Breaking the Silence: Acting Chief Hughes Responds to Critics

By Jennifer Karmarkar –

“If somebody says there is a culture of corruption, they’re either lying, they have other motives or they are grossly misinformed.” Those are the words of acting Police Chief Dan Hughes while defending the Fullerton police department after it has faced six months of attacks from protesters and bloggers.

In what he hopes will mark a new era of transparency and openness within the Fullerton police department, Hughes recently sat down with reporters from FullertonStories to discuss his plans for the department and his actions on July 5, 2011, the night of the violent altercation at the Fullerton bus depot that resulted in the death of Kelly Thomas.

Although Hughes said he could not comment on any ongoing investigations or personnel issues, here is his account of his actions that night:

“I was at home when I received a call about 9:30 from the watch commander that an officer had been involved in a struggle with somebody and that person got hurt. Within two minutes I had left my home and was on my way to work. It normally takes me about 15 minutes. Based upon what I was told, in that time frame I had already called internal affairs sergeants to respond to the location; I had already called for our investigators who handle significant crimes to the location; I had already called our press information officer to have him respond. I then called the captain in charge of the investigation, explained that I had already made these calls, and I asked him to come in and handle this investigation and to contact the district attorney’s office.”

Hughes paused. “When you look at those steps that were taken in a period of 15 minutes, I ask what of any of that would indicate that we were trying to conceal any information?

“Once I was at the police department, I found out that they were able to capture the entire incident on video tape. I then called a detective and had him make two copies–one for me and one for the district attorney.

“As all of this information was collected, the officers had to stay out at the scene of the incident. Why do we do that? The idea is that internal affairs can then collect all the evidence. We’re going to collect those Tasers—they have a chip in them that will describe how many times they were activated; we’re going to collect the digital audio recorders—all on scene so that nobody could say the officers came in and erased or misplaced something.”

What wasn’t done correctly, he said, was that the department didn’t come out and say, “this is what occurred, this is what we did, and this is what we’re going to be doing.“

“And because of that silence, it created a tremendous amount of problems for the police department and the city,” Hughes said.

A Passion for Policing 
Capt. Hughes is clearly a man who loves his job. Seeing the pride he takes in displaying the hand-painted murals on the department walls, the good-natured ribbing he gives to his officers and the way he interacts with community members, one can hardly imagine him doing anything else.

One of his fondest memories, he said, is the day he first donned a police uniform. “I remember standing in front of the mirror thinking, ‘I can’t believe this is happening.’ ” Nearly 30 years later, he hasn’t lost that feeling, he said. “I still believe, next to serving our country, policing is one of the noblest professions there is.”

Hughes, 47, was born in Fullerton, attended Fern Drive Elementary and Sunny Hills High schools, and earned an associate of science degree in criminal justice from Fullerton College. His parents still live in the same 900-square-foot house that Hughes grew up in. Although Hughes now lives in Yorba Linda, he believes being a member of this community for so many years gives him a unique perspective on the city.

Michelle Kearney, one of the more visible members of the “Kelly’s Army” protestors, called Hughes “very approachable.”

“Anybody I know that has dealt with him within the community has really positive feedback on him,” she said, adding that she feels that his being from Fullerton gives him a vested interest in the city.

Kearney and Hughes got to know each other during the Saturday protests staged in front of the police office after Kelly Thomas’ death. Although Hughes was not assigned to work them, he attended every one, he said, believing it was necessary to share in the community’s anger and frustration, which he and the other officers also felt.

“This is a prime example of how we can respect each others opinions,” Hughes explained. “It’s something that’s been very beneficial, to sit down with the protestors and have a dialogue and admit to them when we have blown it.”

Kearney appreciates that at city council meetings, Hughes makes it a point to introduce the new police officers to Kelly’s Army. He has also offered to give them a tour of the police department, she said. She acknowledged Hughes has inherited a difficult job.

“Personally, I know him and have talked to him, and I really support him and his family for giving him up to take over this city,” she said. “But I just know he has a tough road ahead of him.”

Moving Forward  
Public safety continues to be Hughes’ primary objective, he said, and he believes this is best accomplished through what he calls “intelligence-based policing,” which looks at crime trends and places patrol officers in areas with the highest crime rates. Hughes implemented this program over a year ago and it appears to be working. The most recent FBI reports show crime in Fullerton was down 23 percent the first half of 2011, the second-highest drop in Orange County, behind the city of Orange (its rate was down nearly 34 percent).

