Report released on Oxnard Police Department's handling of in-custody death of Robert Ramirez
A long-awaited outside review of the 2012 death of an overdosing man being restrained by Oxnard police was made public Wednesday.
The 24-page report from the OIR Group on the in-custody death of 26-year-old Robert Ramirez offers both praise and criticism regarding the Oxnard Police Department's investigation of the incident.
While it doesn't address the police response itself — only the department's subsequent review process — those involved say the overall aim is to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
Click for a PDF of the report on in custody death of Robert Ramirez.
"Our report is not intended to pass judgment on the conduct of any particular officer that evening," said Michael Gennaco, principal of OIR Group. Rather, it is meant to help the department better prepare for the next time, he said.
"Will the sergeant act like a sergeant instead of getting involved?" Gennaco said. "Has that training sunk in?"
The private firm, previously called the Office of Independent Review, is based in Los Angeles and provides assessments and consulting services for law enforcement agencies.
Oxnard Police Chief Jeri Williams, who requested the review, said her department is the only agency in Ventura County to have an outside assessor come in.
"It shows we are willing to take a critical look at ourselves," Williams said.
The department's internal review of the event "could serve as a model" for self-assessment following a serious incident, the OIR Group report says, praising Oxnard's "rigor of critique" and improvements already enacted.
But some efforts were lacking. A detective interviewing four of the involved officers asked leading questions, it found, which can be interpreted as "force feeding" answers. In addition, audio recordings made by officers at the scene weren't adequately used by investigators. Officers weren't asked about statements they made or actions they took when Ramirez repeatedly said he couldn't breathe, the report found. The failure of investigators to ask those questions "resulted in a less clear picture of what occurred," the report said.
The incident unfolded on the night of June 23, 2012, in the 1100 block of South L Street when Ramirez became erratic after swallowing a large quantity of methamphetamine. Responding officers attempting to get him medical help restrained him face down on the ground. The Ventura County Medical Examiner concluded his death was caused by "active prone restraint" when officers held him down, but experts hired by the city argued in court he died from a meth overdose.
Dale Galipo, the Woodland Hills attorney who represented Ramirez's family in a recently settled federal lawsuit over the death, said he was pleased the report found the department has improved its review process.
"One of the reasons I do these cases is in hope of change for the better for the police department and the community," Galipo said. "To the extent there are changes being made because of this case ... it makes me very happy."
Oxnard last month agreed to pay more than $3.9 million in all in a negotiated settlement. That sum includes $2.9 million awarded to the family in July by a U.S. District Court jury and more than $1 million in attorney's fees and costs.
Oxnard is self-insured for the first $1 million and budgets liability reserves annually for that purpose, according to Interim City Attorney Stephen Fischer. The city's insurers will pay liabilities above the $1 million threshold.
The city's defense costs were about $600,000, covered by the insurance.
OIR Group is also working on a review of the fatal police shooting of Alfonso Limon Jr. in October 2012. Limon, 21, was mistaken for a violent suspect during a chaotic gunfight in the La Colonia neighborhood. That report is expected to come out later this year. The police department expects to pay OIR about $80,000 to $100,000 for both reports.
The Ramirez report will be discussed at a meeting of Oxnard's Community Relations Commission next week. The commission meets at 6 p.m. Monday in council chambers at 305 W. Third St.