Jerry L. Steering is a Police Brutality Attorney who has been suing the police since 1984. Mr. Steering sues police officers and deputy sheriffs in Rancho Cucamonga and Chino, California, for false arrests, police brutality * excessive force, malicious prosecutions, wrongful police shootings and smotherings and canine maulings. The City of Chino has its own police department. The City of Rancho Cucamonga contracts with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department for its police services. For many years now, both the Chino Police Department and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department have ruled their territory with an iron fist. These two areas are “hot spots” for outrageous police misconduct in San Bernardino County. Mr. Steering has been suing the police in San Bernardino County since 1986, and has had a successful record in doing so. For example, Mr. Steering obtained a $714,000.00 judgment against the San Bernardino County in 1995 in the case of Daniel Morgan v. County of San Bernardino; an excessive force case. In Thomas Austin v. County of San Bernardino, Mr. Steering obtained a $500,000.00 jury verdict against the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department for false arrest and malicious prosecution. In Tommy Franks v. County of San Bernardino, Mr. Steering obtained a $500,000.00 judgment after jury verdict for false arrest. Calderon v. County of San Bernardino, U.S. Dist. Court, Central Dist. of Cal. (Riverside)(2003), $115,000.00 settlement for false arrest and illegal search; Arroyo v. City of San Bernardino, U.S. Dist. Court, Central Dist. of Cal. (Riverside)(2004), $125,000.00 settlement for unreasonable seizure of person; Ford v. County of San Bernardino, (2007), $80,000.00 settlement for excessive force; In In re Jane Doe v. County of San Bernardino, et al., (2008), Mr. Steering obtained a $290,000.00 settlement (prior to filing lawsuit) for sexually motivated mistreatment of arrestee In Aubry v. County of San Bernardino, et. al, U.S. Dist. Court (LA) 2012, Mr. Steering obtained a $325,000.00 settlement for the use of unreasonable force and for false arrest. In Penny Trent v. County of San Bernardino, et al.,U.S. Dist. Court (LA) 2012, Mr. Steering obtained a $600,000.00 settlement for unreasonable force, false arrest and unlawful search of residence. In Alba Freeman v. City of Barstow, Mr. Steering obtained $1,150,000.00 for a excessive force. Although San Bernardino County is not nearly as heavily populated as other areas in Southern California, the “crime rate” of crimes and Constitutional Torts committed by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department is astounding. Although San Bernardino County is not nearly as heavily populated as other areas in Southern California, the “crime rate” of crimes and Constitutional Torts committed by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department is astounding. San Bernardino County has become a hot bed for “cops gone wild”; cops that are out of control, and nobody is going to do anything about; at least anybody from the Sheriff’s Department, or the Judges of the San Bernardino County Superior Court. When San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department deputy sheriffs were chasing a man in the high desert and did not realize by a news station helicopter was hovering above the Sheriff’s Department helicopter, they brutally beat Francis Pusok. See, “Sheriff Orders Immediate Internal Investigation Into Arrest Seen on “Disturbing” Video”. Mr. Steering also represents persons in police misconduct cases throughout California. both civil and criminal case in Los Angeles County, San Diego County, Riverside County and Orange County. He is an expert in brutality / excessive force and false arrest cases; both civil and criminal. Mr. Steering has successfully sued San Bernardino County police agencies successfully, for many years now. POLICE MISCONDUCT CASES IN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY. San Bernardino County is a very special place when it comes to police misconduct. Officer Involved Shooting Investigations by the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office are done by reading the police report (that is no joke). The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office is not interested in prosecuting crimes by peace officers against the public for duty related activities such as falsely arresting civilians, using unlawful / unreasonable force upon civilians, unlawfully searching and seizing persons and places, authoring false police reports, committing perjury [for the government] , withholding exculpatory evidence, framing innocents [to protect selves from liability]. If a cop steals a candy bar or drives drunk or commits a sex offense Mr. Ramos has no problem with prosecuting the officer. If the crime committed by the officer is “duty related”, his/her employing Municipal employer and Mr. Ramos will back them all of the way; save that rare event that the duty related police outrage is proven by “real evidence”, such as when a police outrage is captured clearly on a video or audio recording. See, e.g. the SBSD beating of Francis Pusok. “Backing them all the way” also includes criminally prosecuting the civilian victim of the police outrage. The lawyers, the judges and the police all understand that if you are convicted of a crime you can’t sue the police for false arrest, regardless of whether the officer who arrested you either had a warrant or probable cause to believe that you committed a crime, Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 (1994). The lawyers, the judges and the police also understand that if you are convicted of a “resistance offense“, not only can you can’t you sue for false arrest, but now you can’t sue for anything else; based upon the bar of Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 (1994) and “the doctrine of collateral estoppel“. These doctrines will generally preclude one from successfully suing the police for “constitutional torts” such as false arrests (U.S. Const. Amend. 