The California attorney General’s Office has declined to initiate criminal charges against Police Chief David Valentin following a Santa Ana Police Officers Association request for an investigation, city leaders announced.
Corey Glave, attorney for the police union, sent five letters to OC District attorney Todd Spitzer in January 2022 requesting an investigation. Spitzer referred the allegations to the state’s attorney general for review due to a conflict of interest. A spokesperson for Spitzer’s office declined to comment.
The attorney General’s Office sent written determination on July 14 that criminal charges are not warranted and that it would take no further action, according to the announcement released by the Santa Ana Police Department.
The attorney General’s Office did not respond to requests for a copy of its letter.
“The reckless and baseless allegations by Glave, and his clients, against me threaten public confidence and jeopardize public safety,” Valentin said in a statement. “The outcome of the comprehensive review confirms neither I, nor SAPD, has engaged in any criminal conduct or any misconduct that would warrant a criminal investigation. We will continue to stay the course to protect and serve the Santa Ana community in an ethical, legal and empathetic manner.”
Gerry Serrano, president of the police officers association, did not respond to requests for comment. Neither did Glave.
Serrano has been at odds with Valentin and other city officials over a number of issues. Serrano and the Police Officers Association have filed several lawsuits against the police chief and other city staff members alleging retaliation, spying and labor code violations, among other complaints.
Another point of contention between Serrano and the city has to do with his requests to add an additional city job to his association work, which would boost his pension on retirement – the California Public Employees’ Retirement System calculates pensions based on years of service, final pay rate and special compensation and previously decided not all of his pay would count at his retirement.
The city also announced this week that a judge had dismissed one of the lawsuits brought by the police association on July 18, and in a separate case the police union paid the city more than $68,000 for legal fees and accrued interest.
The police union, in 2019, led recall efforts against two city councilmembers who voted against police raises, and earlier this year moved to recall two sitting councilmembers, Jessie Lopez and Thai Viet Phan.
Petition signatures for the recall against Lopez have since been filed, and the City Council is expected to discuss the special election details at its meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 1. Signatures seeking a recall vote for Phan have yet to be submitted to the city clerk’s office.
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