>KATE WELLS
>Attorney at Law
>2600 Fresno Street
>Santa Cruz, California 95062
>Telephone: (831) 479-4475
>Facsimile: (831) 479-4476
>lioness (at) got.net
>
>June 2, 2003
>
>Dear Councilmembers:
>
> "It was early evening on a November day five years ago when Oliverio Martinez, 29,
rode his bicycle down a path and across a vacant lot toward a row of small homes. Two
officers, Andrew Salinas and Maria Pena, had stopped to question a man they suspected,
wrongfully it turned out, of selling drugs.

When they heard a squeaky bike approach in
the dark, they called for the rider to stop. Martinez dismounted and put his hands over his
head. In a leather sheath on a waist band, he carried a long knife that he used to cut
strawberries. When the officer patted him down and grabbed for the knife, Martinez tried
to run. Salinas tackled him and tried to handcuff him.

As they struggled on the ground, the officer called out that the man had a huge knife. Pena moved closer and fired. One bullet struck Martinez near the left eye and exited behind his right eye. A second hit his spine. Three more shots hit his legs. When patrol supervisor Sgt. Ben Chavez arrived, a handcuffed Martinez lay bleeding on the ground.

Once Martinez was loaded into an ambulance, Chavez climbed in with a tape recorder in hand. On and off for the next 45 minutes in the ambulance and at the hospital, he repeatedly asked the gravely wounded man to admit he had grabbed the officer's gun and provoked the struggle.

In agony, Martinez is heard screaming in pain and saying he is choking and dying. 'OK. You're dying. But tell me why you were fighting with the police?' Chavez asks. 'Did you want to
kill the police or what?' he continues. One officer had said Martinez tried to grab his gun.

In the emergency room, Chavez continued to press Martinez to tell him what happened. 'Did you get his gun?...Did you try to shoot the police?' Martinez in a low voice responds: 'I don't know...I don't know?'

Lawyers for Martinez say he panicked when the officer tried to tackle him. but they say he did not grab the officer's gun. In the emergency room, he is heard asking Chavez several times to leave him alone. 'I don't want to say anything
anymore.' 'No? You don't want to say what happened?' the sergeant continues. 'It's
hurting alot. Please!' Martinez implores, his words trailing off into agonized screams.

Undaunted, Chavez resumes. 'Well if you're going to die, tell me what happened.' Silence
came only when pain medication took hold and Martinez faded into unconsciousness."
Los Angeles Times report.

> Martinez lived - he is now paralyzed and blind. He was never charged with any crime. Martinez brought a lawsuit against Chavez alleging a violation of his Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment rights to be free from unreasonable interrogation (self incrimination). It is undisputed that Martinez was never read his Miranda rights and that on several occasions Martinez pleaded with Chavez to stop and allow him to be treated for his wounds.

> You can hear the tape for yourself - an agonizing experience - by going to www.democracynow.org , scroll down to Friday May 30, 2003, and click on "Exclusive: Democracy Now! Broadcasts a recording of a police sergeant interrogating a man moments after police shoot him 5 times, paralyzing and blinding him."

> In the lawsuit, Chavez (the interrogating sergeant) brought a summary judgment claiming that he was entitled to immunity from damages - that he had not violated Martinez' Fifth or Fourteenth amendment rights by his interrogation. The judge at the district court found that Chavez had violated Martinez' rights and ordered a trial on the matter.

Chavez appealed to the Ninth Circuit and they upheld the decision of the trial court. Chavez then appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court who, in a decision written by right wing extremist justice Clarence Thomas, held that there was no violation of Martinez' Fifth Amendment rights, and that what Chavez did to Martinez was not "shocking to the conscious".

They held that since his words were not used against him afterwards, that Martinez had not suffered any injury!!

In other words, any method of interrogation is okay so long as the the results are not used against the interrogee.

> Why am I telling you this? Because when I was reading the briefs prepared by the parties, I found an amicus brief filed on behalf of an organization called IMLA (International Municipal Lawyers' Association) urging the Supreme Court to find that Chavez had not violated Martinez' constitutional rights.

As part of the brief, the IMLA brags that 50 cities in California had signed on in support of the brief. When I scrolled down the list, I was shocked and dismayed to find "Santa Cruz" on the list of supporters.

I did some research and discovered that Santa Cruz is a member of the California League
of Cities (CLC) which is associated with the IMLA. There are some 477 member cities in
the CLC and there are approximately 725 cities in California.

How could it possibly be that the city of Santa Cruz was one of only 50 cities to sign on to this horrendous document which condones torture as a method of interrogation? Obviously, 675
California cities declined the invitation to sign on.

> I would like you to answer some questions for me please:

> 1. It costs money to join in these amicus briefs, did any Santa Cruz taxpayer
money go to this cause? And if so, how much?

> 2. Who made the decision to join in this amicus brief?

> 3. Did the city council have any input in the decision to join in the brief?

> 4. What is the process by which a decision is made whether or not to join in an
amicus brief?

> 5. Was the city attorney involved in the process? If so, how?

> 6. Was the city manager involved in the process? If so, how?

> 7. Was the police department involved in the process? If so, how?

> This is a formal request for any documents relating to the decision to join the city of Santa Cruz in support of this amicus brief. Let me know who to contact to receive the
documents and how much the copying costs are.

> Very truly yours,
>
> /s/
>
> Kate Wells
>
>cc: John Barisone, Esq.
> Richard Wilson
> Editor: Santa Cruz Sentinel
> Good Times
> Metro News