Part two of a two-part article.
For the last two weeks, I’ve reported about police officer Brandon Nail’s controversial reinstatement to the San Rafael Police Department. But there’s a story behind that story, equally important, that hasn’t been told.
In a nutshell, the City of San Rafael and the San Rafael Police Department continually refuse to share information that might place them in a bad light. Never mind that the public’s right to know trumps the local government’s desire to avoid embarrassment.
The California Public Records Act (CPRA), legislation enacted in 1968 and recodified in 2023, says it a bit more eloquently: “In enacting this division, the Legislature, mindful of the right of individuals to privacy, finds and declares that access to information concerning the conduct of the people’s business is a fundamental and necessary right of every person in this state.”
Granted, there are valid exceptions. A local government shouldn’t jeopardize public safety by revealing certain information. Nor should it share an employee’s personal medical info.
It’s essential, however, for the public to monitor the government.
The Incident
On July 27, 2022, then-police officer Daisy Mazariegos stopped three men for drinking in public on Windward Way in the Canal area of San Rafael. Nail served as backup.
According to videos from police body-worn cameras, Nail yelled at one of the men, Julio Jimenez Lopez, to “Sit the fuck down.” Nail then used a leg sweep maneuver to trip Jimenez Lopez and take him to the ground. As he fell, Nail punched him in the face. Jimenez Lopez suffered a broken nose, concussion and a shoulder injury requiring surgery, according to medical records reviewed by the Pacific Sun and court testimony.
Secrets Abound
When then-supervisor Corporal Oscar O’Con arrived at the bloody scene, he asked to speak with Nail and Mazariegos and then turned off his body-worn camera during the conversation. What did they discuss that O’Con didn’t want captured on video?
The evening ended with Jimenez Lopez’s arrest. Reports from Nail and Mazariegos indicated that Jimenez Lopez struck Nail in the head, which is not seen in the videos. Jimenez Lopez is 5 feet tall and 130 pounds, while Nail stands at 6 feet two inches and 250 pounds, according to an arrest report.
On Aug. 2, the Marin County District Attorney filed felony and misdemeanor charges against Jimenez Lopez before reviewing the police videos. Three weeks later, an assistant DA looked at the videos and dropped the charges.
Surprisingly, San Rafael never informed the public about a use of force incident involving two of its police officers. This is from a city that preaches transparency and a police department that routinely sends out press releases highlighting its arrests.
Revelation
Outraged by the incident, Charles Dresow, a criminal defense attorney representing Jimenez Lopez, gave the police body-worn camera videos to KGO-TV reporter Dan Noyes and later to other media. Noyes ran the first story on Sept. 1, 2022, weeks after the use of force, arrest and subsequent dismissal of charges against Jimenez Lopez.
If not for Dresow, it’s unlikely the public would have seen the videos. San Rafael officials were undoubtedly unprepared for the strong reaction to the violent incident.
During protests, marches and lengthy city council meetings, angry residents demanded the termination and criminal prosecution of Nail and Mazariegos. The public also wanted to know why the city didn’t come forward with information about the incident—commenting only after the videos came out in the media.
More Secrets
San Rafael soon hired an independent investigator to investigate the incident. City attorney Rob Epstein had committed in public meetings that San Rafael would release the report to the public after he received it. But he broke his promise and refused to divulge the information. Public outcry was swift and loud.
Three entities filed legal actions against San Rafael, citing violating the California Public Records Act. In September 2023, a Marin Superior Court judge ordered the city to disclose the documents.
In the meantime, San Rafael police chief David Spiller had terminated both Nail and Mazariegos from the department, again without any announcements to the public.
Mazariegos, still on probation, was let go in May 2023, followed by Nail’s firing in June 2023. I received tips about both terminations—and each time I called the San Rafael PD for confirmation, they asked how I knew. The point is not how I knew. Why didn’t they reveal relevant information that is clearly of public interest before the media calls?
The city and police department also kept it under wraps when Nail requested binding arbitration to overturn his termination. I found out in March 2024, just before the start of the process. When I talked to Chief Spiller about it, he said, “You’re not supposed to know about this.”
