A majority of Santa Ana City Council members want a formal investigation into separate complaints by three police officers alleging they were harassed by Councilman Johnathan Hernandez – a vocal police union critic.
The move comes after city officials said the municipality’s human resources department already investigated the complaints but did not publicly say if anything was found in that investigation.
Elected officials – three of whom had their council campaigns heavily supported by the local police union – supported hiring investigators to look into the complaints rather than move forward directly with censuring Hernandez.
[Read: Santa Ana Could Censure Police Union Critic After Cops File Harassment Complaints]
On Tuesday, city council members voted 4-2 to direct staff to hire independent investigators to probe the complaints filed against Hernandez, with Councilmembers Jessie Lopez and Ben Vazquez dissenting.
Mayor Valerie Amezcua said Hernandez’s behavior could cost the city millions in lawsuits and supported an investigation.
“This is not about our opinions. It is about behaviors that are dangerous to us as a city. They’re dangerous to the council. They’re dangerous for everybody,” Amezcua said at Tuesday’s meeting, adding that it wasn’t a personal attack on the councilman.
“I haven’t seen anybody else up here attack in such a vile way city employees,” she continued.
Hernandez, who recused himself from the proceeding and sat in the audience, pushed back from the public seating section.
The mayor then reprimanded Hernandez from the dais.
“Councilman Hernandez, you’re disrupting this meeting,” Amezcua said. “This shows your behavior, sir, this is why we’re having this discussion.”
The police union spent over $98,000 in support of her mayoral reelection campaign last year.
Hernandez defended himself from the public comment podium, arguing that the censure would undermine his First Amendment rights and open up the city to liability.
He also said he doesn’t support the harassment of any city employees.
“This attempt to silence a dissenting opinion is a violation of my First Amendment right to free speech,” said Hernandez, wearing a shirt that read “Arrest the cops who killed Brandon Lopez” – his unarmed cousin who was shot and killed by Anaheim Police officers in Santa Ana four years ago.
“I want to be absolutely clear that I support each of our city employees being treated with respect and dignity in their workplace. I strongly oppose this censure because using a censure in response to public criticism risks undermining free speech.”
The police union spent over $50,000 against Hernandez’s reelection campaign last year.
Earlier this year, Hernandez publicly criticized the police’s use of force against anti-ICE protestors, lambasted proposed changes to the police oversight commission that could dial back its power and scrutinized the department’s failure to disclose their military arsenal.
He also has said there are “killer cops” in the Santa Ana Police Department – referring to recent police shootings.
It’s not the first time a city employee has complained about Hernandez.
Investigators last year found enough evidence to sustain allegations that he violated the city charter and interfered with city staff’s planning of cultural celebrations like Chicano Heritage Festival.
Hernandez said one of the police officers who filed the complaint said his cousin, Brandon Lopez, had a gun when Anaheim police officers shot and killed him in 2021 but Lopez was unarmed.
He also said the other two officers were involved in the shooting death of Noe Rodriguez at the end of last year, sparking resident calls for accountability this past summer and is currently under investigation by the state attorney general’s office – a standard practice for police shootings of unarmed people.
According to an OC Register article, Rodriguez was holding a fake gun.
[Read: Does Santa Ana’s Police Union View Criticism and Questions as Harassment?]
Councilwoman Jessie Lopez, who previously faced an unsuccessful recall election backed by the police union, said the city already investigated the complaints – something City Manager Alvaro Nuñez confirmed after she questioned him.
“That’s exactly what I remember and I also remember what we discussed in closed session and what the outcome of the investigations were and so for the reasons we discussed in closed session, I’m going to be voting no,” she said at the meeting which she attended by teleconference from Dallas.
Amezcua said six of the seven council members including Lopez voted to bring back a discussion on censuring Hernandez.
“There was a very hearty discussion about what consequences people wanted to give. It’s interesting that we come out in the public and it changes because we play politics and we don’t want to be honest about what was said in that room,” she said.
“All of you up here remember the conversation in closed session, and too bad that we can’t share it, because we’d be having a completely different conversation right now.”
It’s unclear how much the investigation will cost.
Council members are grappling with how to address an expected $30 million deficit in a couple years as a sales tax measure begins to sunset in Santa Ana.
Councilman Ben Vazquez said Hernandez has a right to speak his mind.
“It is our job and our duty to do so,” he said at the meeting.
The police union spent over $70,000 opposing Vazquez’s failed 2024 mayoral campaign against Amezcua.
Councilwoman Thai Viet Phan said while she supports an investigation into the complaints, she’s tired of the fighting between councilmembers and no employee should feel like they are being harassed by an elected official.
“Unfortunately, it seems as though only one of us up here has had multiple complaints by everyday employees again and again, and that puts this city at risk,” she said at the meeting.
“We can voice concerns about policing, about parks and rec, about whatever it is in this city, but we have to do so with the responsibility of the power to which we were elected.”
The police union also tried to also recall Phan in 2023, but recall organizers missed the deadline to submit signatures.
Prior to Tuesday’s meeting, John Kachirisky – president of the Santa Ana Police Officers Association – also voiced support for an investigation into the complaints against Hernandez.
“We are definitely concerned about the allegations made by several of our members and the fact he may be causing adverse working conditions,” reads a Monday email statement from Kachirisky in response to questions.
“As a union, we support the importance of due process and, despite his alleged behavior, believe he too has a right to due process and support a thorough investigation into the allegations.”
Like Amezcua, the other two police union-backed council members also voiced support for an investigation at Tuesday’s meeting.
Councilman Phil Bacerra said Hernandez has a right to due process that some residents and activists don’t grant Santa Ana police officers at the public comment podium.
“I will be supporting an investigation because, again, I don’t want to prejudge. I don’t want to commit the same sin that many others come up to this podium and do,” he said at Tuesday’s meeting.
Bacerra’s council campaign received a total of $82,000 in support from the police union in 2022.
Councilman David Penaloza – whose 2022 campaign received over $92,000 in support from the police union – also said Hernandez deserves a thorough investigation before council members consider a censure.
“Councilmember Hernandez deserves due process, as do the officers that he often criticizes up here also deserve due process,” he said at the meeting.
Penaloza also said Hernandez’ recent history could lead to another similar situation.
“Last year was our parks and recs employees, this year it’s police officers and next year it’s going to be somebody else so it’s just going to keep on happening until we address the situation.”
Hosam Elattar is a Voice of OC reporter. Contact him at helattar@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @ElattarHosam.