The 2011 Fringies® Are Here! Dumbest Thing Said By A Politician

Sweet, iridescent, radioactive Jebus, how can one choose from such a wealth of material? 2011 may never be surpassed for dumb stuff uttered by our representatives. The Nominating Committe ruminated long and hard to come up with the nominees. And by ruminating long and hard I mean they did major bong rips into the wee hours. And speaking of wee, here are your nominees.

Yee-haw!

1.You want dumb? How about when Doc HeeHaw exclaimed that he had seen far worse injuries than Kelly Thomas’ in ‘Nam that were survivable?

2. And then there was this pearl from F. Dick, likening the peaceful Kelly Thomas killing protesters to “a lynch-type mob.” Ouch.

Would the Reign of Error never come to an end?

3. The Nominating Committee insisted that King Don Bankhead the First be recognized for the idiotic statement that Fullerton would “biterally” be a ghost town without Redevelopment, and then lying about having said it! Oops! Caught on video!

Gimme a sec'.The longer I think the dumber it will be...

4. Not to be out done by his superannuated colleagues, the comparatively spry  Pat McPension uttered perhaps the stupidest and most odious comment of all, when, after noting he had gotten “bloused” eyes himself, claiming that Kelly’s facial injuries were not life threatening.

5. Then, of course, there was the breathtakingly stupid utterance at the Soroptomist She Bear Pow-wow that left everyone speechless, essentially insinuating that perv-cop Albert Rincon’s victims deserved what they got, and in any case sexual battery by a cop “ain’t a dangerous thing.”  Well, actually, hardly anyone was speechless after that.

Those socks aren't going to knit themselves!

6. And finally, to round out our nominees, the committee just couldn’t overlook the predictably irrelevant observation from councilwoman Sharon Quirk-Silva that homeless people really need socks. Yes, Sharon, they probably do, and many other things, besides. But they would also appreciate not being beaten to death for no reason by your police force, if it’s not too much trouble.

Well Friends, them’s yer nominees in this all-important Fringie® category. Feel free to opine in the comments thread, as always!

160 Replies to “The 2011 Fringies® Are Here! Dumbest Thing Said By A Politician”

  1. My money is on McKinley. He went before a national audience and then said something completely contradictory to all the facts.

    Wait…I thought Larry Bennett said that we should be congratulating McKinley for being silent?

  2. I vote that we give EACH of the nominees a very well deserved GIANT, (minimum three feet tall) trophy cup. We also need to fill them full of bull s*** to remind the winners why they are receiving the awards.

  3. I think what Pat McKinley’s City Council campaign treasurer, Larry Bennett, meant to say about his candidate, was that we residents should be congratulating Pat McKinley for keeping silent because we all saw the Soroptimist Club SheBear/SherBear video and we all know now that bad things happen whenever Pat opens his mouth and tries to explain away his utter incompetence.

  4. Johnny Donut :
    My money is on McKinley. He went before a national audience and then said something completely contradictory to all the facts.
    Wait…I thought Larry Bennett said that we should be congratulating McKinley for being silent?

    I think what Pat McKinley’s City Council campaign treasurer, Larry Bennett, meant to say about his candidate, was that we residents should be congratulating Pat McKinley for keeping silent because we all saw the Soroptimist Club SheBear/SherBear video and we all know now that bad things happen whenever Pat opens his mouth and tries to explain away his utter incompetence.

  5. Tough choices, as always, but I’m going to go with McKinley for choking so badly in the face of reasonable questions that he blurted out not one, but two awful mischaracterizations of sexual molestation against women by one of his old hired hands. He’s dumb in a mean way, and likes to show it. And hIs words deserve special recognition because they could ultimately cost him his seat on the council.

    1. Pat McKinley

      I have spent the last few months researching everything I can find on this guy. What I see is that is he has built, what he considers, a reputation for himself in law enforcement. It looks good on paper, I guess. He has impressed many people with it for many, many years, but because he is so narcissistic, he’s just plain dangerous.

      The only way he’ll leave is to be taken down.

        1. You can have them all, if you give me some time. I have some painful dental work recently, so things are moving very slowly in house.

          1. :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) says:

            i had an exrtaction done in september. and still had a throbing pain 2 months later. so i go back mid november, and guess what I had a broken dental drill stuck in my jawbone!!!.
            So then they had to extract the drill bit!!! only after they sliced and diced and went fishing for it!!!
            top that?

            1. Actually I can, but you don’t want to hear it on this blog, except to say mine has gone on for 4 mos.

              I’m sorry for your dental pain; it’s the worst kind there is. I hope you find relief soon.

              BTW, was it a wisdom toot?

        2. @van get it da artiste

          I just look at most of what I have. There so many references that it would be easier for me to send them to you via email, since I wouldn’t want to inundate this blog. I can compile all my sources, with URLs and bibliography in about day.

          If admin will send you my email, I give it all to you.

            1. I thank you for your diligence and desire to help a good cause, fortunately I googled McKinley and kennedy’s name and have found good sources of info, so it wont be necessary to exchange emails. We may continue to share out our info on this blog site

                1. “I have put some of articles have already been put up here already.”

                  ———–

                  I have put some of the articles up here already, and I have much more.

                  It’s really early.

                2. City Won’t Offer Reward in Slaying
                  FULLERTON | Community News Focus
                  August 24, 1996|MIMI KO CRUZ

                  The City Council has turned down a request by the mother of a slain teenager to establish a reward for information leading to the arrest of her son’s killers.

                  Council members on Tuesday also set a policy to offer rewards only if the police chief finds them necessary to solve homicides.

                  http://articles.latimes.com/1996-08-24/local/me-37280_1_city-council#.TqnpcvMOIXo.email

                3. Ex-Fullerton chief remembers Gates
                  ————————————————–
                  Fullerton News Tribune: Orange County Register weekly (CA)-April 22, 2010
                  Author: MICHAEL MELLO
                  ;
                  The Orange County Register

                  “He was the most incredible leader and chief of police. He showed insight, knowledge and intelligence,” McKinley said of Gates who died last week. “There was nobody better at being chief of police. Nowhere, no how. We’re going to miss him dearly. There won’t be another chief like him, because society wouldn’t allow it.”

