Uh oh! The LA Times discovered that one of the cops who beat Kelly Thomas to death is still getting a hefty disability pension from the LAPD, even though he was also pulling down a full salary to work here in Fullerton for the last 12 years.
The story is complete with an internal memo suggesting how unfortunate it would be if the public caught on to the scam. “We might get some unwanted attention if anybody notices that he will still be getting paid 70% of a P-II salary (tax-free) from LAFPP until we’re allowed to get the Board to address it?” says one government employee to another.
Too late. The truth is that the fully disabled Jay Cicinelli should have never been put back on patrol with only one eye, he should never have had the opportunity to pull that disability scam, and he definitely shouldn’t have been around to beat an innocent homeless man to death.
We won’t let you forget that Fullerton has Pat McKinley to thank for that chain of events.
I hired that guy.
Of course McKinley is still boldly maintaining he made all the right choices; that he’s being unfairly attacked for his well-tuned judge of character, his brilliant plan to stock Fullerton with LAPD rejects and his 17 years of coddling criminal behavior in what would become one of the world’s most renowned local police forces.
At least there’s something to be said for his persistence.
After several posts detailing the falsehoods and comically bizarre statements made by former Fullerton Police Department chief Pat McKinley, FFFF decided once again to call upon the good offices of Dr. Reinhold Ott, of the Institut fur Psychologie at the University of Tubingen. It appears to us that Mr. McKinley is desperately in need of professional help. And of course, we’re always here to help.
The penetrating gaze of Dr. Reinhold Ott; M.D., Ph.D
So, let’s hear from Dr. Ott.
I have reviewed the information you have provided me on the subject of your former police chief and city councillor, Mr. Pat McKinley, including the invaluable videos. I can say that the latter were particularly useful in developing a personality profile on this individual. While necessarily speculative without further in-depth analysis, I can assert that the available evidence leads me to some fairly confident conclusions.
Narcissism is a condition of excessive self-centeredness that entails the inability to critically assess one’s self and others from a rational perspective. When it attains a serious enough level it is manifested by an effective denial of reality, an inflated sense of entitlement, and an almost complete lack of empathy for others. The narcissist sees himself as perfectly formed and thus he must ascribe blame to others for his own failures and shortcomings.
I believe this description fits Mr. McKinley quite well, as evidenced by his refusal to even offer a token apology for all the serious problems in your police force, a force that he appears pleased to have assembled. I notice that lawless police officers that he hired and trained himself are deemed to be “aliens;” the concept of extra-terrestrials invading this man’s police department sounds ludicrous to us, but not to him. Since the idea that poor decisions on his part is not conceivable to him, the only explanation must be supernatural. And please note how he casually dismisses the victims of sexual assault by one of his policemen – a criminal act – by degrading the target of the crime. Thus the victims of his police force (those ladies…, etc.) are characterized as somehow to blame for events that are seen to be things that “just happen.”
In one interview I notice Mr. McKinley’s use of the first person plural pronoun. “When we came to Fullerton.” This is not merely casual misuse of language. It indicates the very real possibility of dual or perhaps even multiple personalities; at the least, the good cop/bad cop duality that is closely connected to the police psychology may here be in evidence. This possibility should not be dismissed lightly.
Furthermore, I must note a strong impulse to authoritarianism in our subject, the staunch defense of physical abuse of people who assert themselves at the expense of his authority, and, once again, a propensity to blame the targets of this impulse, such as the other worldly attributes he absurdly imputes to anti-abortion protesters.
People such as our subject are invariably drawn to the military, as well as crypto-militaristic organizations, and while they may be useful for limited tasks, such as full frontal battlefield assaults, crowd and traffic control, and the like, they must be constantly monitored by a competent civilian authority. The penchant to assert their control over others while evading responsibility for their own misdeeds can be disastrous. History is replete with this sort of megalomania with its attendant horrors: pogroms, wars, concentration camps, etc.
I should note that the narcissist may present himself in an attractive, even charming manner so long as he attains his desires. But in the face of resistance to his charm, and, more importantly, to his authority, the narcissist will likely drop any facade of congeniality and become belligerent; however the denial and dissimulation will persist.
