Last week several commenters noticed pronounced physical similarities between Fullerton and Anaheim PD spokesholes. And so, for your amusement and bemusement FFFF shares some images.
Here’s is Anaheim PD’s Cop Explainer-in-Chief, Sergeant Bob Dunn:
And here is Fullerton’s former official fibber, the egregious Sergeant (now elevated to Lieutenant by Chief Danny) Andrew Goodrich:
And finally, here is current FPD Yakkity-Yak, Sergeant Jeff Stuart:
Well I guess they’re on to something, although to be honest, you people all look alike to me.
FFFF just received a comment from a Friend unhappy at the notion that the FPD falsely awarded the heroism of one of its own, when the true heroes were a couple of civilians.
“As a lifelong resident of Fullerton, I continue to be astounded at the Fullerton Police Department’s utter lack of ability to tell the truth about anything.
Recently, Corporal Mike Bova received the department’s Lifesaving Medal for supposedly rescuing a woman passenger from a burning car (see Fullerton Observer story below). That would be great if he had actually saved anyone from a burning car. The fact is, (2) citizens Dominic and Ruben Carnesi saved that woman from the burning car. Officer Bova did not show up to the scene until well after both the elderly driver and passenger of the car had been rescued.
The mother of the (2) heroes was outraged and contacted the Fullerton Observer to let them know the actual story. The Observer subsequently printed the actual version of the story (also attached below). While the Fullerton Police Department will now be honoring the (2) heroes, I notice in the updated Fullerton Observer story that there is no mention of taking back the medal that Officer Bova disingenuously accepted. I am left to shake my head and wonder how in the world a man with any honor stands and accepts a medal that he knows he did not earn. Does Officer Bova have no integrity? Is there anyone in the Fullerton Police Department worthy of the trust and respect traditionally bestowed upon police officers? Sadly, it appears that the answer is no.”
Fullerton resident
From the Mid-June 2012 Fullerton Observer – Page 8 (http://www.fullertonobserver.com/artman/uploads/fomidjune.pdf)
Four Exceptional Police Officers Honored
MIKE BOVA
On the evening of February 5, 2012,
Corporal Mike Bova was dispatched to a
call of a traffic collision in the area of State
College and Bastanchury Road. While
enroute to the call, he was advised that a
passenger in one of the involved vehicles
was possibly trapped in the windshield of
the car. Upon his arrival, he discovered
that due to her extensive injuries which
included a broken hip, leg and arm a
female passenger was still trapped inside
one of the cars and the engine compartment
was engulfed in flames. Without
regard to his own safety, Mike, along with
his brother Patrick, who was on a ridealong,
and two other unknown civilians,
managed to remove the victim from the
wreckage of the vehicle and move her to a
safe location. According to Fire personnel
on scene that night, Corporal Bova’s quick
actions resulted in the passenger’s life
being saved. For his actions, Corporal
Mike Bova is being awarded the
Department’s Lifesaving Medal.
From the Mid-June 2012 Fullerton Observer – Page 3 (http://www.fullertonobserver.com/artman/uploads/fojuly_001.pdf)
HEROES: Carnesi Brothers
Save Couple from Burning Car
The Mid-June Observer (page 8) carried
a story about Officer Mike Bova
and his brother Patrick who were honored
for saving the life of a woman
caught in the wreckage of a vehicle
involved in an accident. Two
“unknown civilians” were also credited
for helping to remove the woman from
the vehicle, which was engulfed in
flames, and moving her to a safe
place. The proud mother of those two
individuals contacted the paper and
offered the photos above of her sons,
the other set of brothers who were the
unidentified heroes in the story.
“It was Super Bowl Night and my
husband and two sons, Ruben and
Dominic, witnessed an accident at St.
College Blvd. and Bastanchury. They
were the first ones at the scene. They
got the woman, who was trapped in
the car, free and safe of the burning car.
When they got home they had red eyes
and soot all over them.”
Dominic described the scene. “The
accident happened right in front of us.
The engine compartment of the car
was on fire and smoke was filling the
car. My brother and I could see immediate
action was necessary. We first
helped the elderly man driving the car
to a safe place. He was in shock but he
could walk.
The woman, however, was trapped
by the dashboard and the passenger
side door would not open. My brother
Ruben tore out the dashboard freeing
the woman, who was already disabled
with a broken leg, so that we could pull
her out of the driver’s side of the vehicle.
My brother told her, “this is going to
hurt.” She said, “I don’t care please get
me out.” The car was filling with
smoke. We got her out and were
helped by other bystanders to carry her
to a safe location away from the burning
vehicle. Meanwhile, other
bystanders were trying to put the
engine fire out. It was a group effort,”
said Dominic.
