Tampering cop is hired by Menlo Park

BY EMILY MIBACH
Daily Post Staff Writer

A high-ranking police officer who allegedly interfered with the findings in an internal investigation of a scandal in the Oakland Police Department now works at the Menlo Park Police Department as one of the department’s top brass. 

Wilson Lau was the captain in charge of overseeing the Oakland Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division. Lau was accused in an external report of downplaying the behavior of a police officer who fired his gun in the department’s elevator and who, in a separate incident, failed to report and left the scene of a vehicle collision he was involved in San Francisco. 

Lau worked for the Oakland Police Department from Feb. 10, 2007, until July 23, 2022, when he resigned. 

Before Lau’s resignation, the Oakland Police Department hired an outside investigator to lead an inquiry into certain events involving Sgt. Michael Chung, including the Department’s original internal investigation into a vehicle collision that Sgt. Chung did not report, his firing of his gun in an elevator at Oakland Police headquarters, as well as any other ancillary misconduct uncovered in the course of the investigation.

The OPD had already conducted its own internal investigation of these events. The outside investigator was retained when it was later determined that Sgt. Chung was involved in both the unreported vehicular collision and the discharge of the firearm.

‘Procedural irregularities’

The OPD retained the law firm of Clarence Dyer & Cohen LLP to conduct the independent investigation. At the end of their investigation, the investigators recommended that the Department sustain multiple rules violations against Lau, as Captain of the Internal Affairs Division for “inappropriately directing a subordinate officer to downgrade the findings of the (internal) investigation such that the subject officer was not held accountable for serious misconduct and thereby avoided serious discipline.” 

According to investigator’s Conclusions and Recommendations, they identified “procedural irregularities and possible violations of OPD policy” by those conducting the initial investigations. 

The investigators found evidence that Lau had instructed the person at OPD who had written the original draft report to downplay the hit-and-run and to change the report to say the officer and Chung were being truthful in their responses to the investigator, despite the investigators’ original draft report questioning the credibility of Chung and the other officer. 

Attempt to ‘recast, deflect and minimize’

The report concluded that the actions of OPD’s Internal Affairs Division “sought to recast, deflect and minimize the severity” of the misconduct. 

This report is a public document ordered to be “publicly disclosed in full” in connection with the Oakland Police Department’s compliance with its Negotiated Settlement Agreement of Jan. 22, 2003, regarding allegations of police misconduct.

Days before resigning from the OPD, on July 18, 2022, Lau accepted a job at the East Bay Regional Parks Department, according to records on file with the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST).  According to POST records, Lau received an “involuntary separation” from East Bay Parks on March 23, 2023.

Lawsuit over firing

As a result of the external investigation Oakland Police Department, Chief LeRonne Armstrong was fired. On Feb. 5, Armstrong filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the city. 

On July 20, 2023, Lau’s attorney, Dan Siegel, filed a lawsuit against the city of Oakland and East Bay Parks, alleging that he was the one who wanted a harsher report on Chung but that the internal investigation was turned in while he was on vacation and that he never approved the final report. Lau asserts in the suit that he was blamed for the light touch on the Internal Affairs investigation; that he was retaliated against because he wanted to hold police officers at OPD accountable; and that outside investigators accused Lau of failing to carry out a rigorous investigation of accusations against Sgt. Chung due to their joint Asian ancestry, reflecting racial bias.

Lau began his job in Menlo Park on Jan. 29, according to POST. 

‘Best qualified applicant’

The Daily Post asked both Lau and Menlo Park Police Chief Dave Norris about his hiring and his time at the East Bay police departments. Norris said in an emailed statement that the city searched nationwide for a commander and found that Lau was the “best qualified applicant, with a strong blend of intellect, compassion, experience, and leadership character.”  He stated further that he “…personally spoke with several very reputable police chiefs who have direct experience working with Commander Lau, and who all provided resounding recommendations of his ability to perform as a police leader. I am fully confident of my decision to recommend Commander Lau for this hiring, and very grateful to have him on board serving the Menlo Park Police Department and our community.”

Lau, through Norris, declined an interview and instead signed off on Norris’ response to the Post. 

Norris said a background screening, psychological screening and medical evaluation were completed before Lau was hired. 

A background investigation

“Background investigations allow us to dig much deeper and uncover more facts than an open-source media search, and the background material is made available to the psychological evaluators prior to the assessment. The actual contents of these personnel records are confidential,” Norris said. 

Lau is one of two commanders in the department. Menlo Park doesn’t have assistant chiefs but instead has two commanders — one in charge of patrol and the other in charge of special operations. Cmdr. Tony Dixon has been in charge of special operations since 2017. 

The department has 47 sworn officers with a badge and gun and 22 non-officer employees.

Norris began looking for a new commander after T.J. Moffett left the department in August for a similar position in Modesto, where he had spent most of his career. Lau’s salary was not immediately available on Friday, but the salary range for the position is listed at $160,572 to $234,259, according to the promotional pamphlet for the position.