Nine Months Later And You’re Still Paying the Illegal Water Tax

It has been said that the only two certainties are death and taxes.

That sure seems to be the case when you consider Fullerton’s illegal 10% tax on water that you are forced to pay with each bill. The cowards haven’t even got the guts to add it as a line item on the bill. Wouldn’t want nosy citizens asking embarrassing questions, now would we?

Nine months ago the City was challenged on the legality of the notorious “in-lieu fee” that adds over $2,500,000 to the City General Fund coffers every year. What did they do? They decided to study. And study. And study some more.

The Three Dead Batteries.

Well, the study isn’t done yet. But guess what? You still pay that tax. An honest government would have gotten a definitive legal opinion from a competent attorney (ahem) and immediately reported to the public. Not in Fullerton, where the idea seems to be to keep soaking the public until some judge, or a recall election makes them fix the problem. In the meantime they’ve collected two million bucks to pay for things like councilmen Don Bankhead and Pat McKinley’s six-figure pensions.

But everything’s just fine. Go back to sleep again.

Why Are Larry Bennett and The Three Dead Batteries Afraid to Debate?

First the bulbs began to dim...

Back in November the Fullerton Recall proponent Chris Thompson issued a challenge to anti-recall spokescloaca Larry Bennett to a debate. Bennett claimed that he had to wait for his superiors (presumably “Dick” Ackerman and Dave Ellis) to get back from Thanksgiving Break.

After that, crickets.

Crickets – until the Recall signatures were validated by the Registrar of Voters and the Fullerton Is For Sale Gang knew it was in deep shit. The very next day Bennett appeared out of the blue, just dying to “debate.” But not live, no, but in a creepy, censored, on-line environment in which he could get nonsense written by Ellis and Ackerman in front of the public. Any one, really.

Anger management failed...

As Dick Jones would say: Nuh, uh!

Bennett it’s time you stood up in front of a live audience and explained all the lies on your pathetic website and your dopey mailers. Then you can explain to the people of Fullerton about the record of the Somnolent Sloths you are so proud of. You can explain all about the Culture of Corruption in the FPD – well documented by one case of malfeasance after another, culminating in the death of a man. You can explain the land giveaways your boys made to campaign contributors, and the the illegal attempt to expand Redevelopment. You can tell them all about the illegal 10% water tax that they have imposed on the water rate payers of Fullerton for 15 years.

Luck ran out a long time ago on Smilin' Larry, used, used car salesman...

Better yet, Larry why don’t you thaw out one of your boys to do the talking for himself? Bankhead? Jones? McKinley? You claim these three are experienced, wise, honorable men. Surely such paragons of virtue can speak up for their own record, right?

 

Did FPD Leak Personnel Information to Larry Bennett?

Hey, you over there on the left. You can talk now!

By now we are all familiar with the impenetrable shroud in which law enforcement has wrapped itself, with the knowledge and support of supine politicians across the state who have taken its campaign money and endorsements.

In Fullerton this official Code of Silence is used by the Three Dithering Dinosaurs – Don Bankhead, Dick Jones, and Pat McKinley –   to excuse their deplorable failure of leadership in the aftermath of the Kelly Thomas killing. They couldn’t say anything, it was all about personnel stuff.

But what do we have here? Listen carefully to anti-recaller Larry Bennett on an October 19, 2011 Inside OC program:

Hey, wait just a minute! That bit about the “iPad woman” doesn’t sound quite right.Here’s a snippet from Lou Ponsi’s article in the Register on the matter, just yesterday, citing FPD spokesdoughnut Andrew Goodrich:

Mejia was placed on paid administrative leave after returning from Florida and has not been a member of the department since Oct. 28, said Sgt. Andrew Goodrich. The city can’t say the reason Mejia is no longer employed with the department, Goodrich said

October 28th, 2011. So why did civilian Larry Bennett say Mejia had already been fired (past tense) nine days before, and how did he come to have any information about that at all?

