Metropolitan Transit System investigating excessive use of force by security officers
San Diego CA July 15 2018
Metropolitan Transit System officials launched an internal investigation Friday into a claim that trolley security officers used excessive force while detaining a bicyclist Thursday night in downtown’s East Village neighborhood.
The investigation comes in response to an incident allegedly witnessed by recent San Diego City Council candidate Christian Ramirez, who said he was walking with his 4-year-old son and 9-year-old nephew around 9:30 p.m. when two MTS security officers tackled a bicyclist at the 12th and Imperial Transit Center.
“The cyclist was then slammed against the sidewalk, handcuffed and pepper-sprayed a few feet away from where I was standing with two terrified children clinging to my arms,” Ramirez wrote of the incident on Facebook.
In a phone interview with the Union-Tribune on Friday evening, Ramirez said he believed the confrontation started over the bicyclist smoking where it’s not allowed.
After two officers tackled the man, roughly a dozen more MTS officers allegedly surrounded the handcuffed man, with some beating him, Ramirez wrote on Facebook.
Councilwoman Georgette Gómez, who also serves as chair of MTS, said the incident is under investigation.
“I am deeply troubled about the situation with MTS officers using excessive force and expect a full investigation into the matter,” Gomez said in a statement. “As chair, I will ensure that MTS officers act appropriately in all situations and treat everyone with dignity and respect.”
Manuel Guaderrama, MTS’ director of security, said agency officials will “determine all the facts and take appropriate actions.”
“MTS takes very seriously its mission to provide for the safety and security of its patrons and people at our transit stations,” Guaderrama said in a statement.
On Facebook, Ramirez wrote that he pleaded with the MTS officers to stop beating the man, especially since children were watching. One of the officers then demanded that Ramirez stop and talk to him, he wrote.
“I’m not stopping for you, I have children with me, I just saw what you did to that poor man,” Ramirez said he told the officer.
Guaderrama said his department would also investigate whether the officers harassed Ramirez.
“I was in shock,” said Ramirez, who referenced his work for the social-justice organization Alliance San Diego. “I’ve seen human rights abuses for the past 20 years, but this was different.”
The difference, Ramirez said, was having his young son and nephew at his side after leaving a Padres game at nearby Petco Park.
“I think what was most painful to me was that I had to have a conversation with my 4-year old son about police brutality,” Ramirez told the Union-Tribune. “That’s what was most sobering to me.”
Ramirez, who came up three votes short in the June primary in his bid for the vacant District 8 seat on the City Council, said he lodged an official complaint with MTS on Friday morning.
“Clearly, those officers need better training,” Ramirez said. “I just hope that the MTS board and those officers — I know they have a difficult job — but their job is also to ensure we provide a positive image of our city. This was shameful.”
