Behind Closed Doors Archives - Page 51 of 83 - Friends For Fullerton's Future

May 28, 2012Behind Closed Doors

Two More “Aliens” in the FPD?

Former Fullerton Police Chief and current council recall target “Patdown” Pat McKinley once likened cops Manny Ramos and Jat Cicinelli to “aliens,” meaning, presumably, that the only plausible explanation for bad cops on his force must be a visit from extraterrestrial travelers.

Of course the litany of bad cops in the FPD has now gotten so long that you really have to wonder if McPension ever hired any regular human beings at all.

And now some more potential bad PR for the FPD – an e-mail we received about two more cops who ran into difficulties in 2009, and whose problems may have been swept under the proverbial rug:

Privacy: You may publish this, but protect my identity

Subject: bad cops

fpd officer christopher robert wren, date of arrest 01-30-2009, assault of a minor. case # MCH 900309 ..SH 200900572 .. but he took a deal…got probation and k9 officer………still on patrol….

officer gary potts, dui arrest date 07-17-2009. orange county case # 09cm08352… still on patrol and a corporal………

Christopher Wren, of course, was the second cop originally named in the lawsuit against the sex perv Albert “Alby Al” Rincon. His name was dropped later, but he must have some interesting stories to tell about his running buddy, Rincon. “Assault of a minor”? I wonder what that means.

The name Gary Potts is new; DUI? No bueno, if that’s true.

Naturally we’ll be looking into the these cases, particularly that of Mr. Wren to see if there’s any there, there.

May 27, 2012Behind Closed Doors

Who Is Tango Tom?

by admin101 Comments

Not long ago I discovered this anonymous note on my vehicle:

Below is a retirement flyer of a recently retired FPD lieutenant – some guy named Tom “Tango” Basham. Somebody thinks he’s a “top cop.”

Was this the man who was on duty back at the station on July 5th 2011 and who remotely watched the murder of Kelly Thomas? Was he the guy who later let the perps watch the video and write, then re-write reports?

Has this retired cop now been hired back by Acting Chief Dan Hughes as a paid double-dipper? If so, what for, and for how much? In 2011 this valuable piece of manpower pulled in over $148,000, so his pension, of course, is already huge.

So many questions, so few coherent answers!

May 27, 2012May 27, 2012Behind Closed Doors

This Post Is Not About Jay Cicinelli

by Joe Sipowicz219 Comments

Nope. It’s a reminder of how a one-eyed cop was hired by the City of Fullerton to patrol our streets with badge, gun, taser and who knows what else.

It is now pretty common knowledge that Jay Cicinelli was put on a disability pension by Bernard Parks, Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department following a horrific shooting of the six-week rookie cop. Smart move. Among other injuries, Cicinelli lost his left eye.

But Cicinelli’s dream of being a policeman was not to end so quickly. For he had an ally in the figure of Mike Hillman, a gung-ho cop’s cop – the type whose worldview divides people into two groups: cops and everybody else; and Hillman was determined to put the one-eyed cop back on the streets somewhere – anywhere.

Hillman’s thoughts turned to little Fullerton, California where his one-time boss in the LAPD, Pat McKinley, had been appointed police chief. And what followed was a decision so incompetent and self-serving that it eclipses all of McKinley’s other disastrous personnel decisions – and that’s saying a helluva lot.

ArmedJay — Should be considered armed and dangerous...

McKinley hired Cicinelli, gave him a badge, fire arms, and the keys to a patrol car, a decision so reckless and with such blatant disregard for the safety of the public and his own policemen, that he should have been immediately fired.

But he wasn’t, of course, and nobody else seemed to care. And Cicinelli remained on the force, a ticking time bomb waiting to go off. And when it finally did, the result was a dead man and a series of huge civil payouts to the man’s family. The first payout was for $1,000,000. More are coming.

Meanwhile, the miscreant who hired Cicinelli and all the other thugs, goons. thieves, con men, pickpockets, kidnappers, perjurers, destroyers of evidence, and sex offenders is sitting on our city council, voting on the settlements his employees caused, that will have to be paid by us.

May 25, 2012May 25, 2012A Step in the Right Direction

Are All 6 On the Way Out?

by admin349 Comments

Brandon Ferguson at the Weekly is citing KPCC that cites other media outlets in passing along the news that all six of the Fullerton cops who participated in the beating death of Kelly Thomas last July have been given notices of termination.

This means that Craig, Blatney and Hampton have now joined the list that previously included Ramos, Wolfe and Cicinelli.

Of course official announcements are not forthcoming from the City since we the lowly taxpayers are not to know which cops are fired (if ever) and what for.

Since the sources have been cantilevered out there pretty far, I’ll withhold saying anything else until I can touch base with my source inside the FPD.

In the meantime, reflect on this: after the killing these cops were not disciplined; they were left on the streets by a leaderless department and a chummy city council majority – Jones, Bankhead and McKinley. Wolfe, Blatney, Hampton and Craig have been on paid leave since August, costing us several hundred thousand dollars.

