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San Diego County Police Misconduct Attorney
San Diego County Police Misconduct AttorneyPolice Misconduct Attorney Jerry L. Steering has been suing the police since 1984 for police brutality, false arrests, malicious criminal prosecutions, wrongful deaths and First Amendment retaliation cases. Mr. Steering in an Expert and Specialist in suing the police in federal court for constitutional violations in the City of Vista, throughout San Diego County, and throughout the State of California. Mr. Steering has also sued the government as far away as in federal courts in Alabama and in the District of Columbia.
“THE YOUNG LAWYER KNOWS THE LAW, BUT THE OLD LAWYER KNOWS THE JUDGE”.
Mr. Steering’s many years of experience and acquired knowledge can help you maximize your chances of actually winning your Police Misconduct Civil Rights case, and winning is the only thing that matters. If you cannot win your Civil Rights Police Misconduct Lawsuit then you have no rights, because you have no way to enforce them, and a right without a remedy in the real world does not exist.
THE POLICE IN VISTA ARE OFTEN BRUTAL AND ARE INSTITUTIONALLY DISHONEST.
The City of Vista contracts its police services with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office that deploys out of the Vista Sheriff’s Station at 325 South Melrose Drive, Suite 210, Vista, California.
The Vista station has 79 sworn staff, including 38 patrol deputies, 17 special purpose officers, 12 area detectives, and 12 traffic/motor deputies. Seven of these personnel serve on the gang enforcement team, and four serve on the street narcotics and gang team.
The City of Vista has a population of 100,000 residents.
The demographics of the City of Vista are Hispanic or Latino (any race) 49.7%, White (Non-Hispanic) 36.1–36.7%, Asian (Non‑Hispanic) 4.9–5.1%, Two or more races (Non‑Hispanic) 4–5%, Black or African American (Non‑Hispanic) 2.4–2.8%, Native American 1.4%, Pacific Islander 0.6–0.8% and “other” races11.7% per projections).
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Vista Station reports around 200 known gang members active in Vista, with gang detail detectives handling over 40 ongoing cases in early 2025. See, Vista Sheriff’s Station pushes for more personnel, resources, The Coast News Group, March 5, 2025.
Vista has active gang-related concerns—particularly involving the Vista Home Boys and affiliated Hispanic street gangs like Sureños.
Historically, the Vista Home Boys—a recognized local criminal street gang—have been subject to gang injunctions in Vista neighborhoods. See, The People of the State of California v. Vista Home Boys, et al., San Diego Superior Court Case Number GIN044867. The Vista Home Boys are unusual because they choose to claim all of Vista, the whole town. Most gangs claim a defined area, bordered by certain streets, and then cross-town rivals invade and violence breaks out. There are about 200 Vista Home Boys who are documented and maybe another 100 who are not documented, according to the local experts who keep detailed files. See, Some bad news for the Vista Home Boys, San Diego Reader, May 1, 2019.
Other Hispanic street gangs in San Diego County—including the Sureños gangs, often aligned under the umbrella of the Mexican Mafia (La Eme) and engage in drug trafficking, extortion, assault, weapon violations, homicide, etc. See also, Dozens of gang members busted for acting on orders of Mexican Mafia: DA, NBC News 7 San Diego, January 22, 2025.
Because the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office has to deal with these criminal street gangs on a daily basis, many of the deputies have adopted a gangster mentality, with their motto being “We’re the baddest gang in town”. This type of deputy gangster mentality also often translates into abusing basically law abiding citizens; especially in what are known as “Contempt of Cop” situations.
“Contempt of Cop” situations usually involved civilians exercising their constitutional right to verbally protest or verbally challenge police orders and actions; a right that has long been clearly established by the United States Supreme Court since at least 1987.
As Associate United States Supreme Court Justice William Brennan so eloquently stated in that year in striking down a City of Houston, Texas Municipal Ordinance that criminalized interrupting a Houston Police Officer in the performance of their duties:
“The Houston ordinance is much more sweeping than the municipal ordinance struck down in Lewis. It is not limited to fighting words nor even to obscene or opprobrious language, but prohibits speech that “in any manner . . . interrupt[s]” an officer. The Constitution does not allow such speech to be made a crime. The freedom of individuals verbally to oppose or challenge police action without thereby risking arrest is one of the principal characteristics by which we distinguish a free nation from a police state.” Brennan, J. City of Houston v. Hill, 482 U.S. 451 (1987).
Notwithstanding what Justice Brennan had to say back in 1987, if you verbally protest or verbally challenge San Diego County Sheriff’s Office orders or actions, don’t be surprised if you end up being beaten or tased or pepper-sprayed, and falsely arrested and maliciously prosecuted for some fabricated “resistance offense”, such as violation of Cal. Penal Code § 69 (resisting officer with force), Cal. Penal Code § 148(a)(1) (resisting/delaying/obstructing an officer), Cal. Penal Code § 240/241 (assault on officer), Cal. Penal Code § 242 / 243(b) & (c) (battery on an officer causing injury) and Cal. Penal Code § 245(c) (assault on officer with weapon).
This is the reality of our times. If you are reading this article, you probably already know this.
IF YOU ARE THE VICTIM OF POLICE MISCONDUCT, JERRY L. STEERING CAN HELP YOU ACTUALLY ENFORCE YOUR RIGHTS BY WINNING YOUR CASE.
The only thing that matters when enforcing your rights, is whether you win your case. If you don’t win your case, then you have no rights because you have no way to enforce them.
Just because the police violated your constitutional rights doesn’t mean that you can do anything about it. In order to “do something about it”, to enforce your constitutional rights, it takes a great deal of experience, insights, skill and savvy. You need a unanimous jury of usually 8 jurors to vote in your favor in federal court to win your case. If you mouth-off to the cops or don’t do what the police tell you to do or cuss out the cops, or act like a jerk, one or more of the jurors in your case may not vote for you. That is the reality in which we all live.
Mr. Steering’s many years of experience and knowledge in suing the police can help you maximize your chances of winning your Police Misconduct Civil Rights case, and winning is the only thing that matters.
Jerry L. Steering has been suing police agencies for constitutional violations since 1984. He has the experience, insights, skill and savvy to actually win your police misconduct civil rights case, and winning is the only thing that matters. As the old saying goes, “The young lawyer knows the law, but the old lawyer knows the Judge”.
If you are the victim of police misconduct, Jerry L. Steering can help you. Call Jerry L. Steering, Esq. at (949) 474-1849, or email Mr. Steering at jerry@steeringlaw.com .
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