CHP Threatens Bloggers Over Free Speech
On June 7th a few of us took a banner onto a public sidewalk along a freeway overpass in Fullerton to participate in constitutionally-protected free speech in support of Bill Hunt for Sheriff. Almost immediately, a CHP officer told us to leave or we would be ticketed and removed.
Citing the 1st amendment, we declined and held our position for nearly an hour.
Eventually backup arrived and we were threatened multiple times with arrest, although the officers would not say which law was being violated. Here is a clip of the event, which reveals several disturbing statements made by the officer.
We decided to leave after the officer began to quiver with anger and his threats of arrest became more forceful.
The officer then suggested that we were being paid and then made disparaging remarks about the candidate who we were supporting. Those statements were extremely unprofessional and suggest that the officer’s intentions may have been political in nature.
We have been informed of similar accounts of intimidation of sign-holders by the CHP at other freeway overpasses throughout Orange County on that same day.
A complaint of officer misconduct will be filed with the California Highway Patrol shortly.
That just pisses me off. What law was being broken?
Chris, they never said what law we were breaking. As you can see from the video, traffic was flowing quite nicely during rush hour, so no interference there.
Have you contacted the CHP directly regarding this?
Not surprising. Police sometimes ignore free speech rights. My understanding is that you were within your rights to hold a banner, but attaching it to the fence would not have been legal.
Once I was threatened with arrest for handing out political leaflets during the Orange Street Fair, even though I was standing a block away from the entrance. I backed down then, but I wouldn’t back down today, and neither should any of us.
I didn’t see the quiver except in the guy with the sign and blue cup. I also didn’t hear any disparaging remarks unless there was there more to this clip than you posted. I guess you hear what you want to hear.
Keep those cameras rolling! They really hate it when you do that.
If the officer was banging away at her keyboard, there should be a public record of the e-transmittal. Time for a public record request. Also, look for audio/video recordings from the CHP. I hear they have audio/video recording in some cars and the radio transmissions may also be recorded.
They are law enforcement. Dont you guys know they get to make the rules? They stop right in the middle of traffic for a half hour to tell you traffic is being affected. Reminds me of the old days when the overweight, cigarette smoking doctors would give out health tips.
Just curious why they had Tony pulled aside and not all of you together?
Tony just happened to be standing over there when they pulled up (and scraped the door of their cruiser on the curb. Oops.)
So where is the hook in this video? I don’t see anything terrible as Travis wrote in his article. If everyone out there thinks they didn’t do anything wrong then why do they back down to the cops. Get arrested and force the cops to charge you with a crime.
You all hate the cops but yet you campaign for one or should I say a former cop or now “Still a former cop.”
OMG,
Who said FFFF hates cops?
It’s very obvious that the ffff are anti fireman, police, city worker, county worker, some teachers unless they are personal friends and anyone that has a different view than they might have. But who cares what these so called friends for fullerton really say. Unlike the people that work for the city and try to do a good job (which is most city employees) they will complain and spew untrue crap so their handful of gullible readers, who have most likely done nothing positive for the city, can get all worked up. I know an awful lot of city employees who not only work hard for the citizens of Fullerton but they are very good people in the community. It’s shame that this site is such a negative one towards a lot of very good people.
Chamber Star, is that you?
Hey little buddy, FFFF doesn’t hate public employees. FFFF hates the damage caused by public employee UNIONS. Ramp up your reading comprehension and start over.
I have seen more public employees, mostly law enforcement and fire services (so-called professionals), post negative personal attacks simply because FFFF has pointed out the out-of-sight salaries so many are receiving and that’s in addition to the fat pensions. The inequity to the taxpayer is what has fueled public outrage. Go back and read them. There are numerous “you better not call 911” and “I hope you never need help” etc.
How many of us have walked into a public building like city hall or the local DMV only to find cubical workers cowering in their corners ignoring the people at the counter? Often. Unfortunately, the ones who do work hard and do try to serve the public are far and few between. That was expected when their salaries were low and the pensions ok but now they get the best of both worlds: fat pay checks and fat pensions. That’s the Gravy Train that FFFF seeks to derail.