The personality profile of Mr. McKinley cannot be considered complete without consideration of statements made by the subject for which he possesses no professional qualification, such as the nature of the head injuries suffered by Mr. Thomas; and by his attempt to psychoanalyze protesters and even criminals. Exercising what can only be deemed incompetent opinion under the guise of informed knowledge is typical behavior.
For the true megalomaniac it is insufficient to be merely an armed minion in service to the state. He craves an authority outside his rather narrow vocational limits; an authority that he can claim personally. This explains the production of a self-published book in which he presses his years of experience into service for the good of his fellow man. It matters not that his advice in this oeuvre is good or bad (it is likely to be highly dangerous or lethal to follow any advice the narcissist may proffer); what matters is that our subject is an author!
It is easy to smirk at the title and text of our subject’s literary endeavor, but some compassion should be exercised: the “She Bear” is obviously indicative of serious unresolved maternal issues, and very likely a distant or abusive father.
Just give me a few more minutes and I'll come up with something even dumber...
Thus spake newly minted Fullerton police chief in an LA Times article, here, thoughtfully provided by a frequent commenter Jane H.
Pat McKinley was referring to the Rodney King beating at the hands of his colleagues in the LAPD that turned out to be the catalyst for the most destructive riots in American history.
Here’s the money quote from the egregious McKinley:
“Hey, we’ve got to do some training, we have to provide appropriate tools for officers on the streets and we need to go on.”
Uh, yeah, Pat. Good deduction. Let’s “go on.”
Speaking of training, McKinley style, flash forward to the fall of 2010 when McKinley-hire Kenton Hampton knocks the phone camera out of Veth Mam’s hands before throwing him to the pavement like a rag doll and dropping his 250 lbs of bulk on the helpless Mam. That’ll teach him to document the activities of McKinley’s downtown goon squad.
Then flash forward again to the sultry night of July 5th, 2011 when six McKinley hires (including Hampton, again) beat the mentally ill transient, Kelly Thomas, to death. In the aftermath of the killing we now know that digital and film records of the event were purloined by FPD cops at the scene.
If you ask me, what McKinley really learned from the Rodney King case, and what he meant by “training” was to make sure that witnesses who recorded the event were properly shaken down, intimidated and relieved of any incriminating visual evidence.
Oops! Too late. McKinley’s crew never dreamed that THEIR own camera would testify against them.
We have already documented dime store psychologist Pat McKinley’s pompous blather about how it was necessary to use nunchucks on pro-life protesters because of their super-human resistance to pain.
And for McKinley, pain is the name of the game. When you want to try out a new toy from your chamber of horrors, well, hell, you’re going to need justification. So why not cook up some psychological mumbo-jumbo?
Someone with a little bit of real psychological training might suspect that Pat McKinley has an unhealthy obsession with the application of pain. Judging by the actions of cops he hand-picked to patrol the streets of downtown Fullerton, I think it’s fair to say that sometime between 1993 and 2009 the problem spread like contagion in McKinley’s police department. Was it his game plan, or was he just not paying attention. The signals he was sending his boys was clear enough.
We have seen the videos and read the accounts. Then there’s this:
For a dollar I will psychoanalyze you and guess your age and weight, too...
What is it about some cops? They just feel compelled to act out roles for which they have no qualifications. It’s not enough just to chase ’em and catch ’em. Oh, no. We have to be regaled with legal mumbo jumbo and psychological drivel to explain our own moral inferiority.
Take the classic case of Mr. Pat McKinley, formerly of the LAPD Riot Squad, Fullerton’s police chief from 1993-2008, and now councilmember. We have heard about him sharing, oops, no selling, his in-depth knowledge of the criminal mind here.
But this is by no means recent behavior for McKinley, under whose “leadership” the FPD descended into an undeniable culture of corruption.
Here is an LA Timesarticle from 1991, shared by a commenter. It’s about a lawsuit involving the use of martial arts nunchakus on anti-abortion protesters. From the article:
Nunchakus consist of two 12-inch lengths of hard plastic connected by four inches of nylon cord that officers clamp tightly around the limbs of demonstrators to force them to move.