Then the police arrived with fire
dept. paramedics following. The officers
asked us what happened. We told
them and pointed out that the driver
and two passengers of the vehicle that
had hit the couple’s car had taken off
running. Police later caught two men
and a woman at the Summit and
arrested them after we identified them.”
Okay. It sure looks like somebody is not telling the truth. The FPD storys claims that Corporal Mike Bova pulled the woman out. The brothers’ tales makes no mention of cops showing up until after the rescue was effected by them.
The council should demand an inquiry into this, pronto, so as to clear the good name of Mike Bova and the FPD!
She even orchestrated a mean spirited attack on young kids riding their bikes on their own property.
You wouldn’t be smiling either if your zygomatic arch had just got smacked with the business end of a broomstick!
Will she return the papers and begin to explain publicly why she supported the incompetent and criminal Culture of Corruption under the Three Dessicated Dinosaurs? I sure hope so.
The Voice of OC(EA) on Friday posted a story about yet another high-level crony of County CEO Tom Mauk bailing out of the creaky tub that is taking on water fast in the wake of the Carlos Bustamante sex-assault case. This person’s name is Alisa Drakodidas, and she was in immediate charge of the patsy who just got canned last week, and about whom I wrote about, here.
Deputy CEO Drakodadis, on far left at dump ground breaking. May be returning to landfill work soon.
Drakodidas was a Deputy CEO of Infrastructure (whatever that means) and apparently a close confidant of Mauk. She has taken a medical leave until the end of August, and of course is still being paid. She has got herself a lawyer, too, and according to Voice has sent the County a nasty letter blasting various individuals, including Supervisors, most specifically Pat Bates. According to the Voice’s source, the letter accuses Bates of getting one of her office flunkies a high paying job and generally botching things up. Other Supervisors, collectively, are blamed for interfering with contracts (I think this is probably code for doing favors for fund-raising lobbyists). It’s obvious that Ms. Drakodidas is not planning on coming back to work.
Apparently the County is not releasing any details of the letter via the Public Records Act, but it’s clear somebody at the County has leaked the general outline of this document. It must provide some interesting reading. Hopefully all of this finger pointing will result in a clear picture of why Bustamante was employed at all, and who let him get away with his twisted pervy sex attacks.
Cal Watchdog Editor’s note: This is the second part of a three-part series on how the homeless and mentally ill are treated in California. Part One was about the Kelly Thomas beating and death.
By Tori Richards
Welcome to 450 Bauchet St., a 10-acre compound in the heart of downtown Los Angeles that is the world’s biggest jail. Known as Twin Towers, it has a population greater than many small towns, with 3,911 inmates, 900 staff, and even its own hospital. But it also has another distinction: the world’s largest mental institution.
Housed in one wing and encompassing four floors, the mental health ward tends to approximately 1,200 inmates with psychiatric problems. Several hundred more of the most severe cases are located in the hospital.
California is now a state where the police — not doctors or counselors — are the front lines to millions of mentally ill who have no other recourse than to end up in the jails.
“Sheriff Baca has frequently commented that the mentally ill belong in a mental institution,” said Capt. Mike Parker. “In law enforcement we deal with things because other aspects of society have failed. You have a system not addressing the need. “In the end, law enforcement is the last stop. We’re not looking for that responsibility; it was given to us.”
A breakdown in the system has led to a large population of the mentally ill who turn to crime or simply wander the streets homeless, a recipe for disaster.
Just look at the case of Kelly Thomas, a 37-year-old schizophrenic homeless man who belonged in a mental care facility rather than on the streets.
Something has been bothering me, and I have a question: What is a waistband?
I don’t really know. It sounds like something that held up those stretchy green rayon pants old grandad wore.
I do know that it is the handiest thing imaginable for cops who, for whatever reason, have just plugged somebody. How many times have we read in post-shooting news articles that Mr. Sinister was “reaching for his waistband” when Officer Galahad, fearing for his own life, felt compelled to shoot him four or five times? Apparently a “waistband” is the place that bad guys stick their pistols, or knives, boomerangs, or whatever; or that’s the plausible place he they would stick ’em if they had ’em in the first place.
And how many times has the DA, investigating the shootings, given a pass to Officer Galahad or one of his brethren, due to the claim, often unsubstantiated, that Mr. Sinister was “reaching for his waistband?”
