A former U.S. attorney with experience in police misconduct investigations has been retained by the city of Davis to lead an independent probe into a Picnic Day brawl involving several police officers and a group of civilians.
McGregor Scott served as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of California from 2003 to 2009 and currently is a partner in the Sacramento law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, specializing in white-collar crimes and corporate investigations.
Scott previously worked as a prosecutor in Contra Costa County and was elected to two terms as district attorney of Shasta County.
In each of those roles, he oversaw law-enforcement investigations in which he examined use of force and misconduct cases to determine whether criminal charges should be brought against officers, Police Chief Darren Pytel said in an interview Monday shortly after the city announced Scott’s hiring.
“His qualifications are just impeccable,” Pytel said. “I’m expecting a very good work product from him.”
Scott will be paid $500 an hour to conduct the investigation, which Pytel said will include assistance from several other attorneys within his firm to offer diverse perspectives. He is expected to start work this week.
Pytel ordered the internal-affairs investigation to determine whether any police misconduct occurred during the April 22 confrontation involving three plain-clothed Davis officers who had pulled over in their unmarked van to move along a crowd of people partially blocking a traffic lane on Russell Boulevard.
Two officers were injured and five people arrested following the incident, in which police claimed that “hostile” crowd members attacked them first. The suspects and other witnesses maintain the officers threw the first punches and failed to identify themselves as police.
Pytel said the probe also should determine whether any changes to departmental policy and training procedures are warranted.
The city’s initial choice to run the investigation, former Sacramento County Sheriff John McGinness, rankled some in the community who questioned whether the former law-enforcement officer would maintain an unbiased view of the officers’ actions.
Then came McGinness’ comments on his KFBK radio show just days after his hiring, during which he declared that African-Americans fared “much better” in the U.S. prior to the enactment of the Civil Rights Act.
Four of the five people facing charges from the brawl are African-American.
Those comments prompted City Councilman Will Arnold to call for McGinness’ removal and replacement as investigator, and McGinness withdrew from the probe later that day.
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe also was retained last year by the UC Office of the President to investigate allegations that then-UCD Chancellor Linda Katehi engaged in improper use of student fees, nepotism and lying about her involvement in contracts to manage both UCD’s and her personal reputation on social media.
Sources informed The Enterprise following the announcement of Scott’s hiring that an associate from within his law firm is volunteering at the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office to gain trial experience while still on Orrick’s payroll. The DA’s Office is prosecuting the five people arrested following the brawl.
Questioned about the potential conflict, Chief Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Raven said Tuesday that the attorney has not performed any work on the Picnic Day assault case and is not expected to have any involvement in the matter before his assignment there ends in about two weeks.
“The District Attorney has no role in the administrative investigation for which the city of Davis retained Mr. Scott,” Raven said. “From our position I do not see that there would be any conflict.”
Scott’s selection for the current investigation involved input from the Davis Police Department’s Community Advisory Board, a diverse panel of local citizens who meet monthly with Pytel and other police officials to discuss issues of concern.
Pytel said he went to the CAB members with three potential candidates to replace McGinness, two of whom were former law-enforcement officers. But several of the group’s members had met or worked with Scott previously and spoke highly of him.
“Based on that feedback, he seems well-suited to investigate all the intricacies of this case,” Pytel said.
Mayor Robb Davis said he looks forward to the independent investigation.
“We had a briefing on (Scott’s) background but as in all personnel matters, including the hiring of consultants, we rely on staff to bring us the best options,” Davis said via email. “At times the council has concerns and expresses them to staff but in general we give them great latitude to select the best candidates.”
Pytel also has pledged to create a civilian oversight component to the police department’s operations, including the resurrection of a citizens’ group that previously met for more than a year to discuss issues of racial profiling and bias.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene
