On the heels of an officer-involved shooting that resulted in massive protests throughout San Diego’s East County, newly-released figures reveal that El Cajon police were involved in 12 shootings between the years 2006 and 2016. That gives the El Cajon Police Department the highest per capita shooting rate of any law enforcement agency in the county, according to an analysis by the San Diego Union-Tribune.
The county civil grand jury recommended the establishment of a citizens review board in August, but the idea was rejected by the city council which argued that overall relations between the community and its police were good. In 2015, there were 93,000 citizen contacts with law enforcement but only a single complaint filed, the council said. Previous years showed relatively few complaints as well.
El Cajon police have been under intense scrutiny since the fatal shooting of 38-year-old Alfred Olango on Sept. 27. Officers saw him pointing an object, which turned out to be a vaping device. As for the latest analysis, the El Cajon Police Department said they would have to review it further before commenting. Mayor Bill Wells also stood by the city’s police officers.
“As mayor, I get lots and lots of complaints, but I don’t get complaints about the police,” he said. “If people thought we were shutting them down and not allowing them to make complaints, we would have heard about it.”