But Hughes admitted there is still “lots of work to be done” in the area of restoring public confidence in the department. “We’ve done a very poor job in my opinion on being able to communicate to our community why we do what we do.  We have to build that trust and relationship again,” Hughes said.

Some of the ways he plans to accomplish that include giving tours of the department, holding community meetings and stepping up the citizens’ academy and ride-along programs.

Just three weeks into the job, Hughes has already met with members of the Downtown Business Association, Occupy Fullerton, Fullerton Positive and Fullerton Collaborative. He said he will continue to meet with whoever wants to meet with him, even people who don’t necessarily like the police department. “It’s part of the process,” he explained. “If I don’t sit down and communicate with them, how will I understand where they’re coming from?”

Hughes is also looking at ways the department can build an ethical consequence component to its current training programs to further restore public trust.

But rebuilding trust won’t happen overnight, according to Samuel Walker, emeritus professor of criminal justice at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and a nationally recognized expert in police accountability. He said the timetable depends on how credible the response to the crisis is. “One incident like this destroys years and years of building trust within the community,” he explained.

Walker believes the Fullerton police department made the right decision in having its policies reviewed by outside investigator Michael Gennaco. “He’s really a top person in his field and has done outstanding work in L.A. They need to respect that report and adopt his recommendations,” he said.

Walker recommends the department hold public hearings when the reports are released and put the reports on their website. He also suggested Gennaco be brought back in six months or a year for a follow-up investigation. And he recommends the department schedule annual in-service training that begins at the sergeant level.

If the department wants to regain that trust, “they need to take a proactive stance on ensuring something like this doesn’t happen again,” Walker said.

A Question of Culture 
Many questions remain about the death of Kelly Thomas and Hughes is looking forward to additional information coming out at the March preliminary trial of officers Manuel Ramos and Jay Cicinelli. He also eagerly awaits Gennaco’s report about the night of July 5.

Hughes said only the report that reviews the specific police department actions of concern to the Thomas family, including the initial call to police and the photo of Kelly Thomas, will be made public. A third report due later that reviews department policies will also be made public.

Hughes said he has seen the controversial videotape of the Kelly Thomas beating probably 400 times and he calls it “horrific.” Although he would not discuss the details of the video, he said it “clearly depicts the majority of what took place that evening,” and it will clarify a lot of misinformation that has been reported.

As for accusations by local bloggers that a “culture of corruption” exists at the Fullerton police department, Hughes calls them completely false.

“From being 18 and fresh out of high school to now holding the highest position in the police department, I can tell you there is no corruption,” Hughes said. “Certainly there have been officers that have made poor ethical decisions. We’ve dealt with those officers, and we will continue to do so.”

But City Councilman Bruce Whitaker said he is reserving judgment until he gets all the information. “On every other level I like what I see (about Hughes), but we’re going to have a whole lot of information at our disposal when the Gennaco report comes our way in about three weeks.”

Whitaker said it’s not just the Kelly Thomas incident that concerns him, but a number of police-related problems that have occurred within a short window, including the death-in-custody case last April that triggered his skepticism as to what is going on in the department.

He noted that Hughes and Capt. Kevin Hamilton are both part of the leadership culture that includes Police Chief Michael Sellers (now on medical leave) and former Police Chief Pat McKinley. “I need to sort out and determine who may have contributed to the current culture,” Whitaker said.

But Hughes stands by his officers. “They are absolutely dedicated to serving this community in an ethical manner, and that’s what I’m committed to ensuring they’re doing,” he said. “We have a lot of leaders in our police department, and we’re excited about the opportunities and challenges we have before us. We’re going to come out a better police department.”

In the Photos:

• Captain and Acting Chief Dan Hughes in front of a mural painted in the department’s briefing room. It was painted by a former civilian employee.

• The Watch Commander’s screen showing all views of the downtown Fullerton surveillance cameras.  The image at top left is the from the camera at the Transportation Center that provided the video footage of the July 5 altercation between officers and Kelly Thomas. The chairs shown are a daytime view of the patio of the Slidebar Rock & Roll Kitchen.

• Looking out from the inside of a jail cell.

Story by Jennifer Karmarkar/FullertonStories.com

Photo and video by Davis Barber/FullertonStories.com

Tags: arrest, corruption, Dan, Dan Hughes, Fullerton, Fullerton Police Department, Hughes, integrity, investigation, kelly thomas, police

This entry was posted on January 26, 2012 at 10:27 pm and is filed under Features, Fullerton History, News, People, Police Log, Uncategorized, Videos. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.