San Bernardino Councilwoman Alleges Police Chief Tried to Silence Her in CLETS Lawsuit

San Bernardino Councilwoman Dr. Treasure Ortiz alleged last week that Police Chief Darren Goodman attempted to intimidate her into dropping her $2 million lawsuit against the city, which claims the San Bernardino Police Department illegally accessed her confidential records in the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS).

Speaking on the steps of San Bernardino City Hall on August 12, Ortiz alleged she learned Goodman told community members that if she continued her lawsuit, he would make certain “non-public records” available. Ortiz characterized the alleged comments as “a threat” and “blackmail.”

“I will never, ever be threatened to be quiet and not expose corruption in this city,” Ortiz said.

Ortiz filed her claim in March 2025, alleging former San Bernardino Police Detective Steve Dereoscher, then vice president of the Police Officers Association, illegally ran her information through CLETS in 2019 and 2020. CLETS is a confidential database that can only be accessed by law enforcement and is overseen by the California Department of Justice. Misuse has led to criminal prosecutions across the state. Ortiz alleged she has no arrest record, meaning the only way her information could be obtained was through police access.

Ortiz said she has sought intervention from federal authorities and cited Section 1983 of U.S. law, which allows individuals to sue state or local government officials in federal court for alleged abuse of power or violations of constitutional rights. She alleged she brought the matter to the FBI, the Department of Justice, and the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s office.

The timeline of events, Ortiz said, stretches back years. In November 2023, former City Attorney James Penman (and Ortiz’ competition in the Nov. 2024 Ward 7 election) allegedly told her that the POA “had a file” on her. Later, in August 2024, Goodman allegedly received a CLETS audit from the DOJ showing a March 2020 run. Ortiz alleged she initially believed the run occurred in 2019 after Goodman’s original statements to her, but she later learned the date had shifted.

Seventh Ward resident Scott Beard said he was present at a meeting on August 30, 2024, between Ortiz and Goodman where the chief allegedly admitted the run was illegal. “Chief Goodman even provided both of us copies of the DOJ CLETS audit showing the run,” Beard said. “He told us it was an illegal run and that he could not stand by the reason for the run, and that if Detective Dereoscher was still active with the department he would fire him. He also said he was pursuing a criminal case against him.” Beard said Goodman has never retracted those remarks to him.

Former Councilwoman Kimberly Calvin also supported Ortiz’s account. At the press conference, Calvin claimed that during a meeting, Police Officers Association President Jose Loera expressed regret about what had happened and what Ortiz had experienced. “POA President Loera stated that he was very apologetic for what Officer Dereoscher had done,” Calvin said. “In his statement, he also gave direction as to what her next steps could be if he were her. President Loera was not under duress, he was instructed to be there by his chief, and he still made the statement. I then took his statement as truth.”

Ortiz alleged she learned that Goodman’s more recent outreach to community members, suggesting damaging information could surface if she pursued her case, was intended to pressure her to abandon it. Ortiz said she suggested that an apology and acknowledgment of wrongdoing could resolve the matter, but instead she was told to ‘just let this go.’ Days later, Ortiz alleged she received an email from the city clerk that a consensus of the council wanted to bring her claim back for discussion despite voting against it on May 7, 2025. 

“They didn’t get the response they wanted,” Ortiz alleged. “So they were going to do what they do best, which is attempt to intimidate me. That’s not going to happen.”

Ortiz said the matter reaches beyond her individual case, alleging a broader cover-up involving senior leadership. Ortiz alleged that former Councilwoman Calvin twice told the city attorney during council meetings that she had been present when the matter was discussed. She added that Beard and other witnesses also contacted multiple council members to report they were told the same thing. “Everybody is culpable for what I believe is a conspiracy to cover up this crime,’ Ortiz said.”

She said her fight is not with law enforcement as a whole. “Being a police officer is the only job where you have to make split-second life and death decisions where the community gives you no margin for error,” Ortiz alleged. “To watch people at the top who don’t put their lives on the line further erode trust is not okay. I have never had a bad interaction with a cop. I respect the men and women who serve, but a bad cop spoils the rest of the 99.”

Ortiz alleged residents should be able to trust information released by the police department. “Right now, I do not trust anything that comes out of this department,” she said.

Chief Goodman, in an email to IECN’s media partner KVCR, denied Ortiz’s accusations. “I have not made any threats, of any kind, directly or indirectly to Councilwoman Ortiz,” he wrote. “This is another one to add to the long list of lies she has told since this investigation began.”

Councilwoman Sandra Ibarra also defended Goodman, saying she stands by the city’s statement released in May. “As I told another reporter, please have all the facts presented before posting what certain people try to present as ‘facts.’ There are always three parts to a story,” she wrote in an email. 

Ibarra went on to allege, “In all my interactions with our police chief, he has been a man of his word and integrity. I cannot say the same for Ortiz. Since he came to our city, police response times have improved and crime has gone down drastically.”

Inland Empire Community News reached out to the San Bernardino Police Department’s public information officer and to Loera for comment. Neither responded. 

Ortiz’s lawsuit remains pending, and no outside agency has announced an independent investigation. For now, the dispute remains unresolved, with Ortiz and her supporters alleging intimidation and cover-ups, and some city leaders calling her claims false.

“I hope they do the right thing, because I am not afraid,” Ortiz concluded.