                  “McKinley kept in touch with him since Gates’ retirement…

                  …I told him how much that experience helped me ? make my personnel decisions when I became chief,” McKinley said.”

                  http://docs.newsbank.com/s/InfoWeb/aggdocs/AWNB/12F44918513E94D0/1028A39C75C2B899?p_multi=OCRJ&s_lang=en-US

                4. April 2011

                  Policing RevolutionHow the LAPD’s first use of SWAT—a massive, military-style operation against the Black Panthers—was almost its last
                  by MATTHEW FLEISCHER
                  IT’S OVER: Black Panthers surrender after the SWAT siege of their headquarters.

                  It was early—way too early as far as he was concerned—on December 8, 1969, when Wayne Pharr was abruptly awakened in the gunroom of the Black Panthers’ Los Angeles headquarters at 41st and Central. The shotgun was still in his hand from when he had fallen asleep while cleaning it. He had spent most of the night exploring the sewers—mapping the nearby tunnels they would use as an escape route in case something went down.

                  “They’re out there,” fellow Panther Melvin “Cotton” Smith told him. “Get up.”

                  “Out where?” Pharr said in a daze. “It’s 5:30 in the f–king morning.”

                  Smith was borderline frantic, too busy grabbing weapons and ammo to argue. Pharr was skeptical but snatched up his newly cleaned shotgun and headed toward the front door.

                  Almost as soon as Pharr left the gunroom, the door of Panther headquarters flew open with no warning, and bodies clad in black began to stream into the building—automatic weapons readied. Only 19, Pharr was stunned, but he was young and quick, and before any shots were fired he dove into a sandbag bunker that flanked the door.

                  A split second later, Smith emerged with a Thompson submachine gun in hand—finger on the trigger. Bullets flew by the dozen, connecting with the chests of their targets—thud, thud, thud, thud. The force of the impact pinned the men in black in the doorway, creating a bottleneck—and giving Pharr time to recover.

                  Clad in military-style flak jackets, the men pushed forward into the teeth of Smith’s Thompson in their attempt to return fire. But this time Pharr was ready for them. Shotgun in hand, he opened up, blasting round after round from the side of the men, as Smith continued to hammer them from the front.

                  The intruders had no choice but to retreat, dragging their wounded with them across the street, out of the line of the Panthers’ fire. They would be back.

                  One of the biggest shootouts in American history had just begun, pitting the vanguard of domestic American radicalism against a newly constituted paramilitary police force: Special Weapons and Tactics, aka SWAT.

                  The year 1969 was a headline maker for the Southern California chapter of the Black Panthers, led by charismatic founder Bunchy Carter. The group emerged from the shadow of its more famous Oakland counterpart, into the forefront of the blackpower movement in Los Angeles—and arguably the nation. They organized community breakfast programs, trained locals in black history and self-defense and published the Black Panther Community News Service, which enjoyed a robust following.

                  But the Panthers’ meteoric rise drew enemies—lots of them. On January 17, 1969, Carter and fellow Panther John Huggins were shot to death in UCLA’s Campbell Hall by members of the rival black radical group Us. Agents, operating under the FBI’s infamous COINTEL (counterintelligence) program and masquerading as Panthers and anonymous Us members, crafted insulting missives and death threats and began sending them between the two groups.

                  “It is hoped this counterintelligence measure will result in an ‘Us’ and ‘BPP’ vendetta,” one internal FBI memo explained.

                  The plan worked. While the UCLA shootout was the most significant in a series of violent confrontations between the two groups, the danger of further violence was always present.

                  Surprisingly, it wasn’t until the middle of 1969 that the Panthers caught the attention of the LAPD. Two police officers cruising the area around the Panthers’ 41st and Central headquarters pulled over and questioned a small group of black men and women getting some air outside a Saturday-night Panther social. After a brief confrontation, police attempted to arrest several of them for loitering. The Panthers resisted, and police called for backup, but, “surrounded by 300 militant black men,” as one Panther put it, they eventually hesitated to escalate the incident.

                  No one was arrested that night, but from that point, police pressure was on. Known members of the Panther party, including Pharr and audacious leader Geronimo Pratt, were pulled over and questioned as a matter of routine.

                  On November 28, 1969, more than 250 police officers surrounded the Los Angeles headquarters during a community meeting, sealing the facility off in what Panthers now call the “test run.”

                  On December 4, Fred Hampton, deputy chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panthers, was shot to death at point-blank range while he was sleeping, during a raid by the Chicago Police Department. The incident drew international outrage. Back in L.A., there wasn’t a Panther alive who didn’t think a similar raid by the LAPD was coming their way.

                  “SWAT was born from the ashes of the Watts Riots…Back then, SWAT was ragtag. A lot of the guys were over 40 and not in the kind of shape one would expect of an elite fighting unit.”
                  They were right. As it turns out, the night of the test run, police claimed to have seen three Panthers—Paul Redd, “Duck” Smith and Geronimo Pratt—in possession of illegal firearms. The LAPD secured an arrest warrant for the three, as well as a search warrant for the 41st and Central headquarters and two known Panther hideouts.

                  A massive, three-pronged raid was planned, involving more than 350 officers. It was decided that SWAT—a previously untested paramilitary unit of the LAPD Metro Squad, championed by then inspector and future LAPD chief Daryl Gates—would take the lead. It was to be the group’s very first operation.

                  Officer Patrick McKinley was 24 and still pretty green when the Watts Riots broke loose in 1965. His most vivid memory is seeing an old woman in pajamas, calling her cat in the front yard, shortly after the national guard had shot her entire home—and presumably her cat—to pieces while in pursuit of a suspect.

                  SWAT was born from the ashes of the Watts riots. Gates conceived of an assault team that could take out snipers and other suspects in fortified positions without having to shoot up entire neighborhoods crowded with civilians.

