San Mateo to pay $25M in police rape case

“I would hope that the $25 million settlement against the city would be strong motivation for the city to take a very close look at their hiring practices and to make changes, but, as of yet, we still haven’t seen evidence of that,” Todd Emanuel, the attorney for the three women pursuing the civil case, said. “It concerns me that the city may still hold a terribly mistaken belief that Officer Winchester was just a fluke or just an unforeseeable rogue officer. That is not the case at all.”

The civil case was meant to highlight the inept hiring practices within the San Mateo Police Department that led to Winchester being brought to the force in the first place, Emanuel said. According to the department’s own hiring policies at the time, prospective officers were supposed to be automatically disqualified if they had been convicted of a crime while on duty. Emanuel said that Winchester had been found guilty of a hit-and-run incident while working at the Los Rios Police Department. The lawsuit complaint also alleged the San Mateo Police Department knew, or should have known, that during Winchester’s prior stint, an underage female had accused him of sexual assault, which she reported to the Sacramento Police Department.

The lawsuit raises additional challenges for San Mateo, as it has been pursuing a parallel lawsuit against its own insurance company, which denied claims stemming from the Noah Winchester lawsuit. The city had claimed that San Antonio-based Argo Group was “legally obligated to pay damages,” while the insurer has countered that it is not on the hook for any payout, as the policy contained several exclusions, such as acts that are executed with the intention to inflict harm or injury.

The case with its insurer remains ongoing, although, according to a statement from Mayor Lisa Diaz Nash, the $25 million settlement will be funded primarily from the city’s insurance firm. She added the city “profoundly apologizes to these victims for his actions.” In an emailed statement from Officer Jerami Surratt, San Mateo police spokesperson, the department “holds itself accountable to the highest standards of integrity and professionalism,” adding that any breach of trust is “addressed swiftly and transparently.”

Emanuel said his clients feel an overwhelming sense of relief, as well as shock, at the outcome.

“The conclusion of this civil case feels surreal to them, and it’s not just because of the magnitude of the settlement, but because, sadly, they have become accustomed to receiving so much bad news over the past eight or nine years. It was so terrifying for them to report the incidents in the first place,” he said.

The case was possible due to the relatively recent passage of Assembly Bill 1455, which expands the statute of limitations for victims of sexual assault by law enforcement from two years to 10 years.

Emanuel said he hopes this case inspires other victims to “have the courage to report these types of incidents to law enforcement, as hard as that must be.”