Questions remain around former Wrangell police officer

In early June, the Wrangell Sentinel received several emails regarding one of the city's police officers, Paul Jay Huerta. One of these emails linked to a news article and video, alleging that Huerta left his previous job in California for harassing a suspect. Recently, city officials informed the paper that Huerta was no longer employed by the Wrangell Police Department. However, the city has not provided information as to why he resigned.

A July 9, 2018 article by the Desert Sun shares a controversial video that may involve Huerta. In this video, a Desert Hot Springs police officer, who resembles Huerta, can be seen in a confrontation with a battery suspect. The suspect is sitting on the hood of a car, while the officer stands over him and repeatedly tells him "you haven't seen harassment yet" and to "stop mad-dogging me." The suspect then calls the officer a "retard," which led to the officer handcuffing the suspect. The Desert Sun reported that this video triggered an internal investigation within the Desert Hot Springs Police Department. They also reported that the officer was no longer employed with that department. A July 12, 2018 article by NBC Palm Springs reported that Dale Mondary, then police chief for Desert Hot Springs, said that there was no racial bias that could be attributed to actions seen in the video. Mondary also said, in the article, that nothing illegal occurred in the video, as it was a lawful arrest based on probable cause.

The Sentinel has reached out to the Desert Hot Springs Police Department to confirm that the officer in the video is Huerta, and to determine if he resigned or was dismissed. However, the department has not responded to the paper's public records request as of this time, which asked for a resume for Huerta, or any letters of resignation or dismissal. The Sentinel did find a September 2017 post on the Desert Hot Springs Police Department Facebook page welcoming Huerta to the force.

Christopher Damien, reporter with the Desert Sun, was able to obtain further information on behalf of the Sentinel. He shared a June 30 email from Commander Corinn Pickett, with the Desert Hot Springs Police Department, confirming the identity of the police officer.

"The person in that video is former Desert Hot Springs Police Officer, Paul Huerta," the email reads. "He was released from probationary employment in July of 2018."

Pickett also identified the cop in the video as Huerta in an email directly to the Sentinel, shortly after the Sentinel received the forwarded email from Damien.

The Sentinel found a court filing in which Huerta was named as a defendant, Joshua Felix v. City of Desert Hot Springs et al, regarding a civil rights suit. The case was filed on Jan. 20, 2019, according to PacerMonitor, and was terminated on March 11, 2019.

Attorney Eduardo Madrid represented Felix in the case. He also confirmed, in an email to the Sentinel, that his client and Huerta were the people seen in the video. The lawsuit, he explained, was for a violation of federal and state civil rights, false arrest, negligent hiring, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, among other items. The case was settled out of court, he said.

"As I recall, my client and his brother entered a local store in a strip mall," Madrid wrote in his email. "While in the store, my client and his brother were assaulted and battered by some unknown customer and his girlfriend. My client's brother called the police. When the police arrived, the officer erroneously assumed that my client and his brother were the perps and not the victims. The encounter ensued as depicted in the video. You will note that when he was handcuffed, the officer accused my client and his brother of assaulting the 3rd party. Once inside the store, the store clerk informed the officers that my client and his brother were the victims. My client was released at the scene after being handcuffed and told to sit on a curb."

Huerta came to Wrangell in June of 2019. In an interview with the Sentinel, he said that he joined the Marine Corps in 1995, and became a police officer after a 20-year career. Huerta said he first spent about five months with the Indio Police Department. He then moved to the Desert Hot Springs Police Department. He said he worked for that department for over a year. However, if he was released from employment in July of 2018, his timeline of employment would only be around 10 or 11 months. In the interview with the Sentinel, Huerta said he came to the Wrangell Police Department because he wanted to work in a place where he could talk to people and get to know their names while on the job.

The Sentinel also received an email regarding a police officer by the name of Paul Huerta, who was employed with the Chicago Police Department and they have received several complaints between 1995 and 2017. However, this is not the same Paul Huerta. Public Information Officer Sally Brown, with the Chicago PD, said that their Paul Huerta is still an active officer in Chicago.

"He was appointed to the Department on 05 September 1995 and is still active and has been with the department for 24 years," she wrote.

Wrangell Police Chief Tom Radke explained that a Wrangell Police Officer goes through both an internal and external background check before being hired. He said that a Wrangell officer will review the potential hire's background and any state licensing they claim. The potential hire also has to fill out information with the Alaska Police Standards Council, through the Department of Public Safety, he said. When Huerta was hired, Radke said, he disclosed everything and nothing came up in his background check. He went into a little more detail about how background checks work in a town hall meeting on June 29.

"Traditionally the department itself has done the backgrounds," he said. "The applicant sends back in a bunch of paperwork, they verify that applicant. If that applicant is then selected they verify it through the Alaska Police Standards Council, and it goes from there. The last one that Bruce [Smith] did, he called the other departments, asked for any internal affairs complaints, and you go down a whole checklist that I don't quite honestly have in front of me right now, but there is background that is checked all the way back to your previous employers."

Bob Griffiths, executive director with the Alaska Police Standards Council, said in a June 22 email to the Sentinel that Huerta was still listed as an active officer with the WPD. However, he added that the department has 30 days to report Huerta's separation to the APSC. At this time, he added that Huerta had not met all of the requirements to be certified by the APSC as a police officer in Alaska.

"All information related to his eligibility or information about prior misconduct should be reported to Wrangell PD for their investigation and referral to APSC," Griffiths wrote. "The Wrangell Police Department is/was responsible for his pre-hire background investigation. Hiring information received by APSC does not include a resume ... His APSC file is confidential and cannot be released. Of course, any formal action taken by the council is public."

Wendy Menze, also with the APSC, explained the requirements Alaskan police officers are expected to complete to be certified by their group. There are four main requirements, she wrote in an email. The officer in question must be a full time paid officer with an Alaskan police department. They must meet the standards of AAC 85.010(a) and (b), which are the basic standards for police officers. They must have worked 12 consecutive months on a probationary basis with their department. Lastly, she wrote that they must successfully complete a council-certified basic police officer academy and undergo field training required by APSC and the police department.

"Mr. Huerta did complete (1), (2), and (3) from above," Menze wrote. "He did not complete (4), successfully complete a council certified police officer academy or the field training. You can read the APSC Guidebook for further information about the requirements for officer employment and certification."

Radke also said that he could not comment on Huerta's performance before coming to Wrangell, only that he had received no signed complaints regarding him from people in town. He also said the Sentinel would need to speak to city administration regarding Huerta's leaving the police department.

"My understanding was everyone was aware of it," Radke said about the 2018 video, reiterating that Huerta disclosed everything for his background check before being hired.

Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen confirmed that Huerta resigned from the Wrangell police two weeks ago, but said she could not remember the exact day. She also said that as this was a personnel matter, it was considered confidential and she could not release any letter of resignation to the media or discuss reasons behind his leaving. She suggested that the Sentinel get in contact with Huerta for permission to release such information.

As of press time, the paper has been unable to contact Huerta.