Most Recent Secret
Apparently, I also wasn’t supposed to know that Nail had been reinstated to his position of police officer with the San Rafael PD on Dec. 21. Given the public’s keen interest in the entire incident, it certainly begs the question of why San Rafael kept his reinstatement a secret for weeks.
In fact, the city only revealed the information after the Pacific Sun learned about Nail’s return and contacted the police department on Jan. 7 for comment.
“Your call expedited the city’s statement,” police Lt. Scott Eberle said. “But we’d been working on a press release for weeks.”
Chief Spiller addressed the delay at a meeting of San Rafael’s Police Advisory and Accountability Committee on Jan. 11. The arbitrator issued his ruling on Dec. 16; however, Spiller said he received it on Dec. 21 while on vacation.
With all due respect to Spiller and Eberle, it doesn’t take almost three weeks to write and distribute a press release. The San Rafael Police Department routinely emails press releases to the media on the same day an incident occurs—mostly to boast about arresting a criminal suspect.
When I asked Eberle why the chief didn’t delegate the task of informing the public, he responded that it was Christmas week. Even if that is an appropriate reason—and I’m not sure it is—what prevented the department from telling the public during the two weeks after Christmas?
Absolutely nothing, in my opinion, except that the City of San Rafael and the police department have a pattern of secrecy. I wonder about all the important information that we will never know.
San Rafael, it appears, failed the transparency test again.
Yet to Come
The city has not disseminated much information about the federal civil lawsuit filed by Jimenez Lopez against San Rafael, the police department, Nail and Mazariegos. Based on Judge Vince Chhabria’s comments during last month’s hearing, the city might want to consider a crisis management plan.
“Because I think anybody who watches that video who knows anything about excessive force would say this was so outrageous. There was no justification for the officer attacking this person. It was clear from the get-go that the officer was looking for a fight, and he got a fight—he started a fight, and he—he attacked the guy,” Judge Chhabria said in the hearing.
There’s also Nail’s criminal prosecution in Marin County for the incident, with felony charges of assault and lying in a police report. The next court date is scheduled for Jan. 22.
Thank you for your accurate and timely reporting on these issues. There was a hearing today to set Nail’s trial date, so we will be watching for more developments.
I think you left out the part that the woman officer has been cleared of any wrong doing.
Hi Dennis,
That’s not quite accurate. The independent investigator hired by San Rafael sustained several allegations that Daisy Mazariegos violated department and city policies. She’s also still a defendant in the federal civil lawsuit filed by Jimenez Lopez.
True, a Marin County Superior Court judge dismissed criminal charges against her. However, this article did not discuss that the DA had filed charges against her. It only refers to Nail’s criminal prosecution.
If you’re interested in the independent investigative report for Mazariegos or Nail, you can find them here: https://pacificsun.com/san-rafael-releases-investigative-reports-on-police-use-of-force/
Best,
Nikki
Pertinent here is the Washington Post breaking news of January 22, 2025 that the Trump DOJ just ordered the termination of all federal Civil Rights cases in addition to cancelling all cases involving investigation of police.
I’m not surprised by the lack of transparency (eg. secrecy). The vast majority of “authorities” in any government organization has been doing this for a very long time. The authorities are suffering a collective disease of avoidance of the truth and live in constant fear.
I strongly think we need new leadership across the board that has a publicly announced commitment to transparency, and having the agency and inner strength to bear that transparency and handle the consequences of mistakes and learnings. Wasn’t there a politician from the past that said, “The buck stops here.”? We need leadership that has backbone, and a fearless commitment to stand with the people and represent them. I don’t need to mention what we have now, we see it every single day. The best government money can buy.
Very well said Chris. The key word is “Transparency” which is severely lacking at the SRPD.
