S1: Welcome in San Diego , it's Jade Hindman on today's show , a controversial police practice where undercover agents pose as inmates faces allegations of coercion and racial bias. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. Inside jails across California. A controversial police practice is happening. Undercover agents pose as incarcerated people. Their goal get confessions out of suspects. The practice has led to hundreds of murder convictions , but critics call it coercion. They also say it's racially biased. Now , the California Supreme Court is reviewing a number of convictions. A recent Cal Matters analysis reveals the inner workings of these operations. Joining me with their findings is Kayla mihajlovic. She's a justice reporter with Cal Matters. Kayla , welcome to midday edition edition. Hi.
S2: Hi. Thank you so much for having me.
S1: Glad to have you here. This was some really good reporting and quite eye opening. Help me understand the so-called Perkins operations. What do they typically look like? Yeah.
S2: Yeah. So a Perkins operation is an undercover operation that takes place in a county jail. There are two main groups involved. There are uniformed law enforcement officers , and then there are undercover agents who can be police officers or recruited civilians working on behalf of law enforcement. And these are people who are referred to as Perkins agents. They're the ones who pose as cellmates and will try to elicit incriminating statements or confessions using deception.
S1: And how widespread is this practice in California? Yes.
S2: Yes. So we , um , looked at a lot of cases in. You know , Riverside County , Los Angeles , San Diego. Um , so there's a lot of concentration in Southern California , especially. But we have also seen cases in Santa Clara County , for example. Um , and I've spoken I've talked to experts who , you know , have testified in Perkins cases and Orange County and Santa Barbara. So , you know , we have seen that this is a practice that has gained a lot of traction , especially in , you know , the past 5 or 10 years.
S1: And you write that the timing is really critical in these operations. Why is that? Yes.
S2: Yes. So Perkins operations are distinct because of their timing. They typically take place after a person has been arrested and before charges are filed. And that timing is critical because once someone has been formally charged , um , your Sixth Amendment rights kick in , and you cannot be interrogated without a lawyer present.
S1: And you. I mean , we all have these , you know , Miranda rights here. Um , we can invoke , you know , invoke them. You know , like , the right to remain silent. Um , the right to an attorney before questioning. But with these Perkins operations , the court has said those rights don't apply. So walk me through that reasoning.
S2: Yeah , exactly. So protections under the Fifth Amendment , which include your Miranda rights. They guarantee that if you're a suspect , you will not be subject to custodial interrogation without a warning. And those protections resulted from a famous 1966 US Supreme Court case , Miranda versus Arizona um , designed to essentially guard against coercion in a police dominated environment. So once you invoke , um , your right to silence or to a , you know , having legal counsel , all interrogation must stop. But roughly two decades after that decision , Scotus held in a different case that statements made by a suspect during a Perkins operation are voluntary , so Miranda doesn't apply. So they reasoned that so long as suspects don't know they're speaking with a government agent , the pressures that exist in a custodial interrogation are absent. And they said , you know , Miranda is meant to protect against coercion , not deception. So , you know , in other words , if if you are in a cell and you think you're just having , you know , a conversation with a cellmate , that police dominated atmosphere doesn't exist. They they ruled and hence there's no risk of coercion. And that decision essentially created this loophole in Miranda protections.
S1: It's interesting. You met Jason Zapata , a man who experienced a Perkins operation firsthand. Tell me about him. Yeah.
S2: Yeah. So in 2015 , Jason Zapata was arrested for allegedly firing a gun into the air in Riverside County. He was thrown in a jail cell. He was 24 at the time. He shared a cell with two older men who told him they were gang members in jail for murder. He said they spoke at length about all the people they had stabbed to death , and pressed him to tell them about his own charges. He maintained his innocence and said he tried to tread lightly as he explained to them that he thought he'd be going home soon. And about halfway through , the agents. There were two Perkins agents posing as these gang members had not obtained any information about an unsolved murder they were investigating. So at that point , a uniformed police officer who was watching the whole operation from across the jail , as they typically do , pulled Zapata out of his cell for what's known as a stimulation. This is a tactic that is meant to open up the person , uh , to. To get a person to talk to , you know , the Perkins agent by introducing new information such as fabricated DNA results or lineups or video surveillance. And in Zapata's case , they pulled him out for this fake lineup. Um , the officer lied to Zapata , telling him that he had been identified as the perpetrator of a murder. And when that officer asked him whether he wanted to speak with him about it , Zapata in that moment invoked his right to legal counsel. But no attorney was ever provided , and he was returned to his cell , where the officer announced he'd be charged with murder. He closed the door and walked away , and when the Perkins agents overheard the officer say this , they immediately began peppering him with questions Zapata repeatedly denied his involvement. But the you know , he said the agents wouldn't let up , they wouldn't stop questioning him. And they told him he was disrespecting them for holding out. And at that point , you know , they. He says they eventually threatened to stab him or beat him. And that's why he says he told them what they wanted to hear. And based on the statements that he made to the agents , he was ultimately convicted of murder and sentenced to 25 years to life. He has always maintained his innocence , and says that he made those statements because he felt he was in imminent danger.
