No News Is Bad News Archives - Page 10 of 14 - Friends For Fullerton's Future

June 22, 2012June 22, 2012Boohooism

The Shame of The Human Relations Commission

RustySpeaks — Three minutes elapsed. Nothing was said.

There has been a lot of boohooing lately about the future of the County’s Human Relations Commission. As usual, it seems that those doing the biggest drum beating for the continued taxpayer funding of this love fest are the folks who don’t want to chip in for the cost.

Right now the County pays $302,000 a year to the Human Relation Council (a 501(c)(3)) to provide “staff” for its Human Relations Commission. The reason why these folks think we need a Commission at all is that they believe having the County seal on their letterhead confers some sort of governmental prestige and gravitas. That’s how these folks think about government.

The Council employs a fellow by the name of Rusty Kennedy about a hundred grand to be the Commission’s Executive Director, a job he used to hold as a public employee of the County, and a job for which he now pulls down an annual pension of over $120,000 per year. Yowza! $220,000 a year!

Ironically, the very failures of Kennedy and his commission are being touted by him as success stories. The most egregious of these alleged successes are the race tagging of Santa Ana Councilwoman Claudia Alvarez after she made a boneheaded comment about Adolf Hitler; and of course even worse, the diversionary scam known as the Homeless Task Force, at the behest of the cover-up artists on the Fullerton City Council. In the first case, after he played the irrelevant race card, Rusty had a neat interracial controversy to address. Nice. In the second case, a genuine hate crime, perpetrated by his pals in the Fullerton Police Department against Kelly Thomas, was glossed over.

By focusing on the fact that Thomas was mentally ill, and homeless, and that many others are too, the Task Force conveniently ignored the fact that neither his homelessness nor his mental illness were the proximate causes of Thomas’ death. That responsibility lay with the City and its goons, it was a murder – a fact that would necessarily be awkward for Kennedy and his Task Force to address given his cozy relationship with the Establishment and with the police chiefs of Orange County.

Fortunately, the City’s attempted sleight of hand failed; the recall and subsequent legal actions will demonstrate who did what, and when. But this failure should not cause us to forget the craven role of Mr. Kennedy in this shameful episode.

The time has come to defund this useless operation. Let the non-profit Council peddle its race relations mission. It collects charitable contributions from people who believe in its mission and its behavior. Time to get the rest of us off the hook.

May 24, 2012May 24, 2012Behind Closed Doors

Register’s David Whiting Up To Old Tricks

by Joe Sipowicz89 Comments

Whoring for the inept, sclerotic Establishment, that is.

Last fall Whiting was defending the cops that murdered Kelly Thomas and attacking the lynch-type mobs calling for justice.

Most recently he wrote a tribute to “both sides” that was nothing more than a wet love letter to the Three Bald Tires, defending their compassion and objecting to the use of the phrase “kingmaker” in reference to Tony “Bashula.” Brandon Ferguson of the OC Weekly writes about Whiting’s pabulum, here.

(Note: I refuse to link to the Register)

I find the then-and-now quotations remarkably self-serving. Maybe the Three Hollow Logs said something to Whiting in private, because I don’t remember those “before” statements at all. Whatever. What I do remember with crystal clarity these “before” comments:

Dr. HeeHaw (on local TV news): “…I’ve seen far worse injuries that were survivable. I don’t know what killed that man”

Patdown Pat McKinley: (on CNN): “I’ve had my eyes bloused a few times…facial injuries look terrible but they are not life threatening…they heal…”

Just to show you where Whiting’s true sympathies lay, here is Ferguson quoting Whiting’s cuddly description of killer cop Joe Wolfe:

Instead of referring to Officer Joe Wolfe as one of Kelly Thomas’s attackers, which the video clearly shows he is–he was first to strike Thomas with his baton–Whiting clumsily described him as “an uncharged officer and partner of one of those charged.”

Anybody who has ever owned a dog knows they have some nasty habits, including sniffing each other’s rear ends and ingesting their own vomit. But you have to give them credit for loyalty.

May 11, 2012May 11, 2012"Dick" Ackerman

“Let The Wheels of Justice Turn” Sayeth Pat PcPension

by English Major101 Comments

Here’s an article from the tanking OC Register about the Kelly Thomas murder case, that includes a delicious quote from Mr. She Bear himself, the egregious former Fullerton Police Chief, Pat McKinley, who nonchalantly admitted he hired all the brutal thugs involved in the remorseless killing of the schizophrenic homeless man. “Let the wheels of justice turn!” says Pat.