                  McKinley was on board from the start. Back then, SWAT was ragtag. A lot of the guys were over 40 and not in the kind of shape one would expect of an elite fighting unit. There was no budget for weapons and equipment, so members were required to bring their own. McKinley had an M-1 carbine he had ordered through the mail. But SWAT members had one thing in common: They knew how to shoot—and shoot well.

                  Initially, each division in the LAPD had a handful of SWAT volunteers who would come together when the call came. But that wound up not working out after an aborted SWAT raid in the San Fernando Valley. SWAT was called into action to lead a raid, but organizing the unit proved nightmarish. Division commanders throughout L.A., who needed officers on the streets, refused to let their guys depart to the Valley for a day, so SWAT was never implemented.

                  By the time of the Panther raid, SWAT had been consolidated under the banner of the elite Metro Squad, the LAPD mobile unit designed to handle high-risk assignments, in which McKinley had risen to the rank of sergeant. Despite improved organization, nearly two years after its inception, SWAT still had not been put to use.

                  As far as McKinley knew, when he was called to the old naval base at Elysian Park late one night, that wasn’t about to change. He soon found out otherwise. A massive raid was planned to execute search warrants for three separate locations, including the Black Panthers headquarters. SWAT would go in under cover of darkness and arrest anyone they could find.

                  SWAT was finally going to get its boots dirty. After the meeting, a high-ranking police friend with extensive operational knowledge of the raid pulled McKinley aside and warned him about 41st and Central. “I don’t like the plan,” he said. “Don’t hit the door. These guys aren’t going to go quietly.”

                  The Panthers apparently expected and were prepared for something, but they had no idea a paramilitary assault would be coming their way. Under the leadership of Pratt and Cotton Smith—both multitour Vietnam vets—the Panthers had fortified their nerve center and compiled an arsenal fit for a military operation. Pratt had the Panthers digging a tunnel to the sewer system as a potential means of escape—which was why Pharr had been out late in the sewers on the night of the shootout.

                  This tunnel, though unfinished, wound up playing a crucial role in the operation. Gregory Everett, a Panther historian and director of the film 41st and Central: The Untold Story of the L.A. Black Panthers, managed to get ahold of the original assault plan for the SWAT operation, which revealed the extensive intelligence police had collected.

                  According to Everett, police had used informants to draw a detailed map showing every room of Panther headquarters. They knew where the weapons were kept, where the members slept. They even knew about the dirt pile from the tunnel—they just had erroneous information as to where it was. The map showed it off to the corner, but it was piled in front of the back door—the same door SWAT planned to enter when it raided 41st and Central.

                  Sure enough, on the night of December 8, instead of a smooth, unguarded entry, SWAT officers found several tons of dirt blocking their way. They were forced to go in through the front door—an operation dependent on the element of surprise.

                  It was two hours before sunrise on that Monday morning, and dogs were barking all over the neighborhood—up the alley off Central, in business parking lots, in back and front yards. Nineteen-year-old artist Gil Parker had a bad feeling as he stood on the roof of party headquarters, automatic weapon in hand. Something wasn’t right…something was setting off all these dogs. The strange feeling lingered, but he couldn’t see anything—until it was too late.

                  Staring out into the L.A. night, Parker suddenly turned to see a line of men in black climbing up the walls behind him. Soon they were swarming the roof. A floodlight hit his face from a helicopter above. “Drop your weapon,” he heard a cacophony of voices screaming. Parker complied, but before he was overwhelmed, he had signaled his sleeping comrades.

                  “They’re here!” he yelled, stomping on the roof. After tackling him and pushing a gun into the base of his skull so hard it tore his flesh, the police grilled him in whispered screams. How many inside? Was Geronimo Pratt there?

                  Blood running down his face and into his mouth, Parker remained silent. Gunshots soon erupted all around him. Cotton Smith had gotten the warning. For the next five hours, the Panthers put up the fight of their lives.

                  Sgt. McKinley was at the tail end of the unit that entered the front door of Panther headquarters, and he sensed disaster the whole way. As soon as the door was kicked open, bright lights shone into the officers faces. When they regained their senses, they realized they had just run into an alcove fortified on all sides—a death trap.

                  When the shooting began, three of McKinley’s fellow officers went down immediately. The rest returned fire. The operation had gone south, but it could have been worse. If the Panthers had held their fire for a few moments more, the entire SWAT team would have made it into the alcove—and been shot to pieces.

                  “A floodlight hit his face. ‘Drop your weapon,’ he heard voices screaming. Parker complied, but before he was overwhelmed, he had signaled his sleeping comrades.”
                  McKinley helped drag a wounded comrade out of the building—shots following his team the whole way. Then he headed to the roof, where SWAT had established a bit of a beachhead. The sides exchanged fire through the roof.

                  A plan was soon hatched. SWAT was going to launch an aerial assault by blowing the roof off the Panthers’ outpost with the same explosive techniques used by firemen. Tear-gas canisters were pumped through every window, subduing the Panthers while the charges were set.

                  Boom! A massive explosion rocked the building, the echo ricocheting through the streets of South Central. A massive chunk of concrete flew loose and hit the legs of the officer next to McKinley. Despite the force of the explosion, all the police really did was blow a few holes in the ceiling, letting the tear gas inside escape. The increased airflow gave the Panthers a chance to recover. Shots soon came through the ceiling again near McKinley’s feet.

                  The Panthers were holed up and well armed, the element of surprise was lost—and SWAT had seemingly run out of plans. It was a stalemate.

                  The first thing Black Panther Roland Freeman heard was helicopters circling overhead, then gunfire, then police—but no kind of police he had ever seen. They got the drop on Gil, he thought, wondering if his fellow Panther was dead.

                  There were six other Panthers upstairs with him and four more downstairs. Freeman, 22, grabbed a rifle and ran across the building to the library. Moments later, the room exploded—bullets, paper and sand flying everywhere. The Panthers had used dirt from the tunnel to fortify the walls, but it didn’t seem to be doing too much good. Freeman hit the floor.

