Merced DA candidates questioned about holding police accountable to the public

It is common for candidates of public offices to call for more law enforcement officers while on the campaign trail, but a forum this week in south Merced grilled Merced County District Attorney candidates about keeping police officers accountable for their use of force.

A number of nonprofits based primarily in south Merced held a forum Tuesday for incumbent District Attorney Larry Morse II and challenger Kimberly Helms Lewis. The candidates were asked pointedly about the use of force, immigration and number of issues affecting people of color.

In a section of the forum when the moderator asked the candidates to commit to specific promises, Helms Lewis agreed to create a quarterly report on arrests and charges broken down by race and gender, while Morse said he could not commit.

Both candidates did commit to "swiftly, thoroughly and transparently" investigate officer-involved shootings and cases of excessive use of force by police officers.

At least two incidents in the past year have left residents wondering if police in Merced County used too much force during arrests of people of color. The moderator pointed to the arrests of African-American college students at a Merced hookah lounge, an investigation that has lingered since July, and the arrest in March of William Colbert, a black man whose face appeared bloodied and swollen in his jail booking photo.

Morse said he could not comment directly on either of the cases cited, noting they are still under investigation. He said since he's been district attorney the office has prosecuted police officers, politicians and campaign contributors.

"For us, each and every case is the same: Was a crime committed, and can we prove what happened beyond a reasonable doubt?" he said. "That is our ethical obligation. It is unethical for any prosecutor to file any case that he or she does not believe he can prove or she can prove beyond a reasonable doubt."

Cases involving police use of force are "very, very difficult," Morse said. Area leaders need to "do a better job" of improving relations between police and residents, he said.

Helms Lewis said law enforcement agencies could improve their interactions with people with better training and new policies.

"I think a central role of the district attorney is to work as a check and balance for law enforcement," she said. "Some of the ways that we can do that in excessive force cases are: One: We need to identify problems that are specific to Merced. The second thing is that we need to work to bring body cameras to all the law enforcement agencies in Merced County."

Merced police and Merced County Sheriff's deputies have body cameras, but no other agencies in the county do, she said. Each agency should enforce camera policies and train in de-escalation tactics to avoid the use of force, she said.

This story was originally published May 30, 2018 at 1:21 PM with the headline "Merced DA candidates questioned about holding police accountable to the public."