It’s been nearly 40 years since two San Diego Police Officers pulled over a young black man named Sagon Penn in an Encanto neighborhood. What should have been a routine stop escalated into violence. As the case played out, it would deepen the divide between law enforcement and San Diegans of color.
Author Peter Houlahan says, “This really was a wake up, really a coming-of-age story. It did not fit neatly into anyone’s preferred narrative.”
And that’s what intrigued Houlahan, leading him to write his latest book “Reap the Whirlwind, Violence, Race, Justice, and the story of Sagon Penn.”
A story that started in March of 1985, when two officers were looking for a gang member who threatened someone with a gun in an Encanto neighborhood. They saw Penn driving a pick-up truck with a group of guys inside.
Penn was stopped -the confrontation escalated, and things got physical between Penn and the officers.
Houlahan says “ It really shows how these things can blow up from nothing to terrible in a matter of seconds. The batons were out. Sagon Penn at one point, which is not contested reached over took the gun out of the holster of the officer that was startling him. And then the Officer that was sitting on him got shot in the neck. The officer standing above him. He turned shot him three times, he fell dead at the retaining wall across the yard.”
The Officer who was killed was Thomas Riggs.
Donovan Jacobs was the other officer who was shot. He survived his injuries.
Penn drove off but later turned himself into Police.
As preparations began for Penn’s murder trial, the noticeable decades long divide deepened within San Diego.
The case brought attention to the strained relationship between the police department and some communities of color around San Diego.
Houlahan says, “There were a lot of divisions, divisions in the media. There were divisions in the city within its institutions, within the citizens that lived there.”
The Union Tribune wrote an op-ed piece that sided with Police. Channel 10’s Michael Tuck known for his perspective pieces challenged the UT’s write up presenting an opposing view.
He adds, “ Viewers and reads sort of separated. But then the moderation came in. It didn’t explore from there. You didn’t see the polarization we have today.”
After two trials, Sagon Penn was found not guilty in the murder of a San Diego Police Officer, but his history would create change.
Houlahan adds, “ There was a civilian review board that was put in place for complaints against the Police Department. And Police had traditionally resisted this. But they embraced it at that point.”
And it’s that type of change that Houlahan says illustrates the kind of impact stories like Penn’s can have.
He says, “ Incidents like this are worth looking at and looking at the details taking a hard look at seeing where things went wrong and where they went right.