May 24, 2012May 24, 2012Behind Closed Doors

Register’s David Whiting Up To Old Tricks

by Joe Sipowicz89 Comments

Whoring for the inept, sclerotic Establishment, that is.

Last fall Whiting was defending the cops that murdered Kelly Thomas and attacking the lynch-type mobs calling for justice.

Most recently he wrote a tribute to “both sides” that was nothing more than a wet love letter to the Three Bald Tires, defending their compassion and objecting to the use of the phrase “kingmaker” in reference to Tony “Bashula.” Brandon Ferguson of the OC Weekly writes about Whiting’s pabulum, here.

(Note: I refuse to link to the Register)

I find the then-and-now quotations remarkably self-serving. Maybe the Three Hollow Logs said something to Whiting in private, because I don’t remember those “before” statements at all. Whatever. What I do remember with crystal clarity these “before” comments:

Dr. HeeHaw (on local TV news): “…I’ve seen far worse injuries that were survivable. I don’t know what killed that man”

Patdown Pat McKinley: (on CNN): “I’ve had my eyes bloused a few times…facial injuries look terrible but they are not life threatening…they heal…”

Just to show you where Whiting’s true sympathies lay, here is Ferguson quoting Whiting’s cuddly description of killer cop Joe Wolfe:

Instead of referring to Officer Joe Wolfe as one of Kelly Thomas’s attackers, which the video clearly shows he is–he was first to strike Thomas with his baton–Whiting clumsily described him as “an uncharged officer and partner of one of those charged.”

Anybody who has ever owned a dog knows they have some nasty habits, including sniffing each other’s rear ends and ingesting their own vomit. But you have to give them credit for loyalty.

May 22, 2012May 22, 2012Behind Closed Doors

The New FPD. Send in More Troops

by The Fullerton Harpoon89 Comments

Apparently Dan Hughes and Sharon Quirk’s “reformed” FPD learned one lesson from the Kelly Thomas murder perpetrated by members of the force last summer. Don’t de-escalate, instead just send in more boys!

Our roving correspondent “streets of fullerton” sent in a story complete with pics from an incident on Harbor Boulevard, last night at 10:30. Here’s how it began: one garden-variety, Manny Ramos-body type FPD cop lecturing a homeless dude.

When he returned to the scene a bit later, our correspondent noticed half the night shift was there to weigh in. Our witness seems to think there may have been a physical altercation of some sort.

Well maybe this strategy is an improvement. Apparently the homeless guy left the scene in a cop car, alive. What his offense was and why he was confronted in the first place is still unknown.

Perhaps we should call Rusty Kennedy’s Human Relations Commission so he can tell us all about it. Here’s Rusty’s number: 714/567-7470.

May 21, 2012Behind Closed Doors

Dave Ellis Visits FFFF; Leaves Slime Trail

by Joe Sipowicz67 Comments

The metamorphosis to an oxygen breathing life form was slow and painful...

We’ve just traced a string of obnoxious comments to an operation called Delta Partners. What is Delta Partners? It’s a front for the sleazoid repuglican bagman Dave “Dick” Ellis who tried to sell the OC Fair to himself, who hired Dick Ackerman as an illegal lobbyist to grease it, and who was later hired by Ackerman last fall to rip off the Three Dim Bulbs in a useless anti-recall campaign.

What a guy! Here are his comments, a pathetic amalgam of illiteracy and ignorance. Enjoy the wit and wisdom of Dave Ellis, intellectual voice of the anti-recall:

#33 by Cock A Doodle Do on May 21, 2012

Is that the street in front of Bushala’s house? The one where he’s got all the chickens running loose crapping in the street?

#94 by Recall Whitaker on May 12, 2012

Nice move Bruce. Nothing like convicting them before a jury does. Remember you work for all citizens of Fullerton. Your job is to represent ALL citizens. I want my Council Members to make decisions based on FACTS, not things you make up in your head. You still claim there is a cover up by the PD, yet you’ve done nothing to prove it. Why is that? I’ve heard you say the police reports were doctored, yet have you seen them? Can you prove they were?

Stop running your mouth unless you can back it up with FACTS! I want my Council Members to think before they speak. The problem is you can’t speak without Bushala or Thompson putting words in your mouth.

I say the citizens recall YOU.

#28 by Fidel Fullerton on March 10, 2012

I’m worth millions, I’ve had a successful medical career, I’ve served my country with honor, I’ve raised a wonderful family, and I to sit hear and listen to these FUCKING IDIOTS.

#30 by Freaky Fullerton on May 12, 2012

Whitacre you grandstanding fool. Had the video been released when you requested there would have been no audio. Just a grainy indecipherable mess that proved nothing. They audio was added in preparation for the preliminary hearing. When the DA tells you to refrain from stupid publicity stunts he does so for a reason. Let your Legislative buddies do the grandstanding, they’re much better at it.

#45 by Lucky Sperm Club on May 18, 2012

He was born with a Silver Schlong in his mouth.