The Operation Rescue lawsuit alleged that officers selectively “tortured” up to 500 protesters at demonstrations in 1989 and 1990 as the activists attempted to block the doors of clinics in Los Angeles.
In all, more than 30 people filed medical claims against the city for injuries allegedly suffered during arrests. Three of the protesters testified that they suffered nerve damage and broken limbs.
Our old friend Pat McKinley is quoted from a 1989 declaration to a judge urging him not to outlaw the use of the martial arts implement on pro-life protesters:
“Pain for many of the demonstrators is a catharsis for past failures to take action against abortion,” McKinley said. “Therefore, they have an unusual capacity to withstand pain. Some appear as a young child welcoming punishment for past transgressions. With this unique ability to withstand pain comes possibility of injury since a great degree of pain is required to induce compliance by arrest.”
Well, thanks for that in-depth analysis Pat, based on zero years psychological training. Notice how in one sentence he manages to psycho-analyze, demean, and then dehumanize the protesters, too. Just about like the cop apologists have tried to do with Kelly Thomas, the allegedly souped-up super tramp.
But really what this is all about is McKinley’s desire to justify torturing protesters. Why? Because it will make his job easier. And anyway, it’s for their own good, see?
As he blandly looks into a TV camera and tells his constituents that he has nothing to apologize for, consider this laundry list of offenses and incompetency only the most narcissistic, self-aware-less jackass could overlook:
Kelly Mejia iPad theft accusation
Todd Major ripping of Police Explorers and taxpayers to support his pill habit.
Kenton Hampton beating up, falsely arresting, and falsely testifying against Veth Mam. Civil suit on the way. Frank Nguyen lied on the stand, too.
Ditto Kenton Hampton and Edward Quinonez – at least no perjury. Yet.
Ditto allegations against Cary Tong against a college student.
Allegations that Vincent Mater encouraged a jail suicide and then smashed his DAR to try to conceal evidence.
The false identification of Emmanuel Martinez by Miguel Siliceo and his subsequent wrongful five-month imprisonment (with $30,000 bail – five grand higher than Jay Cicinelli’s).
Hiring sex criminal Albert Rincon and ignoring numerous complaints from women he abused. Habitually turned off his DAR against department policy. Several hundred thousand dollar settlement recently agreed to.
FPOA president John Cross detaining and beating up an innocent motorist. Slap on wrist.
Hiring a one-eyed cop, Jay Cicinelli, as a favor to an LAPD crony after that cop had been deemed unfit by the Chief of the LAPD.
Six FPD cops murdering, or aiding in the murder of a mentally ill homeless man Kelly Thomas. Cimimal charges, civil rights charges, civil suits on the way.
Cops he hired conspired to get their stories straight, were coached by supervisors, and were put back on the streets the next day.
Department spokeman and union officer Andrew Goodrich spinning false tales about the Thomas murder to mislead the public and the City Council.
Etc., etc.
Of course this is just some of the stuff we know about. As Michael Gennaco says, “there is more. There always is.”
Remember that these people and actions were foisted upon Fullerton by rudderless FPD that allowed Pat McKinley to spend his time “inventing” a police vest and slaving over his She Bear tome. And nothing for McKinley to apologize for.
Given his denial and inflated sense of self, it seems to me he is in serious need of some psycho-analysis himself. But the real kind, not the kind he dispenses to women who buy his book.
Here’s the entire episode of today’s Inside OC show; it’s a full blown battle of wits on why the recallees deserve to be thrown out of office in the wake of their catastrophic failure to lead.
In it you will find a furious debate between Chris Thompson and the anti-recall team’s Chief Distraction Officer, Larry Bennett, along with Bruce Whitaker’s accusation of an FPD cover-up in the aftermath of the Kelly Thomas murder.
Finally, the show closes with a sad, sad interview with Pat McKinley, who claims he still doesn’t understand the accusations against him and his police department, although he does summon enough mental clarity to remind us that Officer Manny Ramos’ criminal defense attorney is very highly regarded.