Stepped on somebody's weenie.

Was Bennett just lying? Could be. The truth hasn’t tumbled out of his mouth for at least six months. But let’s consider something else, implausible, but not impossible – that he was actually telling the truth of what he knew.

If that’s the case then it’s obvious that the cop personnel Code of Silence was violated by somebody in the FPD itself, as some one who knew what was going on with Mejia (any guesses?), told Bankhead, Jones, or McKinley what was happening, and one of them leaked it to Bennett; and then Bennett shared it with a TV audience! Either that, or somebody in the FDP went directly to Bennett with the news so he could beat the drum for a decisive, pro-active department: No Culture of Corruption here!

Well, selective leaks are nothing new for Andrew Goodrich. Police love to share information about suspects unless those suspects happen to be cops. In this instance it sure looks like the cop curtain of secrecy was opened just a bit in the service of trying to make the department and the Three Tired Tubers look decisive.

So next time you hear about the need for secrecy in all police personnel matters, remember this story of hypocrisy. Some things aren’t as secret as others.

 

The $55,000 Conversation

They're baaaack!

Well, you didn’t think they could do it, did you? Well we didn’t either. But the boys in the White Van overcame their three-month peyote and grapefruit juice-induced haze and picked up an audio recording of a conversation that  we think you will enjoy. It seems that one night a few weeks ago they were parked in the neighborhood of the brick veenered and mansarded ranch house of Col. F. Dick Jones, USAF(Ret.), MD.

The transcription from the audio recording that you are about to read is so true to life that you might almost accept it as something that really happened.

(sound of a telephone ringing)

Dick Jones: Hella, this here’s Dick Jones. Doctah Dick Jones.

Dick Ackerman: (grunting noises) Dick, Dick. I got Ellis with me.

Jones: (wheezing noises) Dick Dick? What the Hell you talkin’ ’bout boy? What the Hell’s Elliswithme? Ah say, speak up, boy!

Ackerman: It’s Ackerman and Ellis. We’re running the campaign against Bushala. Protect Fullerton, remember?

Dave Ellis: Hi, Dick. Dick. Just got the check. Thanks a bundle.

Jones: Dick Dick? Aw, coll-sarn it y’all r’ a-startin’ that agin’. Whatcha boys talkin’ ’bout?

Ackerman: (more indecipherable short guttural sounds) Okay, shut up. Who else is there?

Jones: Me ‘n Don and Pat. We been a-waitin’ on yer call.

Ackerman: Okay. We on speaker? Good (three more staccato grunts). Everything’s going great. Got Bushala and those high school doper drop-outs on the run. Heh heh. Dave, give ’em an update.

Ellis: (a distinct sound of ice cubes rattling in a cocktail glass followed by a loud slurping sound. Karaoke in background ) Recission cards are pouring in – thousands, hundreds,  millions of ’em. Our mailers are working great. Worth every penny. Bieber’s the best. Haha. Bushala slum lord, Bushala jailbird. Hahaha. Bushala dope-head. This is like taking candy from a baby. Hey, that sounds like fun, too! Haha.

Don Bankhead: (muffled sounds followed by a few snorts) Quite frankly…(indecipherable sounds that appear to be snoring).

Jones: Hey Pat, a-jiggle joggle that boy awake fer me, will ya? ‘Tamnation ah wish’d ah’d just a-quit. That damn Royce.

Ackerman: (a loud bark followed by a protracted low snarl) Goddamit stay focused. We got ’em on the run. The people of Fullerton know their city’s not for sale. This is my city.

Jones: It ain’t fer sale? But we’s open fer bidness! Ye-haw!

Pat McKinley: Pat here, Dick. I’m ready to deploy. Just give me some nun-chucks and some tear gas. Tasers. They enjoy pain. My boys’ll do anything for me. Did I mention that somebody punctured my Kevlar® gas tank? Freaks and hippies. Terrorists. She Bear, oh yeah!

