The local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is asking federal authorities to investigate what it called “recurring and troubling” uses of force by San Diego police against people with mental illness.

On Wednesday, the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division noting five incidents dating to 2010, including the fatal shooting of a mentally ill man in the Midway District last year.

Fridoon Nehad was fatally shot in an alley on April 30 by San Diego police Officer Neal Browder, who had received reports of a man in the area menacing people with a knife. Nehad was not armed.

The ACLU contends in the letter that the incidents have raised concerns that the police department has “a pattern or practice of violating the fundamental rights of people with mental illness or experiencing mental health crisis.” The organization suggests that the department hasn’t done enough to provide training and resources to officers specific to interactions with the mentally ill, and that the department has failed to learn from the past.


The letter, signed by the ACLU’s executive director, Norma Chávez-Peterson, notes that the problems the organization has identified are “especially noteworthy” given the findings of a year-long independent review of the police department that found serious gaps in supervision and discipline.

After the results were released last year, Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman said she planned to implement each of the audit’s policy-based recommendations as funding allowed.

In response to the ACLU letter, Zimmerman said Wednesday that San Diego police officers responded to more than 18,000 mental health calls for service last year alone. She said the department’s training strategy focuses on de-escalating situations and deploying appropriate resources to resolve situations safely.

“No police officer comes to work wanting to be involved in a shooting..., “ Zimmerman said in the written statement. “Public safety is a shared responsibility. The rising mental health crisis facing society today demands the attention of more than just those families who are dealing with mental illness of a loved one. We welcome the opportunity to work together to assist those who are suffering from mental illness.”


According to the ACLU, a Department of Justice investigation should attempt to answer several questions, including: why police initiated or escalated confrontations with mentally ill individuals; why the officers perceived a threat in certain situations; and whether police supervisors gathered evidence promptly and properly in cases where excessive use of force was alleged.

The goal would be to determine whether the police department engaged in a pattern of civil rights violations against San Diego residents and violated federal law.

Leaders of 25 local organizations and law offices signed the letter along with the ACLU. They include Alliance San Diego, Center on Policy Initiatives, Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans and the NAACP San Diego Branch.

The letter lists the following shooting incidents involving San Diego police and men who reportedly suffered from mental illness:


▪ Nehad, fatally wounded on April 30, 2015

▪ Philip McMahon, wounded on Feb. 16, 2015, but survived

▪ Ja Ma Lo Day, fatally wounded on July 13, 2014

▪ Nathan Manning, fatally wounded on May 20, 2010


▪ Bradford Sarten, fatally wounded on April 26, 2010

In each of those incidents, the department said either that the individuals were armed with weapons, or they charged at or otherwise threatened the officers.

dana.littlefield@sduniontribune.com