                  Tear-gas canisters poured through the open windows. For the next six to seven minutes, Freeman and everyone upstairs were too blinded and sick to fire a shot. A massive explosion soon rocked the compound, and chunks of building material hit Freeman in the face.

                  Had the police come in through the skylight, they would have been met with little resistance. But they didn’t, so Freeman and the others soon gathered their senses—and their weapons. Several Panthers took up position in a sandbagged bunker facing Central Avenue. They returned fire, trying to clear police snipers from positions on neighboring roofs—or at least make things difficult for them.

                  Seventeen-year-old Bernard Smith grabbed an automatic shotgun and fired round after round at the officers on the roof. It was the first time he had ever shot a gun.

                  Renee “Peaches” Moore and Tommy Lewis—the only two women in the building—hit the phones to call the press. Surprisingly, the police hadn’t cut the lines. If the police were going to kill them now, it would have to be on a national stage.

                  Freeman positioned himself near a hole the Panthers had cut connecting the top and bottom floors. He became a relay man, feeding ammunition up or down to his cohorts as needed and passing along messages. Pharr, Cotton Smith and the others downstairs would call out police positions to Freeman. Freeman would then direct someone upstairs to throw a pipe bomb out the window to clear them out.

                  Still, the Panthers couldn’t guard all sides at once. An hour into the battle, Freeman suddenly heard noises coming from the stairwell near an unguarded back office. He fired one shot through the door before police zeroed in on him. Bullets flew through the office, tearing the room to pieces. Buckshot entered his legs from a shotgun blast, and a single bullet came in through his arm, just above his elbow, shattering the bone. He crumpled in a pile on the floor.

                  A few hours into the fight, the Panthers began running out of .30-caliber bullets for their rifles, and police sniper fire went un-returned. Meanwhile, a pipe had burst after being shot, and water was pooling on the floor. It soon absorbed the remaining tear gas, creating a toxic cocktail that burned Freeman’s knees as he took cover, incapacitated and bleeding.

                  Things had become too hot upstairs. Their hand forced, the seven Panthers on the upper floor ceded the elevated position, retreating downstairs. They resisted as long as they could, but a new problem had surfaced. In their fortifications of the building, the Panthers had constructed closable slats to serve as view holes and gun posts. With daylight, though, the slats were visible to the outside, and when one was opened, the police would train their guns and fire.

                  Pharr was manning one such slat when he saw the sparks of bullets ricocheting off the sidewalk. A sniper had a bead on him. He dove out of the way just in time, but Tommy Lewis—one of the two women inside—wasn’t so lucky. As she lay on the floor behind Pharr, the bullet trail tore through both of her legs.

                  Three hours into the shootout, the Panthers knew the fight was over. They were surrounded. It was 11 versus hundreds outside. Two were seriously wounded, another two had been shot and an armored vehicle had just arrived outside, authorized by U.S. Secretary of Defense Melvin R. Laird.

                  There would be no escape, other than death. That made surrender the only option, but no one wanted to be the first to go outside and risk the wrath of the police. With bullets still whizzing past, they debated for more than an hour who would go first.

                  Finally, Peaches Moore grabbed a ratty white rag, went to the front door and waved it for all to see. When no shots came her way, she gingerly stepped out into the sunlight. Then in a scene that played out in the international media, one by one the Panthers emerged from their shattered headquarters and were promptly arrested.

                  “If the Panthers had held their fire for a few moments more, the entire SWAT team would have made it into the alcove—and been shot to pieces.”
                  All in all, more than 5,000 rounds of ammunition had been exchanged. Despite the heroic scale of the battle, only four Panthers had been shot and four SWAT officers seriously injured. Miraculously, no one died.

                  In many ways, the shootout was a disaster for SWAT—a unit created for the explicit purpose of preventing uncontrollable armed conflict. It had lost the element of surprise. The result was a full-on battle in a crowded urban setting, played out before the entire nation—one that was sympathetic to the Panther cause after that point-blank police killing of Fred Hampton in Chicago.

                  Still, SWAT had gotten its target. The three raids resulted in the arrests of the Los Angeles Panthers’ high command—on a number of charges, the most serious being conspiracy to murder police officers, as well as possession of illegal weapons. Under the conspiracy charges, even those Panthers not involved in the shootout were on the hook for life in prison.

                  Several of the Panthers, including Roland Freeman, skipped bail and fled to Texas. They were eventually apprehended. Bernard Smith, meanwhile, fled to Puerto Rico, where he hid for several years, hearing no news of his legal fate. Despite knowing he shot police officers, Pharr couldn’t skip town—his mother had put her house on the line to secure his bail money.

                  After a preliminary hearing that lasted several months, the case went to trial. The Panthers had a team of lawyers on their side, including a young Johnnie Cochran. Attorneys argued that the group had merely exercised its right to self-defense. SWAT had entered the building unannounced and had come in shooting.

                  A jury of both blacks and whites convened for several days, and some six months after the shootout, a verdict was in. Count after count: not guilty. But it was a short-lived victory, as only a few months after the verdict, the L.A. arm of the Panthers had all but collapsed under the weight of vicious infighting and continued police pressure.

                  Cotton Smith turned state’s evidence, and his whereabouts remain unknown. Peaches Moore changed her name to Sister Somayah and became a tireless advocate for medical marijuana. She passed away in 2008.

                  Ironically, Gil Parker got a job as a janitor at L.A. Superior Court downtown. He has faced bouts of homelessness over the years and now lives in Sacramento, where he is close to his grandchildren. “I thought we’d done all this for nothing,” he says, reflecting back on his years of anonymity.

                  Bernard Smith says he found God during the raid. “Who else you gonna call on in that circumstance?” After a few years living in Puerto Rico upon fleeing, he returned to Los Angeles and surrendered to do a few months in county jail. He eventually got his life together and is now a practicing Muslim, working in the real-estate business with fellow Panther Wayne Pharr. He goes by the name Bernard Arafat.

