Blasi stepped in and was recorded arguing with Khalif while the patrol officer and a Belvedere officer stood by. It does not matter. @shaunking @beyonce @chakabars @lauraharrier @buzzfeed @nowthisnews @aljazeeraenglish @cnn @bbcnews @latimes @nytimes @wsj @ava @shondarhimes @kuz @kingjames @oprah @voguemagazine @essence @adutakech @tiffanyhaddish, A post shared by YEMA (@yemacalif) on Aug 21, 2020 at 3:33pm PDT. A video depicting Tiburon police officers in heated exchange with the owner of the towns only Black-owned business while working late in his downtown shop has sparked outrage in the community. Moments later, a neighbor awoken by the yelling can be heard telling police that Khalif was the store owner. Emergency Operations Center 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.. Michael Blasi demanded Khalif and 2 other Black ppl prove they were allowed to be in the store. At the conclusion of the investigation the report will be provided to the Town Manager for review and appropriate action will be taken based on the findings of the investigator, Cronin said. Thank you very much, thats all I need to know, Blasi said in the video and walked away toward Tiburon Boulevard. D, Tiburon, CA 94920 | 415-435-2652 | Privacy Policy| Designed by Kevin Hessel. Get Morning Report and other email newsletters. Officers from both the Tiburon and Belvedere police departments arrived that August 2020 night around 1 a.m., when Khalif, Awash and a friend were stocking clothes at the upscale boutique on . Its unfortunate but I think good will come of this, Awash said. / CBS San Francisco. Our community needs to come together and find real ways to train our police officers to police with empathy and love., Marin police face-off with Black merchant fuels, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Alameda County DAs new policy will reduce prison sentences through widespread elimination of sentencing enhancements, Tiburon police face-off with Black merchant fuels outrage, probe, Draymond Green explains his issue with Black History Month: Why do we get the shortest month?. Khalif was also a speaker at the 2018 Belvedere-Tiburon Librarys Pop-Up 94920 series. Put your key in the door and were out of here. Lewis Powell, Sgt. The off-camera speaker presumably makes reference to the June 2020 fatal police shooting of 27-year-old Rayshard Brooks, who was shot after allegedly grabbing a police officer's Taser, following a . He also holds a masters degree in security studies from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey. "How can we do better as a community? Tiburon Town Hall | 1505 Tiburon Boulevard, Tiburon, CA 94920 | Phone: 415-435-7373. Next time, just walk and the audio and video cut out. Comment at the meeting, or in advance by emailing comments@townoftiburon.org. The police denied a racial motive and said they were doing their jobs. The pension benefit was split because of a divorce. All Access Digital offer for just 99 cents! Store proprietor Yema Khalif, his wife and. "My pictures are plastered all over the store, huge pictures," says Khalif. Based on this belief, Sgt. Based on this belief, Sgt. Then he insisted that he wanted us to prove who we are and to explain what we were doing at the store that late. How can policing be done better? The store was well-lighted, and police reports show no alarm had sounded and no one had otherwise reported suspicious activity. Khalif and Awash say, however, that they shouldnt be required to repeatedly identify themselves to police to prove who they are and that they belong in town. The settlement was announced. 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 wrote in an citizen complaint to Cronin that was shared with The Ark. Thursday the City of Tiburon and City of Belvedere held a joint virtual community meeting about an incident where officers questioned a Black business owner, who was working late in his store last week. "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. Should you desire additional information that doesnt appear on the site, please contact us directly at 415-789-2801 or by using the department directory. Nielsen met Khalif on a movie set and later helped him move to California, where he attended Dominican University of California in San Rafael, made the deans list all four years, was his class valedictorian in 2015 and was offered a full scholarship into its MBA program, where he eventually obtained his masters. Tiburon Mayor Alice Fredericks called their behavior unacceptable and issued a public apology, and she and Belvederes mayor each apologized personally to Khalif and Awash. Khalif said he was racially profiled in February while searching for business license documents in his car in the Town Hall parking lot. Doesnt the business owner have some responsibility for not complying, which also couldve de-escalated the situation? asked Reedlands resident Elizabeth Shapiro on Nextdoor. ", The business owner tells ABC7 News, "I