A Cop Targeted Latinos in the Tenderloin, Lawyers Say. Under a New Law, That Could Get Him Fired
If the court finds the officer exclusively went after one ethnic group, he could face discipline up to termination.
sfstandard.com
SFPD’s internal policy bars officers from racially biased policing. If the court finds him in violation of the Racial Justice Act, that could open him up to discipline under the department’s own rules. Any such ruling, acknowledged Judge Van Aken in court Friday, could damage his professional reputation.
Meanwhile, his attorney Nicole Pifari said, the Public Defender’s Office is accusing a Latino officer of racist enforcement against defendants who share his racial identity.
“The Public Defender’s Office is targeting Sgt. Solorzano, a Latino man of Mexican and Nicaraguan descent, because he is a champion in the battle against the epidemic of Fentanyl deaths in San Francisco,” said Pifari in a statement.