The Wheels of Justice. Anybody who has reviewed the checkered career and sayings of McKinley, or the activities of the gang of thugs, pickpockets, perverts, con men, petty thieves, perjurers, and casual liars that he loosed upon Fullerton, may well question whether McKinley has any concept of justice at all.

O Patience! preaches McKinley, now a city councilman. Surely all the evidence is not in! The pathetic plea for more time to clear his thuggish hirelings is telling, as was his previous wink-wink comment about how good his goons’ lawyers are. But for McKinley time is the proverbial double-edged sword. For even as he admonishes us to wait out a protracted legal process that is designed in almost every way to avoid prosecuting criminal cops, his own political time is quickly running out.

Oh yes, it’s hard to avoid the gratuitous sharing of the irrelevant tidbit that McKinley is on vacation. Is this a sly reference to departed, disabled former Chief Mike Sellers who went on vacation in the days following Kelly Thomas’s murder? Naw, because that would be clever and insightful. Rather, we are left to wonder if, with a mere four weeks until the recall election, McKinley has all but given up fighting for his job; or maybe he is so confident that the somnolent folks of Fullerton will turn a blind eye to his own perverse incompetence, that he can afford to vacation – after all, nobody has ever cared what he did, or didn’t do before.

May 10, 2012May 10, 2012Behind Closed Doors

Fullerton Stories Gets a Pooper Scoop!

by Mr. Peabody193 Comments

I just came across this post I ran last August. It’s all about how some chucklehead named Davis Barber posted a story on his local blog about Richard Fritschie – who popped up almost on cue to spin a yarn that exonerated the cops in the beating death of Kelly Thomas. After that we have heard nothing more from Mr. Fritschie. I wonder why not. I also still wonder, as did “Mark S.” how this “witness” was put in contact with Barber in the first place, real convenient, like.

For some reason I can’t get the smug, rotund countenance of Sergeant Andrew Goodrich out of my mind ever since Mark S. put it there.

– Mr. Peabody

I just received an e-mail from one of our Friends that has to do with a new-found witness to the Kelly Thomas bludgeoning death. I’ll let our correspondent do the talking:

Hey, FFFF, over at the Fullerton Stories website they have a post about some person calling himself Richard Fritschie (image attached) who claims that he saw the Thomas homicide and that justifies the horrible beating and torture Kelly received at the hands of the FPD. Mr. Ritschie claims to be a street person and an itinerant jewelry peddler.

The narrative was both unconvincing and evidently self-serving. He repeats the specious claims by others that if Kelly hadn’t “resisted” he would be alive today, a completely unfounded and irrelevant assertion. He also claims that he has always been nicely treated by FPD. Of course the fortuitous appearance of this character eight weeks after the attack is suspicious in itself.

The most distasteful part of this post is the headline New Witness in Thomas Case Defends Police. I know that this website is dedicated to the usual, hollow happy talk about Fullerton; you know the thing: Chamber of Commerce/City Hall boosterism. It’s proprietor, Davis Barber, recently published a post in which he implied we should be thankful that the City provides us with a forum for public comment. But this latest effort really takes the cake.

After a bit of reflection I began to wonder how and why this Fritschie fellow would even get in touch with Fullerton Stories, or vice versa. Then it hit me: FPD or the DA made the hook-up. That would be par for police spokesman Andrew Goodrich’s course: selective and self-serving leaking of information while simultaneously telling the public that we must be patient and wait for the fair and objective “investigation” by Tony Rackauckas, the guy who has never prosecuted an Orange County cop for excessive force!

Anyway, keep up the good work FFFF! The truth hurts, but the truth will set Fullerton free.

Mark S.

May 7, 2012May 8, 2012"Dick" Ackerman

The Lonesome Death of Kelly Thomas

by admin368 Comments

Click here to view the transcripts.

May 3, 2012May 3, 2012Behind Closed Doors

Gennaco Delivers Report Part Deux

by Grover Cleveland50 Comments

According to The OC Register, here, the outside “independent” investigative company hired by the City to look into the actions of the cops that beat Kelly Thomas to death last July has delivered its report on the incident. Unfortunately, nobody gets to see the report authored by Mr. Michael Gennaco except Acting Chief Dan Hughes – because it relates to police personnel matters. And, as everybody knows, those matters are shrouded in a veil of impenetrable secrecy. Just the way the police unions like it.

