Downtown Fullerton – Page 13 – Friends For Fullerton's Future

October 29, 2012Downtown Fullerton

The Culture of Corruption Has NOT Changed!

First off, I’d like to thank a good and courageous Friend for sharing this alarming video with us.

I’m still sort of shocked to hear what Fullerton police Lieutenant Markowski said to a group of folks who took the open house tour of the police department last Saturday. Apparently, when she comes to work on Mondays there’s a desk full of complaints from women who claim they were abducted, raped, kidnapped telling horror stories of what happened to them. And thank God she can go review the video cameras, and that not everybody that comes to file a report is truthful. (And of course not everyone who receives a complaint or writes a report is truthful, either, as we now know).

According to Markowski there have been many, many cases that she worked where women report, “he pulled me out of this bar, he pulled he into this alley, he pulled me into his car, he did this that. And then I review the video the downtown video cameras which obviously we maintain and I review the video and I can clearly see that she walked voluntarily out of the bar with this gentleman that she was all over him. I’ve been able to save a lot of men from being accused of things that they absolutely didn’t do whereas if we didn’t have that video evidence these guys would be sitting in here getting ready to go to jail for crimes that they absolutely didn’t commit so they work very well for investigators.”

The idea that a cop by way of a video camera is now acting as district attorney, judge and jury in cases involving women who want to file charges against one of downtown Fullerton’s army of drunken gentlemen is alarming.

I also find it very disconcerting that Markowski found it appropriate to regale her visitors with this particular story, given the history of FPD cop Albert Rincon. According to Markowski this false accusation against DTF’s menfolk happens all the time, and it is routine for Markowski, who seems to have a low regard for some of DTF’s female guests.

Of course it is ironic in the extreme that Ms. Markowski makes no mention of her cameras and the story they told about the Kelly Thomas murder, or the assault and false arrest (and later false prosecution) of Veth Mam at the hands of Kenton Hampton.

October 4, 2012Chronic Failure

Has the FPD Been Withholding Evidence?

by Joe Sipowicz78 Comments

Take a look at one of our downtown police spy cams – just like the one that captured the Kelly Thomas killing at the Fullerton Transportation Center.

This one is located on the south side of Amerige Avenue almost exactly where Veth Mam was assaulted and arrested for no reason by Kenton Hampton about two years ago. Did this camera provide the whole story and show explicitly why Veth Mam could not have done the things the cops and the DA claimed he did? Did it provide the whole story of it would have been impossible for Hampton to know even if Mam had?

Hard to say. I presume the camera works; and I presume a diligent watch commander such as Tom “Tango” Basham could and would have used it that night to see what was going on. If so, was this footage handed over to the DA, perhaps saving Mam the ordeal of trumped up charges and prosecution? Does the DA even know the incident took place at the base of a cop security camera pole?

Lots of good questions for Acting Chief Danny to address, now and in his deposition with Garo Mardirossian.

September 19, 2012Behind Closed Doors

Municipal Redevelopment Arrogance: A Common Scourge

by The Desert Rat55 Comments

Sometimes you don’t know whether to laugh or cry. Like the case in Philly where a local businessman may be sued by the Redevelopment Agency for cleaning up trash and beautifying a piece of blighted Agency-owned property that they willfully refused to clean up. So ths guy spends 20 big ones of his own dough since the City blatantly ignored its own mess, and is now looking at a potential lawsuit – a lawsuit some asshole city bureaucrat says is based on “principle.” Principle. Now that’s a scream.

What’s really funny is that if the city had done the work it would have cost twenty times as much and taken ten times longer.

Of course apologists of Fullerton’s former Redevelopment Agency (you know who they are) would be quick to point out is that this sort incompetence and arrogance never happened in Fullerton; Fullerton Redevelopment folks were just so darned…well… you know.

But consider this: Fullerton has had a long and inglorious Redevelopment history that includes building, then demolishing concrete trestles along Harbor, giving away a public sidewalk to a politically connected apaign contributor, subsidizing dozens of boondoggles, supporting architectural design Nazi-ism, stealing an old lady’s property to give to a car dealer, and nasty little sales tax kick backs from Redevelopment funds – all done to promote more tax revenue to pay for pensions, League of City junkets, and all those inevitable step pay increases for the gang.

A final thought: even though Redevelopment is supposedly dead in California you can bet the farm (if they don’t steal it for High Speed Rail) that the lobbyists are busy at work in Sacramento trying to revive it, and that local mall fry politicians and local political wannabes are real eager for it to come back.

Why not? It’s fun and it isn’t their money.

July 19, 2012July 19, 2012Behind Closed Doors

What Happened to Sean Moses?

by admin135 Comments

A man was found dead along the tracks at the Fullerton train station early Sunday morning. It was a 30 year-old Cypress man named Sean Moses.

Early speculation was that he had been initially struck by a train has not been verified and questions about when the actor and former junior high basketball coach actually died remain unanswered although an autopsy has been performed. Apparently he had been celebrating a friend’s birthday in downtown Fullerton on Saturday night.

A memorial has emerged at the north depot platform in eerie proximity to the location where Kelly Thomas’s is located.

Naturally, we will be looking into this as well and will keep the friends informed.

