LA MESA (KGTV)- La Mesa City Council members are demanding answers over the report that cleared the officer who body slammed a Helix High School student last year.
The City of La Mesa paid around $22,000 for an independent investigation, to learn more about the interaction between the officer and the former high school student.
Dr. Akilah Weber says the council members were shocked after they waited a year and were presented with little details this week. “There was a good number of people there at the meeting on Tuesday, and there was an overwhelming sense of disappointment,” said Weber.
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The man who presented the limited details of the investigation, during Tuesday’s council meeting, stated the report “is required by law to be kept confidential.”
“We don’t really have any answers as to what led up to that point,” says Weber. “That video shows a very short period of time. We don’t know what was being said.”
The council learned there were about 20 interviews conducted during the investigation, but that did not include the young woman who was slammed to the ground.
Members of the council were told the report would only be released to the city’s police chief.
“We were not even given a debrief session, in a closed session, to inform us of the findings since we are members of the city council,” says Weber. She is now calling for that closed-door session. She is also requesting for the police chief to meet with the council to go over their use of force policy.
Weber says they are still in litigation with the young woman who is suing the city and the police department. She also tells 10News the officer involved was scheduled to report back to work this week.
