An investigation is underway looking into a police raid on a Santa Ana pot shop where, according to the shop’s attorney, police officers ate marijuana-laced edibles, destroyed camera equipment, played darts, and hurled insults at customers.
The May raid took place at Sky High Holistic, which had been operating without a business permit. The footage, supplied by the pot shop shows police officers entering the dispensary with guns drawn and removing the store’s surveillance equipment. What cops did not know was the store had additional, hidden cameras – and that is where, according to KTLA, things get interesting:
Then, they appear to be smelling the merchandise and discussing the flavor of the edibles, to laughter. Multiple officers appear to break off pieces of the food and consume them. Several other officers play darts.
A female officer can also be heard in the video saying, “I was about to kick her in her f—ing nub,” in reference to Marla James, a wheelchair bound customer of the store with an amputated leg.
Attorney Matthew Pappas released the video to the media and says that he is planning on filing a lawsuit on behalf of James, alleging gross mistreatment by officers during the raid.
“I’d like to see the police officers disciplined for the behavior that goes on here. I’d like to see the city stop engaging in illegal conduct,” Pappas said.
The Police Department is conducting an internal investigation and have requested the full, unedited video.
“I don’t think it’s fair to the officers to indict them based on an edited video,” Santa Ana police Chief Carlos Rojas told The LA Times. He added that it is not uncommon for officers to eat their own snacks while they are at the scene of a lengthy investigation, but that the department will test the officers for drugs.
https://youtu.be/Nm2alNQV0_w