Ackerman: Jesus Christ, you’re all nuts.

Jones: (a phlegmy wheeze followed by a disctinct sound of expectoration)  Ah’m a doctah ‘n a kernel. I ain’t a-gonna stand fo’ no mo’ ana-key. Ah’m a fomah Mayuh!

Ellis: We need more money for the next mailing.

Jones: Whuzza? How much we in fer so fah?

Ackerman: Um, er, Dave?

Ellis: About fifty-five.

McKinley: Fifty-five hundred? That’s not bad. I make three times that each month for my pension! Not counting my She Bear royalties for all those books I sold at the Chamber.

Ackerman: (a bark) I wish you’d quit reminding people about that stuff you idiot. No. Fifty-five thousand.

Jones: Sweet Blubberin’ Baby Jebus! Oh Gawd, ah think ah’m a-havin’ a conniption!

Ackerman: (an unmistakable snarl) Settle down, Dick. This is about more than just you. If this recall goes through I’m finished in Fullerton. No more kickbacks, no more fake residences.

Jones: Aww Lawdy, ah’m a-comin’ home! Fiddy-five thousand? (A series of choking sounds followed by a low moan). Aw-w-w-w-w-w-w.

Ackerman: Look, we’re in the home stretch. Do you want to lose your jobs or worry about a few grand? Jesus, most of it came from the cops anyway. Let’s talk about Phase Two.

Jones: Mah repa-tay-shun. Tarnation, MuhKinlay, a-joggle jiggle that boy awake agin’. We gotta get hard, n’ tough and  n’ mean!

(muffled noises, coughing and assorted grunts)

Bankhead: Uh, really and truly. Uh. What? What was Phase One, again?

Ackerman: (a grunt) Phase One was where we softened ’em up with body blows. They’re about ready to quit.

Jones: But they got all them signa’ters anyway. Fiddy-five thousand.

Ackerman: Shut up and listen. Phase Two. Dave?

Ellis: Phase Two is to alert the media that all those signatures are going to be invalidated. We’re gonna need another five thou, give or take. We need another mailer

Jones: Fiddy-five thousand. Aw Lawd ‘a Mercy! What we need another mailer fer?

Ellis: We’re going on the offensive, take ’em down. Fullerton’s Not For Sale. Bushala the Terrorist. Haha.

McKinley: People keep asking me about the police department and that damn Kelly Thomas video. Jesus, you can’t even blouse up a bum anymore. And that She Bear talk in Brea. Now they keep asking me about Rincon. What do I tell em?

Ackerman: Tell ’em Bushala keeps chickens in his backyard. Heh, heh. Damn Norby’s behind all this (more low growling).

Jones: Whaddabout that watah fee Hitlah thing?

Ellis: Bushala wants to buy your city!

Bankhead: Things of that nature…(snoring resumes).

Ackerman: Okay, just raise more money. Everybody whose ever got a dime off of Redevelopement chips in. And I mean everybody, got it? Hey, what’s that van doing out there? What the? How long…

At this point the conversation was terminated.

 

 

 

She Bear About to Turn Violent?

Frustrated that the slow working of his mind could not process the new data, McKinley was about to flail about violently.

Here‘s an article in the Register about Fullerton Councilman Bruce Whitaker asking his fellow councilmembers to vote on whether to see the video of the Kelly Thomas killing at the hands of the FPD. He seems to be suffering from the delusion that Fullerton elected leaders should be intelligently informed.

It’s an interesting article for two reasons. First is the reaction of councilman Pat McKinley, former FPD Chief, and architect of the Culture of Corruption in the force. You would expect him to be opposed to letting anybody see the actions of goons he hired personally and let loose on the streets of Fullerton. But what’s that you say, Pat?:

Councilman Pat McKinley, Fullerton’s former police chief, said he is “violently opposed” to the release of the video.

