Behind Closed Doors Archives - Page 63 of 83 - Friends For Fullerton's Future

September 18, 2011September 18, 2011Behind Closed Doors

A New Sheriff in Town?

Hutchens4 — I cleaned up the OCSD and I can help you, too...

I keep hearing persistent rumors that the Fullerton City Manager Joe Felz has had discussions with high level County officials about the possibility of abolishing the Fullerton Police Department and replacing it with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

Apparently the hook is not just the recent revelations of FPD misconduct, perjury, cover-up, crimes high and low, a spokesman caught blatantly lying, and the attendant PR curse that the department has visited upon itself. There is an issue of huge cost savings. And I mean huge.

While the prospect of getting honest, competent and respectful police services from the Sheriff’s Department is probably only marginally more likely than with the FPD (and there’s no way in the world it could be worse), extrapolating from current costs in contracted cities, using the OCSD could save the taxpayers of Fullerton as much as $13,000,000, per year from the FPDs bloated budget of $37,000,000.

That’s a whopping 37%, and $13,000,000 could go to a lot of things Fullertonians hold near and dear.

In this era of government fiscal constraint brought about in large measure by irresponsible decisions by dimwits like Don Bankhead, Dick Jones and PatMcKinley, to hand out exorbitant pay and benefits to “public safety” employees, everything should be on the table.

September 16, 2011September 16, 2011Behind Closed Doors

Oh, No! Not Again!

by Joe Sipowicz223 Comments

Yes, it would appear so. CNN is reporting today yet another instance of wrongful arrest and brutality by our friends at the FPD. The case involves assault and phony DUI arrest for which there was no basis.

Of course the purported victim, Edward Miguel Quinonez, has a lawyer: Garo Mardirossian. Geez, Garo may as well open up a Fullerton office. Here is KCAL passing along the news:

UPDATE: FYI, KCAL WE INTERVIEWED THIS WITNESS AND POSTED IT ON AUGUST 8 – 5 WEEKS AGO! HERE’S THE LINK.

September 14, 2011September 14, 2011Behind Closed Doors

The Wrongful Incarceration of Emmanuel Martinez

by Joe Sipowicz166 Comments

An alert Friend reminded us today of a story that came to light last fall and that has eerie overtones of the subsequent Veth Mam case we have previously reported. The story is told in the OC Register, here.

The facts are simple. Even though an eye-witness ID’d another guy in a line-up, the Fullerton police arrested Emmanuel Martinez who unluckily just happened to be in the vicinity. Of course Fullerton “Officer” Miguel Siliceo told a hearing judge that he had indeed got the right guy and Martinez was locked up in the County jail for five long months awaiting the inevitable railroad job.

Martinez’s luck changed for the better when he got a public defender, Denise Crawford, who bulldogged the case. When audio evidence surfaced that proved Siliceo was telling tall tales, the DA, mirabile dictu, dropped the bogus charges against Martinez.

So Emmanuel can thank his lucky stars that he didn’t actually go on trial like Veth Mam, and then end up in state prison. And “Officer” Siliceo is lucky, too. Lucky he never had to perjure himself in front of a jury, and lucky he works for a police department where incompetence, and worse – felonious behavior are just par for the course.

Goodrich-262x300 — How about the truth, if it's not too much trouble?

Of course the story wouldn’t be complete without the bland statement by FPD spokesassclown Andrew Goodrich that the cops work “diligently” to arrest the right people and generously let ’em go if exculpatory evidence surfaces. Gee, thanks, Andy. Of course no mention is made by Goodrich of FPD hiding exculpatory evidence in the first place; nor is perjury; and of course there is no apology to the victim of FPD malfeasance. Wouldn’t want to undermine public confidence in our Heroes, now would we?

I wonder how much that one cost us.

September 13, 2011September 13, 2011About Us

Peer into The Thought Process of the FPOA

by Grover Cleveland87 Comments

UPDATE: Here is a post from waaaay back in November, 2010 about how our police union leaders view the political process and their ability to manipulate it to their own advantage. Of course the egregious Andrew Goodrich figures prominently in our post. Be sure to read the last sentence!

Just in case you thought there was any doubt that public service might not be the number one priority of Fullerton’s boys in blue, take a look at the document below, a veritable “how-to” article on political influence written in 2003 by FPD PIO and union front-man, Andrew Goodrich.

See, it’s all about how to leverage your members dues to create a political machine and get what’s coming to you. Actually it’s about defining what’s coming to you and getting a subservient collection of clowns you elect to go along for the ride.

Read “The Value of Political Involvement” (pdf)

I especially enjoyed Goodrich bragging about batting one thousand. The record looked great in 2003, but then the wheels started coming off the squad car. Chris Norby and Shawn Nelson jumped ship PDQ (although Norby stayed on the Police Reservation long enough to vote for the obscene 3@50 deal in 2001, thanks Norby). The pitiful police-backed pipsqueak Mike Clesceri was tossed out in 2004 after a mere one term; and ditto the equally useless Leland Wilson who was just a bad memory by 2006.

