{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"KZYX News","title":"Ukiah Police Chief looking forward after settlement","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":388,"description":"March 29, 2022 — On April first of last year, four Ukiah police officers beat a naked, mentally ill man on South State Street, inflicting 54 punches, four knee strikes, and a kick to the head. Officers emptied an entire can of pepper spray in Gerardo Magdaleno’s face and deployed their tasers four times. The incident was captured on multiple bystander videos. It was also recorded by a body camera worn by one officer and a dash camera in another officer’s car. Those videos were released in December.\r\nEarlier this month, the city announced that an independent investigation had “concluded that there is no sustained finding that Ukiah PD actions violated the Department’s use of force policy.”\r\nNow the case has been settled for $ 211,000 plus attorneys’ fees of approximately $92,500, according to Magdaleno’s attorney, Izaak Schwaiger. The case is now dismissed, and Schwaiger added that “The City has not indicated it will change any of its practices or policies.”\r\nBut new Police Chief Noble Waidelich says there have already been changes to the department’s ability to respond to mental health crises, and he’s planning further trainings to better prepare officers for encounters with mentally ill people. The city and county share a mobile crisis team that currently has two crisis workers and is available seven days a week. As of mid-February, the team had responded to fourteen calls within city limits.\r\nAn internationally recognized criminologist specializing in autism in the criminal justice system is offering a seminar for first responders next month. That’s through the Redwood Coast Regional Center, best known locally for providing services to families and schools for children on the autism spectrum.\r\nBut in the days after the beating, the police department lost credibility with some members of the community. Justin Wyatt, the chief at the time, posted a brief Facebook video and did not grant interviews about the matter. A police department press release characterized...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/xZpAumwbhFUpJUYcwaQ1-q6snzOyqAm13l7cW6AWPCM/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9mMzkz/NjAwNjc2OWMyZmFk/YWY2YTdmYjI5M2Mz/YWMxNy5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}