Of course it’s a little embarrassing when it turns out that Mr. Sinister was completely unarmed. Then you would think that the “reaching for waistband” defense would come up a little short. After all why would a bad guy reach for a weapon that wasn’t there?
But no! It seems that for a successful Reaching For The Waistband defense, a policeperson merely needs to chant the mantra and that establishes the defense. After all, how was Officer Galahad to know that Mr. Sinister was merely trying to pull his pants up?
You know, Larry Bennett really could have just left it alone. After dodging a final, humiliating meeting to certify the recall election that drove them out of office, at least one of the Three Bald Tires finally deigned to show up at Fullerton City Hall tomorrow morning to do the deed. It could have been done quietly with as little fanfare as possible. Actually only one of them even needed to show up.
But no.
Bennett seems to think the Three Dead Batteries need a sendoff appropriate to all the wonderful things these men have done for Fullerton. Friday he notified supporters of the Three Tree Stumps that there was to be a special council meeting, and that he hoped everybody would show up to let them know what terrific public servants they have been.
Bennett has likely spent the week-end making phone calls to drum up some folks willing to say kind thing about the Three Pea-less Pods. No doubt some will show up. And others are likely to show up now, too. People who recognize the disastrous misrule of these three characters:
Yes, I was the king.
Don Bankhead: dumb-bell, and self-annointed king of Fullerton, whose somnolent councilmanic career was punctuated with one Redevelopment boondoggle and union give away after another.
Crazy? Check. Rude? Check. Gone? Check.
Dick Jones, the southern fried lunatic and loud-mouthed bully who never came to understand that the authority to give orders doesn’t confer wisdom – or even relevance.
To all appearances it looked a lot like a street gang.
Pat McKinley: protector and apologist for the undeniable Culture of Corruption in the Fullerton Police Department that he himself had created. Those ladies weren’t like you. Aliens. Don’t rush to judgement.
Well, good bye and good riddance.
The sun had been warm and life was good. But all that changed.
And please take Larry Bennett with you. The tide is rising.
Yesterday the world was treated to the moving words of love and respect that Slidebar Rock ‘N Roll Kitchen proprietor Jeremy Popoff had for Kelly Thomas, the homeless man who was beat to death by members of the Fullerton Police Department last July.
Poor Jeremy! It must indeed have been heartbreaking for him to lose somebody he had known for years. Especially since he now acknowledges that the call that summoned police to the scene was instigated by a call from his establishment.
(Horrible screeching sound as needle is dragged across the LP)
Here are a few choice quotations from a Fullerton Stories article dated July 23rd 2011 about the Kelly Thomas affair featuring some trenchant observations by Mr. Popoff himself:
“I feel guilty having ever had any contempt for this guy, but if you had asked me about him a month ago, I’d have nothing good to say about him,” Popoff said. “I don’t want to say that it was justified, what happened. But man, Kelly scared people. We …. were always having to kick him out of our bathrooms or tell him to leave customers alone. Then he would yell at us.”
“He had long matted hair and a matted beard that stuck to his body,” Popoff said. “I wish there was something I could do or could have done a long time ago. My manager was in tears when she called me that night. She was really shaken up by it. “
Popoff said that the police have been good to the homeless in the area near his bar. “The cops have been really lenient with him and other homeless. He was allowed to get away with a lot more because he was homeless. The cops gave him a lot of breaks.”
“We’ve given him lots of stuff,” Popoff added. “[He was] not allowed to be here anymore because Kelly did not respect our customers.”
Back to Popoff: “The last thing I want is to be anti-PD or anti-Kelly. We live here, I’m a father. We support the PD and the residents and the community. Literally, most of my staff was very scared and intimidated by him. They were reluctant to ask him to move along,” says Popoff. “Two or three days before [the arrest] he was bumming cigarettes and the manager said to him ‘Kelly you can’t’ do that here, you gotta move on.’ And Kelly screamed back at him ‘don’t call me by my first name!’”
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.’
The OC Republican Party went to bat for “Patdown” Pat McKinley when he ran for Fullerton City Council in 2010. With the help of his influential ‘pug friends like Dick Ackerman he secured the OCGOP Central party endorsement. Party volunteers even helped oversee Doug Chafee’s recount effort against him.
So what’s this we see, above? Oh oh. It looks like Patdown Pat is backing a Democrat, Sharon Quirk. Now that’s not very good, is it?
Right alongside old guard liberals Jan Flory and fellow massive pension suckateer, Chris Meyer.
And to Ed Royce, who created this twisted McMonster and foisted him on us all, all I can ask is: are you finally satisfied with the damage you’ve done?
