Ex-Rohnert Park police sergeant defends his home search tactics at civil rights trial

SAN FRANCISCO — Three Rohnert Park police officers defending themselves in a federal civil rights case brought by a local family accusing them of conducting an illegal, warrantless search of their home in 2014 testified Wednesday their actions were lawful and routine.

One key element revealed was not in the planned search. With Officers Dave Rodriguez and Matthew Snodgrass at the front door, former Sgt. Brendon Jacy Tatum — who resigned in June amid an investigation into his policework — hung back as the so-called 'catch officer' watching his partners' backs and for the possibility a suspect might run out a back door.

But instead of waiting by a side gate as he'd told his fellow officers he would do, Tatum went around to the back of the house, according to the trial testimony. He walked through an open door with his gun drawn and headed toward the kitchen, holstering his weapon then coming up behind the residents Elva and Raul Barajas. The officers were looking for the Barajas' adult son, Edgar Perez, then 35, who was on felony probation for drug possession. They didn't find him in the home.

Pressed by the Barajas' attorney, Arturo Gonzalez, Wednesday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco about whether entering the home armed escalates a situation, Tatum, 36, testified he did not and told the lawyer 'that's your opinion.'

'Would you agree that entering the home through a back door with your gun drawn, that exposes the people inside to danger?' Gonzalez said.

'No, I would not,' Tatum said.

The Barajas' lawsuit hinges on whether the U.S. Constitution's Fourth Amendment protections against warrantless, unreasonable searches extend to the family members of a person on probation, which gives police the authority with some limits to search the probationer's pockets, his bedroom and vehicle. The couple claims the officers violated their rights in the way they entered and searched their Santa Barbara Drive home, where they've lived for 27 years.

For the public, the Barajas' case provides a window into Rohnert Park's embattled joint police and firefighting agency, one described by some within and outside the department as having lax oversight of its officers and weak leadership. Public Safety Director Brian Masterson abruptly announced he would retire in June, one year after the rank-and-file members of his department called for his dismissal in an overwhelming no-confidence vote.

The trial's focus on Tatum's actions during that home search four years ago is another example of questions about police tactics that continue to follow him, even after he quit his job and, as he has said, left the law enforcement profession behind.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Sallie Kim has barred the lawyers from introducing details at trial of Tatum's work history beyond the search of the Barajas' home, so that the jurors can evaluate the suit on its own merits based on the evidence presented about the Nov. 4, 2014 search. Testimony will continue today.

As an officer, Tatum led the Rohnert Park public safety department's missions from 2014 to 2017 to disrupt the flow of illegal drugs into Sonoma County by making traffic stops on Highway 101, sometimes far outside the city near the Mendocino County line. This work brought the city hundreds of thousands of dollars in seized assets. He was commended and given awards for the work that led to those seizures.

His tactics, though, during those traffic stops have drawn public scrutiny and complaints from suspects he has pulled over. Earlier this year, the city settled a separate civil case against Tatum lodged by a high-stakes gambler who accused Tatum and another officer of unlawfully seizing his money during a traffic stop on March 10, 2016, on Highway 101 near Cloverdale but failing to book about $10,000 in cash into evidence — an accusation Tatum strongly denies.

Separately, in 2016, Tatum was documented to have provided false testimony in court, which put him on the so-called Brady list kept by prosecutors for police officers with credibility issues. The veteran officer resigned in June, several months after the city launched an internal investigation related to a single traffic stop in December 2017.

And in July, Rohnert Park announced it had hired a police auditor to conduct a broad inquiry into the practices and policies of its public safety department amid a series of complaints about the seizure of drugs and money on Highway 101.

These issues have bubbled under the surface during the first two days of the trial in a courtroom on the 15th floor of the federal courthouse. On Tuesday, the first day, a lawyer for Rohnert Park, Scott Lewis, told the judge it wasn't clear whether Tatum would testify because the former officer was concerned about media coverage.

But Tatum appeared in court Wednesday and provided testimony for several hours, and his complicated history with the city's public safety department came to the surface.

When Lewis began his cross-examination of the former officer, he started by asking Tatum when he started as a police officer. Tatum was overcome with emotion and fought back tears as he answered the lawyer's questions.

At another point during Tatum's testimony, the former sergeant deflected when asked by Gonzalez, the plaintiffs' lawyer, to confirm he has provided false testimony under oath in the past.

'You've testified untruthfully under oath haven't you?' Gonzalez asked him.

After a long pause, Tatum asked what Gonzalez was referring to and said 'if you could point to a specific case...'

'You're aware of the fact you testified untruthfully in Superior Court in Sonoma County,' Gonzalez said.

Lewis objected, and the judge told Gonzalez to move on from the topic.

Tatum defended his decision to enter the Barajas' home in 2014 and said he heard his fellow officers talking with the residents and so thought the officers were already inside the house.

'A probation search is a fluid moving thing,' Tatum testified. 'You react; it wasn't a plan, sir.'

But his testimony was undermined by his former colleague, Rodriguez, who retired as a police officer two years ago. Under questioning from Gonzalez, Rodriguez admitted he was surprised to see Tatum was already inside the home while he was still talking to Mr. Barajas through the locked security screen door.

'Would you agree that when a police officer enters through the back door, would you agree that is fraught with danger?' Gonzalez said.

'Yes, that's dangerous,' Rodriguez said.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to accurately describe an internal investigation Rohnert Park officials launched involving a traffic stop in December 2017.

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 707-521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jjpressdem.