Nikki – I sincerely thank you for your top notch reporting on this disgusting incident of police brutality and subsequent cover up. All one needs to know about this case is the video of the event which clearly shows police brutality(By officer Nail), The blatantly false report by officers Nail and Mazariegos(the fact that the DA dropped the trumped up charges against Lopez proves this), the blatant obfuscation by the police chief, and the incredibly misdirected report by arbitrator Staling. What kind of a three ring circus is this? It is so completely obvious to this citizen that the officers were in the wrong(Nail deserves 90% of the blame) and the San Rafael police department don’t want to take responsibility for this egregious example of police brutality which is exactly what it is in my humble opinion. Attorney Charles Drew also deserves credit for getting the video out so that appropriate eyes could see it. Plain and simple the officers should have been immediately terminated for lying on their report. A key issue was the fact that the supervisor turned off his camera when discussing the situation with officer Nail. Nikki – you nailed it when you said “The city of San Rafael and the police department have a pattern of secrecy”. Ultimately will there be justice in this case? We shall see. The following is the recent Marin IJ article in which the arbitrator is covering for the police department. What a con job! Once again these are only my opinions. “An arbitrator’s decision to reinstate a San Rafael police officer accused of assaulting a detainee boils down to the officer’s “discourteous” language, not the severe injuries he inflicted, according to the arbitration report.
The Independent Journal obtained a copy of the report after the arbitrator ruled that Brandon Nail should get his job back. The arbitrator, Daniel Saling, said the city should have pursued “progressive discipline” against Nail for using profanity rather than proceeding to termination.
Saling also accused the city of overreacting in response to intense public pressure and media coverage about the bloody arrest in 2022.
While Nail is facing criminal assault charges in connection with the arrest, Saling’s report does not consider the question of excessive force. Saling cited an earlier independent review by Paul Henry — the consultant whom San Rafael hired to investigate the incident — that concluded the excessive force allegation was “unfounded.”
“The Department’s decision to terminate the Appellant was not for just cause,” Saling wrote. “The Department’s decision to terminate the Appellant was excessive and unjust based on the totality of the circumstances.”
San Rafael police Lt. Scott Eberle declined to comment on the arbitration report.
The incident happened on July 27, 2022, on Windward Way in the Canal area. Officer Daisy Mazariegos approached Julio Jimenez Lopez and some companions because they appeared to be drinking alcohol along the street. Nail arrived to assist.
The officers ordered Lopez to sit down, but he stood to get his identification out of a pants pocket. Nail, using a profanity, commanded him to sit.
Both officers tried to handcuff Lopez after he allegedly disobeyed their orders to sit down. When Nail performed a leg sweep to bring him down, Mazariegos lost her grip on Lopez and all three people fell, according to court testimony.
Mazariegos testified that Nail punched Lopez in the face during the struggle after Lopez grabbed his police vest, which had pepper spray. Lopez said he suffered injuries such as a broken nose and a concussion.
The city fired Nail in the aftermath, and the Marin County District Attorney’s Office charged him with assault and submitting a false police report. The prosecution filed the same counts against Mazariegos, who lost her police job.
Nail appealed the firing, leading to the report by Saling, the court-appointed arbitrator. Saling wrote that the city’s outside investigation determined that Nail did not use excessive force against Lopez.
However, the investigation also determined that Nail failed to de-escalate the situation and was disrespectful toward Lopez.
“The appellant used profanity, but there was no evidence that any other department employee had received any form of discipline for using profanity while on duty or in uniform,” Saling wrote.
Saling said that the police department should have pursued progressive discipline, which involves correcting but not firing an employee for all but the most serious offenses. He said Nail had no record of discipline issues before the Lopez incident.
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“In this case, the department did not attempt to correct the appellant’s alleged misconduct, but used discipline to punish him based on the protest demands of the community for the appellant to be terminated,” Saling wrote.
Brian Affrunti and Allison Hernandez, the attorneys who represented the city in the Nail arbitration case, could not be reached for comment.
Charles Dresow, a San Rafael attorney who once represented Lopez, criticized the arbitration’s outcome.
“The conclusions of the report are as disgraceful as the conduct of the officers involved,” he said Monday.
Saling declined to comment on the Nail arbitration when the Independent Journal contacted him.
In the wake of the arbitration ruling, Nail has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of his criminal case. A felony conviction would disqualify him from police work.
Nail’s next court hearing is Jan. 22 to set a trial date.
The court has dismissed the charges against Mazariegos.
San Rafael City Manager Cristine Alilovich said that the Lopez case has been difficult for the community and the police.
“While the city will respect and abide by the decision of the state arbitrator, the incident is not reflective of the values of our organization,” she said Thursday”.