I Reported a Crime and Ended Up Being Accused of One.

I am writing this letter as a follow-up to a previous statement I submitted in May of 2020 regarding a negative police interaction I had with a Detective from the Cal Poly Pomona Police Department. That statement was submitted to the Chief of Police and the Student Affairs Department to which I received no response.

Early in 2020, my identity was stolen by way of debit card compromise. The perpetrator used my card to purchase various items for themselves, including a TV and food. I noticed I had been compromised when I attempted to buy food from the Panda Express and my card was declined. I called my bank immediately who told me my card was compromised. I went about the process of dispute resolution in which I meticulously attempted to remember every purchase I made within the past 12 months up to and including that particular day. They informed me to flag all of the purchases that appeared suspicious and then told me which ones I made and which were made by an unknown party. My bank recommended that I notify my nearest police department. I chose to tell the university police thinking that they’d catch the perpetrator. My assumption was, in a total lack of judgment on my part, optimistic. I won’t go into the report taking process (all of which took place in the lobby of the police station in full view of the public). I will not discuss at length how hurried, agitated, and accusatory Det. Brown was. These things are detailed in my statement written nearly ten months ago.

One week later, Detective Brown and an unnamed partner made the nearly hour drive to my house. When I saw him on my doorstep with a folder in hand I expected an update. Instead he presented his working theory: I stole my own identity then reported it immediately to the police. What I got was a picture shoved in my face of me making purchases at the bookstore on CCTV. He suggested I was in some kind of dire financial trouble and wanted to defraud my bank for refunds then immediately reported said fraud to the police. On my steps, I was told that this event jeopardizes my future at CPP and that he’d submit it to the District Attorney for prosecution. There was no mention of a card thief, no mention of my rights as a victim of a crime, no attempt to elicit further information pursuant to an investigation. While a visit to the home by police isn’t entirely out of the ordinary, the entire event felt inappropriate as it was entirely accusatory even when I attempted to tell this man my story. Two days later I was informed by my bank that I received a refund for all the purchases that they could confirm were fraudulent.

Now, nearly ten full months later, I have received a summons from the District Attorney to appear concerning my violation of PC 148.5(a), filing a false police report. Within the past ten months, I was not contacted by the university police one time so this comes as a surprise. I can only come to one of two conclusions. One, Detective Brown went forward with his theory that I intentionally defrauded the police department and decided to pursue prosecution without investigating my initial claim of having been a victim of fraud. Or two, Detective Brown is misguided, lazy, and incompetent to the point of malice. Malicious enough to drive to the home of a complainant and accuse them of lying to him.

I served in the United States Air Force as a Security Forces (Military Police) member for six years prior to attending CPP. I understand the power of police narrative. Any cop can write a report of investigation that makes someone appear guilty. I’ve been working as a Private Investigator for three years. I understand the pain and distress a false accusation, however minor, can have on a person. And as an African-American, this is not the first time I have been accused by a White police officer of having done something I did not do, after reporting it to them myself. I have been serving on the Cal Poly Pomona Police Advisory Board since November of 2020. I joined this board because I believe that the issues that come with policing have to be addressed by constituents, not the police themselves. This distressing event is reminding me of how prescient our efforts are and how hard the ax of truth must be swung at the tree of injustice.

As Cal Poly Pomona is a minority and veteran serving school I’d like to believe that my words will be heard and responded to lest those are just words cleverly devised by a marketing company. I do not feel welcome in your community. Nor do I feel safe. And my lack of feeling safe translates to me feeling concerned for other students, particularly students of color, who may have to report a crime and run afoul of people like those at the campus police department.

Of the Cal Poly Student Body, I suggest to you an attitude of no-confidence in the CPP Police. This incident has shown that they are willing to pursue reports in ways that categorize a victim as a suspect. I have made long strides in my life to not apply the actions of individuals to the characterization of a group. This is different. The actions of individual police officers arise from the culture of the group. They are systemic; embraced, taught, replicated, reinforced. The mishandling of this matter has made one message clear: Do not report a crime that occurred to you to your university police.

To the officers and staff of the CPP Police Department, I will say what I was told repeatedly during my tenure of wearing a uniform: if you cannot perform this job correctly then you cannot perform this job. You are as much responsible for exercising authority over the public as you are for policing yourselves. It takes courage to highlight behaviors in the department that reflect badly on the officers as a whole. You’re supposed to be a model citizen for us to emulate; the best our society can create. Wearing a uniform means you’re trusted by strangers who’ve never met you, and I can tell you the majority of your served public does not trust you. If you want to stop receiving the hate you’ve been getting, wear the badge on purpose and only issue it to those who can do the same.

For Cal Poly Pomona, I write this because I know the facts are indisputably in my favor. But ask yourself how many times certain people have been right in all the facts and still have not had something gone their way. Ask yourself how many men and women are currently imprisoned for something they did not do, purely from the allegations of a police officer. I was guilty upon suspicion and I feel guilty just from being accused. That’s how these things go. I am expecting to appear before a deputy district attorney in response to a crime I did not commit, at a courthouse early in the morning, miss class, and expose myself to Covid-19 all because some detective refused to perform his due diligence. Or never had any intention to do so. You claim to be in support of reform in the name of the public good and as you have taught me, reform starts in the home and with the self. You claim to support veterans and students of color. You claim to be a welcoming and safe institution making the world a better place. I do not feel safe. I do not feel welcomed. I do not feel as though the system I am trying to support is working in my favor. I feel accused. I feel deceived. I feel angry.