Highway Patrol is accused of mishandling crash case involving sheriff’s deputy

TOTALED—Nick Sarrocco of Moorpark was driving this car Jan. 23 when he got into a collision with a Ventura County sheriff’s deputy responding to a gang fight. Though a CHP report determined Sarrocco was responsible, new evidence suggests otherwise. Courtesy Russ Ercolani The California Highway Patrol has reopened its investigation into a January car crash involving a Moorpark resident and a Ventura County Sheriff’s deputy after new evidence was brought to light by a local defense attorney.

The evidence—one eyewitness and a video tape of the incident captured by a nearby gas station security camera—has led the law enforcement agency to question its original findings, which cleared Dep. Josh Clark of any wrongdoing and placed the blame on the other driver.

As is commonplace in California, the CHP had been asked to investigate the case involving the deputy to provide an independent review.

TELLING A DIFFERENT STORY—Elaine Sarrocco and her son Nick of Moorpark are hoping to correct what they say was a mistake by made by authorities investigating a Jan. 23 car crash involving a sheriff’s deputy. Their efforts have led local law enforcement agencies to reopen an accident investigation to review additional information that was not included in a previous report. SYLVIE BELMOND/Acorn Newspapers SYLVIE BELMOND/Acorn Newspapers “We are now in the process of speaking to an additional witness and looking at a tape provided to us to better ascertain the substance of this investigation and augment our last investigation,” CHP Capt. Cliff Williams said.

At around 9 p.m. Jan. 23, Clark, 34, was responding to a report of gang members fighting in the Peach Hill area of Moorpark. He was driving south on Spring Road in a black-and-white police car with his emergency lights and siren activated.

At the same time, 21-year-old Moorpark resident Nicholas Sarrocco was on his way home in his new Mitsubishi Evolution, traveling eastbound on Los Angeles Avenue. When he came to the intersection with Spring Road, the light was green.

The next moment the two cars collided. The crash totaled Sarrocco’s car and left him with a torn shoulder joint. Clark was taken to the hospital for observation but suffered no major injuries.

A press release sent out by the Moorpark police soon after indicated that Sarrocco had crashed into Clark. After seeing the story published in the Acorn , Sarrocco’s mother, Elaine, was livid, saying her son had told her a very different story.

“This is a terrible accident that didn’t need to happen,” she said. “It is not (Nick’s) fault and I think it shouldn’t be portrayed this way. It’s frustrating and dishonest.”

In the CHP accident report completed Feb. 6, Clark told investigators he came to a full stop at the intersection and looked both ways before proceeding through it.

According to state law, deputies should “use extreme caution while crossing intersections: slowing or stopping their vehicle when appropriate.”

The report included comments from three witnesses—one of whom corroborated the deputy’s story, one of whom only saw the aftermath, and another who said the deputy “suddenly” appeared in the intersection—and concluded that Sarrocco was at fault because he failed to yield to the oncoming emergency vehicle.

Sarrocco, a student at Moorpark College, tells a very different story, saying that because of the deputy’s rate of speed, he had no time to react.

“(The car) just came out of nowhere. As soon as I got into the intersection, the only thing I saw was a cop car and I slammed on the brakes. I didn’t see any lights and didn’t hear sirens,” said Sarrocco, explaining that his view of the oncoming squad car was blocked by a wall at the intersection that backs up to homes.

Upset by law enforcement’s insistence that Sarrocco was to blame for the crash, the family hired local attorney Russ Ercolani to represent them.

Ercolani said authorities “suppressed” a video showing Clark speeding through the intersection without stopping.

The video, obtained by Ercolani and viewed by the Acorn , was filmed by a security camera at the Chevron gas station on the southeast corner of L.A. Avenue and Spring Road.

The video appears to support the Sarraccos’ assertion that the deputy did not properly brake at the intersection.

The report also failed to include a witness whose testimony would have contradicted the officer’s statement, the attorney said.

“The facts were so diametrically opposed, it was clear it wasn’t just a matter of difference of opinion, it was a matter of someone not telling the truth,” Ercolani said.

“This is beyond inattention to detail. Leaving one out is sloppy police work, leaving out both (the video and the witness) is clearly intentional.”

Ercolani, a 14-year Moorpark resident, said he has much respect for the local police department but was upset when he heard Sarrocco’s story.

“It was very clear to me that Nick was telling the truth and that the CHP report blamed him for the accident in which he was seriously injured,” he said.

Ercolani visited Moorpark Police Capt. Ron Nelson about two weeks ago to share the video and other information he’d gathered on the case. At that time, Nelson said the department agreed to reopen the investigation but denied any kind of “cover-up.”

“New things became known and we need to look at that,” the captain said.

“We drive millions of miles every year so mistakes happen sometimes . . . that’s why we hire professionals to take a further look. To me, it’s just about doing the right thing,” Nelson added.

Nelson said, for example, that a CHP report about another accident involving a police car responding to an emergency at the same intersection in April 2009 found the officer was at fault.

An accident review committee that examines all accidents involving police officers will determine whether the crash was avoidable or not, and the CHP and Moorpark police will conduct an internal review to determine whether proper procedures were followed.

“The bottom line is we want the report to be accurate. If we made a mistake, we want to make sure we right any wrongs we may have committed,” Nelson said.

Clark, a 10-year-veteran of the force, is usually assigned to the Ojai station. He was working in Moorpark that evening because VCSD law enforcement agencies are sharing resources to cut down on overtime. Clark did not return a request by the Acorn for comment.

Nelson said the officer had clearance to use his sirens and lights while responding to the incident.

“One of the most important things for our officers to keep in mind is to drive safely and not assume that people can hear you or see you even if you have sirens and lights on.”

As a former field training officer, Nelson said he’s taught deputies to follow the rules of the road, regardless of emergencies.

“I just want them to be cautious, get there quickly, but also safely,” he said.

The CHP’s Williams told the Acorn he was unaware of the videotape and the additional witness until Nelson brought them to his attention. He said he could not share details about the Sarrocco case because the outcome is subject to additional research, but he defended CHP practices.

“The CHP prides itself in conducting independent, unbiased investigations,” Williams said. “Many police departments rely upon us to come in and investigate their accidents. We will always strive to do an objective accident investigation.”

Still, he said, errors occur.

“In the event we discover we made a mistake, then I will deeply regret any consequences suffered by persons incorrectly blamed in the collision,” Williams said.

He and Ercolani made contact via phone about a week ago.

“The CHP has indicated that they’re taking aggressive actions to remedy the mistakes that were made in this case, but it certainly doesn’t undo the damage done to Nick and it doesn’t forgive what happened. God forbid I had not been able to find rock-solid video demonstrating what had occurred,” Ercolani said.

Sarrocco, a former standout football player on the Moorpark High School football team, had surgery on his left shoulder Feb. 18. His said he wants to go on to a four-year university to study nutrition.

“All that had to be put on hold because he could not concentrate in school since he had a lot of pain and because the way things unfolded, being blamed for all of that,” Elaine Sarrocco said.

Still, it could have been worse.

“I’m grateful my son is alive; it could have been a whole different story if he had arrived at intersection fractions of second earlier,” she said.