“Dump Dumanis” and Justice for Fridoon Nehad Rally – Friday, Feb. 5th

Coalition Accuses District Attorney of 22 Counts of Abuse of Power

Today, Friday, February 5th, downtown San Diego will witness a “Dump Dumanis” and Justice for Fridoon Nehad rally in front of the Hall of Justice on Broadway.

Dumanis, of course, is the District Attorney of San Diego County and Fridoon Nehad was the unarmed Afghan immigrant gunned down by a San Diego police officer in the Midway District last April.

From 4 to 5:30 pm, the coalition that has coalesced around Fridoon’s death along activists from several local organizations will rally and hold a press conference at the San Diego Hall of Justice to charge DA Dumanis with 22 counts of abuse of power. The Hall of Justice is located at 330 W. Broadway.

The Coalition accuses DA Bonnie Dumanis of abusing her power, withholding evidence, misleading the media, persecuting innocents under the guise of a “gang injunction” and having failed her public responsibilities related to the unjustified killing of Fridoon Nehad.

Local speakers will be joined by Jamala Rogers of Ferguson/St. Louis MO, where the people’s movement successfully ousted the Police Chief, the City Judge and the City Manager after the killing of Michael Brown.

Here is what the Coalition stated in a press release about their allegations against Dumanis:

On April 30th, 2015, seconds after arriving on the scene, SDPD Officer Neal Browder shot and killed Fridoon Nehad, an Afghan refugee suffering PTSD from his imprisonment by the Taliban.

After the killing, Dumanis allowed Officer Neal Browder to be coached and to revise his statement about the shooting, changing his story on 4/30/15 from “Fridoon Nehad was not armed” to “Fridoon Nehad seemed to be armed with a knife” and that he was “agressing at (sic) my car,” on 5/5/15.

While security video footage that Dumanis saw herself and kept secret from the public for almost 8 months, shows no knife, the falsified testimony is what Dumanis referred to on 11/9/2015 as part of her “exhaustive investigation” that led to her decision not to press charges against officer Browder. This decision has put a killer cop back on the streets.

Sadly, Fridoon Nehad is not the only victim of Dumanis’ corruption. Dumanis has failed to fairly investigate the shooting of LaMontez Jones, Victor Ortega, and dozens of other unarmed African, Mexican, and other people who have died at the hands of police violence.

While allowing law enforcement officers to play judge, jury, and executioner with impunity, she prosecuted and attempted to lock up African and Mexican youth for life using 182.5 “gang injunctions,” arguing that their knowledge of and proximity to criminal activity, was justification for life sentences.

Dumanis only backed down from her crusade in the face of a huge backlash from the African-American community, the faith community and civil rights activists to force her to cease and desist. Dumanis has never apologized, instead calling the trials an “experiment that failed.”

The organizations are calling on San Diegans “to mount a sustained campaign to Dump Dumanis and to convene a People’s Grand Jury gathering information on Dumanis’ misdeeds.”

The Coalition will continue and organize, it says, until;

• Bonnie Dumanis is indicted;
• An independent Community Review Board is established through a citywide vote;
• and there is Justice for Fridoon and the other unarmed victims of police shootings.

The following is also from the Press Statement:

The 22 Counts of Abuse of Power vs. District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis

1. Whereas Bonnie Dumanis’ administration has witnessed hundreds of incidences of the abuse of police power and police shootings, and hundreds of citizens complaints have come forward to the (toothless) Citizens Review Board without even the notion of police culpability; and

2.  Whereas Bonnie Dumanis allowed SD police officer Neal Browder, who was caught lying about the facts of his encounter leading up to the unjustified shooting of Fridoon Nehad, to face no charges; and

3. Whereas Bonnie Dumanis allowed SD police officer Neal Browder to be coached & revise his story about the shooting, 1st stating that Fridoon did not have a weapon, BUT once the video from the security camera surfaced, the DA allowed a revised statement, while she participated in the cover-up of evidence of a potential crime; and

4. Whereas Bonnie Dumanis held a press conference aimed at exonerating herself and officer Browder, turning many facts on their head; and furthermore she did not want a trial in the press, but proceeded to abuse the rights and privileges of her office to do exactly that very thing; and

5. Whereas Bonnie Dumanis presented one-sided evidence of her investigation stating that Nehad was threatening Browder with a knife that turned out to be a simple pen & stating that the evidence clearly supports the officer’s perspective, and whereas she abused the privileges of her office and undermined public confidence in a fair investigation of the facts; and

6. Whereas Bonnie Dumanis‘ one-sided exoneration of Neal Browder is largely responsible for putting a killer cop back on the streets; and

