After being postponed twice the Preliminary Hearing in the case against Fullerton cops Manny Ramos and jay Cicinelli for the killing of homeless schizophrenic Kelly Thomas last July. Ten months have elapsed since that hot, fateful night.
Ramos is charged with second degree murder; Cicinelli with manslaughter.
The purpose of the hearing is for a judge to view evidence presented by the District Attorney and decide whether the charged should be bound over for trial.
All sorts of questions will be answered in the next day or two: will the DAs original charges fold as some have predicted? Will a cop-cozy judge say Ramos and Cicinelli were just doing their jobs? On the political side, how will more media exposure effect the Recall of the Three Bald Tires, occurring as it will with the delivery of absentee ballots?
For those who can make it, the hearing will take place this morning at 8:30 in Courtroom C1 in the Superior Court building, in downtown Santa Ana.
It was posted here six months ago, but I still can’t help but ponder the creepiness of this old film every time I think of Pat McKinley.
How could a human being justify such bone-breaking violence against passive citizens? I suppose it would require a complete emotional callousness towards the condition of anyone unlucky enough to live outside of his law-enforcement bubble. Indeed, the then-LAPD captain Pat McKinley told the judge that these folks had a “unique ability to withstand pain” that required his officers to use extreme force.
What sort of warped mind could spin out such psychobabble as an excuse for extreme violence visited upon the citizens of the United States of America? Well, the kind of mind that said this.
It just makes no sense to me at all. For decades this man has been trusted to wield the force of government in the pursuit of justice, and instead he has chosen to use it against those who stand in the way of his convenience.
It’s time to get this sociopath as far away from public office as possible. Forever.
One more time, to start the week-end off on the right note.
– JS
And sleep tight, Don. Your stipend check is in the mail.
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.
This guy. That’s who.
That would be former Redevelopment Director and big Fullerton pension recipient Gary Chalupsky.
Some may remember Chalupsky for his long string of embarrassing boondoggles and Redevelopment expenditures of questionable legality – like building the Muckenthaler amphitheater which is not even in a Redevelopment project area.
Just type in “Redevelopment” in our search box and knock yourself out. From the Knowlwood fiasco and North Platform smash up to The City Lights debacle and the humiliating Poisoned Park disaster, Chalupsky was there every inept, unaccountable step of the way. For well over ten years. Plenty of time to get vested in CalPERS.
Gary Chalupsky was the guy who proved beyond all doubt that Fullerton was very much for sale. Ever wonder where the 100 East section of Whiting Avenue went? Ask Chalupsky.
Others may also remember this upstanding individual for his phony “retirement” and immediate double-dip that was countenanced by an incompetent council who seemed to think Chalupsky knew what he was doing.
Redevelopment is now thankfully dead. But it feathered a lot of nests along the way.
I found this communication in our in-box yesterday:
An Open Letter to Doug Chaffee
April 23, 2012
Dear Mr. Chaffee:
I support the recall effort and will vote in favor of removing all three councilmen on June 5th. I support the statements made on the Notice of Intent to Recall, and I believe any candidate running to replace a recalled councilman should believe the same.
I saw this on Euclid today. The homeowner seems to be on both sides of the fence. It begs the question: Are you?
The rumor mill is spinning around town. It claims that you’re proud to receive Pat McKinley’s endorsement of your candidacy should the recall succeed; and worse publicly stated as much during a fundraising event at the Pint House several weeks ago. If this is true, this is not compatible with the Notice of Intent to Recall. You have to pick a side and you have to do so definitively.
In fact, I demand you take one of four positions immediately.
1) If you have stated that you’re proud to receive McKinley’s backing, you must withdraw your candidacy from the special election on June 5th. This statement does not meet with the spirit of the recall and is insulting to the electorate. Candidates not supporting the spirit of the recall should not be on the ballot. Just because you had some extra campaign signs sitting around from 2010 doesn’t mean you’re entitled to run.
2) If you find it morally acceptable to be proud of McKinley’s endorsement of your candidacy, state so in bold letters on all your campaign literature, website, Facebook account, and during any public appearances you make. Failure to be transparent on this issue is dishonest.
3) If you’re not proud of McKinley’s endorsement, state loudly and often that you’ve signed the recall petition and outline why Pat McKinley needs to go. Demand that those posting propaganda against the recall remove your name from their lawns. Take a stance and make it clear that no supporter of Pat McKinley is a supporter of yours.
4) Do nothing. If you ignore this open letter and succeed in your candidacy, count on being recalled.
Sincerely,
Ryan Cantor
P.S. Dear Friends, just to show what a small world it is, after all, the property above is the residence of one Beatriz Gregg, mater familias of the Gregg clan that includes our old pal Aaron, whose 2010 campaign was, um, something of a personal embarrassment.
I’ve decided to re-run this post every few weeks from now until Pat McKinley is recalled. I want every woman in Fullerton to take a look at the twisted mess our former police chief is.
– The Fullerton Shadow
Yesterday, the She-Bear, ex-Fullerton Police Chief and current city council embarrassment, Pat McKinley, lumbered into Brea. His mission was to help the sweet ladies of the Soroptimist’s local defend themselves in dangerous situations.
Of course when he signed up for the gig, his hosts were probably unaware that as police chief of Fullerton he hired a serial sexual predator, Albert Rincon, who, even after numerous incidents of assault victim complaints, was permitted by McKinley to keep patrolling the streets of Fullerton. We know what he was patrolling for. Rincon’s MO was to falsely arrest, handcuff, then grope his victims in the backseat of an FPD patrol car.
Naturally, some womenfolk took umbrage at McKinley’s bald-faced hypocrisy, and showed up to ask the questions McKinley had been hoping like hell nobody would ever ask. To say that She-Bear stepped in his own poop would be the understatement of the year. He’s not going to be able to scrape this off his shoe anytime soon. Here’s some of the video:
He said what??!! “Those ladies weren’t people like this”??!! So now Pat McKinley gets to pick and choose which women deserve sexual battery at the hands of his hand-picked police officers?
And somehow this creep keeps a straight face as he urges women to use their “she bear” instincts to avoid the type of pervert cop he kept on the street, despite the fact that bent cops like Albert Rincon are armed with tasers and guns and are amply protected by the tarnished badges incompetents like McKinley not only give them, but let them keep.
The final insult? According to McKinley, Rincon didn’t sexually assault anybody. It was only “inappropriate touching.” Not a good thing, but “it ain’t a dangerous thing.” Well that may be a novel defense for rapists in the future!
I don’t know about you, but I say it’s time for this dangerous sadist to go.
Tarnation, Doc HeeHaw’s all het up on the topic a’ water rates and consarn it if’n he ain’t a-gonna share his mental commotion. Until suddenly he remembers he been told ta shut up!
So why didn’t somebody tell him that 15 years ago, and why won’t he just do it oncet and fer all?
Even the heartless IRS wouldn’t try to pull something this repugnant.
A frustrated local business owner sent me this copy of his annual Fullerton tax renewal in which a $25.00 tax payment was accompanied with a $20.00 “processing charge.”
You read that right. It’s an 80% surcharge for the city’s Herculean effort to cash your check and rubber stamp you as paid.
All local business owners must pay this ridiculous fee, from doctors and lawyers to handymen, ice cream trucks and taxi drivers. Presumably the actual processing is handled by administrative staff, who are likely already being paid out of the General Fund for other duties. How did they reach that $20 cost? Who knows?
And who decided that business owners should have to pay a fee to pay their taxes?
