Policeabuse.

com

REPORT AND OPINION

Re: William Klein v. City of Walnut Creek

This report incorporates information received to date, through interviews, field investigation, and
FOIA request submitted to the city of Walnut Creek. I reserve the right to amend this report should
additional information become available to me.

INTRODUCTION

Policeabuse.com received a complaint from Mr. William Klein on January 11, 2009. Mr. Klein
reported that he had an incident at his home involving three to five Walnut Creek police officers. Mr.
Klein reported that on the evening of Jan. 8, 2009 he was visiting a friend in a nearby apartment
complex at 8 PM. After watching an hour television show Mr. Klein returned to his apartment
shortly after 9 PM. After entering his apartment, Klein and his wife Carla chatted as he attempted to
fix a closet door that had become unhinged. Mr. Klein reported that he and his wife did not have any
disputes and that they were getting along very well. Shortly after Mr. Klein returned home, several
Walnut Creek police officers arrived at his apartment. According to Mr. Klein the officers separated
him from his wife and ordered him out onto a balcony. He was then ordered down to his knees.
While in this position an officer placed a weapon or heavy object on the back of Klein’s head. Mr.
Klein was unsure what the object was because he was restricted in his movements and could not turn
to look at the officer. Mr. Klein reported that the officers were abrasive and rude. He reported that
the officers did not conduct a proper investigation consistent with the disturbance call they were
investigating. Though the officers told Mr. Klein they were there to investigate a domestic incident
they did not question his wife about their relationship. Mr. Klein points out that the officers were
hostile throughout the encounter. Mr. Klein was offended by the search of his apartment, and the
detention of his wife. He was also upset about being placed in an embarrassing position (on his
knees) in front of his neighbors. Mr. Klein expressed concerns that his political activities might be the
cause for the police action.

We flew to San Francisco January 23, 2009 to interview Mr. Klein and his wife. We also inspected the
scene of the incident and took photographs and video of Mr. Klein's apartment. We have included
some of the raw video with this opinion. We have re-interviewed Mr. Klein on three subsequent
occasions since our trip and we have spoken with three witnesses that Mr. Klein supplied. Though
the witnesses did not see the events, they were familiar with Mr. Klein’s reputation and demeanor up
to the day of the incident. The witnesses also provided information about the apartment complex
and other noise/disturbance issues at the location. The witnesses supported Mr. Klein's contention
that he is a cooperative and well-liked neighbor within the complex. A second witness confirmed
that Mr. Klein was visiting with her before the police incident as he described in his interview with
me. Klein’s witness reported that he had one drink and was not intoxicated when he left her
apartment. I have removed witness names from this report pending their agreement to have their
names used.

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QUALIFICATIONS

My qualifications are as described in my curriculum. To summarize, I have served as an Adjunct

Professor of Criminal Justice at Florida A&M University and Florida State University. I earned a
Masters degree in criminal justice from Penn State University. I am also the CEO of Policeabuse.com,
a national non-profit organization that investigates and documents alleged police misconduct
throughout the United States. Policeabuse.com maintains the only national database for complaints
of police misconduct allegations in the United States. I conduct training sessions for law enforcement
organizations throughout the United States, including training and seminars for police chiefs. I am
also a licensed private investigator and have conducted numerous investigations in that capacity. I
have more than 500 investigations of police misconduct in my experience.

I have trained more than 5,000 police officers on police practices, the use of force and racial
profiling. I have also trained about 500 chiefs of police and 200 sheriffs across the United States on
police misconduct. I have been under contract with the Florida Highway Patrol to train troopers on
the issue of police conduct. I have contracted with the Lauderhill Police Department in South
Florida, and several other agencies, to teach the preventive measures which supervisors may employ
to prevent misconduct and discriminatory traffic stops. I have had similar contracts with the
Broward County Sheriff’s Office.

I have been invited by many reputable organizations, including the United States Department of
Justice, to either lecture or make presentations on racial profiling by law enforcement. My
organization has conducted numerous undercover investigations documenting racial profiling and
other misconduct by various law enforcement organizations throughout the United States. Our
videos are used by more than 1200 police departments across the country for training.

