Free Republic

In a breach that may have compromised investigations of alleged police misconduct, an employee of San Jose's Independent Police Auditor repeatedly leaked confidential information over several years to the San Jose police officer's union, the union's former president has told the Mercury News. Police Sgt. Bobby Lopez said that the person, whom he would not identify, gave him inside information about complaints against police officers made to the IPA. At one point, he said he was tipped to an upcoming Mercury News story about the violent arrest of a San Jose State University student. Told of Lopez' comments, newly-appointed police...

San Jose already has a far higher rate of retired police and firefighters on disability than other large California city. And in the three years since a Mercury News investigation documented that trend, pension trustees haven't denied one of the dozens of claims that have come before them. But a city physician's effort to demand more medical documentation of career-ending injuries now has officers calling for his ouster. Police say Dr. Rajiv Das is holding up officers' disability retirements — which, unlike regular service pensions, are mostly tax-free. Though Das merely advises the trustees who decide disability retirements, police complain...

San Jose police must report illegal migrants, suit says S.J. COPS' REFUSAL IS UNDER ATTACK Amid a national debate over whether local police departments should help enforce immigration rules, a new lawsuit is charging San Jose and Police Chief Rob Davis with failing to report "suspected" illegal immigrants to federal authorities - a practice the suit alleges is itself against the law. The suit, filed by an Orange County attorney and activist, challenges a practice that San Jose and many other police departments openly acknowledge. If police were to pursue the immigration status of suspects, victims and witnesses, Davis has...

June 20 (ABC7) — Beginning today in San Jose, police recruits and new hires are required to learn basic Spanish. The Latino community accounts for a big portion of San Jose's population, and the police department is hoping this new program will help make the city even safer. ABC7's Thuy Vu reports. Officers in training at the San Jose Police Academy are learning not only how to shoot, but how to speak Spanish as part of their jobs.

San Jose police on Wednesday abruptly closed a weeklong criminal probe into alleged electronic eavesdropping in City Hall, angering the city auditor who believes his investigation into a botched technology contract may have been compromised. Police began investigating after City Auditor Gerald Silva in late July detected ``electronic fingerprints'' of several key city officials on a document connected with his probe of collusion and favoritism in the award of the $8 million networking contract. Among those officials, sources say, was Chief Information Officer Wandzia Grycz, who has since resigned after helping steer the city's networking business to Cisco Systems. But...

Posted on Tue, Oct. 21, 2003 Neighbor: S.J. officer shot woman 3 seconds after entering homeBy John WoolfolkMercury News Special to the Mercury News Bich Cau Thi Tran in a family photo with one of her two sons, Tommy Bui, 2. A San Jose policeman fatally shot Bich Cau Thi Tran three seconds after entering her home, a neighbor testified today in the opening day of a grand jury hearing that will determine whether the officer should be charged for her death.The testimony of Joy Tamez, who asked a friend to call police after seeing Tran acting strangely, suggested...