By Mary Shelton

Over a year after a Black mentally ill man was shot and killed by a Riverside Police Department officer, the Community Police Review Commission prepared to draft its public report on the shooting. 

This process comes at a time when the beleaguered commission is struggling to maintain its path in investigating the first of three fatal shootings of unarmed men by police officers that occurred during a six month period last year.

Not long after the commission was first briefed on the Brown shooting by its investigator, the city began to change the operations of the CPRC, a move that concerned many community members who believed that the intent was to weaken it and cause dissention in its ranks.

The commission split down the middle during a recent election  and failed to elect a new chair, a process challenged by several commissioners. The votes had been cast a month earlier and Jim Ward, the only African-American on the commission had led reigning chair Les Davidson, 4-3. At that point, Interim CPRC Manager Mario Lara had consulted his boss, Asst. City Manager Tom DeSantis and City Attorney Gregory Priamos who told him that all nine commissioners including two newly seated ones had to cast votes in the election under the city's charter. This time around, the votes were split 4-4 between the two candidates, with new commissioner, Steve Simpson refusing to cast a vote until he knew the candidates better.

The outcome of the election had been announced at a CPRC meeting on March 14, by Lara, DeSantis and Priamos who sat in on the meeting.

"You see the city attorney and the assistant city manager walk in and you know there's going to be a mess," Ward said that day.

That controversy was the latest that erupted after news came out that Priamos, DeSantis and Chief Russ Leach had met with Davidson and Ward in at least one private meeting last December to inform them that proposed changes would be made regarding the CPRC's investigations of officer-involved deaths. Under the city's charter, the commission has the power to investigate all civilian deaths that result from the actions of a police officer. Davidson had said about that meeting that he believed the city employees were not asking them what they should do but telling them what they would do.

One of those recommended changes was that the CPRC  would be prohibited from investigating incustody deaths until after the police department and Riverside County District Attorney's office have completed their own investigations. After much protest from community members and commissioners, the city and department backed off on implementing that change, but people expect the new restrictions to be put in place after the next incustody death occurs.

Some of the commissioners bristled at criticisms that they were beholden to the city under the new changes.

"If you expect me to be a lap dog, you're nuts," Simpson said, "If anyone expects me to be one, there will be a train wreck."

The focal point of the recent actions taken by the city manager's office was the Brown shooting, which elicited a lot of questions stemming back to the day it happened.

On April 3, 2006, Officer Terry Ellefson shot and killed Lee Deante Brown, 31, because Brown had allegedly grabbed Ellefson's taser, stood up and lunged towards the officer, according to an account given by Ellefson during his interview. However, his version of the incident conflicted with statements given by the civilian witnesses and Officer Michael Paul Stucker. 

Stucker had said in his interview that Brown was either sitting or squatting on the ground with the taser in his hands so he had taken out his expandable baton. He had struck Brown in the shins with his baton twice and was preparing to do it again when he heard two gunshots coming from right beside him.

Five civilian witnesses said that Brown had been sitting on the ground when he had been shot and that he had nothing in his hands. Another witness, Kenneth Williams, said that Brown had been on his feet when shot the first time, but holding nothing in his hands.

After the CPRC's investigator, Butch Warnberg, had submitted his final report, a newer draft of that report was given to the commissioners at the March 28 meeting with changes which were indicated by shaded text. That report contained no language as to who had actually made the changes, but when questioned about it at the Feb. 28 CPRC meeting, interim CPRC manager, Mario Lara said that he had amended the report after conversations with Warnberg.

Two months ago, Warnberg had completed his two part presentation which lasted nearly two hours in front of an audience of community members, city staff members and representatives from the police department's internal affairs division.  He had included updated information on evidence collected on the shooting including the DNA analysis of samples taken from Ellefson's taser and a trajectory analysis of the shooting.

According to Warnberg's briefing, the department's analysis of the DNA samples showed a low-level mixture of at least two donors. Brown was included as a potential donor but both officers who were also tested, were excluded. However, Warnberg had said that he did not know what parts of the taser were tested. The updated draft stated that according to a report submitted by the police department, the samples had been taken from the handle and the frame of the taser.

Warnberg had also hired Doreen DeAvery of Applied Graphic Sciences to conduct a trajectory analysis which included scenarios where Brown had been standing, squatting or sitting when he had been shot by Ellefson. According to Warnberg, DeAvery had said that it was most likely that Brown had been either sitting or squatting when he had been shot.

In the amended draft of the report, Lara included a provision that stated that "because a person can move their arm in a variety of positions, a standing position seems possible for the bullet through the arm." However, the picture that represents Brown standing shows Ellefson shooting from hip level in a straight level line towards Brown's left arm.

That depiction conflicts with statements made by both officers that were picked up by their department-issued audio recorders after the shooting.

According to the transcript of Ellefson's belt recording, he had said that the trajectory for both of his shots had been in a downward direction.

Also included on Ellefson's recording was a statement made by Stucker when he was asked how many shots were fired. He said, two down even though he did not witness the shooting. 

Two sergeants, Brian Kittenger and Russell Schubert who were on the scene after the shooting both said that Ellefson had told them he had fired two rounds with a trajectory that was downward.

After the commission drafts its public report, it will review the administrative review done by the department's internal affairs division before meeting in closed session to make a decision about whether or not the shooting complied with the department's use of force policy.