“I think it’s completely off-base,” McKinley said. “It’s absolutely unprecedented, and it would be wrong to view that before the trial.”

Violently opposed? Now that doesn’t sound like a balanced man, does it? His reaction to a perfectly reasonable request says much about McPension the man. Is he about to go off the deep end?

Mcpension may not want the video released, but I assure you it has nothing to do with any trial, and everything to do with a recall election.

The other thing that struck me as odd is the City Attorney’s alleged request to the DA for permission to view the video and the imbecilic comments ascribed to DA spokesholetress Susan Kang Schroeder, who seems to be just making shit up. The council could watch this video as a closed session personnel issue and nobody else would have to see it. Also, the FPD is bound to have made copies so why ask the DA for permission at all – except to get that “no” answer you want? Acting Chief Hughes, who is neither investigating nor trying anybody, claims to have viewed the video 400 times! I’m starting to suspect everybody  has seen this video – except some of the council and of course, the public.

And as a final thought, is there anybody in Fullerton who believed the serial prevaricator Pat McKinley when, after an awkward pause on CNN, he denied seeing the video himself?

Chief Sellers Calls It Quits

He gave it 110%. Well, 10%, at least.

But not before ripping off the taxpayers of yet another $150,000 in the form of a disability claim. Apparently he got sick of his job and two compliant medicos agreed the poor bastard was just too ill to continue. But fear not. On disability half of Seller’s $18,000 a month pension will be tax free.

The City’s lawyer who dealt with the case is satisfied. Well, he’s not picking up the tab, we are. And come to think about I wonder how hard the City really pushed back on this scam.

Here’s the announcement from City Hall pensioner and new-hire Sylvia Palmer Mudrick.

It’s All About Image

UPDATE:

Sorry guys, I forgot to add this gem from the article:

In the weeks after the July incident, more trouble surfaced: an officer facing charges for stealing an iPad at a Miami airport; another facing termination after reports of sexual misconduct; police raiding the wrong house in search for a probationer.

This sentence sure makes it look like Ponsi is finally starting to lay the facts on the table, until you realize that we broke the Mejia story in June, before, the Thomas murder (Ponsi swiped that from FFFF without attribution); the raid on the wrong house occurred in 2010; Rincon’s debauchery started years and years ago and included the complicity of the entire department. And of course there is no mention at all of incidents that must have involved higher ups, like the Gochenour suicide and the beating, false arrest and phony prosecution of Veth Mam. 

– Joe Sipowicz

When you’ve had some practice, it’s amazing how much you can write without saying anything. In fact, between the first sentence and the last, people adept at it can cram all sorts of empty stuff into their essays. The conclusion is always the same. Reading such drivel is like eating a bag of marshmallows.

Here is our old friend Lou Ponsi of the Register doing his usual gig. The story is all about Fullerton’s image in the wake of the Kelly Thomas murder by members of the Fullerton Police Department. To his credit Ponsi finally describes the DA’s version of the actions of Ramos and Cicinelli: a “rain of blows.” Everything else is fluffery designed to avoid the critical main crux of Fullerton’s present problems: that out of control rogue cops have been permitted to prey upon the citizens of and visitors to Fullerton, and the Kelly Thomas episode was not an isolated case at all.

Ponsi’s story includes the obligatory interview with a Chamber of Commerce booster-type – Davis Barber (who also pretends to be a real reporter, yet tips his hand rather badly) and some business owners defending the honor of Fullerton. Oh, and of course there’s the de riguer academic “expert,” who arrives upon the scene to compliment the City for bringing in Michael Gennaco.

As usual you can avoid getting the sort of responses you don’t want by asking all the wrong questions.

Did Ponsi ask Acting Chief Dan Hughes to explain the actions of Rincon, Mater, Power, Mejia, Tong, Hampton, Cross, Goodrich, et al? Has he yet asked anybody to explain the call that came in the night of July 5th; or why the cops involved were permitted to watch the video and coached to re-write their reports?  Did he ask those interviewed if they knew about the serial transgressions of all these cops?

