Former Officer's Lawsuit Settlement Raises Broader Questions About State of Police Department

Former San Leandro police officer Dewayne Stancill, an African-American, spoke out publically this week about the $314,000 settlement the city signed with him in January to end his federal lawsuit alleging racial discrimination inside the department.

In a newly-aired KTVU report, Stancill says he wasn't the only non-white employee to have had problems inside the department and urged other officers to come forth.

A lengthy investigative report in the East Bay Express tells Stancill's tale of intrigue and collusion: How female officers, including the wife of the head of the police union, pushed him out of his job with unfair allegations of sexual harrassment.

In 2010 San Leandro paid six current or former female officers $675,000 to settle their charges of sexual harassment involving Stancill's alleged behavior, according to City Attorney Jayne Williams.

What is going on? Does the Stancill case and other recent events suggest that the police department has problems? Consider that:

• The San Francisco Chronicle reported that in 2009 the city paid $187,000 to a pair of women who say they were groped by a former, on-duty San Leandro police officer.
• Last December, a police officer in a case that is now the subject of a , although the Alameda County District Attorney has .
• In May, former narcotics officer of giving more than a pound of pot to a female police informant with whom he admitted to .

Fredrikkson's case came to light under the leadership of new Police Chief Sandra Spagnoli, who succeeded former Chief Ian Willis when she in January. She is its first female chief in the department's history.

Former Mayor Tony Santos — noting that the city manager, not the city council hire police chiefs — said he had urged former managers John Jermanis and Stephen Hollister to bring in fresh leadership.

"I told both Jermanis and Hollister to put a woman in a position of authority," Santos said.

Patch was not able to reach Spagnoli for comment Wednesday.

Stancill's attorney, Hunter Pyle, said his client has said his piece and would not be doing a lot of additional interviews.

"Dewayne is trying to put this thing behind him and move on," he said, when contacted by Patch for comment Wednesday.

Patch will update this story as further details become available.