                  Roland Freeman works in South L.A. as a counselor for at-risk kids. Just like he did in the old days with the Panthers, Freeman puts together community breakfast programs. “The shootout was the high-water mark of the Black Panther party,” he says in hindsight. “It was everything we stood for…everything. The government came at us full tilt. They came in there to murder us in our sleep, and we were able to defend ourselves.”

                  Like his fellow Panthers, Pharr was cleared of conspiracy charges but was separately convicted of possession of illegal weapons, after police traced the fingerprints on a pipe bomb to him. He spent a year in prison. When he got out, the Panthers were finished.

                  “During the shootout, I was free,” Pharr says. “I was making a stand, and in that moment I was free. You can’t get in, and I can’t get out. But in my space, I’m free. I’m making the decision right now, and that decision is f–k you.” He’s currently working on a book about his life in the Panther Party.

                  After the battle, Patrick McKinley’s unit came to the realization that it was grossly ill equipped to handle similar raids. “Oh, God, were we lucky,” says McKinley of how SWAT pulled off the operation with no one getting killed. “These weren’t simple thugs we were dealing with. These were well-armed, politically motivated individuals, and a lot of them had some good training. I’m extremely proud of what we did that day. We got our targets and no one died. But oh, God, were we lucky.”

                  In the months after the 41st and Central raid, McKinley and his SWAT teammates headed down to Camp Pendleton for intense military training with the marines. They would never again be tactically unprepared. McKinley would rise through the ranks of SWAT, eventually becoming the captain in charge. In 1993, he was appointed police chief of Fullerton—a position he held until two years ago.

                  I would say McKinley’s luck ran out when he moved from action figure cop to Fullerton city council member. McKinley never realized moving into government means you represent the interests of the people and not surreptious special interests

              1. Tip:

                Search the newspaper archives wherever possible.

                Search terms:

                Captain (Capt.) Patrick McKinley (and)
                Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD)

                Chief Patrick McKinley (and) Fullerton

                Patrick McKinley (and) Fullerton City Council

                Do not use “or” because you get too many hits, however just name Pat Mckinley will give you tons of info. Playing with search terms will give you different results. Let me know if you need anything.

                1. Police-student clash reminiscent of ’70s POLICE: But the fullerton demonstration was mild compared with other unrest they’ve seen, veteran officers say. (1993, Sep 18). Orange County Register, pp. b.02-b02

                  Abstract (summary)
                  Even Fullerton Police Chief Pat McKinley had a memory flash. His career before joining the department in February included 29 years with the Los Angeles Police Department’s metropolitan division, which handled civil unrest. Some of the Fullerton officers were fresh from their first day of training Wednesday in riot and crowd-control tactics, said police Capt. Lee DeVore, a 30-year veteran. The course, offered to all police agencies in the county through the Sheriff’s Department, includes lectures, films and mock riots. [Dennis Bryerton] made the decision to call other cities for more officers when he heard that the marchers had pushed their way beyond four Fullerton officers and down the middle of southbound Harbor Boulevard heading toward Valencia Avenue.”

                  ————————

                  “We learned from those early days [SWAT] that the easiest way to deal with a spontaneous march gone awry is to move in, get it stopped and arrest the leadership, which is the real potential flash point,” said McKinley, 52.

                  ~Pat McKinley

  6. You missed a few. Shawn Nelson for the consistently by dye job that gets worse over time. Assemblyman Norby’s lame excuses to the FPPC on his misuse of campaign funds, and finally council member Whitaker for demanding that the police department violate multiple state laws, that then proclaiming the police are corrupt.

    1. “proclaiming the police are corrupt”

      Murder, theft, perjury, rape…if not corrupt, what the hell are they?

    2. “for demanding that the police department violate multiple state laws, that then proclaiming the police are corrupt.”

      Lost you, sorry.

  7. havegunwilltravel :
    You missed a few. Shawn Nelson for the consistently by dye job that gets worse over time. Assemblyman Norby’s lame excuses to the FPPC on his misuse of campaign funds, and finally council member Whitaker for demanding that the police department violate multiple state laws, that then proclaiming the police are corrupt.

    p.s the police department ARE corrupt. Your living in denial if you think otherwise.

    1. They have had some bad employees, but they have always been actively getting rid of them. That is not a culture of corruption, it is getting rid of the bad apple as quickly as you can under state law. They make a few bad hires. If you’re in business, I’ve bet you have made a few as well.

      1. I’ve never hired a rapist or a murderer, but if I did I certainly wouldn’t put a gun in their hands after they committed the crime.

        FPD did exactly that for both Rincon and Ramos.

      2. Actively getting rid of them? Sounds like a culture of incompetence, too. Why can’t they just hire honest, non-sex pervert, no murdering, non-thuggish cops?

        It took four years to get rid of the pervert Rincon. If that isn’t an apple rotten to the core I don’t know what is.

        A few bad hires? McKinley made dozens – and those are only the ones we know about!

  8. McKinley should get this award, “hands-down”.
    The comments he made at that infamous ‘She-Bear’ meeting alone take the cake, as well as his absurd comments on that “Inside OC” show when he said, “this will be a very interesting trial. Ramos’ attorney is highly competent.”
    McKInley gets the Fringie and FPD gets the ‘Razzie’ award for the most ‘half-assed’ police department on the planet.

  9. Don’t forget the anti recall dinner where McKinley suggests that the recallers have not even finished highschool.

    My vote is for McKinley!

      1. In McKinley’s little world if you’re “slutty” looking you deserve to be raped and fondled and if you’re homeless or uneducated you deserve to be beaten to death.

        I don’t want to know about his views on children.

    1. Interesting…sounds a little Hampton-ish (i.e. Mam case)

      The turning point came as the summer approached, when Police officers threatened students who had spoken at the City Council with arrest if they would continue to use megaphones at the checkpoints. Pomona Police Sergeant Patrick O’Malley, known for his threats of violence against community members at the Pomona Habla town hall, remarked to the author “You think we treat you bad, boy? I’ll show you what that means. If you get on that megaphone you’re going straight downtown.”

