Expert Witness Report Draft

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Friday, March 05, 2010

Expert Witness Report

Report and Opinion

Re: Salem Zahn v. City of Fort Worth Texas

This report incorporates information received to date through investigative interviews, field interrogations and FOIA requestssubmitted to the city of Fort Worth Texas. The report also relies on investigative evidence including audio and video tapecollected by IRA investigations and private investigator Bill Albright.

Introduction:

Policeabuse.com received a complaint from Ms. Salem Zahn approximately July 1, 2009. Ms. Zahn reported that she was thevictim of police abuse at the hands of Fort Worth police officers on January 20, 2009. Ms. Zahn reported that she had goneto a nightclub in Fort Worth on the evening of July 19, 2009. Ms. Zahn was accompanied by her friend Debbie Hunter. Thetwo women entered the club Neon Nights at approximately 10 PM. According to Ms. Zahn she and her friend remained atthe club a few hours until closing time at 2 AM. During their time in the club Ms. Zahn stated she had two drinks. She spentmost of the evening in conversation with other persons in the club. She did not have any confrontations or fightsthroughout the evening.

The Club Neon Nights opened with an offer of a $20,000 prize to be awarded one of the patrons following a raffle. However noone won the raffle and the club did not mention why the prize was not being awarded. As the nightclub began to close andparticipants started leaving Ms. Zahn reported that she approached the manager to make a complaint Ms. Zahn told themanager that she found their failure to award the prize suspicious and thought that perhaps she had other customers hadbeen misled. The manager contacted an off-duty police officer who was working in the club as private security. Ms. Zahnwas unaware that the officer had been contacted. She left the club with Ms. Hunter and waited for their vehicle. Almostimmediately after stepping outside Ms. Zahn reentered the club to use the restroom. Ms. Zahn reported that she wasconfronted by a Fort Worth police officer named Serrano. She stated that Officer Serrano knocked her down. Ms. Zahn saidthe officer then drove his knee into her back repeatedly while she was on the ground. The officer took her to his patrol carafter placing her in handcuffs. While Ms. Zahn waited for the officer to take her to jail she said that noticed that herhandcuff had come loose. She went to the officer and advised him that they handcuff had slipped off. According to Ms. Zahnthe officer became angry and accused her of spitting on him. He then slammed her head into the side of the police car. Theattack was witnessed by her friend Debbie Hunter from across the street. Ms. Hunter had a clear view of the incident andthe area was well lit.

Qualifications

My qualifications are as described in my curriculum vitae. To summarize, I am a former member of the Hawthorne PoliceDepartment, in the State of California, where I was at various times, a police officer, field supervisor, detective andsergeant. I was specially trained as an undercover investigator by the Los Angeles County Sheriffs office. As a member of


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the Hawthorne Police Department, I have performed all the duties of a law enforcement officer. I engaged in the traffic stopof motorists, investigations, arrests, handcuffing, transporting and processing of individuals.

I hold an advanced certificate in Peace Officer Standards and Training. I am a qualified instructor in Police Control RestraintTechniques. 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 Sheriffs Deputy in Ventura County, California. I spent a combined period of approximately nine years as aSheriffs Deputy and police officer. I have testified before the California State Assembly and the United States Congress on

police practices. My investigative work in the field of law enforcement has resulted in changes in the law in California andpolicy changes and review in hundreds of police agencies.

I am the CEO of Policeabuse.com, a national organization that investigates and documents alleged police misconductthroughout the United States. My organization has conducted numerous undercover investigations documenting racialprofiling and other misconduct by various law enforcement organizations throughout the United States. Our videos areused by more than 1200 police departments and the DOJ for training. Policeabuse.com maintains the only national videodatabase for complaints of police misconduct allegations in the United States.

I have conducted training sessions for law enforcement organizations throughout the United States, including training andseminars for police chiefs. I earned a bachelors degree from California Lutheran University and Masters Degree in criminal

justice from Penn State University. I have served as an Adjunct Professor of Criminal Justice at Florida A&M University andFlorida State University. I have been a licensed private investigator for 10 years and I have conducted numerousinvestigations in that capacity. I have more than 500 investigations of police misconduct in my experience. I havepublished editorials in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times. As an investigative journalist my stories have receivedacknowledgements; thus far four Emmy awards and four Edward R Murrow awards for investigative journalism.

Task to Be Performed

I was retained as an expert witness to review case material and render a professional opinion on whether or not officers fromthe Fort Worth Police Department may have engaged in misconduct while working in an off duty assignment at the FortWorth nightclub Neon Nights. I was also asked to render an opinion on whether or not the police conduct that I reviewedwas consistent or inconsistent with established police practices.

Materials Reviewed

In preparing my reports, review the following materials which are commonly examined in any area of expertise and renderingprofessional/expert opinions on police practices.

Videotaped Interviews of VictimVideotaped Interviews of WitnessMedical Records of the VictimPolice Reports of Incidents at Same Location for a Six-Month Period of TimeCourt Records and Police ReportsInternational Association of Chiefs of Police Model Policies in the Following Areas

Use of Force

Arrest Procedure General Standards of Conduct

Brief summary of facts and opinion With Relevant Comments

Based on my review of the above materials and my training, education, experience, professional qualifications in policeoperations, practices and procedures I offer the following opinions within a reasonable degree of professional certainty.


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Zahn had not committed any crime by complaining to the club manager. Ms. Hunter corroborates her statement that she hadonly two drinks and was not behaving inappropriately during their time at the club. Based on the statements of bothparties there is no evidence supporting a need for force to be used against Ms. Zahn who is 4'11" tall weighing less than110 pounds. The officers use of force is yet unexplained. We are awaiting reports from the police that may influence myopinion. Pending review of those reports, it is my expert opinion that the Fort Worth Police Department officers behavedin a manner inconsistent with their own policies and applicable standards commonly used to guide police conduct. It is my

opinion that the officers used excessive force at least two times during the encounter with Salem Zahn. Furthermore it ismy opinion that Ms. Zahn should not have been arrested or contacted by the police based on evidence reviewed.

Police officers are entitled to use force in circumstances where they are facing resistance, threat of harm or in the defense ofcitizens. According to the witness Debbie Hunter Ms. Zahn was not resisting when the officer slammed her head into thepatrol car. Ms. Hunter had an obstructed view of the incident. She has proven to be a credible witness and is willing totestify under penalty of perjury. After reviewing the available interview materials and reading the appropriate policiesrelative to this incident my conclusion is that this matter should be investigated by the Fort Worth Police Departmentinternal affairs unit.

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

Diop Kamau, CEO

Policeabuse.com

Expert Witness Report Draft

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