7. Whereas Bonnie Dumanis suppressed the video evidence in the case of Fridoon Nehad and thwarted the ability of the public to learn the facts and see the evidence firsthand. (Dumanis should suffer the same consequences as the officers and prosecutors in the case of Laquan McDonald in Chicago — actions that it is shaken that city to its core; the same public outcry & people’s movement should lead to the same results in the City & County of San Diego and include the removal of Bonnie Dumanis); and

8. Whereas Bonnie Dumanis used the concept of “gang injunctions” to racially profile and knowingly prosecute young African-American men whom she knew were not involved in the crimes in question; and

9. Whereas Bonnie Dumanis persisted with the persecution of the San Diego 33 until there was a huge uprising among the African-American community, the faith community and civil rights activists to force her to cease and desist; and

10. Whereas Bonnie Dumanis never made a public apology for having wrongly persecuted the San Diego 33 and for having sought to destroy the lives of of these young people; and

11. Whereas Bonnie Dumanis has failed to take seriously or investigate the shooting of the Victor Ortega and dozens of other unarmed youth of color who have died at the hands of police violence; and

12. Whereas Bonnie Dumanis has not accounted for all of the police related shootings by publicly and transparently documenting all of the cases, which instead has been accomplished through grassroots efforts and independent investigation ; and

13. Whereas Bonnie Dumanis participated in the illegal raids against medical marijuana dispensaries operated by well-known cannabis activists (like the family-owned business of Marcus Boyd) who were operating within the laws of the state of California, but nevertheless had their goods & their property destroyed, and furthermore the illegal raids against medical marijuana were directed at a location that was the home of the YES on S campaign in 2012, thereby attacking grassroots democracy with repression & brutality ; and

14. Whereas Bonnie Dumanis‘ office has been accused of an “attempt to intimidate or even bully judges” ; and

15. Whereas Bonnie Dumanis failed to protect Diana Gonzalez from her husband who she had charged with assault, abduction, and rape, but who Dumanis released from jail and led to her murder at City College ; and

16. Whereas Bonnie Dumanis, the top law enforcement figure in the City of San Diego, has continually violated the ethical and legal standards by accepting illicit and illegal campaign contributions; and

17. Whereas Bonnie Dumanis took campaign money from José Susumo Azano Matsura, the millionaire accused of funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy favor and support his financial projects; and

18. Whereas Bonnie Dumanis‘ campaign was reported to have accepted…”illegal campaign donation case involving a Mexican tycoon, revealing new details about the extent of his relationship with DA and the undercover sting that led another defendant to be charged with bribing a federal agent.”… thereby soiling the very office designed to uphold the law in San Diego; and

19, Whereas fines were levied for $35000 in total fines in Nov. 2014 against four people for making illegal campaign contributions to District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis et.al, BUT neither she nor anyone in her office or campaign has been fined or indicted ; and

20. Whereas retired San Diego police detective Ernesto Encinas, pleaded guilty in March to helping funnel illegal foreign funds into local campaigns including laundering illegal payments to Bonnie Dumanis, but she as the recipient has not been investigated or charged (#); and

21. Whereas in Criminal Law, contributing to or aiding in the commission of a crime, becomes guilty of such offense, as by command, advice, instigation, or concealment; either before or after the fact or commission; and

22. Whereas under the Federal “Color of Law” statute, DA Bonnie Dumanis has abused the power and privileges of her office.

Therefore be it resolved that Bonnie Dumanis be charged with:

Abusing the power and privileges of her office under the color of law[1], and undermining public confidence in the rule of law in the City of San Diego; and

The crime of obstruction of justice & suppression of evidence; and

Therefore be it resolved that Bonnie Dumanis be investigated and indicted for:

The false prosecution of the San Diego 33 ; and

For covering up the facts and preventing fair trial for Neal Browder in the killing of Fridoon Nehad; and

Therefore be it further resolved that the new DA, the police department and the city Council compile a full official listing of all police related shootings since 1980; and until this happens, we will continue to augment the stolen lives list through grassroots efforts and independent investigation; and

Therefore be it further resolved that the ineffective and spineless Citizens Review Board, that has no subpoena power and no history of truth telling, be replaced with a Citizens Review Board with an all-new Community Review Board be put on the ballot for a vote of the people of San Diego so that a new independent police review institution can be born.

And be it further resolved that all of the organizations here assembled and democratic, peace, faith, civil rights, and human rights organizations in San Diego unite to convene a People’s Grand Jury on Dumanis’ mis-deeds and resolve to organize until:

Bonnie Dumanis is indicted;
A new independent Community Review Board is established through a citywide vote; and
There is Justice for Fridoon and the other unarmed victims of police shootings.

Drafted by Justice for Fridoon Coalition, January 2016

Contact: Martha Sullivan, marthasullivan@mac.com/858- 945-6273; Martin Eder 619-871-9354