      1. By the way, because McKinley has his hand in EVERYTHING, from the city council, to redevelopment, the police academy…oh, and the OCHRC…

        What have I forgotten?

        He gets a double, no triple vote in my mind.

    2. :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) says:

      he prob is one of those dick cops on holt ave. handing out speeding tickets for going 1 mph over speed limit

  10. I nominate JOE FELZ…the city manager with out his inability to lead…fire and remove-he has allowed this to continue. JOE FREAKIN FELZ. Douche nozzel.

  11. The new mayor sounds like the typical left wing social progressive. They are usually incompetent as hell and worst yet, horrid micro managers.

    1. Durrrrr! I can’t comprehend reality unless its neatly packaged as left or right wing.

      Duhhhh Durrrr Doyyyy! When I drove by an accident I asked if the lady was left wing socialist or a right wing fiscal conversation before I called 911! *drools* …If she done gave the wrong answer i woulda kept goin’

      *slobbers* There aint no good or bad people or choices just left vs right/conservative vs. liberal. DUHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

      1. Politard you’re a brain washed political cultist.

        The faster simple minded people like you are removed from the voting booth and ultimately the gene pool the better off we’ll all be as a society.

  12. I can see that one of our “esteemed” will be getting and award or two. But, I’m curious to know who’s going to be the lucky FFFF’r to actually give a Fringie award to the winner at next council meeting?

  13. The award should go to Pat McKinley. His incredible statements about Officer Albert Rincon’s behavior are both the dumbest and most dangerous statements made this year.

    For a 16 plus year Chief of Police to not know the legal definition of sexual assault should go down as one of the dumbest and most dangerous remarks made by any American public servant for the decade if not the century.

    He has to be the highest priority to be removed from office via recall.

    Bankhead and Jones are also rife with their own serious shortcomings for which they richly deserve to be recalled as well.

      1. Reality Is….err umm, McKinly derserves the award!

        None of “them” are like you people here. Fullerton is one large circle jerk consisting of the council, FPD and some local business owners with self serving interest. We are all screwed unless the slate is wiped perfectly clean. But that could be said for our entire country now, couldn’t it?

        It’s been said a million times on this blog and it bears repeating…anyone using “tard” in their name or post is an ignorant insensitive idiot. I hope one day they are blessed with a truly retarded person to enter their life and change their heart and soul. Apparently reason and adult conversation can’t do it.

        I

    1. The protestors say officers came to the church Mass and meeting dressed in street clothes, but made no secret of who they were. They were “spying,” members say.
      The officers allegedly crashed the meeting by screaming and laughing at parishioners and intimidating them.
      Police Sgt. Patrick O’Malley “made loud threats of violence against plaintiff Efrain Ornelas,” who had sought public documents on the checkpoints and their financial beneficiaries, according to the complaint.
      The Pomonans say the city and its police force were retaliating against community members who had protested the checkpoints.

      1. Didnt PPD detectives murder a guy who filled an excessive force complaint against them months ago?

        I saw a report about it but I don’t remember many details

      2. Church mass? They were talking about how to avoid check points without having driver’s licenses. Too bad Pomona’s a haven for all those illegals. It would have been a gold mine for INS if Pomona weren’t so stupid!

  14. ‘Curious’ above has a great suggestion.
    Someone, preferrably one of us, ’cause we’re not like those people’, should present this Fringie award to the winner, whom i believe will be McKinley, based on all comments.
    BTW, I like JFD’s caption on McKInley in this post.

  15. Barry Levinson :
    The award should go to Pat McKinley. His incredible statements about Officer Albert Rincon’s behavior are both the dumbest and most dangerous statements made this year.
    For a 16 plus year Chief of Police to not know the legal definition of sexual assault should go down as one of the dumbest and most dangerous remarks made by any American public servant for the decade if not the century.
    He has to be the highest priority to be removed from office via recall.
    Bankhead and Jones are also rife with their own serious shortcomings for which they richly deserve to be recalled as well.

    Wholeheartedly agree with you Barry.

  16. Gotta go with McPension also. He would win for saying just one of the idiotic things he has, but having said all of them? Slam dunk.

  17. I think the bloggers and the staff of FFFF should re-read Sharon Quirk-Silva’s letter to Fullerton residents. After doing so, I honestly believe that the socks issue was blown way out of context, and that SQS’s nomination for a Fringie should be re-tracted.

    1. When Silva took the seat as mayor the first thing she did was threaten to have the FPD drag people out of chambers …something that even Boss Hog never did

      …I think this more than qualifies her for the award.

    2. By the time it got to Q-S the committee was pretty far gone, but you have to admit, the P.S. at the end of the message was well placed to divert attention from a cop murder to issues about homelessness.

      But of course I’m just a dead dog and I don’t get to vote.

    3. We’ll find out real quick how entrenched in the status quo Ms. Quirk is.

      She’s gotten quite a bit of credit here for doing, well, for doing almost nothing. The idiocy of the Three Dismal Donkeys just made her look good.

      1. Amen brother, sing it loud.

        I believe Sharon is as dirty as the rest of them. She has done NOTHING but hide under her desk hoping no one notices that she has not stood up loudly to the corruption and the cover up. To me, she is as guilty as all the other cops that stood by and watched Kelly get murdered. It is disgusting.

        I bet she hopes to be the next Loretta Sanchez, good luck with that.

      2. All we can do at this point is wait and see, hope and either support her if she does well or speak up if she doesn’t.

        I actually liked the way she conducted the rest of the meeting because there is a level of decorum necessary to be maintained. But I agree that mentioning having people escorted out by the police was harsh and best left for if and when it becomes necessary to say.

        She also doesn’t have the majority on the council and will not be able to fix everything the three have done. But she’d better try.