Bet not.

The strategy of the FPD and its apologistas now seems to be to make FPDs problems mostly about image and lack of communication with the public. The Kelly Thomas thing? Oh, yeah, mostly about two aliens who didn’t know how to deal with the mentally ill homeless.

Come on in and take the tour. Glad to see ya. Big hugs. Air kiss!

 

Denying the Culture of Corruption: The New Acting Chief Speaks!

He speaks to a website called FullertonStories. And what he says is disturbing, to say the least. In a story that quickly dissolves into the typical mushy fell-good bio, newly minted Acting Chief Dan Hughes does drop a few nuggets that are worth considering. Such as a blanket denial that a culture of corruption even exists in the FPD.

“If somebody says there is a culture of corruption, they’re either lying, they have other motives or they are grossly misinformed.” Those are the words of acting Police Chief Dan Hughes while defending the Fullerton police department after it has faced six months of attacks from protesters and bloggers.”

Uh, oh. So we critics of the serial malfeasance in the FDPD are liars; or have other motives; or are “grossly” ignorant. Hmm. Tellingly, there are no embarrassing questions about, and consequently no awkward answers about Rincon, Mater, Mejia, Power, Hampton, Nguyen, Tong, et al. Gee, that was convenient.

In what he hopes will mark a new era of transparency and openness within the Fullerton police department, Hughes recently sat down with reporters from FullertonStories to discuss his plans for the department and his actions on July 5, 2011, the night of the violent altercation at the Fullerton bus depot that resulted in the death of Kelly Thomas.

Well, gee, Danny Boy is willing to sit down with some compliant “reporters” in the service of “transparency,” yet doesn’t address the issue of why transparency is needed in the first place, or why his spokesman, Andrew Goodrich was permitted (or instructed) to lie to the public about the facts in the Kelly Thomas murder.

Hughes describes what happened that night – up to a point. And that point is right before he (or someone working for him) permitted the cops involved in the killing to view the video and then re-write their reports. Neither does he address the sticky issue of his force not treating the site as a possible crime scene, or the alleged confiscation of witnesses’ cell phones and camera film by his cops. He also conveniently omits to explain why the DA was not called in for two days, and then only after being prompted to do so by a call from the DA’s office itself.

Come to think about it, he also never bothers to inform the incurious “reporters” from FullertonStories about how come no internal investigation was done until Michael Gennaco was hired two months after the crime. Details, details.

Hughes paused. “When you look at those steps that were taken in a period of 15 minutes, I ask what of any of that would indicate that we were trying to conceal any information?”

That’s just disingenuous garbage, there. Within that first 15 minutes he had no idea of what really happened. And the fact is that within a short time of the bludgeoning, Andrew Goodrich was already in the process of peddling the bogus story of a violent struggle in which the superman Kelly Thomas, in possession of stolen property, was responsible for breaking the bones of the poor undermanned cops.

What wasn’t done correctly, he said, was that the department didn’t come out and say, “this is what occurred, this is what we did, and this is what we’re going to be doing.

Wrong, again, Dan. What wasn’t done correctly was to put the cops on leave immediately and do a real investigation instead of lying to the public about Thomas.

“And because of that silence, it created a tremendous amount of problems for the police department and the city,” Hughes said.

Incorrect. What caused a tremendous amount of problems for the police department and the city was hiring, deploying, and tolerating drug addicts, con men, pickpockets, thugs, perjurers, Brady cops, sex perverts and sadistic killers on the streets of Fullerton, and in its jail.

We are supposed to be relieved and grateful that Dan is working hard to mollify protesters:

“This is a prime example of how we can respect each others opinions,” Hughes explained. “It’s something that’s been very beneficial, to sit down with the protestors and have a dialogue and admit to them when we have blown it.”

