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Woman Allegedly Assaulted By Off-Duty Oakland Police Officer Files Claim Against City

OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- A woman who said she was attacked by one of two off-duty Oakland police officers she found lurking around her home in December filed a claim against the city Wednesday morning.

Attorney John Burris, who has handled numerous police misconduct cases against Oakland police, called a news conference Wednesday afternoon to release more details about the alleged assault on Dec. 7.

He said that Oakland police officers returned to the woman's house twice early the following morning in an apparent effort to get the woman and her husband to change their story. In subsequent interactions with her,
Oakland police tried to minimize the behavior as accidental or humorous, according to Burris.

One of the officers, confirmed by police to be Officer Cullen William Faeth, was arrested that night. Three others were placed on paid administrative leave during an internal affairs investigation, though the woman said Wednesday she saw only one other person outside her home that night.

In the complaint, Burris identified the second officer as Sgt. Joe Turner, the same officer who had shot and killed Richard Perkins while impounding cars involved in a sideshow in East Oakland two weeks prior.

The case against Faeth has been forwarded to the district attorney's office for possible criminal charges, according to police.

Prosecutors did not respond for a request for updates on the investigation Wednesday.

Police have declined to discuss the details of the alleged assault, calling it a "personnel matter" and citing the ongoing investigation. The incident went unreported for months with no comment from the department until detailed in a report in the East Bay Express on Tuesday.

But the victim, a county probation officer who asked to only be identified by her last name Cortez, described it in detail at Burris's news conference Wednesday.

She said at 9:30 p.m. that night she was at her home in the Oakland hills in the shower. Her two children were asleep, and her husband was getting ready for bed when she heard loud banging at her front door.

The banging grew steadily louder, so she pulled on a robe and went toward the door as her husband, dressed for bed, did the same. As they approached the door they could see a man through the home's large windows, the woman said.

The man, later identified as Faeth, was allegedly trying to get inside the home, shaking the door handle and trying to push the door open. The woman's husband stepped outside to confront Faeth, who kicked him in the stomach, according to the family's complaint.

The woman came out as well, and Faeth started walking toward the side yard, where they saw a second man come running out of the backyard.

They saw him holding what might have been a gun, the woman said.

Police spokeswoman Officer Johnna Watson said Wednesday that Faeth was not armed when he was arrested, but regarding the man Burris identified as Turner, who was not arrested, she said only, "no weapon was seen."

The couple's two children were standing in the doorway, and Cortez ushered them inside.

When she came back outside, her husband was trying to prevent Faeth from leaving. Faeth allegedly jumped on her, grabbing her in a bear hug, Cortez said Wednesday.

Cortez, who was still in her bathrobe fell to the ground and suffered bruises on her arm and leg in the assault. She said she felt "humiliated" and "exposed."

Her husband pulled the man off of her and neighbors, coming out to see what was causing the commotion, helped keep him pinned to the ground until police arrived.

Faeth was still yelling and swearing and appeared to be drunk, according to the family's account.

When officers arrived they handcuffed Faeth and put him in a patrol car. While in the car he started violently banging his head against the window, according to the woman.

Officers returned to the home twice overnight, according to the family. At about 12:30 a.m., a captain, sergeant and officer arrived at the house to ask them to recount the story. At 3:30 a.m., five officers came back and asked them to reenact the incident, questioning the husband and wife separately, according to the complaint.

"The whole time I felt just re-victimized," the woman said.

It wasn't until the next day that the woman found out that the two men might have been police officers, she said. It took about a month for Burris to even get a copy of the police report on her behalf, he said.

About two weeks after the incident she talked to Lt. Roland Holmgren, who told her the officers had mistakenly gone to her house looking for a party and were just "being silly," according to the complaint.

Cortez, who has worked in the county probation department for nearly 20 years, said she was shocked to find out they were police officers.

"I'm law enforcement myself, I would never conduct myself in such a manner," she said.

The family is seeking a thorough and comprehensive investigation of the incident and unspecified monetary damages.

Burris said he and the family want to make sure the officers involved are disciplined appropriately.

Burris represented a group of 119 plaintiffs who sued the department in 2000 in the "Riders" case, which led to a negotiated settlement of reforms overseen by federal Judge Thelton Henderson.

The reforms have dragged on for more than a decade. In April, Henderson issued a scathing report on the department's disciplinary procedures after several high-profile officer firings were overturned at arbitration.

Given that, Burris said the family wants to make sure they know what kind of discipline was administered and whether it was appropriate. But so far, he said, there has been a "sense of protectionism and even a cover-up."

© Copyright 2016 by CBS San Francisco and Bay City News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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