I know that whatever I say here is too little too late, but I must say it. I have to say thank you. I know that what happened that fateful night was nothing you had ever planned to have happen, and that there was nothing you could have done to stop the injustice that occurred to you. But I want you, and your family, friends, and supportive citizens to know that your death was not in vain. You have brought new life to a community by helping us to remember our pure humanity.
I may no longer be religious, but I retain an intense spirituality in which I hold true to many of the things I was taught as a child. One of my most remembered passages from the Bible is as follows: “As you have done it to these, the least of my brethren, you have done it unto me.” Although I always saw this as a positive passage, it reminds me now that there are two sides to every subject. You are in no way any less than any of us, except for in the way that our entrusted officers and government treated you because of who you were in their eyes. And I am so sorry that it took your death for us to realize that we all, as a community, had lost our power and needed to take it back.
Even with what happened tonight in our recall election, I wish that what had happened to you could be taken back a thousand times over. It should never have come to this. Tonight, the City of Fullerton stood up in defense of not just you, but itself, and it should never have taken your death for us to realize how much we needed to make change happen. There were so many more issues involved tonight, which we have known for so long but refused to challenge, and I am sorry that you had to be the catalyst to make change happen.
I am so wholeheartedly ashamed of how we let you down, but I hope that wherever you are, you somehow know that we will continue fighting for you, for our community, and for the rights of all of our citizens. I know that I, among many others, will continue to vigilantly make sure this never happens again to any member of our community, and should any injustice occur, that we will all work together to hold those persons accountable of the crimes they have committed.
All I can do tonight is look up at the sky and thank you, and I hope you that you can forgive us for all that has occurred. We love you, and we love Fullerton, and let this mark a new day in this city’s history and future.
Here is a fun e-mail sent out Wednesday by Fullerton cop union boss Barry Coffman. Yes, indeed, Barry is singing the blues, as well he should be. On Tuesday he discovered that the city he thought his union had bought and paid for just wouldn’t stay bought. Here’s Barry’s sob story:
Dear FPOA Member,
Last night we witnessed that the City of Fullerton can be bought. The citizens of Fullerton, or a least a small percentage of them, have spoken and decided that a change was needed. By now I’m sure you’re all aware of the city council recall and know what I’m talking about.
I suspect that besides the changing of the guard on the city council, there will be many other changes that will affect the city’s employees from the top all the way down to the bottom of all the bargaining units. The new city council will want to establish some sort of reform with us to save money.
Of course it’s still too early to tell what these changes will be but there are some ideas that are floating around that aren’t out of the realm of possibility of happening. First and foremost, our contract takes us through 2014. Remember we added an additional 1 year extension that only WE can choose to utilize if we so desire that would make us safe through 2015. My guess is that we will probably pull the trigger on the extension but we’ll wait and see how things are two years from now.
The city could also ask us to re-open our current contract and renegotiate. I’m fairly certain their reason wouldn’t involve us getting a raise or some other increased benefit. I would always be open to hear what the city has to say but we signed a contract and I feel the city should honor its end of the deal as we would.
I spoke with our attorney Rob Wexler about the city trying to null and void our contract before it expires. He said that the only way for this to happen is if the city declares bankruptcy. This very thing happened in 2008 with the City of Vallejo, CA. They filed Chapter 9 bankruptcy citing one of many reasons being employee contracts and their inability to pay them along with retirees. Their POA took the city to court stating the city purposely created a fiscal crisis to break their contracts with the association. The POA lost and now has a new contract with fewer employees.
Could something like this happen here in Fullerton? Maybe, I wouldn’t be surprised if it did.
There has been a lot of talk about the Orange County Sheriff’s Department coming in to take us over as a contract city. It’s my understanding that the sheriff’s department would want to have a legitimate city council vote or city manager requesting a cost pricing for their services. They will not do a pricing just because someone asks them to. Again our contract will come into play since they would not want to interfere with it and get involved with what would surely be a fight between our association and the city.
Another issue would be the City of Fullerton trying to become a charter city. I don’t know all the pros and cons or intricacies of a charter city but my understanding is the rules change somewhat when it comes to local versus state control regarding local affairs. The City of Costa Mesa has been trying to become one. They want to be able to control their employee’s wages by outsourcing much of their city services to private companies or other agencies at usually lower cost.
Could something like this happen here in Fullerton? Maybe, I wouldn’t be surprised if it did.
If you haven’t been following the news in San Diego and San Jose, you probably should. The voters in San Jose successfully passed a measure that would help curb retirement cost. Employees would be required to contribute significantly more towards their current retirement formula or choose to opt out to a retirement plan which would offer fewer benefits. San Diego voters passed a ballot initiative that would replace guaranteed pensions with 401(k) style plans for most new hires. I’m sure both ballot measures will be challenged in the courts and we’ll have to wait and see how they turn out.
Could something like this happen here in Fullerton? Maybe, I wouldn’t be surprised if it did.
No one really knows what will happen over the course of the next few years. A few of the soon-to-be city council members have made it perfectly clear that they want to put our associations in check and have us pay more towards our retirements and anything else they can. Depending if they want to play by the rules and meet and confer as required, we could see ourselves tangled up in a legal battle like many associations across the state.
