Santa Clara police are threatening to cease serving and protecting the 49ers unless the team takes action against Colin Kaepernick, according to a letter sent by police union officials.
KNTV reports around 70 Santa Clara cops work each 49ers home game; the letter claims Kaepernick, who is protesting police brutality, is creating an environment of “harassing behavior.”
As it turns out, a federal civil rights lawsuit filed in July accuses Santa Clara police of civil rights violations:
A San Jose woman filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city of Santa Clara, the police chief and five other Santa Clara officers alleging police used excessive force and illegally entered her home to arrest her 15-year-old daughter on suspicion of arson.
Danielle Harmon, 32, sought an unspecified amount in damages after police stormed her San Jose home without a warrant and broke her leg in the process, attorneys said.
On April 12, Shimada, Hill, Barry, Stephens and Deger entered Harmon’s home on Emory Street around 5 p.m. despite her refusal to admit them without a warrant. Hill kicked in the door, making way for officers — who were in plain clothes — to search the home, the suit states.
As Harmon started protesting their entry, Barry, Hill and Stephens grabbed her and threw her through a doorway. She hit a rock and mortar outcropping on her porch breaking both her leg and the rock, according to the suit.
When the officers broke into the home, they claimed they had the right because they were in “fresh pursuit” of Harmon’s daughter, according to the suit, although the fire had occurred more than a week earlier.
[KNTV]