In 2010 the union backed a geriatric of dubious mental competency, a poster boy for pension abuse, and a guy who dodged criminal responsibility by giving his DNA to the DA. Hey two outta three ain’t bad – for them. For the rest of us? Not so good!

Mr. Goodwrench — Bringing shop floor militancy to a police force near you...

And here’s a little bit more about Mr. Goodrich: promoted to “Community Services bureau leader – and police public information officer” last January as chronicled by Barbara Giasone:

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/goodrich-230504-police-fullerton.html

Goodrich also signed the May 3, 2010 MOU on behalf of the FPOA, along with Barry Coffman and Robert Kirk.

And just in case you feel your tax dollars that pay for 3@50, etc. are insufficient thanks to the police for all they do you can always help out some more. Here’s a solicitation we received from the FPOA just yesterday. Your gift is supposed to go to FPOA “community outreach” but IS NOT tax deductible. Hmm. You get a decal of a police badge.

In closing I really feel compelled to wonder whether or not any of the three worthy gentlemen named above have been posting comments on our blog.

September 13, 2011September 14, 2011Behind Closed Doors

Cop Union President Barry Coffman Identified

by Jan Florys Dog166 Comments

UPDATE: Please note Coffman’s admission: “This year, my first citation”. So he obviously took on this assignment to harass citizens out of the sheer joy of it. And there you have it. Your tax dollars at work.

The other day we shared a video here of the Fullerton Police Department’s PR disastrous anti-honking ticket strategy. Of course it was justifiably greeted with a hail of scorn and outrage and was ridiculed across Southern California as blatant harassment of peaceful protesters. Egad, another FPD humiliation. Another day another embarrassment!

Oh, well, I guess when you don’t have a sense of shame it’s impossible to be shamed.

What went unmentioned in the video was the identity of the well-fed cop who handed out the ticket to the protester who had the temerity to honk for justice for Kelly Thomas. Well, I know who this churlish individual is.

No surprise! That’s Fullerton Police Officer Association President, Barry Coffman – the head union goon who got The Three Blind Mice McKinley, Bankhead, and Jones elected in the first place, and then watched in satisfaction as these three clowns handed over Fullerton to his union comrades.

Barry says he is smirking because he gets so much job satisfaction. But Barry won’t be smirking for long. Whatever the DA does there will be Federal and civil lawsuits coming FPD’s way, and likely punitive damages against the McKinley Six. And that’s not going to be hushed up as usual. And he’s got an anti-recall campaign to finance with three elderly orangutans who have finally been exposed as utterly incompetent.

three blind ortangtans — Not much to work with...

Smirk on that, Barry.

September 10, 2011September 11, 2011Behind Closed Doors

More Squeals From Goodrich

by Joe Sipowicz264 Comments

UPDATE: Here is Goodrich as reported by Brian Martinez at the Register:

Fullerton police Sgt. Andrew Goodrich said drivers have been holding down their horns continuously for a quarter-mile up and down Commonwealth and Highland. He said the department received numerous complaints from nearby residents, businesses and park-users about the excessive honking and other instances of disturbing the peace such as yelling at and approaching drivers who don’t honk their horns.

Another outright Goodrich lie to the stupid. A quarter mile? Lie. Highland has been blocked off. A quarter mile south would take you under the tracks and past Truslow. A quarter mile east or west on Commonwealth would take you Richman or Harbor, respectively. Of course the trough feeding media are too dumb to even question any of Goodrich’s claims and absurd statements. So we’ll do it for them.

According to Marisa Gerber at the OC Weekly Fullerton cops started handing out tickets to motorists who showed their support for today’s protest. Fortunately some concentrated verbal rebuke from the protesters directly in front of the FPD building resulted in the cops beating a hasty retreat.

Now, for fun, let’s listen in on Ms. Gerber’s conversation with the 2011 Dr. Josef Goebbels Award finalist, Andrew Goodrich, who is, miraculously, still employed by the FPD as a spokesman, and whose lies and quarter-truths are piling up so fast we need wings to stay above his torrent of bullshit:

“It’s not just the horn honking, but leaning on the horn,” says Sgt. Andrew Goodrich, spokesman for the Fullerton Police Department, about the people who were cited for “illegal use of horn.” The department issued three citations, one of which the captain voided, Goodrich says.

Apparently Goodrich believes illegal use of horn merits paying a citation. Of course beating a man to death merits a paid vacation. Here’s more:

Goodrich says the police department has received “numerous complaints from residents and businesses” about the protesters in the past few weeks. The department received a complaint from one motorist who said their kids were frightened by a protester running in the streets.

