Date: 09-04-2016

Case Style: United States of America v. Arshad Razzak

Case Number: 3:14-cr-00103-RS

Judge: Seeborg

Court: United States District Court for the Northern District of California (San Francisco County)

Plaintiff's Attorney: John Henry Hemann

Defendant's Attorney: Mike Rains

Description: San Francisco, CA - Former San Francisco Police Officer Sentenced To Prison

Officer Sentenced to Fourteen Months For Violating Fourth Amendment And Writing False Police Report

Former San Francisco Police Officer Arshad Razzak was sentenced to 14 months in prison, and ordered to pay a $12,500 fine for violating the civil rights of a resident of a single room occupancy hotel and writing a false police report in connection with the incident announced United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett.

Following a jury trial, Razzak, 44, of San Francisco, was convicted on January 22, 2015, of engaging in a conspiracy against civil rights, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 241; deprivation of rights under color of law, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 242; and falsification of records, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1519. The evidence at trial proved that Razzak was the sergeant in charge of a group of undercover San Francisco Police Officers who entered a room in the Henry Hotel on December 23, 2010, without a warrant or other legal justification, in violation of the Fourth Amendment. In a report written after the illegal search, Razzak falsely represented that there were exigent circumstances that justified entry into the room. A hotel surveillance video recorded the incident and proved that Razzak’s account of the entry into the room was false. The evidence also showed that Razzak falsified documents related to a confidential informant in an improper effort to bolster his justification for searching the room.

Razzak was indicted by a federal grand jury on February 25, 2014. The incident came to the attention of the FBI after the San Francisco Public Defender released the videotape of Razzak and other officers entering the room at the Henry Hotel.

United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch said, “The fair administration of criminal justice requires police officers to uphold the constitution and to honestly document their activities. When officers intentionally violate their oath, as Mr. Razzak did, it is essential to the integrity of the criminal justice system that they be held responsible.”

The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Richard Seeborg, U.S. District Judge. Judge Seeborg also sentenced the defendant to a three-year period of supervised release. The defendant will begin serving the sentence on December 2, 2016, after the Bureau of Prisons designates the facility where he will be incarcerated.

The case was prosecuted by members of the Special Prosecutions Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI.

Outcome: Defendant was sentenced to 14 months in prison, and ordered to pay a $12,500 fine.

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