Woman's damage claim led to police chief's scrutiny

Contra Costa Times
July 6, 2003 Sunday FINAL EDITION
RICHMOND -- The case that triggered an avalanche of mistrust among City Council members and scrutiny of Police Chief Joseph Samuels Jr. began as a routine traffic stop.

Early Feb. 17, 2002, Officer Patrick J. Sweeney pulled over a 34-year-old woman near South 15th Street and Cutting Boulevard for a minor traffic violation, according to a Nov. 21 damage claim against the city.

He checked her record for warrants and, finding none, said he would give her a break -- allegedly with one catch.

"Officer Sweeney told (the woman) that he wanted her to go home, put on lingerie and have sex with him," according to the claim. "(The woman) was shocked, but felt she had to do what Officer Sweeney wanted her to do. He was a police officer, carrying a gun, and she felt that she was powerless given his authority."

The Times does not name possible sexual abuse victims without their consent.

The woman did not respond to numerous attempts to contact her over several weeks. Her attorney said without her permission he could not comment.

Richmond council members, reading the claim for the first time in December, saw that Sweeney was the target of both internal affairs and criminal investigations connected with the incident.

At a closed meeting, members asked whether the officer had been disciplined.

Sources say the council received different answers from three staff members: "Don't worry about it," "He's not coming back," and a statement that Sweeney had been fired.

But soon afterward, a council member stumbled across a monthly statistical report documenting police officer injuries. It showed Sweeney remained on the payroll, using injury leave to nurse an ailing wrist he hurt on the job.

Samuels said he recalls telling the council that he had recommended Sweeney be fired.

According to a series of damage claims filed against the city between September and November 2002, the woman said she performed oral sex on Sweeney the day of the traffic stop.

She filed a complaint against him with police internal affairs on Feb. 21, 2002, only to receive a surprise telephone call.

"After repeatedly being called and threatened by Officer Sweeney, (she) returned to internal affairs to withdraw her complaint," according to the claim.

Despondent and feeling powerless, the woman submitted to sex with Sweeney at least four more times last spring all while he was on duty, according to the claims.

Sweeney, who took a medical retirement May 9 over the wrist injury, denies he ever had sex with the woman or knew her before the Feb. 21 complaint.

He claims to be the victim of an elaborate plot by street criminals to remove him from duty. Sweeney, 33, says many criminals inhabiting the Easter Hill public housing project and other areas he patrolled "hated and feared" him because of his efficacy as a police officer.

"Those people wanted me out of there," Sweeney said. "I was very proactive. I've been shot at, dragged by a car. -- I took a lot of people to jail, got tommy guns, Uzis, rock cocaine, crystal meth, working 13-hour days. I don't know when I would have time to do all this stuff" the woman claims.

After a second internal affairs complaint was filed in July 2002, the department investigated. Samuels said he could not release the findings because it is a personnel matter.

Sources say the police investigation revealed the woman told investigators she and Sweeney were in a relationship.

Still, the case caught the eye of a social worker who helped domestic violence and sexual assault victims, who relayed the information to the police department's Family Services Unit, which investigates sexual assault.

Sgt. Mark Gagan, head of the unit, initiated a criminal investigation. The Contra Costa District Attorney's Office conducted an independent investigation.

"We interviewed her in detail," Gagan said. "I believe that in the end -- all of us were convinced that the actions were not criminal," meaning the facts would not meet the legal tests required to successfully prosecute the case.

Sweeney was not disciplined. Samuels said his injury leave prevented the city from following some steps required by state law to fire him.

Sweeney will receive a portion of his pay and benefits for life, human resources manager Rob Larson said.

In February 2003, the City Council settled the woman's claim for $35,000.