did feel racially profiled. TIBURON, Calif. - A Tiburon couple who own a clothing store is accusing police of racially profiling them. D, Tiburon, CA 94920 |. Chanis said neither Cronin nor Blasi are able to comment due to the pending investigation. On August 21, a recording of three officers, including Blasi, went viral on Instagram where they can be heard questioning Yema Khalif, the owner of YEMA, which is the only Black-owned clothing store in Tiburon. "This particular day we had just received a huge inventory and we just wanted to come out and put the inventory out before Saturday morning," said Khalif. Several months later, the store was named Tiburons Business of the Month. Laurie can be reached at (415)789-2805. The Aug. 21 incident is the second time in recent months the Tiburon Police Department has come under public scrutiny for its response to racial issues in the wake of the Memorial Day killing of George Floyd and ensuing Black Lives Matter protests across the country, including several in Tiburon. , and a business friend, all of whom are Black, were at their store late at night counting inventory, according to a post on YEMAs Instagram account. said Yema Khalif in a video his friend took. At no point during the 11-minute exchange did either Tiburon officer assert any potential criminal or suspicious activity was occurring beyond their mere presence in the building at that hour. However, he believes it would be difficult to continue being effective as a police officer in Tiburon.. It was organized by Marin City Matters a social activist group created in response to police Chief Michael Cronins warning to residents on June 2 that Sausalito and Tiburon might be targets for unrest linked to a Marin City demonstration over the death of George Floyd during an arrest in Minneapolis. Several months later, the store was named Tiburons Business of the Month. Tiburon officials have released body-camera footage from the first officer at the scene of a late-night confrontation between police and Black business owner Yema Khalif, who asserts he was racially profiled when questioned at his downtown shop. Yesterday was one of those days. On the night of the alleged racial profiling incident, Khalif, his wife, and a business friend, all of whom are Black, were at their store late at night counting inventory, according to a post on YEMAs Instagram account. The police chief of the wealthy Bay Area town of Tiburon has announced his retirement as the community reels over a confrontation between police and . Awash also noted the tone of the officer, saying he came off a little bit aggressive and suspicious. She said he didnt identify himself or ask if they were working late. 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. The newly released footage begins about 6 minutes before that video begins, when Madfes is already parked on Tiburon Boulevard at Main Street and is getting out of his squad car. Davina Adjani, a protest organizer, said the might be postponed in light of the resignation, but that Cronin is still a problem for hiring Blasi despite the red flags in his past. The governing councils are to hold a joint online Town Hall-Community Forum on Aug. 27. Is it your store? During the arrest, Grime fell unconscious and died in the hospital two days later. In 2004, Blasi was one of the deputies involved in a wrongful death lawsuit after a 47-year-old man named Cary Grime was arrested and hogtied in Novato. While he doesnt initially identify himself, the footage shows Madfes begin by asking, in a seemingly friendly tone, Hey guys, Ive never seen you open this late you just restocking?. Whatever the intention of the responding offices, the interchange inappropriately deteriorated from helpful to confrontational, Fredericks wrote in an email sent to the community. I stood my ground that day, but this did not hit me until next day, he said. Persons seeking assistance need only lift the phone to be connected with a dispatcher. Khalif: "If I tell you it's my store then what? Your email address will not be published. This is around 1AM. The town has been conducting background and medical checks since then. I want to know what you're doing in the store at 1 o'clock in the morning.". To be fair, some more than others.. Reporter Hannah Weikel and Assistant Editor Emily Lavin contributed to this report. Just seconds later, the interaction ended abruptly when a neighbor who lives farther down Main Street yelled from his balcony to confirm Khalif was the owner. I do not have any intention of removing them at this time, Cronin said. There's video of the interaction and an investigation underway. Monaghan has taught administration of justice at the San Mateo Community College District. Two Black merchants who allege racial profiling by police in Tiburon and Belvedere are demanding $2 million from the municipalities. 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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