San Bernardino council unanimously censures Treasurer Ortiz over illicit recordings and false allegations

Mayor Tran and the San Bernardino City Council voted unanimously April 1 to adopt Resolution No. 2026‑035 censuring Treasurer and councilmember Trisha Ortiz for conduct the city said involved non‑consensual recordings of police officials and the persistent public use of those recordings to advance false claims.

The council acted after a public hearing in which the city’s outside counsel, Steven Larson, presented investigators’ findings and a legal analysis. Larson told the council that two recordings made in August 2024 — one of a San Bernardino Police Department sergeant at a coffee shop and one of Chief Darren Goodman in his office — were made without the knowledge or consent of the other parties and were later used by Ortiz to promote allegations that the department had improperly accessed her criminal history through the CLETS law enforcement database. "Those recordings were instrumental," Larson said, "They were used selectively, and they were used strategically as part of what appears to be a pattern of deception and misrepresentations."

Larson summarized results of multiple reviews the…