        1. It was worse than harsh. It was authoritarianism run amok, in a town where authoritarianism run amok has already killed a homeless man and brutalized many others.

          You don’t tell a bunch of people who are only there because they’re so scared and angry about the police that if they talk out of turn they will be forcibly removed by the very same police.

          It was inexcusable.

  18. All these city of Fullerton council persons deserve the 2011 Fringie award. After much thought and consideration, I cast my vote for our esteemed ex-Fullerton police chief and board member of the Orange County Human Relations Commission and now our Fullerton city council member, Pat McKinley.
    Why? Because Pat McKinley has vowed to serve and protect the public when he became a police officer, he served on the OC Human Relations Commission,a government commission dedicated to ending civil rights abuses for all, especially civil rights abuses commited upon the community by law enforcement and as our Fullerton city council member, Pat McKinley vows to represent the interests of all members of the Fullerton community, not just special interests.

  19. Another gem that the committee had to pass up –

    Doc HeeHaw: Ya don’t start talkin’ if ya want ta learn something.’

  20. McKinleys’ statement about getting his eyes bloused a few times, the real meaning of that statement is that he has had his eyes in a blouse and probably quite a few times!
    It was always for health and safety reasons.
    He was Rincons’ mentor.

  21. All 4 council members deserve to “win” for saying the stupid things they said. If I can only pick one, then I must pick two– The She-bear comment and stupid sock comment take the prize for me.

  22. I know he’s not a politician, however I think that Chief Sellers should at least receive an honorable mention.

  23. I think Sharon’s comment about socks was either fabricated or from a conversation she had months earlier. She said the homeless needed socks to keep their feet warm and clean.

    Keep in mind she wrote this letter around August 1.

    Their feet are cold in the heat of summer, sleeping outdoors without air conditioning? Really?

    1. Vernon Dozier :
      I think Sharon’s comment about socks was either fabricated or from a conversation she had months earlier. She said the homeless needed socks to keep their feet warm and clean.
      Keep in mind she wrote this letter around August 1.
      Their feet are cold in the heat of summer, sleeping outdoors without air conditioning? Really?

      Their feet are swollen and blistered from all the walking they do, especially with no or tattered socks. Socks don’t just keep feet warm, they help cushion them, too. Sharon walked around talking to the homeless not too long before writing the letter.

      As I said above -for years, I’ve heard the homeless say they want socks. (It’s not all they want, of course.)

      1. My goof…I clicked on reply before quote so it did both and placed it here. Where I just said “As I said above”, is actually below.

      2. Sherri you are missing the point. Quirk has never acknowledged the real issue – an out of control police department. The liberals desire to turn this into a homeless issue is a distraction – and a dangerous one.

        1. Right you are. Notice how quickly the Three Dreary Dinosaurs signed on to the stupid committee headed by the dope Rusty Kennedy. Even the Three Dried Up Dimwits figured that out.

        2. I understand what you’re saying – that she hasn’t acknowledged and out of control police department and I readily admit that I don’t know if she has. This will be a good topic to bring up the next time I see her around town or perhaps even at this week’s Steamers’ get-together.

          I bristle when I see the use of liberals here because although I am a Dem, I’m far from a liberal but I think some believe one must be both. I don’t get where the liberals or anyone else has a desire to turn this into a homeless issue as a distraction. The murder of Kelly Thomas put the plight of the homeless on everyone’s front door. To my knowledge, addressing it hasn’t distracted anything.

          Sharon mentioned socks four months ago and I haven’t much about it except from here. She still hasn’t used the homeless as a means of deflection, at least that I’m aware of. If I’m wrong, I genuinely want to know.

          I realize my politics differr from several here, including ones I’ve become very good friends with. My feelings are that what’s going on in our city takes a front seat to what everyone’s parties are. When it comes time to replace these three when the Recall passes, my votes will go to the ones who I feel have the city’s best interests at heart and best able to get the city, FPD, etc on the right track, regardless of what their party is.

  24. Jane H :
    Pat McKinley
    I have spent the last few months researching everything I can find on this guy. What I see is that is he has built, what he considers, a reputation for himself in law enforcement. It looks good on paper, I guess. He has impressed many people with it for many, many years, but because he is so narcissistic, he’s just plain dangerous.
    The only way he’ll leave is to be taken down.

    …here’s another one of the relics for your Don and Pat scrapbook Jane, I just gleaned
    this link off the City of Fullerton website tonight, and I found a couple of Fullerton’s “Most Wanted”…except that these guys were wanted back in 1989 and 1990 which is over 20 years ago!!!!!!!http://www.ci.fullerton.ca.us/depts/police/fullertons_most_wanted/default.asp

        1. Jane H :
          Does the FPD even work on cold cases?
          Too busy tripping over themselves in the squad room I suppose.

          …I could never get them to work on the current ones!

    1. these guys were wanted back in 1989 and 1990 which is over 20 years ago!!!!!!!

      I think this is a great example of the though, thankless and tireless work that our officers do to keep crime non-existent in our city.

      Don’t forget we only have one sex offender by the name of Antoine Dennell living in Fullerton. This is no accident and whether you agree with the department or not you have to give credit them and their hard work.

      1. “I think this is a great example of the though, thankless and tireless work that our officers do to keep crime non-existent in our city.”

        It is? How so?

  25. fullerton lover :
    I think the bloggers and the staff of FFFF should re-read Sharon Quirk-Silva’s letter to Fullerton residents. After doing so, I honestly believe that the socks issue was blown way out of context, and that SQS’s nomination for a Fringie should be re-tracted.

    I would agree and was going to comment on this before seeing this. Socks might seem like such a simple thing and definitely are not a warm roof over one’s head or food in their stomachs. It;s my understanding that Sharon didn’t come up with this on her own but actually talked to a few homeless people which is where the idea of socks came from.

    I’ve known for years that many homeless people appreciate socks and will gladly accept them. Sure, they’d Rather have a home and food but a nice pair of socks to cushion their feet and help keep them warm mean more than a lot here can imagine, especially with this rain and cold weather.

