SANTA ANA, Calif. — An independent police oversight firm has been hired by the city of Santa Ana to investigate allegations that an elite police unit is behaving like a gang — sharing skull tattoos and using heavy-handed tactics.
Among the allegations is a report that an unidentified, off-duty member of the Major Enforcement Team touched the buttock of a teenage girl at a Mexican restaurant in August 2020.
In a prepared statement and a video released on YouTube, Police Chief David Valentin announced late Monday that he has retained Mike Gennaco and his Playa del Rey-based OIR Group to look into what he called “baseless” allegations against the unit.