So as I close this message of doom and gloom, I don’t want to create a panic. We are a professional organization and we still have a job to do. Let’s keep up the great work we do and not fuel the argument that we are just running amuck out there. We know that’s not true and no other agency would be able to provide the same level of service to the citizen of Fullerton.
If you have any questions or concerns, you know how to get a hold of me.
Be safe out there,
Barry fpoapresident@gmail.com — Barry Coffman-President Fullerton Police Officer’s Association
Reform of a corrupt police department? Could something like this happen here in Fullerton? Maybe, I wouldn’t be surprised if it did.
I just re-discovered this fabulous gem from February and thought it would be a timely reminder of the caliber of the Three Bald Tires and their Reign of Error.
– Joe Sipowicz
Ah! The gift that keeps giving: the cornpone brayings of crazy old Doc Jones, guaranteed to embarrass everybody in the room. Here’s a fun clip from last night:
This is the loud-mouthed buffoon the anti-recall crowd is defending as an experienced, honorable statesman.
Looks like Dick stepped on his own Jones. Again.
Well, we’ve been listening to this rude, bullying, bloviator for fifteen years and watched as he pushed around people who were afraid to push back. The times they are a-changin.’
After much thought and discussion I have concluded that my email yesterday was inappropriate and I regret it. The copy below will be sent in an email as soon as we can get the logistics worked out to all registered voters in Fullerton who have available email:
Dear Fullerton Voter,
On June 5th you will have an opportunity to improve Fullerton City Hall by voting YES on the recalls of Pat McKinley, Don Bankhead and Dick Jones. Thousands of people supported and worked for this recall and I wish to personally apologize for an email that I sent yesterday as one of the leaders of the Fullerton Recall from fullertonrecall.com. In light of the fact that so many worked for this improvement in our city it was a poor decision on my part to specify which candidates I support in the context of being a Recall leader. That was not right and I apologize to the other candidates and their supporters.
There are 13 candidates running in three races to replace current leadership and all deserve the respect and appreciation from The Fullerton Recall for having the courage to step up and lead!
May the best candidates for the future of Fullerton win!
Sincerely,
Chris Thompson, Campaign Director – The Fullerton Recall
Not long ago I discovered this anonymous note on my vehicle:
Below is a retirement flyer of a recently retired FPD lieutenant – some guy named Tom “Tango” Basham. Somebody thinks he’s a “top cop.”
Was this the man who was on duty back at the station on July 5th 2011 and who remotely watched the murder of Kelly Thomas? Was he the guy who later let the perps watch the video and write, then re-write reports?
Has this retired cop now been hired back by Acting Chief Dan Hughes as a paid double-dipper? If so, what for, and for how much? In 2011 this valuable piece of manpower pulled in over $148,000, so his pension, of course, is already huge.
OC 4th District Supervisor Shawn Nelson visited our humble blog yesterday to refresh our memories about his calling in the Feds in the Kelly Thomas killing. Here’s what he had to say:
So the historical record is clear, I contacted the Department of Justice on Thursday July 21 or 28 (not sure which Thursday off the top of my head). My purpose was to open a case file in the Civil Rights division because I felt an obligation to ensure the citizens of Fullerton everything I could do had been done. While on the telephone with a lawyer at the DOJ, she contacted the FBI and before our call concluded she was able to confirm that the FBI would be taking the lead on the case and that the FBI had, in fact, opened a file as of that monement.
Confirmation of the FBI’s involvement made the airwaves later that same day and by 8:00 the next day I heard word the officers involved had been taken off the streets.
A good reminder that the cops weren’t pulled until after the FBI was notified on July 28th, 2011. A coincidence? I think not.
FFFF originally posted about Nelson’s intervention, here. I also believe it was this action that spurred the DA to do a real investigation, and not one of the usual whitewashes.
Brandon Ferguson at the Weekly is citing KPCC that cites other media outlets in passing along the news that all six of the Fullerton cops who participated in the beating death of Kelly Thomas last July have been given notices of termination.
This means that Craig, Blatney and Hampton have now joined the list that previously included Ramos, Wolfe and Cicinelli.
Of course official announcements are not forthcoming from the City since we the lowly taxpayers are not to know which cops are fired (if ever) and what for.
Since the sources have been cantilevered out there pretty far, I’ll withhold saying anything else until I can touch base with my source inside the FPD.
In the meantime, reflect on this: after the killing these cops were not disciplined; they were left on the streets by a leaderless department and a chummy city council majority – Jones, Bankhead and McKinley. Wolfe, Blatney, Hampton and Craig have been on paid leave since August, costing us several hundred thousand dollars.
Some folks are now reporting that Jay Cicinelli has been included along with Ramos and Wolfe.
– Joe Sipowicz
A source inside the FPD has just revealed that today Manuel Ramos and Joe Wolfe received termination papers from the FPD. How come? Interestingly, their offense was not provoking and participating in a brutal killing; rather, it was their refusal to talk to the City’s lawyer Michael Gennaco who was hired to do a report on the Kelly Thomas murder.
Hmm. I suppose the Three Tired Turnips will want to promote this as evidence of their hands-on management of the crisis and their dedication to good government. But if the information we have received is true it leaves Patdown Pat McPension and Co. with the awkward problem of Joe Wolfe, whose behavior has now been watched by over 100,000,000 people.
Hopefully it will also give the DA some gumption with regard to charging Wolfe in the killing.