    So, (you knew this was coming) I hope a few reading this will be encouraged to go buy a pack of socks and go to the transportation center or elsewhere and hand them out.

    (Unless you’re one of the more fortunate ones who is able to buy a house and give it away – then come see me. :-p )

  26. My vote goes to McKinley. It was a toss up when considering ignorant and just plain stupid comments by both but McKinley is far more dangerous

  27. McKinley is first choice and Bankhead 2nd. Quirk-Silva 3rd.

    Leave O’Malley alone, whoever the hell he is. He’s a hero in my book if he helps send the illegals back to Mexico!

  28. I just want to congratulate sharon!!!( JUST THREW UP INTO MY SOCK) for being an outstaniding Führer of das Deutschland !!! HIEL SILVA!!!

  29. The Fullerton Harpoon :
    Sherri you are missing the point. Quirk has never acknowledged the real issue – an out of control police department. The liberals desire to turn this into a homeless issue is a distraction – and a dangerous one.

    Yeah, the same liberals who view the recall as an attack on labor unions. The same liberals behind the Observer and http://www.fullertonstories.com.

  30. SherBear :
    My vote goes to McKinley. It was a toss up when considering ignorant and just plain stupid comments by both but McKinley is far more dangerous

    ^This. But like I said, I’ll sit back with my popcorn on this thread.

  31. Didn’t Mayor Jones also say he had seen worse injuries from survivors of aircraft crashes as well? I really thought that was a great comparison for a homeless guy getting beaten to death by the police.

  32. My vote goes to Jones
    When asked if Sellers would be making a pubic statement, Jones responded…
    “If you want to find the answer, don’t go around asking a lot of questions.”

  33. (2) “Open carry.” Historically, it has not been unlawful for one who is not prohibited from possessing firearms to carry an unloaded firearm openly in a belt holster. PC § 12025(f) (see 1MB 2008-22). Open-carry advocates have created a potentially-dangerous diversion of increasingly-scarce law enforcement resources in recent years by visiting shopping malls, coffee houses and other public venues while visibly wearing guns.
    In response, the legislature passed AB 144, adding PC § 26350, which makes open- carry of unloaded handguns in public places a misdemeanor. The governor signed this bill into law on October 10, 2011. This new law becomes effective on January 1, 2012.

    1. Glad its being signed into law. Tired of seeing those baby dick, wanna be cop, pot belly porkers walking around malls with their guns and causing a scene then bitching and moaning to the police about their right to bear arms.

      All was fine and well until those pork gut losers started hanging starbucks in the bay area a few years ago.

  34. Eight candidates seek four years on council
    ————————————————–
    Fullerton News Tribune: Orange County Register weekly (CA)-October 14, 2010
    Author: The Orange County Register

    “Q: Fullerton has faced some massive budget cuts and revenue shortfalls. How would you propose to maintain services and what would you cut if further cuts are necessary?

    Patrick McKinley, 59, retired chief of police: Increasing revenue is the only answer. Increased taxation is not an option. The budget for the past two years has already been drastically reduced, with 2010-11 reduced $9.5 million. Increased revenue through the following efforts will help alleviate the budget problems: privatize city services where possible; reduce city regulations that impact business attraction and retention; implement easier and faster processing of development projects; pursue development opportunities; pursue retirement modifications through the collective bargaining process.”

    http://docs.newsbank.com/s/InfoWeb/aggdocs/AWNB/132DF67596A3A780/1028A39C75C2B899?p_multi=OCRJ&s_lang=en-US

  35. Jane H :
    Ex-Fullerton chief remembers Gates
    ————————————————–
    Fullerton News Tribune: Orange County Register weekly (CA)-April 22, 2010
    Author: MICHAEL MELLO
    ;
    The Orange County Register
    “He was the most incredible leader and chief of police. He showed insight, knowledge and intelligence,” McKinley said of Gates who died last week. “There was nobody better at being chief of police. Nowhere, no how. We’re going to miss him dearly. There won’t be another chief like him, because society wouldn’t allow it.”
    “McKinley kept in touch with him since Gates’ retirement…
    …I told him how much that experience helped me ? make my personnel decisions when I became chief,” McKinley said.”
    http://docs.newsbank.com/s/InfoWeb/aggdocs/AWNB/12F44918513E94D0/1028A39C75C2B899?p_multi=OCRJ&s_lang=en-US

    Well, there you have it. The racist Gates is McKinley’s hero.

    1. That explains A LOT!! Darryl Gates was a major asshole, he talked to people a lot like RI talks to people….in that superior calm condescending tone, with a smile…just to get you to respond. It is a “tactical maneuver” for certain. He had a superiority complex to beat all others, except possibly McKinely.

      makes me more convinced that RI = McKinley now.

      thanks Jane.

    2. That explains A LOT!! Darryl Gates was a major asshole, he talked to people a lot like RI talks to people….in that superior calm condescending tone, with a smile…just to get you to respond. It is a “tactical maneuver” for certain. He had a superiority complex to beat all others, except possibly McKinely.

      makes me more convinced that RI = McKinley now.

      thanks Jane.

      1. you think MC’MICK is RI? I don’t think so, All those stupid smileys RI use’s!!!!
        RI is prob a 12 year old girl, or a dyke on a bike

  36. SherBear :
    He actually did have the FPD escort someone out of the council meeting a few weeks ago.

    …that wasn’t just anyone SherBear, Doc Jones had Jimmy Mac thrown out for not filling out a card. Erin pointed out that it wasn’t required, and Jimmy went back up there to the podium and started doing his best Doc Jones imitation while castigating the city council.
    I was RALMFAO and so was Don Bankhead who seems pretty amused every time Jimmy gets up and speaks to the council.

    1. Is this the same Jimmy with the long, blonde hair who drives the red Vette? If so, he showed up right after Bankhead told me not to publish his picture. He went up and talked with Bankhead for awhile. Interesting but for Jimmy to relay…

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