Except that the issues surrounding the crime wave perpetrated by Hughes’ colleagues over the past few years is not a matter of opinion, it is a matter of fact. Sorry, Dan, unless you’re going to admit the problem I have no interest in your “opinion.”

But Hughes admitted there is still “lots of work to be done” in the area of restoring public confidence in the department. “We’ve done a very poor job in my opinion on being able to communicate to our community why we do what we do.  We have to build that trust and relationship again,” Hughes said.

Uh, huh. More denial. The problem is not lack of communication. The problem is a police force chock-full of miscreants who have obviously taken advantage of a department with little or no moral or ethical leadership, a department that has clearly been tacitly instructed to resort to physical abuse to fix the mess made by the politicians in downtown Fullerton.

P.S. Dan, tearing up bogus tickets your cops just handed out for “excessive horning” doesn’t equate to building trust.

Some of the ways he plans to accomplish that include giving tours of the department, holding community meetings and stepping up the citizens’ academy and ride-along programs.

Tours? Ride alongs? Oh, Brother! How about firing dirty, abusive cops, and not hiring any more, if it’s not too much trouble?

Hughes is also looking at ways the department can build an ethical consequence component to its current training programs to further restore public trust.

Keep looking, Chief. And while you’re at it, how about a genuine punishment component for cops when they violate the very laws they have sworn to uphold?

But rebuilding trust won’t happen overnight, according to Samuel Walker, emeritus professor of criminal justice at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and a nationally recognized expert in police accountability. He said the timetable depends on how credible the response to the crisis is. “One incident like this destroys years and years of building trust within the community,” he explained.

Here’s the obligatory academic on hand to ladle out the cliche soup. The only problem is nobody bothered to tell Professor Walker about the conga line of ethical issues and outright lawbreaking perpetrated by Fullerton cops, and presumably condoned by the department (for the perfect case study consult our posts on Albert Rincon).

Many questions remain about the death of Kelly Thomas and Hughes is looking forward to additional information coming out at the March preliminary trial of officers Manuel Ramos and Jay Cicinelli. He also eagerly awaits Gennaco’s report about the night of July 5.

Yeah, sure. Whatever you say. Sounds like Dan’s been reading Doc HeeHaw’s memoirs!

Hughes said he has seen the controversial videotape of the Kelly Thomas beating probably 400 times and he calls it “horrific.” Although he would not discuss the details of the video, he said it “clearly depicts the majority of what took place that evening,” and it will clarify a lot of misinformation that has been reported.

Misinformation reported? Come on Dan, you’ve got to be kidding. Most of the misinformation was peddled by your own PIO, Andrew Goodrich.

As for accusations by local bloggers that a “culture of corruption” exists at the Fullerton police department, Hughes calls them completely false.

“From being 18 and fresh out of high school to now holding the highest position in the police department, I can tell you there is no corruption,” Hughes said. “Certainly there have been officers that have made poor ethical decisions. We’ve dealt with those officers, and we will continue to do so.”

This is just pure, unadulterated bullshit. Poor “ethical” decisions? No more comment necessary.

I have to give credit to FullertonStories by surprisingly permitting councilman Bruce Whitaker to spray some much needed cold water on the love fest:

But City Councilman Bruce Whitaker said he is reserving judgment until he gets all the information. “On every other level I like what I see (about Hughes), but we’re going to have a whole lot of information at our disposal when the Gennaco report comes our way in about three weeks.”

Whitaker said it’s not just the Kelly Thomas incident that concerns him, but a number of police-related problems that have occurred within a short window, including the death-in-custody case last April that triggered his skepticism as to what is going on in the department.

He noted that Hughes and Capt. Kevin Hamilton are both part of the leadership culture that includes Police Chief Michael Sellers (now on medical leave) and former Police Chief Pat McKinley. “I need to sort out and determine who may have contributed to the current culture,” Whitaker said.