I’m sure you and all your friends have walked into a public building and were ignored. When did that happen? I’m sure you and your friends discussed this when it occurred and made a complaint since that seems to be the theme. When did you or anyone else call for fire or police service and were ignored in Fullerton? It doesn’t happen and if it did you and your band of merry men would file a complaint. Skippy it’s my opinion that ffff don’t like the city workers but loves Norby, Nelson and Admin. When has there ever been a positive piece about any of the good things city workers have done on this site because they are doing more work with less resources, workers, pay and support from city leaders. Maybe there wasn’t anyone available to help the skippy when he went to a public building like city hall or the DMV.
Ah, there you go again little buddy… While the rest of us are laid off because our companies didn’t suck the giant government tit of taxpayers, people like you sit around on the blogs, probably on the public’s dime, bitching and moaning that you have to work sooo hard and your pay got cut and woes this and all that bullshit. You’ll be lucky if you have a job in two years, much less a pension. The Gravy Train you’ve been riding just stopped…
Skippy if you’re laid off you should be out looking for a job rather than playing super blogger. When you say the rest of us, who are you speaking of? As for me I do work and I’m on a day off so it’s not costing anyone a penny but my waste of time with you.
Yeah, get arrested. No big deal.
You can clearly hear the officer threaten them with jail, which was the whole point of this post.
Call the ACLU.
Quivering with anger? Please!!! Talk about all hype and no substance. They asked you to leave, you didn’t. They asked you again, you didn’t. Then you finally left.
Now, you didn’t like what they had to say, ok, so be it. But “quivering with anger”??
Political motivations? Are you kidding me? Maybe it was overpass distraction that had them concerned, and not the message.
The amount of paranoia and conspiracy thinking around here is amazing.
“The amount of paranoia and conspiracy thinking around here is amazing.”
And yet you seem to keep coming back. Odd.
Quivering was exactly how I described it. You can’t see it in the video because the camera was at the other end of the bridge. He was going to arrest me.
Just because you say “quivering”, Tony, doesn’t mean that’s what it was. Now, I suppose there may be more than is shown on the video, there often is.
I just find it amusing that you are out there campaigning for one cop, who would do the exact same thing to you if he had rolled up on you and your group.
And to state that the CHP officers had political motivations? Please. That’s a stretch. Now, could the callers who called the CHP to complain have had political motivations? Maybe so.
And Joe, I come here for comic relief. And it’s a good thing that I do come here. Without comments challenging your little club here, you would have 5 comments on each page saying, “yea” and “good point” and no actual discourse and discussion.
Comic relief? Your boss John Lewis isn’t laughing today, is he? And neither is his sorry assclown puppet.
Clearly you guys were in violation of the standing on sidewalk with sign and not doing what a CHP officer said because, uh, he said so. Do those fall under vehicle code or criminal code? You should have asked.
If you feel no crime was violated and hate the restrictions the government has put on you, then challenge them. Make the police arrest you and challenge the charges in court. Tony could hire Nelson to defend you all. But instead you all backed down to a cop and left. What was your crime? Why did you let a union thug harrass you like that and violate your rights unchallenged?
and J. Donut, Travis’s paranoia is pretty obvious that he hate cops, fire, any type of government control. Oh Big Brother is watching all of you. Oh My God.
Uh, let’s see. A little turd with a Napoleonic complex and a gun threatens to throw you in jail. Sure, you could challenge him. And pretty soon every pea-brained cop in Fullerton will be on your back stomping you for “resisting arrest.”
Then they cook up a story, fake reports and pretty soon you’ll be doing time in the County Clink and the lying sack of shit CHP tool will get a medal – right after he claims he permanently injured his back pistol whipping you.
Hey Cop Lover, is that it? I see you must have dusted off your VCR and played an old tape of Serpico last night. Get real.
I have to agree with JA, this is comic relief.
Maybe he watched the nightly news!
You can come up with all the excuses you want. You let the California Highway Gestapo man handle your peeps and make their lips quiver and probably their colons too. I’d hate to see what real police would make you do.
“Real cops” as thugs and bullies. That’s some great vision of police work, chum. And shared by a lot of cops, too. That’s why you end up on the ground getting shit kicked by a circle of goons if you give them a hint of an opportunity.
Maybe the boys had better things to do than be cuffed and waste the day at the police station.
OMG is getting belligerent and blusterey. I hope you’re off duty. Or maybe they put you behind a desk for the publics’ sake.
This is some funny shit !!!!
This site has always been anti cop…cant wait till you need one..after your wife beats your ass after finding you handing out oral at a hillcrest park bathroom
Aha. Another Noel Coward.
BTW, idiot, you aren’t getting amplified music back at Roscoe’s Famous Nuisance.