On national TV our illustrious mayor tells NBC what he thinks of his constituents.
Well, he can run his mouth but he can’t hide behind his cronies and speech writers. Now the entire country knows what kind of idiot we have for a mayor.
In the past few weeks these pages have been littered with a startling list of charges of criminal behavior by members of the Fullerton Police Department, starting with larceny, and evolving through credit card fraud, assault, charges of sexual battery, and of course the gang-homicide of a mentally ill homeless man.
I believe the public is perfectly justified in assuming the worst and that the stuff that has come out recently is indicative of a systemic problem. After all nobody, especially the local “journalists,” were paying the least attention. The issue can’t be deflected by the childish “not all cops are bad” nonsense. The problem is that no cops should be bad – and if any are they should be weeded out quickly and the failure analyzed immediately. After all, these individuals literally hold the power of life and death over you and me. Just like they held it over Kelly Thomas.
And all this begs the simple question: who in the Hell is in charge at FPD? The obvious answer is nobody, if one discounts the unsettling possibility that the cops are in charge of themselves.
Okay, but who should be responsible for making sure the cops are on the up and up?
Well, the first answer, of course, is the the Chief of Police, Mike Sellers. True, he inherited a department, such as it was. But he’s been here a couple of years now. Early on he promised publication of his departments policy on Taser use; that was just a load of unadulterated bullshit. After the Thomas killing occurred, during the initial period when he obviously thought he could skate by on business as usual, he took off on vacation. Seller’s nonchalance backfired. It backfired badly. He failed to get the cops involved off the streets, let alone putting them on leave; tellingly this only happened when the media finally became interested in the Thomas death. And this alone justifies his dismissal.
Of course theoretically the FPD answers to the civilian authorities. Which brings us to the Silent City Council Trio: Mssrs. Bankhead, Jones, and McKinley.
Don Bankhead is a former cop, and as such should be the most savvy of the three when it comes to understanding the propensity of cop culture to veer out of control. Every time he runs for office he makes sure the electorate knows he is ex-cop. But Bankhead, apart from dubious mental faculties is also a tool of the police union that has supported their boy for over twenty-two years: twenty-two years and numerous pension spikes and giveaways to the union.
F. Dick Jones? When Jones is not berating his constituents from the dais he is mangling the scripts written for him by City staff. He has never seen a uniform he didn’t like, and was once heard to say: “you don’t get anywhere in Fullerton badmouthing the Fullerton Police Department.” From a political standpoint truer words were never spoken. But Jones is fond of bragging about his service in military; and the military is all about rules and regs so Jones had better start explaining how the FPD came to be what it is today – during his 15 years in office.
And finally we come to councilman Pat McKinley, former Fullerton Chief of Police, a repuglican cipher dropped on Fullerton by the GOP establishment. McKinley’s got some serious explaining to do since it was under his seventeen-year watch that the Fullerton FPD seems to have descended into the morass in which we currently find it. He was the one who apparently hired a one-eyed cop who was rejected by the LAPD, a cop who seems to be intimately connected to the Thomas murder. He was the one who left his command structure behind. He was the one who, instead of overseeing his department, spent his days inventing a vest that could be sold to his department.
McKinley makes well over $200,000 a year in pensions. Pensions racked up during years supposedly in charge of the Fullerton Police Department.
When someone refers to the gang of thugs that murdered Kelly Thomas as “The McKinley Six” they are right on the mark.
Finally, it seems to have escaped the notice of these three council chimps that even as they plead to the public to wait for “the Authorities” to develop their cover-up, er, investigation, their slimy lawyer is offering Ron Thomas $900,000 to just go away. The irony is pretty profound. But something tells me irony is lost on these three.
This was broadcast on CNN about an hour ago. Goodrich backed out of an interview with CNN at the last minute. Susan Kang Schroeder nearly broke out into tears as she was describing the contents of the video that our city council refuses to release.
Watch the video on CNN.com
Update: Here is an extended interview with DA spokesperson Susan Kang Schroeder.
Friends for Fullerton’s Future obtained this video footage from an OCTA bus that pulled into the Fullerton Transportation Center moments after the vicious beating of Kelly Thomas by Fullerton police on July 5th. Listen to what these witnesses have to say:
Our transcription of the recording is here.
This new video is more compelling evidence that excessive force caused the death of Kelly Thomas. First there was the video where the homeless, mentally-ill man’s cries for his father can be heard as he is beaten and Tased:
And then we saw the shocking photo of Kelly Thomas before he died, which has now been widely broadcast on network television and news websites around the world:
But still, the majority of Fullerton’s city council have refused to release the video that clarifies the police actions that lead to the death of Kelly Thomas on that night.