So Pat McKinley, as the former 16 year Fullerton Police Chief who hired Ramos, Cicinelli, Wolfe, Hampton, Craig and Blatney, you have finally spoken out. The man who disregarded public safety and the FPD’s own requirements for hiring police officers, you say you are sickened about what has happened.
Not nearly as sickened as we the public are with you, sir.
Still waiting for the authorities to tell him what to do...
You say you cannot understand how the goons you hired could have gone so far astray from their police training. Why not? They were all trained so well by you! All police officers knew by your own past actions that the rules of the FPD did not have to be followed faithfully. You hired an unfit one-eyed police officer named Jay Cicinelli, just because your friend at the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), Captain Hillman, recommended him. This was after the LAPD officially stated that he was unfit for any police duty, period.
Really? You ignored FPD minimum standards for becoming a police officer and now we are supposed to believe you are just sickened and heartbroken to find out that some of your handpicked thugs have actually not followed proper Fullerton police procedure. What a shock that must be to you, sir! When the you clearly demonstrated to your entire department that rules are made to be broken, what else can you expect?
You are surprised and shocked. You expect anybody to believe that?
Now you proclaim to the press that you really wanted to speak out before but the city attorney advised against it. What were you afraid of? What were you hiding from?
Council members Whitaker and Quirk-Silva spoke out early and often. It seems that at the same time you, the former big brave police chief was cowering behind the city council dais, a petite female council member and a newly elected council member had the guts and integrity to let their voices be heard.
On CNN August 10th, Mr. McKinley, you responded to a direct question (after a 3 or 4 second pause) that you had not seen the city video. A few minutes later you stated the following:
“I am going to guess now that there are only two that are deeply involved and the investigation will show that 4 will have no culpability.”
The combination of the pause before you answered that very simple yes or no question, plus the fact that only someone who saw that video could come to the conclusion of how many officers would probably be charged, leads me to seriously doubt your denial of seeing that video. It simply does not add up. Common sense and logic tells me that you have not been very forthcoming with the public.
And you still believe in your heart of hearts that you should not be recalled. Are you kidding me?
Just for those of you who mistakenly believe FFFF has only recently become interested in the doings and misdoings of our police force, here’s a post originally published October 7, 2009 – exactly two years ago, detailing the way in which the esteemed Pat McKinley molly-coddled the worst of his boys, who just happened to be President of the Fullerton Police Officer’s Association, the union that supports the councilmen cover-up artists Jones, Bankhead, and (surprise, surprise) Pat McKinley.The incidents described here took place six years ago, leading a reasonable person to infer that the culture of corruption cultivated by McKinley has deep roots, indeed.
Enjoy a blast from the past courtesy of the FFFF archives!
– Joe Sipowicz
Officer misconduct cases are usually handled behind closed doors, hidden away from the public who are ultimately the victims when cops go bad. Recently a document slipped out from underneath the curtain and gave us some insight into Chief McKinley’s department, which had a habit responding to officer misconduct by looking the other way and pressuring victims to stay silent — demonstrating brazen contempt for the rule of law.
Officers John Cross and Gregg Nowling were caught on tape in the 2005 beating of a young man who was pulled over for playing his music too loud. Fearing outrage, the department refused to release the recording to the public. Nowling resigned, but John Cross was the president of the Fullerton Police Officers Association (the union), so he decided to take his chances and ride out the punishment that was sure to be nothing more than a token admonishment from his friendly boss, Chief Patrick McKinley.
I'll just pretend I didn't see that.
John Cross should have been fired and sued, but a deal was allegedly struck with the victim in which charges would be dropped if the young man kept quiet. This allowed the department head to give Cross a mere slap on the wrist – a two step demotion in pay for the next two years.
When nobody was paying attention, Chief McKinley eliminated John Cross’ punishment one year early:
The record shows that almost immediately, John Cross began another series of disturbing actions that ultimately forced the department to fire him. The Council found one example most frightening – Officer Cross had covered up an incident involving a drunk off-duty sheriff who was brandishing his weapon in public. He also failed to follow up on a potential suicide when it was only a few doors down from his location. At least six of these events involved Cross’ turning off his audio recorder in violation of department policy.
