Jose Quintanilla

On November 19, 2020, officers Carlos Quintanilla and Antonio Gomez observed a vehicle parked illegally in a red zone outside a restaurant. When the car owner and his passenger returned after picking up takeout, the officers promptly handcuffed them. They then proceeded to conduct an unlawful search of the vehicle, as well as illegal searches of the individuals and a backpack.

Although Officer Quintanilla eventually released the subjects, he and his partner failed to document or book the narcotics they had discovered during their improper search. Furthermore, Officer Quintanilla denied multiple requests for his identification before driving away.

On February 21, 2021, LAPD officer Jose Quintanilla made an unlawful stop based that included biased policing and intimidation. He and his partner told the individuals they were stopping for “expired registration” of their parked rental car while they were standing outside of the car. However, a closer look showed that the rental car’s stickers were valid until December 2021, proving the officers wrong.

During the stop, Quintanilla’s partner told the young people not to talk to the person recording the incident while uncuffing them, clearly trying to intimidate them. Officer Quintanilla saw this but did not intervene or report the misconduct. 

Officers Quintanilla and his partner received sustained complaints for their unlawful traffic stop, leading to a two-day suspension for both.

However, the LAPD failed to sustain complaints Officer Quintanilla’s refusal to properly identify himself to the complainant. This matter was brought to the attention of the Internal Affairs captain concerning the department’s failure to properly adjudicate the complaints for the officers’ refusal to identify. Captain Shah, who leads Internal Affairs, admitted that the initial ruling was incorrect and should have been upheld.

Unfortunately, due to statue of limitations, the LAPD was unable to rectify the situation or impose further disciplinary measures.