City hires Alfonso Estrada to conduct independent investigation

City hires Alfonso Estrada to conduct independent investigation of May 23 arrest of Alameda resident

The City of Alameda has hired Mr. Alfonso Estrada, Partner with Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo, to conduct an independent investigation of the May 23 arrest of Mr. Mali Watkins for resisting, delaying, or obstructing peace officers.

Mr. Estrada has significant experience in conducting outside independent administrative investigations pertaining to police officer activities which include use of force incidents. He has conducted investigations for the City of Beverly Hills Police and Fire Departments, City of Anaheim, City of Alhambra Police Department, City of Colton, City of Loma Linda Fire Department, and City of Fresno Fire Department.

Mr. Estrada’s interest in justice and fairness reaches back to his days attending UC Berkeley as an undergraduate, where he worked as an unpaid intern for Pretrial Services at the Wiley M. Manuel Criminal Courthouse in Downtown Oakland. In his previous experience as a prosecutor, Mr. Estrada worked with law enforcement officers and public defenders in seeking justice in the criminal courts in Los Angeles. Mr. Estrada is uniquely qualified to conduct a fair and impartial investigation of any peace officer.

The two principal responding officers, Officer Harris Smiler and Officer Anthony Buck, have been assigned to administrative leave for the duration of the investigation. The investigation and any report generated from the investigation is confidential, as required by California State law.

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