Police body-cam video shows Alameda councilmember drunk and disoriented

Alameda Councilmember Trish Herrera Spencer is up for re-election on Nov. 5

ELECTION 2024

—DAMAGING VIDEO—Alameda Councilmember Trish Herrera Spencer was intoxicated and struggled to answer questions posed by Long Beach Police in the early morning hours of Oct. 18, according to body-cam video of the incident.

—Video of the incident was posted on Reddit by an Alameda resident on Wednesday afternoon.

—Spencer is facing re-election to the Alameda City Council next week.

—The shocking images of Spencer lying prone, disoriented in front of a bar in Long Beach are devastating.

—At one point, a police officer asked Spencer where she is from. Spencer twice answered Southgate, the Los Angeles neighborhood where she was raised.

—Spencer was in Long Beach attending the annual League of California Cities Convention. Her airfare, lodging, and registration for the event was paid by the city.

—Public safety personnel responded to a call describing a female “non-responsive” and “just laying down,” according to the incident report.

—Spencer was not arrested. “You’re not in any trouble. Some people were concerned about you,” a police officer told Spencer.

—Police identified Spencer by the name badge issued by the League of California Cities, according to the incident report, in addition to identifying “feces on the back of her pants.”

—Spencer said in a statement last week that she did not recall the incident, but suggested she had been assault, describing bruising on her head and arms. After the incident, Spencer flew home and sought medical treatment for her injuries.

—According to the police report, Spencer fell on the sidewalk while under the supervision of police.

—Spencer also claimed that unnamed assailants robbed her of her belongings.

—The police body-cam video is inconclusive on the subject, but Spencer is wearing a ring and in possession of a blue tote, according to the video. A female police officer placed Spencer’s cellphone in the bag.

—Prior to release of the body-cam video, the Alameda City Council had scheduled an item for its Nov. 6 meeting, authored by Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft, to formally admonish Spencer for her behavior in Long Beach.