OCEANSIDE — The ACLU and an Oceanside family have teamed up to advocate for changes in the Oceanside Police Department’s procedures and training relating to crisis negotiations.

William and Julie Hillestad said recently at a press conference the department may have contributed to the death of their son, Grant Sattaur, on Dec. 26, 2007, because his situation was mishandled by the agency and its negotiator, according to an ACLU press release.

For nearly two hours, Sattaur, 20, who was distraught and alone in his family’s home armed with a semi-automatic handgun, talked via phone to an Oceanside police negotiator about his perceived trouble with the law and a former girlfriend.

“I have a stay away order from her, and I guarantee she is the one that called you guys, cops, to come over here,” Sattaur told the officer according to the 911 transcript. “So already like that, I’m going to get some time for that. For holding you up right now on the phone … I’m going to get time for it.”

Sattaur, who told the officer he’d gone through the Palomar Police Academy, said: “I know enough to know that when there’s cops out in front of the house and they’ve got the guns pointed on me and I’m talking to a negotiator and I have a gun in my hand, I know that there’s going to be problems. There’s going to be problems after this. I may go to jail and it’s not going to be good.”

Throughout the call, the negotiator, whose identity hasn’t been released, reinforced the police weren’t there to arrest him, but simply wanted Sattaur to come out so they could get him help.

However, the Hillestads and the ACLU contend the officer rushed and demeaned Sattaur, as well as continually tried to induce feelings of guilt.

“Grant, shut up and listen to me,” the negotiator said. “Will you do that, keep your mouth shut? You need to come out of the house so other people can go home.”

And later, he said, “Are you going to be a coward and stay in the house or are you going to be a man and come outside and take care of your problems?” 

The Oceanside Police Department didn’t respond to a request to comment on the case.

The Hillestads enlisted the help of the ACLU after unsuccessful attempts to get the Oceanside police chief and City Council members to address the situation, the press release states. The family said they don’t believe their concerns are being taken seriously despite meetings with police Chief Frank McCoy, City Attorney John Mullen and Councilman Jack Feller.

Mullen said he and McCoy met with the Hillestads in March to discuss their concerns about the situation. After the meeting, Mullen said he followed up by providing a copy of the training requirements for the city’s crisis negotiators; however, he never heard back from the couple. He also said the couple never asked that any specific changes be made to the training requirements.

Mullen said he wasn’t aware of any issues or problems associated with the training requirements of Oceanside police negotiators. He said the Hillestads haven’t responded yet to an offer from him and McCoy to meet again.

“I agree this is a tragic case and I have sympathy for the family,” the lawyer said.