So we are left to guess at the contents of the report and left to guess whether or not our elected officials will be able to see it. Speaking of guesses, my guess would be no, except for Pat McKinley, of course, who seems to get special privileges when it comes to sticking his nose into personnel matters regarding the dubious characters he hired as former Police Chief.

The issues here are particularly interesting given the fact of the impending trial of Mssrs. Cicinelli and Ramos for manslaughter and murder, respectively. Negative findings could have an impact on that case. If, as many anticipate, Mr. Gennaco tends to whitewash the case we can expect a comparatively speedy release of the report with some exculpitory headlines by Lou Ponsi. Gennaco’s undernourished first report was more interesting for what it left out than for what it said,

Also lurking in the back of the room is the potentially costly civil trial and possible Civil Rights charges by the Feds. So if the report indicates that the cops acted way outside policy and procedure look for a protracted release of minimal information, or no release at all.

April 2, 2012December 12, 2016Dead heads

Jeremy Popoff Cuts Record; To Hit Road

by Mr. Peabody61 Comments

According to the OC Weekly’s Brandon Ferguson, here, a rock band called “Lit” has made some sort of comeback album and will be joining other groups in a summer tour. Why is this relevant to Fullerton? Because one of the members of this illustrious ensemble is none other than Fullerton’s Slidebar empressario, Jeremy Popoff.

Ferguson dispatches Lit with quick aplomb. Apparently the album is called The View From The Bottom which seems pretty darn appropriate.

Now, I admit that being something of an old-timer at 37, I had never even heard of Lit until Jeremy Popoff popped off in connection with the Kelly Thomas murder; and so I defer to Ferguson’s musical opinion. However, if the noise emanating from Popoff’s establishment in violation of the Municipal Code, here, is any indicator, I have to say that I appreciate my former ignorance.

February 15, 2012February 15, 2012Chronic Failure

Pat McKinley vs. The FBI’s Crime Stats

by admin60 Comments

Barry Levinson had his microphone cut off on Tuesday before he could finish his exposé on Pat McKinley’s boldfaced lie about crime under his watch. That’s OK, because we can just reprint it here for everyone to see.

By Barry Levinson

I recently saw Councilman McKinley appear on a PBS TV show that originally aired last October, called Inside Orange County hosted by David Nazar.

The Host asks Councilman McKinley: Should you be recalled and is it fair?

McKinley responds: No, I shouldn’t and it is not fair

Host: Why?

McKinley responds: Well I really don’t understand the, the allegations. The allegations I hired some people.

McKinley continues: I am very proud of the agency (i.e. the Fullerton Police Dept.) and what we accomplished over the 16 years I was there .

McKinley: We reduced crime every year I was there.

I had heard the comment about reducing crime by Candidate McKinley many times during his campaign for city council.

Here are the facts: The FBI statistics for the City of Fullerton from 2005 through 2009, the last 5 years that McKinley was Chief of Police are as follows:

Pat McKinley, I find it reprehensible that you would intentionally and repeatedly mislead the people of Fullerton and the country about the actual level of crime committed in our great city under your stewardship. Repeatedly you have reminded us that being a police officer has been your life’s work. Yet you cannot even tell the truth about your own record as chief of police.

You have disgraced this city with your misinformation campaigns. You have disgraced this city with your stating that Officer Rincon was not guilty of sexual assault, and allowed him under your command to continue assaulting more and more women after the 1st ladies reported it to your department. You disgraced this city by hiring Jay Cicinelli, who did not meet the minimum standards to be a police officer in Fullerton or for that matter anywhere in these United States of America. Officer Cicinelli ended up beating an innocent man to death while he was lying motionless on the ground with a Taser gun that is supposed to save lives not take them.

FOR ALL THESE REASONS AND MANY MORE, PAT MCKINLEY MUST BE RECALLED. And the only thing that is not fair about this recall is that you had the honor and privilege to be our police chief for 16 years and our councilman for another 2 years. The damage you have caused this city, emotionally, ethically, legally and monetarily will take us literally decades to recover from. That is the real injustice here!

February 5, 2012February 5, 2012Behind Closed Doors

She Bear About to Turn Violent?

by Joe Sipowicz84 Comments

Here‘s an article in the Register about Fullerton Councilman Bruce Whitaker asking his fellow councilmembers to vote on whether to see the video of the Kelly Thomas killing at the hands of the FPD. He seems to be suffering from the delusion that Fullerton elected leaders should be intelligently informed.