While we stand shocked at the brutality laid bare under their administrative watch, they quietly whisper behind closed doors, delay, obfuscate, make excuses and ignore the cries of the public for answers.
The people of Fullerton deserve to know right now: Are we safe from our own police?
About 28 years ago, I had just finished building a 20 unit luxury apartment complex here in Fullerton. Interest rates were around 22.5% and at 23 years old I had more pressure put on me than most 50-year-olds ever have. After I completed my project I decided to take a vacation.
But it was no ordinary vacation. I decided to go drifting.
I packed a bag and got a ride to the 91 freeway at Beach Blvd. Off I went.
Drifting is a way of life for many who choose to live on the streets. Kelly Thomas was a drifter, even though he had many places that he could stay, he chose to live on the streets. At his funeral, I witnessed his many friends and family that told me he always had a place to stay if he wanted. But he insisted on living outdoors with his own convictions.
I met many drifters during my six month journey around the West Coast, but the one thing I remember enjoying the most was not having any responsibilities and being accountable to no one but myself.
It’s easy for me to relate to Kelly Thomas’ life. I believe he was his own person, and he chose to drift from place to place.
Rest in Peace, Kelly Thomas.
The anonymous caller to yesterday’s KFI’s John and Ken program identified an Fullerton police officer with one eye as physically participating in the July 5th beating death of Kelly Thomas.
As hard as it is to believe, Fullerton does indeed employ a cop with one eye, and has been identified by our commenters as Jay Cicinelli. Cicincelli was a rookie cop in LA when he was shot multiple times in 1996 as described in this 1998 LA Times article.
Apparently in the aftermath of this incident Cicinelli was deemed incapable of meeting physical standards, was placed on permanent disability and separated from duty with the LAPD. Here’s where the story gets interesting, Fullerton-wise. Cicinelli’s career as a law enforcement officer was far from over.
It seems that a high ranking LAPD cop, Michael Hillman took special interest in Cicinelli and eventually he used an old LAPD acquaintance to land Cicinelli a job in Fullerton. That acquaintance? Yep, Chief Pat McKinley, as detailed in this glowing 2009 tribute to Hillman on the OC Sheriff’s website, after Hillman had followed Sandra Hutchens to the OCSD. Here’s the operative sentence by Cicinelli:
“I think he had a lot to do with getting me this job, I know he was good friends with (Fullerton Police) Chief Pat McKinley. How many departments are going to hire an officer with one eye?
The implications of employing and deploying a one-eyed cop on the streets of Fullerton are rather worrisome; the possibility that Cicinelli may have undergone severe trauma that has never been adequately addressed is even worse. Of course this latter issue is speculation; but McKinley’s role in bringing this cop to Fullerton calls into question issues of cronyism, poor judgment, and ultimately, perhaps, responsibility for what happened to Kelly Thomas.
The anonymous informant on the Kelly Thomas beating called back into the John and Ken show on KFI today.
Notable claims made by the informant:
- The officers involved were allegedly shown the video while they were writing their reports, allowing them to make sure that all of their accounts match.
- Officer Hampton was allegedly attempting to handcuff the suspect but had to back off because the blood from another officer’s strikes was splattering on him.
- The informant claims that the officer who allegedly does most of the beating is a retired LAPD officer who was shot in the eye on duty three weeks on the job. Fullerton later hired him as the officer with one glass eye.
- As recently as Friday night, this same officer was assigned to plain-clothes duty in the gang unit.
- An officer was allegedly bragging about the beating the next day in the locker room.
- There is a long history of cover-ups within the Fullerton Police Department
- The police reports were ordered to be rewritten many times because management did not like the way the reports were written.
To Fullerton Community Members:
As a member of the Fullerton City Council, and a mother, I am deeply disturbed by this tragic event. I am so sorry that this has happened in the city of Fullerton. I have talked to Mr. Ron Thomas to express my sympathy. I have demanded that all six officers be placed on administrative leave and that we fully investigate this incident.
I have asked for detailed accounts of this event and to see the video and release the video.
As a leader in Fullerton, I know that it is our job to be transparent, accountable, and to serve and protect our citizens.
More than anything, I am committed to finding justice for Kelly Thomas.
As a mother, I can only imagine the sheer pain that the family must be enduring right now. Not only losing a son, but dealing with such a horrifying death.
My thought and prayers are with the Thomas Family and our community at this difficult time.
Sincerely,
Councilmember Sharon Quirk- Silva
Here’s something creative: a groove for Kelly Thomas.
BNF – 6 Lil Piggies (Justice for Kelly Thomas) feat. Jay Bird by BNF