Police Chief Michael Cronin declined to directly comment on the Aug. 21 incident until the investigation has concluded, but he confirmed Blasi and the other officers involved would continue coming to work through the investigation. Its nice to see how the community has come together, and that they are saying what they want to see going forward, Khalif said. Maybe because I am a blonde Caucasian, there was no reason that they cared to check on why I was there or felt the need to make me get out my key to prove I belonged there.. The remaining footage is the body-camera perspective of the exchange previously recorded from inside the store and circulated on social media. Everything I was saying fell on deaf ears.. About 6 minutes of cellphone footage of the encounter with the supervisor, Tiburon police Sgt. Khalif replies, No, just doing our thing and asks if theres a problem. I have been stopped for taking a walk to my house. I want to know what youre doing in this store at one oclock in the morning? one of the officers is heard asking in the clip. We all want this to resolve in a positive way, she said, noting she hopes the incident sparks conversation about police reform and real policing that uses empathy to police our community.. Tiburon chief Cronin also resigned effective September 13, in response to the alleged racial profiling incident at YEMA. Town Manager Greg Chanis said the council will be holding a special online Town Hall meeting via Zoom later this week to give residents and the public an opportunity to talk about the incident. Blasi then can be heard asking Khalif why he is bringing race into the conversation. After the video of the incident was posted on Yemas Instagram and went viral, discussion caught like wildfire across social media platforms. It was a nearby business owner who yelled to officers that Khalif owned the business, which diffused the situation. Proceeds from clothing sales help send orphans go to school. Blasi was hired last year by the department after more than 15 years at the Marin County Sheriffs Office as a SWAT team leader, investigator and gang task-force officer. Email: mtom@sfgate.com. The recording shows a Tiburon officer, identified as supervising Sgt. Blasi stepped in and was recorded arguing with Khalif while the patrol officer and a Belvedere officer stood by. ", The community meeting comes after the city released body cam video showing the back and forth between both sides. Really? Reach him at 415-435-2652, on Twitter at @thearknewspaper and on Facebook at fb.me/thearknewspaper. He's hoping the recorded interaction will inspire a different conversation. I cannot lie and say Im OK. Im traumatized and my wife is traumatized.. Once she found out about Blasis past, she said she felt lucky the situation did not end with violence. This isnt regular business hours, theres no customers in here. Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith were fired on Jan. 20 after an administrative investigation found they had violated department policy on the. Investigators said the incident occurred inside the Tiburon Police Department (TPD) locker room at approximately 12:45 p.m. on Dec. 12, The Ark reported. Blasi] believes it would be difficult to continue being effective as a police officer in Tiburon. September 8, 2020 / 7:45 PM Tiburon Town Council & Belvedere City Council Virtual Town Hall & Community Forum 6:30 p.m. Aug. 27. https://zoom.us/j/95644043303 or 669-900-6833, meeting ID 956 4404 3303. A Tiburon police sergeant has resigned following a confrontation with a Black merchant that critics say stemmed from racial profiling. Khalif spoke at the rally. As the town of Tiburon deals with a controversy involving the Police Department and a Black-owned business, Police Chief Michael Cronin announced on Tuesday that he will retire, according to the Marin Independent Journal. Michael Blasi, becoming more frustrated and confrontational with Khalif, who also appears exasperated with the interaction, as the minutes go by. FYI, we didnt realize that when he was circling the block he was calling for back up. The former chief, Michael Cronin, retired in September after a public backlash over an incident involving two Black store owners. Owner Yema Khalif said he was insulted by the officer's demand to prove he owned the store and feels Blasi would have behaved differently if he had been white. A virtual Tiburon town meeting was held Thursday night to discuss an interaction that took place over the weekend between police officers and the only Black store owners in the town. In response to public outcry, Blasi offered his resignation from the Tiburon Police department, which went into effect September 1. Theyre the ones with the guns, theyre the ones with the badge, theyre the ones with the authority, she said. The encounter escalated when the supervising sergeant arrived on scene. All Rights Reserved. Awash, however, said this is not the first negative interaction with Tiburon police; she said shes been stopped more than five times by another officer. In one response, Blasi explained that police are not able to detain a person without a lawful, articulable reason and compel them to identify themselves. Chanis said neither Cronin nor Blasi are able to comment due to the pending investigation. Awash began recording as Sgt. I fing live here, do not tell me about whatever, Khalif responds. Blasi was one of four sheriffs deputies involved in a wrongful death lawsuit after Cary Grime was arrested in 2003 for public intoxication in Novato. The argument continued for a few more minutes, with both Blasi and Khalif raising their voices. The Los Angeles Times broke the story about former officers charged with conspiracy and vandalism in connection to a swastika spray-painting on a citizen's car. In an Aug. 24 interview, Khalif said he had no doubt the officers confronted him because of his race and said he was still traumatized., I could have been another statistic, I could have been another George Floyd, Trayvon Martin, but I did not take the bait, he said. It is unclear whether or not the police received a 911 call that prompted their presence at YEMA late that night. Some days we have to work late. Yema's wife says the officer had his hand on his gun. Check out Bay Area safety tracker, Tracking the drought: Map shows conditions across SF Bay Area, Bay Area Life; Sundays at 6:30 p.m. on ABC7, Man fired after blocking Latino man from entering his own apartment building in SF, Find resources to help with equality, justice and race issues, Santa Clara University professor, her brother racially profiled by campus guards, Berkeley mom films confrontation with white man who ripped down Black Lives Matter signs. I can no longer sit idle and watch the (Tiburon Police Department) inhumanely treat the