U.S. Justice Dept. Moves to Defuse Tension in Slaying

Prompted by what she called “mounting racial tension,” a U.S. Justice Department mediator held the first of several meetings Wednesday with Westminster residents angry about last month’s fatal shooting of an 18-year-old Latino by police.

Ada Santiago Montare, a federal conciliator who met with community residents individually Wednesday night, said the department’s mediation and conciliation arm, the Community Relations Service, entered the Westminster case because of the rising tension between Westminster police and the community.

“Our goal is to try and improve relations here and try to reach a peaceful solution,” Montare said.

The department’s decision to intervene was made Tuesday, several weeks after the July 15 fatal shooting of Frank Anthony Martinez by a Westminster police officer investigating a gang incident in Martinez’s neighborhood.

Martinez died in the driveway of his home after he was shot by the unidentified officer who, police have said, was on the ground being kicked and beaten.

Julian Klugman, regional director of the department’s Community Relations Service in San Francisco, said his agency only intervenes “when there are racial and ethnic disputes, and when we see a need to ease tensions.”

He said the decision to enter the case came after Montare conducted preliminary interviews last week with Westminster police and city officials.

Montare said Wednesday night that she probably will continue interviewing community residents this week before returning to her office in San Francisco.

But not everyone was satisfied with the thoroughness of the conciliator’s efforts Wednesday night after a planned community meeting to discuss concerns was canceled in favor of individual interviews by Montare.

“She has interviewed a lot of us, and she was not taking any notes and she had no tape recorder,” said Amanda Martinez, the dead man’s mother. “How can she arrive at any decision when she’s not documenting any of this? Why is she here?”

Montare said she does not use a tape recorder or take notes during confidential interviews because sometimes it makes people “feel uncomfortable.”

“After so many years of doing this type of work, I have a very good memory of what people say,” she said.

One resident, Rodney Burge, said he told Montare about alleged police harassment after the fatal shooting.

“People have been telling me that they’ve been stopped by police because they have bumper stickers saying, ‘Not All Hispanics Are Gang Members,’ ” said Burge, who is a member of Los Manos Unidos, a neighborhood group formed in memory of Frank Martinez to bring positive change in the community.

Last week, the Martinez family filed a claim against the city seeking $110 million in damages for alleged police misconduct.

Police and Martinez’s family have offered dramatically different accounts of the events that led to the confrontation and shooting, which strained relations between authorities and residents of the predominantly Latino neighborhood.

Klugman said his service’s efforts may include interviewing all parties affected in the dispute and conducting meetings. These approaches, Klugman said, are “an alternative to legal and police action.”

An average assessment takes two to three days, Klugman said, but he was uncertain how long the Westminster case would last.

Police have declined to comment on the shooting, but on Wednesday they welcomed Montare’s efforts.

“Our standing is, we completely support what Ada is trying to do. And anything that she recommends is worth trying to do,” Westminster Police Sgt. Andrew Hall said.

The Martinez incident began when police, who were searching for gang members suspected of battering a car and kidnaping two girls from a rival gang, stopped Martinez’s brother, Joel, near his parents’ home. Police have stated that Joel Martinez was positively identified by a teen-age girl who witnessed the gang attack. However, the family’s investigator has said the girl told him that her identification was vague and tentative.

Based on the identification, police questioned Joel Martinez. Police said he appeared to be hiding something behind his back, and when they attempted to grab him, a scuffle ensued. Frank Martinez rushed to help and, at about the same time, two additional police cars arrived. Police then chased Frank Martinez back to his parents’ house, where the scuffle spilled into the back yard birthday party. According to police, Frank Martinez was shot as he threatened a fallen police officer with a beer bottle.

According to family members, police were verbally abusive when they first stopped Joel Martinez. He refused to answer questions by of an officer who verbally insulted him, they said, and when the officer attempted to put an arm lock on him, Martinez pushed him away and a scuffle broke out.

Family members have contended the shooting was unprovoked, and they deny that Frank Martinez menaced the officer with a bottle. They said no beer bottle was ever found by police after the incident.