I am a former member of the Hawthorne Police Department, in the State of California, where I was
at various times, a police officer, field supervisor, detective and sergeant. I specialized in undercover
and sting operations. As a member of the Hawthorne Police Department, I have conducted
investigations, arrests, handcuffing, transporting and processing of individuals. I also have an
advanced certificate in Peace Officer Standards and Training. I am a qualified instructor in Police
Control Restraint Techniques. I have been qualified as an expert in police practices in both federal
court and California state courts, especially with regard to the use of force, report writing and officer
misconduct. Prior to becoming a police officer, I had worked as a Sheriff’s Deputy in Ventura County,
California. I spent a combined period of approximately nine years as a Sheriff’s Deputy and police
officer.

I have testified before the California State Assembly and the United States Congress on police
practices. I have won many awards and accolades for my investigative work in the field of law
enforcement.

TASK TO BE PERFORMED

I was retained to review the case materials and render a professional opinion on whether or not
officers from the Walnut Creek police department may have engaged in misconduct while
investigating a disturbance at the home of Mr. William Klein and his wife. I was also asked to render
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an opinion on whether the conduct I reviewed was consistent or inconsistent with established police
practices.

MATERIALS REVIEWED

In preparing my reports, I reviewed the following materials, which are commonly examined, in my
area of expertise in rendering professional/expert opinions:

Walnut Creek Police Reports

Walnut Creek Radio Logs
Witness Statements
recorded interviews three witnesses (3 hours)
Victim interviews (6 hours)
Video from incident location (2 hours)
International Association of Chiefs of Police Model Policies in the below areas

Use of force

Arrests

Field interviews Citizen Contact

Domestic Disturbances

Standards of conduct

BRIEF SUMMARY OF FACTS OPINION WITH RELEVANT COMMENTS

Based upon my review of the above materials and on my training, education, experience,
professional qualifications in police operations, practices and procedure, I offer the following
opinions within a reasonable degree of professional certainty. It is my expert opinion that the Walnut
Creek police officers violated a number of policies related to the investigation of domestic violence
complaints, use of force and basic officer conduct. Based on the witness statements, International
Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) policies and evidence supplied by the Walnut Creek Police
department, it is my professional opinion that this matter was mishandled.

There is no evidence that Mr. Klein was abusing his wife when the officers arrived. A more
thorough investigation would have revealed that the reporting party that made the 911 call to Walnut
Creek Police Department was a neighbor with whom Mr. Klein was having a dispute. She had made
similar complaints in the past without basis.

In addition to failing to investigate the disturbance adequately, officers used more force than was
reasonable to control Mr. Klein who was cooperative throughout the encounter according to witness
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statements and reports. Though it may have been reasonable to order Mr. Klein out of the apartment,
it does not seem necessary to order him to the ground when he is not resisting and while sufficient
officers were there to control the situation. Moreover it is my expert opinion that any force used at
the point that Mr. Klein was on the ground was inconsistent with standards that a reasonable officer
would employ under similar circumstances.

My conclusions are based on information reviewed thus far and information available in the public
record. I have requested the internal policies of the Walnut Creek Police Department. I have not
received them as of this date. It is my professional opinion that Mr. Klein was subjected to excessive
force and an improper search. After the scene had been secured and it was evident that Mr. Klein
presented no threat, the officers should have quickly and thoroughly explain their actions. Moreover,
their continued search of Mr. Klein's apartment in areas not relevant to the call was inappropriate
and inconsistent with international and national policing standards. According to International
Association of Chiefs of Police protocol the officers should have thoroughly investigated the matter
including taking extra steps to ensure that the report that had been made was valid. There was no
protection order between Mr. Klein and his wife. The officers made no effort to investigate this
contradiction to the 911 report. Again, according to IACP policies, the officers should have contacted
all potential witnesses and collected all available evidence.

Again, I reserve the right to amend or supplement this report should any other relevant information
become available to me.

6-1-2009
_______________________
Diop Kamau