4), us of unreasonable force (U.S. Const. Amend. 4), retaliation for free speech / verbal challenge or protest police actions (U.S. Const. Amend. 1), withholding / concealing / destroying exculpatory evidence (U.S. Const. Amend. 5, U.S. Const. Amend. 6 & 14), (U.S. Const. Amend. 4) (i.e. unreasonable force, first amendment retaliation). This is because “resistance offenses” can only be committed against a peace officer if the officer was acting lawfully; in the lawful performance of their duties. Accordingly, if you are convicted of a “resistance offense” crime you generally can’t sue the police at all. No one understands this all better than San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael Ramos. On May 15, 2013 Mr. Ramos announced the formation of his agency’s “CAPO” Division. That Division of the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office’s mission is to literally prosecute those victims of police outrages perpetrated against them. This is no joke. Mr. Ramos announced to the world that his office will not be dismissed criminal cases where the alleged victim is a peace office. See, Channel 9 KCAL news piece on CAPO, starring Mr. Ramos. San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael Ramos has established a Division in the agency whose mission is to prosecute the innocent victims of police beatings and bogus “contempt of cop arrests”; to preclude the victims of police outrages from obtaining redress (i.e. money from a lawsuit) by obtaining guilty pleas to the most de minimis offense. Ask any criminal defense lawyer who practices law in San Bernardino County. They deal with the CAPO Deputy District Attorney’s who “persecute” these innocents; real innocents. They will all tell you that the District Attorney’s Office will prosecute their innocent clients to protect the police. They will tell you that the Deputy District Attorney’s in that office tell them that they have to ask the permission of the police officer “victim” to get his/her consent to dismiss the bogus criminal action against their clients. This also is no joke. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department is one of the most brutal and dishonest police agencies in the United States. Like the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department has no policy requiring their deputies to audio or video record their contacts with the public. They do this because they only want a judge or a jury to hear one side of the story; theirs. Any police agency that actually believes that recording their contacts with the public is going to benefit the police is delusional. It doesn’t. It may help with a few false complaints by civilians, but overall benefit from officers recording their contacts will be greatly outweighed by detriment those recordings would cause to the agency (i.e. the FBI did not even record their witness interviews until 2014. MR. STEERING’S POLICE MISCONDUCT CASES IN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY. Here are a few examples of cases that Mr. Steering has won against the San Bernardino County Sheriff Department; an agency that has literally gone off of the deep end in the High Desert / Victor Valley area: Morgan v. County of San Bernardino, U.S. Dist. Court, Cent. Dist. of Cal. (Riverside) (1996), $714,000.00 settlement following jury verdict for excessive force and false arrest during search warrant execution in Apple Valley, California; Austin v. County of San Bernardino, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, $500,000.00 jury verdict for false arrest and excessive force; Lopez v. County of San Bernardino, U.S. Dist. Court Cent. Dist. of Cal. (Riverside) (2002), $50,000.00 settlement for racially motivated battery; Miller v. City of San Bernardino, et al, U.S. Dist. Court Cent. Dist. of Cal. (Riverside) (2003), $35,000.00 settlement for unlawful detention; Calderon v. County of San Bernardino, U.S. Dist. Court, Central Dist. of Cal. (Riverside)(2003), $115,000.00 settlement for false arrest and illegal search; Arroyo v. City of San Bernardino, U.S. Dist. Court, Central Dist. of Cal. (Riverside)(2004), $125,000.00 settlement for unreasonable seizure of person; Ford v. County of San Bernardino, (2007), $80,000.00 settlement for excessive force; In re Jane Doe v. County of San Bernardino, et al., (2008), $290,000.00 settlement (prior to filing lawsuit) for sexually motivated mistreatment of arrestee; and Aubry v. County of San Bernardino, et. al, U.S. Dist. Court (LA) 2012, $325,000.00 settlement for the use of unreasonable force and for false arrest. Penny Trent v. County of San Bernardino, et al.,U.S. Dist. Court (LA) 2012, $600,000.00 settlement for unreasonable force, false arrest and unlawful search of residence. WHAT YOU CAN DO Someone has to stand-up to the bullies of society, who think that using state police power to humiliate others, is funny, and makes them big men (or women.) There are thousands of others like you, who are good people, and have been somehow, for some reason that you could not have ever imagined, victimized by the government. It might as well be you. Stand-up for justice. Stand-up for our form of self-government. Stand-up for the spilled-blood of our fathers, who bravery died to prevent the very thing, that the government is doing to you right now. Click on “Home”, above, or the other pages shown, for the information or assistance that we can provide for you. If you need to speak with a lawyer about your particular legal situation, please call the Law Offices of Jerry L. Steering for a free telephone consultation. Also, if you have been the victim of a False Arrest or Excessive Force by a police officer, check our Section, above, entitled: “What To Do If You Have Been Beaten-Up Or False Arrested By The Police“. Thank you, and best of luck, whatever your needs. Law Offices of Jerry L. Steering Jerry L. Steering, Esq.