July 5, 2012July 5, 2012Downtown Fullerton

NEW: Kelly Thomas killing aftermath: Reforming how cops deal with the homeless

by admin174 Comments

Editor’s (Cal Watchdog) note: Today marks a year since Kelly Thomas, an unarmed homeless man, was severely beaten by Fullerton police. He died five days later. This is the first of a three-part series.

By Tori Richards

An outside investigation into whether police officers violated policy leading up to the beating death of homeless man Kelly Thomas will be completed shortly. If consistent with preliminary findings, the investigation will lambast the Fullerton Police Department for a series of blunders.

A CalWatchDog.com investigation has found that, not only have the officers’ actions violated the city’s police policy manual, they are in sharp contrast to another police agency that encounters the homeless at a rate hundreds of percentage points higher, but without a record of violence.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department — a model agency in its dealings with the homeless — has more than 2,000 encounters a month and runs a groundbreaking program that seeks to aid that sector, rather than incarcerate them.

“The International Association of Chiefs of Police gave its highest award to the LASD in 1996 because we partnered law enforcement with mental health and social workers to work together and identify people living on the streets and provide opportunities to them,” said Sheriff’s Capt. Mike Parker.

That was 16 years ago and LASD is still going strong. Numerous police agencies have followed their lead and initiated their own polices, including Fullerton.

But on July 5, 2011, none of that seemed to matter when Thomas had a fatal run-in with six police officers at a Fullerton bus depot. The 37-year-old man was a schizophrenic who preferred living on the streets to a structured life indoors where he took his medicine. Read more here.

June 21, 2012June 21, 2012A Step in the Right Direction

Coming Soon: The Kelly Thomas Memorial Art Show and Concert

by admin341 Comments

Friday July 6^th @ PÄS Gallery 6:00-11:00 PM Art With An Agenda. Commemorate the first anniversary of Kelly Thomas’ deadly encounter with six members of the Fullerton PD. Double Click here to download the Press Release.

And then the very next day, Saturday July 7^th at the Fullerton Museum Plaza, is the 2^nd Annual Kelly Thomas Memorial Concert, Clothing and Food Drive featuring one of the best bands to ever come from the OC, The Adolescents.

Two great opportunities to show your support for reform in Fullerton without glossing over what happened last July 5th – the murder of an innocent man.

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 8, 2012May 8, 2012Behind Closed Doors

14:30

by Mr. Peabody349 Comments

At about the 14:30 mark of the Kelly Thomas murder video something happens. Suddenly the mood of Manny Ramos changes from one of bored hostility to outright aggression. He has just gone to the back of the patrol car and has had a conversation with Joe Wolfe who has been sifting through Thomas’s scant possessions in his backpack.

When Ramos returns to Kelly he immediately dons the latex gloves that a helpful Wolfe had previously given him (“take these you may need them”) and begins to verbally threaten the homeless man. “See these fists? These fists are about to fuck you up…” For his part Thomas seems to sense the ramped up hostility. When Ramos tries to grab his shoulder Kelly brushes away the cop’s hand and stands. Immediately sensing his peril he puts his hands up and begins slowly backing away. It’s too late.

Suddenly Wolfe appears almost on cue; at the top of the frame he emerges from behind the patrol car, where, a mere 15 feet away he must have been perfectly aware of what was going on. As Kelly continues to back away toward the front of the car, Wolfe lunges at him, swinging his baton; immediately he is joined by Ramos who takes a swing to, too. As Kelly begins to flee rightward in front of the car and out of the frame, we can’t see what happens next; but Ramos has evidently managed to grab or tackle Thomas as Wolfe, who has circled counterclockwise around the back of the car, piles on.

So here’s my question: how can Joe Wolfe be exonerated from any wrongdoing by the DA? Barely fifteen feet from the exchange between Ramos and Kelly, he must have known exactly what was going on; he also knew who he was dealing with; and he actually struck the first, illegal blow with his stick. So why was Joe Wolfe never charged with a crime?

May 7, 2012May 8, 2012"Dick" Ackerman

The Lonesome Death of Kelly Thomas

by admin368 Comments

Click here to view the transcripts.

May 3, 2012May 3, 2012Behind Closed Doors

Who Opposes The Recall and Supports Doug Chaffee?

by The Desert Rat30 Comments

This guy. That’s who.

That would be former Redevelopment Director and big Fullerton pension recipient Gary Chalupsky.

Some may remember Chalupsky for his long string of embarrassing boondoggles and Redevelopment expenditures of questionable legality – like building the Muckenthaler amphitheater which is not even in a Redevelopment project area.

Just type in “Redevelopment” in our search box and knock yourself out. From the Knowlwood fiasco and North Platform smash up to The City Lights debacle and the humiliating Poisoned Park disaster, Chalupsky was there every inept, unaccountable step of the way. For well over ten years. Plenty of time to get vested in CalPERS.

Gary Chalupsky was the guy who proved beyond all doubt that Fullerton was very much for sale. Ever wonder where the 100 East section of Whiting Avenue went? Ask Chalupsky.

Others may also remember this upstanding individual for his phony “retirement” and immediate double-dip that was countenanced by an incompetent council who seemed to think Chalupsky knew what he was doing.

Redevelopment is now thankfully dead. But it feathered a lot of nests along the way.