citizens and business owners of our town. "This street closes at 9 o'clock at night and there's never anybody in here. I think of all of the very late nights I have worked in those offices and never once did the police come by to see who was there as I sat at my desk clearly visible in the window, she said in an email to town officials. To the right in the video, a mannequin frequently is in view, just feet from Khalif, who has approached the door dressed in identical clothing distinctive, African-inspired athletic-leisurewear. Miss Manners: I shouldn't call because the phone scares people? Meanwhile, Awash estimated she has been stopped in her car three to five times over the past year and a half by the same police officer. Dear Abby: My wife said she doesn't like it, but it's part of my life, Harriette Cole: I don't want the neighbor's kids at my house, Ask Amy: I feel guilty for not speaking up about my co-worker's activities, Ask Amy: I'm your cabin housekeeper, and you apparently have no idea what I do. The supervisor came charged and did not come to deescalate anything. The neighbor, Ken Simpson, lives in his Main Street apartment part-time and said hes also accustomed to hearing noise from patrons and employees of downtown restaurants late at night, but the yelling that woke him up about 1:15 a.m. Aug. 21 sounded like it was escalating quickly. Laurie can be reached at (415)789-2805. The video, which has amassed nearly 64,000 views on YEMAs Instagram page, sparked public outrage prompting a protest in Tiburon attended by over 200 people in support of Khalif and the Black Lives Matter movement. While K-9 officer Larry Holladay, Patrol Officer Patrick. That report led to 72 Philadelphia officers placed on administrative duty, of whom 13 were fired. Scott Adams faces consequence culture as U.S. newspapers drop Dilbert, Rapid demise of Dilbert no surprise to some who were watching, Elon Musk tweets support for Dilbert creator Scott Adams after racist tirade. Store proprietor Yema Khalif, his wife and. We are inside the store minding our business, All store lights are on and you can see us from outside because we have high windows all around the store. Khalif insisted that if he acknowledged he was the owner, absent the officers explanation of a problem, evidence of a crime or reason to doubt him, he didnt need to explain why he was in his own store after hours. She stressed the importance to use the incident as a learning step.. Cronin declined to directly comment on the Aug. 21 incident until the investigation has concluded, but he confirmed Blasi and the other officers involved would continue coming to work through the investigation. Laurie is responsible for disaster preparedness, maintenance of the Emergency Operations Center and coordination of a wide range of related activities. I do not have to show you nothing! replied Khalif. Some police officers have used digital media to brag about their racially violent exploits. Awash was born in Ethiopia and lived as a refugee in Kenya before moving with her family to Minnesota. DeSantis coming to CA as new poll shows him leading Trump, Ice flies off SUV, smashing windshield: 'You could kill somebody'. You know what, put the key in the door and were outta here., Khalif is seen picking through his keys as he tells Blasi to stand back and not raise his voice at him: Just chill and Ill put my key in the door., Before he can, neighbor Ken Simpson, a part-time resident of a Main Street apartment, yells down twice, Thats his store.. The confrontation also spurred a protest in front of the Tiburon Police Department on Saturday. While Tiburon Police Chief Michael Cronin and Town Manager Greg Chanis have ordered an independent investigation into the incident, the results of which will be reviewed by the Town Council, Cronin said neither Blasi nor the two other officers involved would be suspended or put on administrative leave amid the investigation. The incident was recorded by Yema Khalifs wife and business partner Hawi Awash from inside their clothing store Yema on Main Street around 1 a.m. Friday. Cronin denies his departure is linked to the incident. He went on to say that both he and Awash have been stopped numerous times by Tiburon police, both in their cars and walking down the street. Khalif said he wasnt particularly impressed with that statement. In our 50th year serving Tiburon, Belvedere & Strawberry. Blasi will receive three months of salary from Tiburon as severance pay, Chanis said. Blasi offered, and the town has accepted, his voluntary resignation., On the night of the alleged racial profiling incident, Khalif, his wife. Michael Blasi, was posted by Khalif to social media later Aug. 21. At one point, 465 members of the public were virtually attending the forum and, in addition to the speakers, we received 79 items of written correspondence.. Their pictures are even on the store's walls. A Tiburon police sergeant was found dead at the department's headquarters of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound, the agency said Tuesday. A video depicting Tiburon police officers in heated exchange with the owner of the town's only Black-owned business while working late in his downtown shop has sparked outrage in the. Khalif was also a speaker at the 2018 Belvedere-Tiburon Librarys Pop-Up 94920 series. Tiburon officials say an independent investigation is now underway, which is the reason why officers were not at Thursday's meeting. Cronin's announcement comes one week after Sgt. After a few minutes, Blasi and another officer arrived, which is when the interaction starts being recorded. "He and I have been discussing the timing of his retirement for some time, but he only recently chose the date that corresponds with his entry into public service 54 years ago," Chanis said in the press release. On Aug. 21, Khalif issued a statement on the companys Facebook page explaining what had happened early that morning. Doesnt the business owner have some responsibility for not complying, which also couldve de-escalated the situation? asked Reedlands resident Elizabeth Shapiro on Nextdoor. A 6-minute video of the incident was posted to Instagram and Facebook by Yema Khalif, the co-owner of the action fashion wear boutique Yema at 10 Main St. Town Manager Greg Chanis said Blasi has had several conversations with town officials since the incident. The first officer stayed behind briefly and again asked Khalif to put his key in the door, though Khalif again declined, saying the matter was settled. We saw him drive around the block like 3 times. In a later interview, Awash pointed out that there are large posters on the stores walls of both she and Khalif modeling their clothing. Thats all we want to know, Blasi says. Ste. 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