S1: Wow , that sounds like psychological torture. Did you talk to a psychologist about how this this shakes out for people?
S2: I did , I spoke with a psychology professor who studies Perkins operations. Her name is Iris Glendon Gitlin , and she says that this false evidence ploy in particular , that is. So it's such a defining feature in a Perkins operation. Based on my reporting , she called it a very dangerous tactic because it risks coercion and false confessions and erroneous information. And just to quote her , she says , you know , it manipulates people's reality. And so they believe it. They don't understand it , but they believe it. And so they choose to confess , even falsely.
S1: Well , earlier this year , an appellate court reversed Jason Zapata's conviction. Why is that case so significant? Yeah.
S2: Yeah. That's right. So earlier this year , an appellate court reversed his conviction and granted him a new trial after after finding that law enforcement violated his rights during the Perkins operation. And they essentially said law enforcement went too far , um , that this operation had all of the ingredients that amounted to a custodial interrogation , which , you know , triggers your Miranda protections. And Jason did invoke his legal right to counsel at a certain point. And , you know , no attorney was ever provided. And this , this really this case really could have wide ranging implications for , you know , other challenges to convictions that turned on a Perkins operation. There are currently ten cases before the California Supreme Court , um , that are asking this question in particular of , you know , not necessarily around the Miranda warnings , but is it still legal for a Perkins operation to happen after a suspect has invoked their right to silence or to legal counsel?
S1: Another key part of this conversation is who gets targeted by these operations? Because civil rights groups say the practice promotes racially biased policing. What did you find on that front? Yeah.
S2: Yeah. So public defenders throughout the state say these operations produce extreme racial disparities They've hired experts to look at some of the data that they have to do these analyses. Um , you know , they , alongside the ACLU , have urged the California Supreme Court to look closely at this police practice. And they've cited recent data from the Riverside County Public Defender's office. In particular , um , analyzed around 900 murder cases over roughly a ten year period , which included 145 Perkins targets. And their analysis showed that black defendants were more than four times as likely to be targeted in a Perkins operation than white defendants , and Latino defendants were targeted at over twice the rate of white defendants. And there have also been analyses in San Diego. Um , in one big Racial Justice Act case that's ongoing , which found that Hispanic defendants are twice as likely to be targeted in a Perkins operation compared to white defendants. And those odds go up for Hispanic teenagers , who are seven times more likely to be targeted in a Perkins operation compared to white teens.
S1: You spoke with several law enforcement agencies for this story. What reasoning did they use to defend this practice? Yeah.
S2: Yeah. District attorneys say that Perkins operations are one of the best tools to pursue the truth , and that they help law enforcement solve serious crimes or exonerate people. Um , I did speak with , uh , San Diego District attorney , uh , Summer Stephan , who told us that , you know , Perkins operations are applied. Excuse me? Applied across the board. Um , wherever she says , wherever it appears that a heartless murder can benefit. Hmm.
S1: Hmm. Did you from your reporting an investigation? Did you find any truth to Their defense of this practice.
S2: There were , um , you know , some court filings specifically from the LA County , um , district attorney's office that cited , you know , that they have used this , um , to exonerate people. Um , you know , I did speak with attorneys who represent clients who , you know , from the Innocence Project and policy makers. Um , and they say that , you know , that claim of , you know , exonerating people based on a Perkins operation is kind of overpromising or , um , misrepresenting , uh , what a Perkins operation can do , because in those cases , um , defendants have already essentially met their , um , legal , the legal standard for , um , an innocence claim and that a Perkins operation really was just something like confirmatory. So they in a way kind of debunked those , those claims. Um , but yes , these operations , you know , have , uh , you know , they have secured hundreds of murder convictions throughout the state. Um , I think that , you know , again , people who public defenders and advocates , you know , they don't want deception to be used on either the front end or the back end of a conviction. Mhm.
S1: Mhm. Well , I want to bring it back to Jason Zapata because he's now awaiting a new trial. How is he feeling and making sense of all this. Yeah.
S2: Yeah. Jason says that he is hopeful. Um , but you know , he is , you know , of course , worried , um , that he is returning , he says to a county where he believes misconduct , uh , runs rampant. But , you know , he says , you know , again , you know , he has maintained his innocence since before he was charged. And he says. You know , I'm hoping that they , you know , act accordingly. And I , I want to go home soon.
S1: Well , we'll continue to follow your reporting on this. I've been speaking with Kayla mihajlovic. She's a justice reporter with Cal Matters. And you can find a link to her full investigation at KPBS. Kayla , thank you so much , and thanks for your reporting.
S2: Thank you for having me.
S1: That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