It’s an interesting article for two reasons. First is the reaction of councilman Pat McKinley, former FPD Chief, and architect of the Culture of Corruption in the force. You would expect him to be opposed to letting anybody see the actions of goons he hired personally and let loose on the streets of Fullerton. But what’s that you say, Pat?:

Councilman Pat McKinley, Fullerton’s former police chief, said he is “violently opposed” to the release of the video.

“I think it’s completely off-base,” McKinley said. “It’s absolutely unprecedented, and it would be wrong to view that before the trial.”

Violently opposed? Now that doesn’t sound like a balanced man, does it? His reaction to a perfectly reasonable request says much about McPension the man. Is he about to go off the deep end?

Mcpension may not want the video released, but I assure you it has nothing to do with any trial, and everything to do with a recall election.

The other thing that struck me as odd is the City Attorney’s alleged request to the DA for permission to view the video and the imbecilic comments ascribed to DA spokesholetress Susan Kang Schroeder, who seems to be just making shit up. The council could watch this video as a closed session personnel issue and nobody else would have to see it. Also, the FPD is bound to have made copies so why ask the DA for permission at all – except to get that “no” answer you want? Acting Chief Hughes, who is neither investigating nor trying anybody, claims to have viewed the video 400 times! I’m starting to suspect everybody has seen this video – except some of the council and of course, the public.

And as a final thought, is there anybody in Fullerton who believed the serial prevaricator Pat McKinley when, after an awkward pause on CNN, he denied seeing the video himself?

January 29, 2012January 29, 2012Behind Closed Doors

It’s All About Image

by Joe Sipowicz115 Comments

UPDATE:

Sorry guys, I forgot to add this gem from the article:

In the weeks after the July incident, more trouble surfaced: an officer facing charges for stealing an iPad at a Miami airport; another facing termination after reports of sexual misconduct; police raiding the wrong house in search for a probationer.

This sentence sure makes it look like Ponsi is finally starting to lay the facts on the table, until you realize that we broke the Mejia story in June, before, the Thomas murder (Ponsi swiped that from FFFF without attribution); the raid on the wrong house occurred in 2010; Rincon’s debauchery started years and years ago and included the complicity of the entire department. And of course there is no mention at all of incidents that must have involved higher ups, like the Gochenour suicide and the beating, false arrest and phony prosecution of Veth Mam.

– Joe Sipowicz

When you’ve had some practice, it’s amazing how much you can write without saying anything. In fact, between the first sentence and the last, people adept at it can cram all sorts of empty stuff into their essays. The conclusion is always the same. Reading such drivel is like eating a bag of marshmallows.

Here is our old friend Lou Ponsi of the Register doing his usual gig. The story is all about Fullerton’s image in the wake of the Kelly Thomas murder by members of the Fullerton Police Department. To his credit Ponsi finally describes the DA’s version of the actions of Ramos and Cicinelli: a “rain of blows.” Everything else is fluffery designed to avoid the critical main crux of Fullerton’s present problems: that out of control rogue cops have been permitted to prey upon the citizens of and visitors to Fullerton, and the Kelly Thomas episode was not an isolated case at all.

Ponsi’s story includes the obligatory interview with a Chamber of Commerce booster-type – Davis Barber (who also pretends to be a real reporter, yet tips his hand rather badly) and some business owners defending the honor of Fullerton. Oh, and of course there’s the de riguer academic “expert,” who arrives upon the scene to compliment the City for bringing in Michael Gennaco.

As usual you can avoid getting the sort of responses you don’t want by asking all the wrong questions.

Did Ponsi ask Acting Chief Dan Hughes to explain the actions of Rincon, Mater, Power, Mejia, Tong, Hampton, Cross, Goodrich, et al? Has he yet asked anybody to explain the call that came in the night of July 5th; or why the cops involved were permitted to watch the video and coached to re-write their reports? Did he ask those interviewed if they knew about the serial transgressions of all these cops?

Bet not.

The strategy of the FPD and its apologistas now seems to be to make FPDs problems mostly about image and lack of communication with the public. The Kelly Thomas thing? Oh, yeah, mostly about two aliens who didn’t know how to deal with the mentally ill homeless.

Come on in and take the tour. Glad to see ya. Big hugs. Air kiss!