May 16, 2012May 16, 2012Behind Closed Doors

Dan Hughes Has A Problem. So Do We.

by English Major141 Comments

During public comments at last night’s council meeting, at least two members of the public remarked that during the protests of the Kelly Thomas killing last fall, then captain, now Acting Chief Dan Hughes told them to wait until the video came out, and then they would see things differently.

Well, now that these people have seen the video, their reaction is not exactly what Mr. Hughes seemed to be waiting for. And this begs a very important question that goes to the heart of both Hughes’ character and the FPD Culture of Corruption.

First let us suppose and dispose the notion that Hughes’ admonition to the protesters was nothing more than a ploy to stall for time. Coming from a department in turmoil that hadn’t got a clue what to do or how to do it, temporizing may be seen as an understandable, if pathetic strategy.

But now let’s give the situation a little more thought. By his own remarkable admission, Hughes had seen the video 400 times. That’s ridiculous of course, but he obviously watched his boys kill an innocent man lots of times. Dozens? A hundred? Enough times perhaps, that he became inured to the unnecessary and inexcusable brutality. In a mental effort to defend the indefensible and picking apart the video like a defense lawyer in order to come up with plausible explanations that would get the killers off the hook, Hughes may well have lost sight of the murder of a human being played and replayed in front of his very eyes. And that’s bad.

But it might be even worse. It may very well be that in watching the video our Acting Chief saw nothing wrong going on, nothing outside of the policy and training that he espouses. After all, there is a reason that the cops went to work the very next day as if nothing untoward had happened. There is a reason that four of the aiders and abettors still remain on paid leave, a weird limbo in which they continue to be remunerated until the Gennaco report can be used to justify some action or other. It’s as if there is no procedural mechanism in place at all to deal with the sort of cops who stand around as the object of their brutality is dying, untended, a few away.

For those who mistakenly believe that Sharon Quirk and Hughes have ushered in some new period of reform in the FPD I suggest you think again. Apart from some alleged sensitivity training I assert that nothing has changed in the FPD’s culture at all, a culture that recently rewarded a loyal purveyor of disinformation with a promotion.

May 15, 2012May 15, 2012"Dick" Ackerman

The Culture of Corruption Has A Price Tag. And It’s Big

by The Fullerton Harpoon68 Comments

At tonight’s Fullerton City Council meeting the City Attorney announced that the council had unanimously voted to pay $1,000,000 to Cathy Thomas, the mother of Kelly, who was beaten to death by members of the FPD who bashed in his face, and ribs, tased him, sat on his chest, and then stood around while the homeless man died in the gutter.

A million bucks. It’s hard to begrudge the Thomas family of the settlements that are coming their way in this obscene killing. And yet for those of us who have criticized the obvious Culture of Corruption in the FPD it rankles to contemplate the fact that we are responsible for the bill; and that other enormous payouts are coming our way.

Pat McKinley created this unholy mess as police chief while Don Bankhead and Dick Jones sat on their fat behinds all these years as the department festered under the incompetent and indifferent leadership. We get the bill. And Acting Chief Hughes can only act like nothing is wrong, even as Joe Wolfe, the apparent instigator of the Thomas murder breathes the air of a free man on paid vacation.

First there was the sexual battery cases against Albert Rincon. Those cost $350,000. We now know the Thomas murder will probably cost us at least $3,000,000. And there’s no telling what the other violent and criminal episodes perpetrated by thugs like Kenton Hampton, et. al., will cost.

I also note that once again PatMcPension voted to approve a settlement to make on of his embarrassing problems go away.

Really folks, haven’t you seen enough of this rogue’s gallery? The answer is crystal clear. RECALL.

May 15, 2012May 15, 2012"Dick" Ackerman

Are “Conscience” Dems Abandoning Doug Chaffee?

by Grover Cleveland91 Comments

Could be. Since July 2011 Recall candidate Doug Chaffee has been the invisible man. No presence at protests, no support of the Recall, no denunciation of the recall, no comment on the Culture of Corruption in the FPD, no defense of the McKinley police regime, either.

Some Democrats who supported Chaffee in 2010 are jumping ship – to independent candidate Matt Rowe. They are claiming that Chaffee is just a mealy-mouthed guy who wants to get elected without saying a damn thing substantive.

Here is a letter from Stephan and Noelle Baxter, and William Zdan sent to our friends at The Fullertonian. It’s a hard-hitting piece, born of the frustration of a politician who is so petrified of saying anything that he says nothing, and evidently stands for nothing.

The choice of Rowe over Doug Chaffee is the proverbial no-brainer. When you check out Chaffee’s supporters you’ll you’ll see the Old Guard Left like Molly McClanahan and Jan Flory who sat on their hands and kept their mouth shut in the wake of the Kelly Thomas murder. Many of his supporters actually oppose the recall and that speaks volumes about what they expect from their boy. He’s even being supported behind the scenes by repuglicans like Dick Ackerman and his sleazy ilk who apparently see in Chaffee their Main Chance.