stated charter issues within ordinance language conflicted with state law, City Attorney Carvalho explained a chart being available for Council to review recommendations made by staff for the ordinance through the Ad Hoc Committee and clarified that the POA could sue based off concerns regarding the ordinance implementation. Oversight Director Morse explained the framework in the revised ordinance would require the Oversight Director to report to the City Manager per the City's charter. Mayor Amezcua inquired about who was on the first Ad Hoc Committee. City Attorney Carvalho stated Councilmember Bacerra, Councilmember Hernandez, and Councilmember Lopez were part of the first Ad Hoc Committee for Police Oversight after it being proposed by Councilmembers Bacerra and Penaloza. She explained the committee began working on the ordinance with staff,- however, progress was delayed due to administrative/staffing changes within the City and stated the City Attorney's office took the initiative to revise and move forward with the ordinance once the new City Manager was in place. Mayor Amezcua asked whether there has been any pushback from the POA and whether there have been incidents within the Police Department comparable to the Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation involving the Cleveland Police Department (CPD). She inquired whether the Oversight Director has met with community members, leaders, patrol officers, and commanders, and asked whetherthere has been pushback regarding Section 2-663 related to commissioner confidentiality and training, and voiced concems for commissioners to complete the training. City Attorney Carvalho stated she is not aware of any communications from the POA regarding pushback, explained commissioners' concerns regarding training and confidentiality, and addressed the confidentiality process during the previous Commission meeting. City Manager Nunez explained the mission of the ordinance per the City Attorney's office, City Manager's Office, Police Oversight Director, and Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD), and spoke on training and commissioners'feedback CITY COUNCIL 5 JANUARY 26, 2026 Oversight Director Morse stated there has not been an incident such as the DOJ investigation involving CPD within SAPD, and he has met with community members, community-based organization members such as ACLU of Southern Califomia, Chispa, and representatives of SAPD. Assistant City Attorney Jonathan Martinez explained confidentiality agreements were distributed, verbal admonition regarding the importance of confidentiality, Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act (POBAR), and applicable confidentiality laws were explained to commissioners during closed session at the most recent Commission meeting. Councilmember Phan requested clarification regarding Section 2-665 and whether categories of investigations limited or removed from the previous ordinance, and recommended reverting to the original version of ordinance with no limitations while reflecting current state laws. She requested there be no conflict with the ability to independently investigate complaints via a hybrid model between the Commission and the Oversight Director as outlined in in Section 2-666, for a broader range of categories for review, allow communication from the POC to the City Council and community regarding investigations, and spoke in support of the hybrid model. City Attorney Carvalho explained the process behind investigations requested by the Commission and their timelines. Oversight Director Morse stated categories were not deleted, however restrictions were added to certain categories deriving from the previous version of PC 832.7, and explained the proposed hybrid model process. Councilmember Hernandez echoed Councilmember Phan's comments regarding the Commission conducting independent investigations via hybrid model and spoke in support of allocating funds towards the POC to allow for improvements within the Police Department. Councilmember Lopez echoed Councilmember Phan's comments regarding the Commission conducting independent investigations via hybrid model, expressed the importance of public safety on the streets, spoke in support of allowing the POC to communicate with Council on updates or recommendations regarding investigations, requested clarification regarding how agenda items are placed onto the POC agenda, and suggested all commissioners familiarize themselves with the bylaws. Deputy City Manager Sylvia Vazquez explained the Commission's bylaws process regarding adding agenda items to future Commission meetings. Councilmember Vazquez spoke in support of changes strengthening the Commission as a legislative oversight body, removing the requirement for mandatory City Manager supervision or attendance, allowing the Commission to praoyide recommendations to the City Council, ensuring compliance with POBAR, CITY COUNCIL 6 JANUARY 26, 2026 requiring written notice to the City Council regarding budget changes, and allocating funding to the Commission. He echoed Councilmember Phan's comments regarding the Commission conducting independent investigations through a hybrid- model. City Attorney Carvalho reiterated the City Council is able to bring forth investigations per the City's charter. Mayor Amezcua asked whether current SAPD lawsuits were from previous staff leadership, whether the Commission is working under a hybrid-model, and requested a three-month progress update. City Attorney Carvalho stated current lawsuits brought forth are from previous authority and explained what the update will look like when brought back to Council. Councilmember Bacerra spoke regarding the longevity of the Commission and ensuring policy and culture improvement within the Police Department. He echoed MayorAmezcua's request to bring an update back to Council. City Manager Nunez explained staff is currently working with the Oversight Director and Commission to conduct investigations under the current approved ordinance using a hybrid model. He recommended to review funding allocation for the commission, stated that staff could provide an update to the City Council in approximately three months regarding potential ordinance revisions, and the Police Oversight Commission bylaws are scheduled for the February 3, 2026 City Council agenda for approval. **END OF WORK STUDY SESSION* ADJOURNMENT--Adjourn the City Council meeting. MINUTES: MayorAmezcua adjourned the City Council Meeting at 7.54 P.M. Respectfully submitted: a ennifer Ha , CIVIC Cit CITY COUNCIL 7 JANUARY 26, 2026