How a Bag of Fajitas Nearly Brought the SFPD to its Knees

by Carl Austin

Image courtesy flickr

As my readers know, most of my novels take place in San Francisco and involve fictionalized accounts of the SFPD.  What most don’t know is that while works of fiction, I inject into every story elements of historical fact.  One of the facts that deserves mentioning is a little known but nevertheless fascinating incident that was later deemed Fajitagate by the San Francisco Chronicle.

Everybody knows that there are good cops and there are bad cops.  A shining example of the latter will forever be seared into the public consciousness by incidents such as the LAPD beating of Rodney King in 1991, which became national news.  However, that doesn’t mean that there weren’t other lesser known police debacles worth mentioning.  One of the most bizarre was an incident that began in November 2002, the seismic reverberations of which were felt throughout the San Francisco Police Department for the next six years. 

As you might suspect, this particular, or should I say peculiar, incident began curiously enough with a bag of fajitas. Why would the attempted theft of takeout food make headlines in the City by the Bay, you ask?  Because what began one cold night when three off-duty rookie cops were stopped as suspects in a street brawl that injured two citizens quickly spiraled out of control.  What made the incident newsworthy was when it was discovered that one of the three men who allegedly started the fight happened to be the son of Assistant Police Chief Alex Fagan. 

Image courtesy flickr

Here’s how the story started: Adam Snyder and Jade Santoro were leaving a neighborhood bar where Snyder worked when they were accosted by three men who demanded they relinquish the bag of takeout food Snyder was carrying.  When Snyder refused to relinquish the bag of steak fajitas and Santoro implored the three to leave them alone, a fight broke out during which both Snyder and Santoro were injured.  Fists, feet and at least one beer bottle was allegedly used in the assault.  As soon as the three attackers fled the scene in a white pickup truck. Snyder used his cellphone to call 911 to report the incident as well as the license plate of the truck.   

Here’s how the Chronicle detailed the event a week later, “Within minutes, patrol officers responded to a 911 call from Snyder, who pointed out the pickup truck when it returned and drove by the scene. Police then stopped the pickup truck, which was carrying Fagan, Lee and Tonsing.  None of the three was arrested, and police said little about the matter other than that it was being investigated.  Officer Alex Fagan Jr., 23, as well as Officers David Lee, 23, and Matt Tonsing, 21, were identified by police as targets of a criminal investigation and have been placed on desk duty."

Even though Snyder was battered, and Santoro’s injuries included a broken nose and lacerations that required stitches, the police seemed reluctant to pursue the case. 

Image courtesy flickr

According to the Chronicle: Snyder said the officers at the scene told him the men in the pickup truck were being brought to the station to be interviewed. Snyder said he offered to identify those involved, to which there was no response from the officer at the scene."

This was the start of a wild and woolly ride for the SFPD that would include accusations of a cover up as well as suits and counter suits that would fly back and forth for more than 6-years.  Within a year, it would be SFPD Police Chief Earl Sanders, along with six other high ranking police officials, who wound up being indicted for obstructing the Fajitagate investigation.  While the obstruction charges were later either dropped by prosecutors or thrown out by a judge, that didn’t mean the incident ended there. Chief Sanders, who wound up on paid medical leave after the indictment, later retired without returning to work.  District Attorney Terrence Hallinan, who insists he never sought to indict the police chief, was defeated when he came up for reelection in 2003.

Image courtesy flickr

In 2004, Chief Sanders sued the DA and the city in federal court, alleging he had been maliciously prosecuted.  His suit and all subsequent appeals were unsuccessful.  Unwilling to back down, Chief Sanders continued to pursue the suit in San Francisco Superior Court.  Once again, the courts sided with the city, this time ordering Sanders to pay $27,872 to the city for attorney fees.

https://blog.sfgate.com/cityinsider/2008/11/05/fajitagate-fallout/

Like a Freddy Kreuger movie, the Fajitagate monster stubbornly refused to die, spawning a flurry of hearings and headlines, investigations and indictments until 2008, when US Court of Appeals Judge Jeffrey White finally killed the beast by declaring that the plaintiffs could not bring a federal suit against the city based on the off-duty conduct of police officers.

What happened to the three rookies who spawned the 6-year media frenzy?  The three were tried and acquitted of all charges.  While victims Snyder and Santoro failed to prevail in the criminal case, they were vindicated when a civil jury found Fagan and Tonsing liable for the beatings before awarding Adam Snyder $9,500 and Jade Santoro $36,500 in damages.   The same jury completely exonerated David Lee while ordering Snyder to pay both Lee and Tonsing’s defense costs.  As for officer Fagan’s father, Assistant Chief Alan Fagan Sr. retired in 2004 only to die in London, England in 2007.

While the crazy court cases and regime change spawned by the attempted theft of a bag of fajitas nearly brought the SFPD to its knees, that didn’t stop the department from stepping in deep doo-doo once more.  I’ll feature another embarrassing and highly publicized incident  in an upcoming episode of Mr. Mystery called Cops, Lies and Videotape. 

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