Numerous? Really Andy? As numerous as the broken bones you claimed were suffered by the FPD killer cops in the “fight” you said they had with Kelly Thomas? I wonder if Kelly was as fearful of Goodrich’s fellow union members as those mythical “kids” were afraid of protesters running into the street. But Goodrich isn’t finished:

“The question was being asked of us why were allowing protesters to flagrantly violate the law,” Goodrich says, adding that the department has worked to give protesters some “latitude”. The police department contacted protest organizers last night, and again this morning, to ask for cooperation, he says.

“Flagrantly violate the law?” Is that phrase (coming from an FPD mouthpiece) supposed to be some kind of sick joke? Come on, Goodrich, who asked that question? Anybody? And were they at all concerned about FPD flagrantly violating the law by smashing a homeless man’s face in, killing him in the process? What’s that, Andy? Not flagrant enough?

And, by-the-way, thanks awfully for “working” to give us “latitude” to exercise our Constitutional rights, Sergeant Slime Trail.

Coming from the department spokesassclown who has deceitfully spun portly pirouettes around all the reports of serial law violations perpetrated by his fellow union brothers and sisters in the past few months, it’s now impossible for any objective person to believe a damn thing that emanates from this baboon’s yapper.

Now, here’s a question being asked of us at FFFF: can the FPD and the City be so detached from reality that they believe the jackass Goodrich is in any way doing them any good? I guess that question really answers itself.

Why is this sack of bovine excrement still employed?

September 7, 2011Behind Closed Doors

Protest at the DA’s Office Tomorrow, Thursday Sept. 8

by admin116 Comments

Ron Thomas just announced there will be a peaceful protest outside Tony Rackauckas’ office tomorrow from 11:00-2:00. For those of you who haven’t been following along, Rackauckas is the Orange County District Attorney who is dragging his feet while trying to decide if he should bring charges against the six Fullerton cops who beat Kelly Thomas to death.

When: 11:00AM – 2:00PM

Where: 401 W. Civic Center Dr. Santa Ana

Be there!

September 4, 2011September 4, 2011Behind Closed Doors

Pat McPension Speaks! Um, Well, Spoke…

by Grover Cleveland70 Comments

Pat-McKinley-Cops-300x206 — Whatchoo gonna do when they come for you?

Fullerton City Councilman and former Police Chief, Pat McPension ain’t sayin’ much these days, at least nothing that isn’t getting him in even deeper in the City’s cover-up of the Kelly Thomas homicide at the hands for six Fullerton cops on the sultry night of July 5th.

But take a quick trip to Fullerton Stories and listen to then candidate Pat McPension in the fall of 2010.

Enjoy Pat’s list of repuglican endorsements, including DA Tony Rakauckas (!) and also the rear guard of decrepit liberalism in Fullerton, Molly McClanahan and Jan Flory.

Also enjoy Pat’s observation that it’s a good thing when nobody shows up to public meetings! Check. It’s a lot easier to cover-up what you’re doing when nobody is around (except “journalists” who regurgitate City Hall press releases and toss up softball questions). And of course nobody will be there to call you out on the serial misdeeds of your police department. The one you were in charge of for 17 long years. Remember, Pat? Yes, when you hired thieves, thugs, pill-poppers, sexual predators, kidnappers, perjurers, one-eyed LAPD rejects, killers of unarmed homeless people (and who knows who else) to patrol the mean streets of Fullerton.

Suffer through McPension’s bogus concern about out-of-control public employee pensions, and reflect upon the sad fact that in eight months on the City Council he hasn’t uttered so much as a tiny squeak on the subject.

In 2010 Pat promised to “hit the ground running.” Boy, that sure turned out to be a big elephant splat on the pavement in 2011.

September 3, 2011September 3, 2011Behind Closed Doors

Hey Mr. DA, Is This What Happened?

by admin295 Comments

August 31, 2011Behind Closed Doors

We Get Mail: Is It Just Me?

by admin124 Comments

Friends for Fullerton’s Future,

I am struck by the comparative silence of the knee-jerk pro-police crowd about the irony that none of the six Fullerton cops who were present on the hot night of July 5th (when Kelly Thomas mysteriously slipped into a coma), are willing to talk to the DA to help further the cause of the impartial “investigation” being conducted by the Useless Rackauckas.

It seems hilarious to me that before “rushing to judgment” we are admonished to wait for the mature fruits of this so-called investigation which apparently will be lacking information from all seven of the people most immediately present at the incident. Since number seven won’t be talking anymore at all, this seems to suggest that the investigation will never be competently completed.

So how ’bout it FPD? Let’s get these boys a talkin’ so our hard-working DA can wrap up a thorough investigation and we move ahead.

Besides. If they have done nothing wrong, as many of their defenders claim, they have nothing to fear from our fair and impartial legal system.

F. W. Farnsworth