Now that we’re turning not just the page on the calendar but also the season, it is time to reflect on the summer just past and the fall ahead.
In my mind the images that resonate, the ones that will stay with me as the “summer of discontent,” are the photos and stories of protestors in National City Mayor Ron Morrison’s City Council room as they brought proceedings to a halt and were subsequently arrested, as well as the phalanx of officers waiting outside City Hall in case anyone got out of line.
It was in July that supporters of Ed McNeil and his family travelled to the hall of public affairs and demanded answers surrounding the death of a black man in police custody, they said.
Their demands included the release of video that might shed light on the death of a mentally ill man who had visited the city’s police station of his own volition.
Last Friday District Attorney Summer Stephan held a press conference after meeting with the family, which finally was able to see footage of McNeil’s initial contact with police at their headquarters and his subsequent arrest and detention.
During the media briefing it was revealed officers with the police department, and deputy sheriffs, would not face criminal charges for their handling of the events that lead to McNeil’s death.
McNeil, who during an autopsy was found to have methamphetamine in his system, had become confrontational, required restraining which included the use of a hood that prevented spitting on people. The medical examiner reported that respiratory failure was the cause of death and the failure may have been the result of his struggles with officers and while being restrained.
Family and supporters of McNeil now seem to have the answers they were seeking and their protests brought attention to an unfortunate event that may have been ignored otherwise.
The summer also found in National City the delivery of a report in which Councilman Jerry Cano, who in public during a council meeting accused his council colleague Mona Rios of harassing behavior and inappropriate contact, reportedly lied.
The conclusion came after an investigator made an attempt to reach Cano to hear his side of the story, only to have Cano tell him he wanted to drop the matter. The investigator took that request as an indication that Cano’s version of the story never happened. Cano did not dispute that interpretation.
It was the same investigator who was tasked with determining if Cano violated state law by ignoring building code violations for years. In that taxpayer funded investigation too, Cano refused to cooperate.
It was a busy summer in National City City Hall. Fall, with elections around the corner, should be noteworthy too.