There are plenty of other allegations of McKinley’s department looking the other way when incidents were perpetrated by those the department favored, and this is only one of the most severe. As one of our commenters said, McKinley’s game was played at the the expense of our community’s safety, peace, and tax dollars.
I’m wondering when folks in Fullerton are going to start wising up to an inescapable truth: the fact that the former Chief of Police, the man who hired and trained Fullerton’s lawless cops, is now one of three City Councilmen who can approve huge settlements against the FPD that are forthcoming. That would be the Honorable Pat McKinley who as Police Chief hired the thieves, con men, pick pockets, sexual predators, thugs, goons, perjurers, murderers, and of course all the accomplices who have known perfectly well what was going on and said nothing, or worse, abetted the criminals.
Why is this important? Because, first of all, plaintiffs are going to be backing up their semi trailers to the City Hall loading dock to shovel the cash in. But it’s also important to realize that by offering hefty settlements McKinley can keep the sordid and worst details about all his proteges misdoings from coming out in front of a trial jury, inquisitive newspeople and nosy bloggers. He can also keep details of his own personnel decisions from being properly scrutinized by the citizens of Fullerton.
Looking' out for the ladies, oh yeah!
Consider the case of Albert Ricon. The City has just settled with two women who accuse Rincon of sexually assaulting them; $500,000 worth of settlement, to be precise. During the a DA investigation and Federal prelims it came to light that Rincon was aided and abetted every step of the way by a completely indifferent police hierarchy that included McKinley at the top. There is no reason to not to conclude that McKinley and his She-Bear knew all about Rincon’s little problem up to and including 2008, yet kept him on the street anyway.
We already know that it was McKinley who hired a one-eyed cop named Cicinelli who had been rejected by the LAPD, and who has been (under)charged by the DA with involuntary manslaughter in the Kelly Thomas murder. He happily admitted on CNN that he hired all six of the Thomas incident perps, some of whom have been featured on these pages for offenses well prior to the Thomas murder.
To some it may be apparent that McKinley’s election last November was really important for McKinley, personally, given his ability to help sweep the trash back under the rug. Too cynical?
It’s also perfectly fair to say that if the people of Fullerton knew about the mess this clown had made of the FPD during the 17 years in was well-paid and pensioned to be in charge, he would never have been elected at all.
Former Fullerton Police Chief, and now city council recall target Pat McKinley hired Jay Cicinelli. Cicinelli was arraigned yesterday in Suprior Court in the homicide death of Kelly Thomas at the hands of six McKinley proteges.
But among all the pickpockets, thieves, sexual predators, kidnappers, thugs, and murderers hired by McKinley, Jay Cicinelli was special. The recipient of several gunshot wounds including the head shot that cost him an eye and probably useful brain matter, Cicinelli was placed on a permanent disability pension by LAPD who wisely concluded that Cicinelli was no longer fit to be a policeman.
Enter Mike Hillman, an LAPD honcho and old pal of then Fullerton Chief McKinley; Hillman was determined that Cicinelli fulfill his life’s calling as a cop, and public safety be damned. In McKinley, Hillman found his man, and Cicinelliwas put to work with a badge and a gun on the streets of Fullerton. Need some corrobrating testamony? Here’s the money quote from article linked above from none other than Jay 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?
Let’s put this in perspective: doing a favor for an old LAPD crony, McKinley placed the citizens of Fullerton at pysical and financial risk by employing and deploying a cop rejected by LAPD. It was done knowingly, cavalierly, and utterly irresponsibly. Apart from recognizing the alarming potential for post traumatic stress disorder, even the average civilian will have wondered at the obvious depth-perception and peripheral vision issues connected to a one-eyed cop.
Still waiting for his "Authorities" to tell him what to do...
And now that it’s time to take accountability for his actions, his out-of-town handlers won’t let McKinley do at least one honorable thing in his life: resign.
