La Mesa police officer detained Black man unlawfully, records show

A former La Mesa police officer detained a Black man outside a trolley station without reasonable suspicion of a crime and later falsely said in a police report the man had been illegally smoking, an apparent attempt by the officer to justify the detention, according to records released by the city.

Former Officer Matthew Dages also lied in the report about other aspects of his encounter with Amaurie Johnson near the Grossmont Transit Center on May 27, according to the records. A third-party investigation found Dages falsely wrote Johnson had broken a law by not paying a trolley fare, and that Johnson clenched his fists and took a “bladed” stance during the encounter, referring to a stance in which someone stands with one foot in front of the other.

Dages repeated the false claims to investigators, according to the records.

The investigation determined Dages exceeded his lawful police powers when he detained Johnson without probable cause, failed to activate his body-worn camera in a timely fashion, lied on the job and made profane and discourteous comments to Johnson as the officer drove him to the La Mesa police station, according to the documents.

Then-police Chief Walt Vasquez fired Dages based on the findings, a termination letter dated Aug. 7 shows. Vasquez later retired.

Dages’ lawyer, Kasey Castillo, said in an email that Dages contested the findings that he overstepped his police powers and was dishonest on the job. He did not dispute that he failed to turn on his body camera early in his contact with Johnson and was discourteous toward him. In a meeting with Vasquez, Dages expressed remorse for the comments he made to Johnson, Castillo said.

Earlier this month, Dages, 30, was charged in San Diego Superior Court with a felony count of filing a false police report. His arraignment is set for March.

After the criminal charge was announced, Castillo issued a statement saying Dages denies the charge and “looks forward to clearing his name.” Castillo noted that the former officer accumulated several commendations during his nearly three years on the force and had never before been disciplined by the department.

Johnson’s arrest, which was captured on cellphone video by bystanders, sparked outrage. Video shows Dages grabbing the 23-year-old man when he tries to walk away, pushing him onto a concrete bench twice.

The arrest, along with George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, led to protests against racial injustice and police brutality in La Mesa, including a demonstration in May that took a chaotic turn when rioters vandalized city property and businesses. Two bank buildings across from the police station were burned to the ground. A fire gutted a historic building on Palm Avenue.

Johnson filed a wrongful arrest lawsuit in which he contends that Dages discriminated against him based on race and used excessive force.

The San Diego Union-Tribune sought the documents related to Dages’ firing through a California Public Records Act request.

The 628 pages of records, which include a report about the investigation into Johnson’s arrest, were released under Senate Bill 1421, a state law that made public certain police records, including documents about officers who have lied on the job. The investigation into Johnson’s arrest cost the city $50,000, City Manager Greg Humora said.

The records provide the clearest picture to date of what led up to the encounter between Dages and Johnson.

Dages and three other officers were at the trolley station for a “fare compliance operation.” In an interview with investigators, Dages said he saw Johnson raise a “smoking device” to his mouth more than once. The distance between the two of them was 230 feet, or 76 yards, according to investigators.

According to the records, Dages didn’t ask another officer to accompany him or activate his body-worn camera before he walked up to Johnson, who was waiting for friends and standing against a parking garage wall outside an apartment complex.

Investigators determined 57 seconds elapsed between the start of the encounter and the moment Dages activated his camera, which happened once the encounter turned tense.

Dages told investigators he activated his body camera “as soon as reasonably possible” — a statement the investigators and the police chief rejected. They said time and safety were on Dages’ side before and when he approached Johnson.

The three other officers had activated their body cameras as they set out to contact travelers at the trolley station.

In an interview with investigators, Sgt. James Huggins, who oversees the body cameras, said he had questioned Dages at least once before in a separate case about why his body camera was “turning on so late in the contact.”

Investigators determined that “more likely than not” Dages didn’t activate his body camera or tap another officer — a potential witness to a crime — to avoid being caught in a lie: that Johnson was smoking on public transportation property.

Investigators reviewed surveillance video and talked to an MTS bus driver who saw Johnson before and during his encounter with the officer, and determined Johnson was not smoking on or near the trolley property. Under questioning by investigators, Dages admitted he found no evidence that Johnson was smoking.

“The preponderance of evidence indicates that you did not actually determine, let alone form a reasonable suspicion, that Mr. (Johnson) was illegally smoking,” Vasquez wrote in the termination letter.

Dages also said in his report that he had determined Johnson did not have a valid trolley or bus fare.

Investigators determined Johnson was standing outside a “zone” that requires a trolley or bus fare.

The investigation didn’t look closely into whether Johnson assaulted Dages, which the officer claimed in his report. Investigators said the video from Dages’ body-worn camera shows Johnson slapping away Dages’ hand, but a review of the footage by the Union-Tribune doesn’t clearly show that. An MTS bus driver who witnessed the encounter said she didn’t see Johnson touch the officer.

In Dages’ body-camera video, Johnson can be heard denying he slapped Dages, though at times he concedes he touched the officer.

The video shot by bystanders doesn’t show Johnson balling up his fists and taking a “bladed” stance, as Dages claimed.

Investigators determined Dages lied to validate his actions. However, they also found that the level of force the officer used was justified based on the circumstances of the encounter.

They relied in part on an interview with Lt. Brian Stoney, the department’s use-of-force expert, who said the force was reasonable, necessary and in line with department policies because Johnson resisted Dages’ efforts to detain him.

Once Johnson was in the back of Dages’ patrol car, the two men exchanged words that were recorded by Dages’ body camera. Dages can be heard making comments to Johnson, at one point calling him “(expletive) dumb.”

Later, Dages told investigators that the comment was “derogatory,” as well as “inappropriate and out of line.”

After he was taken to the La Mesa police station, Johnson was issued a citation and released. About a week later, the Police Department announced it would not seek charges against Johnson.

Put on notice Dages would likely be fired, he and his attorney met with the police chief Aug. 6 to request a lesser disciplinary action. During the meeting, Castillo admitted Dages violated department policies on courtesy and use of body-worn cameras — though Castillo said the latter was a result of human error, according to the records.

Dages and Castillo disputed the findings on dishonesty and overstepping of police powers. They said Dages genuinely believed Johnson was smoking and standing within the “Fare Paid Zone” at the trolley station, according to the termination letter Vasquez wrote.

Dages asked that his discipline be commensurate with the two policy violations he didn’t dispute.

Vasquez issued the letter and fired Dages a day later.