Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Black man walking with cane arrested

Accused of casing cars for theft, he seeks body-cam evidence

A 66-year-old man who was out on a morning walk in July of this year says a San Diego Police Department officer arrested him because he is black.

Raymond Wiley, 66, filed a claim, typically a precursor to a lawsuit, against the City of San Diego on August 4, accusing the officer of racially profiling him.

Wiley went for a walk in his Encanto neighborhood at 6:30 a.m. on July 21. During his morning walks, Wiley carried a large walking stick to prevent a run-in with stray dogs he had encountered on previous walks.

A police officer pulled up. The officer, believing Wiley was prowling cars in the neighborhood, immediately arrested him. The officer searched him and found a single car key in his pocket. The key, said the officer, appeared to be a shaved key, which are used in car burglaries. The officer also believed Wiley's walking stick was used as a "leaded cane" to break car windows.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The officer arrested Wiley on felony charges of carrying a "leaded cane" and possessing burglary tools. He was taken downtown. His bail was set at $20,000.

Wiley's complaint (obtained by the Reader through a public records request) says video footage of the encounter will show that the officer "embellished" the truth in order to justify the stop.

Reads the claim, "body worn camera evidence will show that the officer in this case completely fabricated the fact that he had any reason to believe that Claimant was casing cars as he has later claimed. Further, with little effort, the officer could have checked to see if the key in Claimant's pocket worked on the car ignition and lock as Claimant represented, but deliberately did not do so in order to effectuate the unlawful arrest of Claimant on felony charges."

Wiley's attorney, Marlea Dell'Anno, a former deputy city attorney for the City of San Diego, says residents have complained about the officer before.

In fact, new data released by the San Diego Police Department and reported by the Voice of San Diego shows San Diego police officers, on average, stop more hispanics and African Americans than they do white people.

During a two-week pilot program, records show that cops stop minorities 51 percent of the time.

"[Wiley] is informed and believes that leadership in the San Diego Police Department in concert with select leadership within the City Attorney's Office teaches, encourages and supports officers to embellish and spin facts in order to fabricate a legal defense to their illegal conduct," reads the claim.

If the city denies the claim, Wiley is then allowed to file a lawsuit.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Gilbert Castellanos, Buddha Trixie, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Shane Hall, Brian Jones Rock ‘N’ Roll Revival

Grand Socials, gigs, and record releases in Del Mar, City Heights, Solana Beach, Little Italy, and Ocean Beach
Next Article

Not enough Readers in Mission Beach

Mayor Todd Gloria's skin color

A 66-year-old man who was out on a morning walk in July of this year says a San Diego Police Department officer arrested him because he is black.

Raymond Wiley, 66, filed a claim, typically a precursor to a lawsuit, against the City of San Diego on August 4, accusing the officer of racially profiling him.

Wiley went for a walk in his Encanto neighborhood at 6:30 a.m. on July 21. During his morning walks, Wiley carried a large walking stick to prevent a run-in with stray dogs he had encountered on previous walks.

A police officer pulled up. The officer, believing Wiley was prowling cars in the neighborhood, immediately arrested him. The officer searched him and found a single car key in his pocket. The key, said the officer, appeared to be a shaved key, which are used in car burglaries. The officer also believed Wiley's walking stick was used as a "leaded cane" to break car windows.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The officer arrested Wiley on felony charges of carrying a "leaded cane" and possessing burglary tools. He was taken downtown. His bail was set at $20,000.

Wiley's complaint (obtained by the Reader through a public records request) says video footage of the encounter will show that the officer "embellished" the truth in order to justify the stop.

Reads the claim, "body worn camera evidence will show that the officer in this case completely fabricated the fact that he had any reason to believe that Claimant was casing cars as he has later claimed. Further, with little effort, the officer could have checked to see if the key in Claimant's pocket worked on the car ignition and lock as Claimant represented, but deliberately did not do so in order to effectuate the unlawful arrest of Claimant on felony charges."

Wiley's attorney, Marlea Dell'Anno, a former deputy city attorney for the City of San Diego, says residents have complained about the officer before.

In fact, new data released by the San Diego Police Department and reported by the Voice of San Diego shows San Diego police officers, on average, stop more hispanics and African Americans than they do white people.

During a two-week pilot program, records show that cops stop minorities 51 percent of the time.

"[Wiley] is informed and believes that leadership in the San Diego Police Department in concert with select leadership within the City Attorney's Office teaches, encourages and supports officers to embellish and spin facts in order to fabricate a legal defense to their illegal conduct," reads the claim.

If the city denies the claim, Wiley is then allowed to file a lawsuit.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Pet pig perches in pocket

Escondido doula gets a taste of celebrity
Next Article

Tyler Farr, Blue Water Film Festival, Mustache Bash

Events March 21-March 23, 2024
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.