Thanks for that, Bruce. But no, you don’t get the last word on FullertonStories, no siree!

But Hughes stands by his officers. “They are absolutely dedicated to serving this community in an ethical manner, and that’s what I’m committed to ensuring they’re doing,” he said. “We have a lot of leaders in our police department, and we’re excited about the opportunities and challenges we have before us. We’re going to come out a better police department.”

Oh, really? The only reason the community should have one iota of confidence in that statement is because all the FPD bad guys are finally on the right side of the jail bars.

They aren’t. Not yet.

Don Bankhead The Perpetual Politician

Here’s a clip of the Channel 4 coverage of the Recall signatures submission.

It’s entertaining and sort of sad at the same time. The sad part is the sight of the lonely “no recall” sign in Don Bankhead’s front yard, and of course the interview with Bankhead who seems completely lost, as usual. His wishful thinking about bad signatures is really sort of pathetic, and you might even begin to feel a sort of pity for the old fool. But of course he loses potential sympathy by claiming to rely on the experience of those with more campaign experience that he. The inference is clear enough: Good Ol’ Don is just an amateur, citizen-type elected representative: an innocent octogenarian babe in the woods.

Yes, I am the king!

But wait a minute! Let’s back up that bus and check out Lunkhead’s electoral experience:

1988 – Fullerton City Council

1990 – County Sheriff

1992 – FCC

1994  – recall from FCC (June)

1994 – election to a different seat FCC (November)

1998 – FCC

2000 – California State Assembly Republican Primary

2002 – FCC

2006 – FCC

2010 – FCC

That’s ten elections in 23 years!

Jebus O’ Jebus. Bankhead is addicted to running for public office. He craves it like a cheap junkie craves black tar heroin. This June’s recall election will mark his eleventh election. Now it might be a bit unfair to count recall elections in the mix, but, nevertheless I humbly submit that there is no one in OC more with more political experience than Bankhead. And I don’t mean that in a good way.

 

A Tale of Five Killings

See those guys over there? They didn't do it!

I wonder if I’m the only person who sees the irony in the way law enforcement has pursued the recent killings of homeless men in north Orange County, versus how they dealt with the murder of Kelly Thomas – another helpless, homeless man.

An army of cops was mobilized to locate the murderer of four homeless men in and around “The Canyon” area of Anaheim. Without getting into the details of the capture of the suspect, I note that the police and DA Tony Rackauckas were only too willing to immediately discuss and share evidence about the recently nabbed suspect. Charges were brought, post haste. Forensic evidence studied? Naw. Lab tests performed? Of course not. Has the Coroner weighed in? Hell, that could take months! Why wait?

Now consider the murder of Kelly Thomas, a killing captured on government-controlled video, a killing witnessed by dozens of people who will testify that Thomas offered no resistance and that he was physically intimidated by Ramos and piled on by three other cops. We waited for 10 long weeks while the the Coroner did some sort of forensic work or other, even though it was known from blood samples taken at UCI that Kelly was not intoxicated.

The DA made a big deal about all the witnesses his investigators interviewed; but, what the DA was really doing is now pretty clear to me. It looks to me like he was working the system as hard as possible to avoid making a case against the killers. Defending the cops and propping up the rickety justice system in this county must have been the mission. Wolfe? Exonerated. Blatney? Exonerated. Hampton? Exonerated. Craig? Exonerated. Rewritten reports? Who cares? Superiors covering up? Not his problem. True, Ramos and Cicinelli were eventually popped, but only after a public outcry never seen before in OC. And Cicinelly who allegedly knee-dropped and repeatedly face-smashed Thomas was given a laughable $25,000 bail. You get more for shoplifting.

Then, of course, there’s the wretched abuse of justice perpetrated against Veth Mam, and no doubt others like him rung up on false charges because it fits into some crooked or lazy cop’s path of least resistance.

Any doubts about who the DA is working for? I have some.