General (15)
Susana Barrios
From:Stephanie Mercadante <burglin.stephanie@gmail.com>
Sent:Tuesday, August 25, 2026 6:18 PM
To:Public Comment
Subject:\[EXTERNAL\] On Behalf of Tom Fielder, District 1, Councilmember Ryan Balius
Warning: This email originated from outside the City of Anaheim. Do not click links or open
attachments unless you recognize the sender and are expecting the message.
For public comment on August 25, 2026:
Anaheim is no stranger to excessive-force litigation, including a $13.2 million jury verdict in the
Valenzuela case.
So why would Anaheim hire a Deputy Chief whose history includes an $8.8 million federal
judgment arising from the fatal shooting of an unarmed man?
And then put him in charge of Professional Standards?
Let me repeat that:
Professional… Standards.
Professional Standards is about accountability, internal investigations, policy, and public
trust.
In 2010, while working for Culver City Police, Martinez shot and killed Lejoy Grissom, who was
unarmed.
The case went to federal court.
The jury was specifically asked:
“Did Officer Luis Martinez use excessive force against Lejoy Grissom?” The jury answered:
YES.
The resulting judgment totaled $8.825 million.
Then in 2020, Martinez was appointed to Culver City's Equity and Human Relations Advisory
Committee.
Residents protested, and the Culver City Council ultimately voted unanimously to remove
him.
Now Anaheim has placed him over Professional Standards.
But here's something else residents should know.
Luis Martinez isn't someone Chief Manny Cid just met.
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Cid and Martinez worked together at Culver City Police Department for roughly 17 years.
So when Cid comes to Anaheim and Martinez follows him here as Deputy Chief, residents have
every right to ask:
Was this a competitive search for the best candidate, or did Chief Cid just hire his best
buddy?
Who reviewed the $8.8 million judgment?
Who reviewed Martinez's removal from the Equity and Human Relations Advisory Committee? And did
HR raise ANY concerns before he was placed over Professional Standards?
Given the repeated employee allegations that Linda Andal's HR department has ignored, minimized, or
selectively investigated misconduct, residents have every reason to question the independence and
integrity of this process.
So show us the process.
Show us the recruitment.
Show us the vetting.
Because if you're hiring someone the Chief worked alongside for nearly two decades, his
history should receive MORE scrutiny, not less.
Professional Standards is supposed to hold Anaheim officers accountable. So before asking residents to
trust Luis Martinez to judge our officers, tell us: Who judged HIS history before giving him the job?
Was Luis Martinez the best-qualified candidate?
Or simply the best-connected?
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