San Francisco Police Accused of Leaking Details on Death of Public Defender Investigating Police Corruption

The police report, which was allegedly leaked by authorities to freelance journalist Bryan Carmody, contained details surrounding the events leading up to the death of 59-year-old Jeff Adachi on February 22.

The report obtained by ABC7 I-Team stated that a female companion, identified only as “Caterina,” called 911 from the home on Telegraph Place near Coit Tower at 5:41 p.m.

Police responded to the emergency call, but were called off by the Medical Examiner’s Office and told them they “did not have reason to believe (it was) a crime scene but the death was still under investigation,” according to the report.

Paramedics arrived at the location about 10 minutes after the call and began performing CPR on Adachi before taking him to California Pacific where the doctors pronounced him dead.

A woman who spoke to the police said that she had known Adachi for 10 years. She  also noted that she received a call from a hysterical Caterina and said that “something was wrong with Jeff.”

 

Caterina then explained that she went out to dinner with Adachi when he started to complain about stomach pains. The public defender only had two champagnes during dinner but still complained about feeling ill when they took an Uber back to the apartment.

Adachi asked Caterina for an antacid but he was given an Advil instead, the Daily Mail reported. He later collapsed and the woman called 911 for medical assistance. She then fled the scene and was never publicly named.

Hours after his death, the official police report, including images taken from the scene, was leaked to Carmody, a freelance videographer who later sold it to local media outlets.

The report showed photos of the apartment, alcohol, cannabis-infused gummies, medication, and two syringes that may have been left by the paramedics when he was being revived.

A search warrant was then served at Carmody’s home last week and authorities conducted a raid, but the videographer remained silent and asked for a lawyer.

He was also asked where he received the information but he refused to give names. Carmody was detained for more than five hours before he was released.

“The citizens and leaders of the city of San Francisco have demanded a complete and thorough investigation into this leak,” the San Francisco Police Department said in its statement, KQED reported. “We are committed to maintaining the public’s trust, investigating any allegations of misconduct and holding those responsible for such acts accountable.”

 

“It was like less than 12 hours and they released the police report with pictures and it was all over the news. To say that it doesn’t affect the family is an understatement. It’s incredibly painful to have the police department do this to you,” Adachi’s widow, Mutsuko Adachi, said as she condemned the police department for the leak.

Featured Image via Flickr / JD Lasica (CC BY 2.0)