Friends For Fullerton's Future
FFFF supports causes that promote intelligent, responsible and accountable government in Fullerton and Orange County
Some things just won’t go down.
Yesterday we had some fun with a self-righteous, pearl-clutching visitor calling him/herself “Bertha Washington” who seemed peeved that her/his Heroes on the Fullerton city payroll were being impugned. It doesn’t seemed to have entered this empty cranium that perhaps, just maybe, these miscreants deserved a wee ladling o’ the disapprobation.
Today we entertain guesses from the Friends as to the identity of Dear Bertha.
Have at it!
Over at his website called Fullerton Stories some poor fellow named Davis Barber has felt the need to unburden his soul of lots of weighty thoughts, n’ stuff. Most of the rather embarrassing dissertation is another lame defense of the Fullerton status quo, and the attack on “protesters,” including FFFF, that we have become all too familiar with from City Hall cronies pretending to be journalists.
But there is one part of this coughed-up pabulum that just has to be read, and re-read, to be believed.
• Blame the messenger/Fullerton Police Sergeant Andrew Goodrich lied about, well, everything: FullertonStories.com does not agree. While there may be reason to doubt statements from Sgt. Goodrich, calling him a liar is un-called for and wrong. It’s his job to tell “the people” what he knows.
Surely this guy must be joking. Can’t this genius see the problem with his own assessment? Why in the world is there ” reason to doubt statements from Sgt. Goodrich”? Because he made up stories that were not true and passed them to “the people” via complacent boobs like Davis Barber. That’s called lying. And people who lie are liars. Quod erat demonstrandum.
On the subject of liars in 2011, and changing gears somewhat, one thing I would like to know is how Mr. Barber came into contact with the so-called homeless jewelry peddler named Richard Fritschie; the guy who popped up almost on cue, claiming to be an eye-witness to the Thomas murder and who tried to exonerate the cops of any wrong-doing. That whole thing stank like a rotting corpse.
Of course the DA’s description of events from the audio and video record proved that Fritschie was a liar, but the question remains – why?
Lots of people have wondered who set up that con man with his mark.
Here’s a Lou Ponsi effort from The Register, December 21.
Describing ongoing investigations by a special consultant, Ponsi notes a second investigation, as described by outgoing “Acting Chief” Kevin Hamilton:
a second (investigation) is on “allegations of misinformation disseminated from Fullerton P.D,” Hamilton said;
Wow. I didn’t know Michael Gennaco had been directed to look into the disinformation campaign waged by the FPD in the aftermath of the Kelly Thomas killing. Maybe I wasn’t paying sufficient attention. It’s going to be really hard for Gennaco to whitewash the various and multiple deliberate falsehoods uttered by police spokeshole Andrew Goodrich.
After the killing, when the perp-cops were still on duty pretending nothing had happened, Goodrich began lying to the press. First was the characterization of Thomas as combative and violent, two assertions we now know were false; then there was the whopper about cops receiving serious injuries – broken bones in fact. Later Goodrich was forced to admit to squishy “soft tissue” injuries of some sort, although the broken bone lies and the mischaracterization of the beating death, alternatively as a “tussle,” “scuffle,” “confrontation,” or “fight” was perpetuated, and never corrected. In fact Register scribes still insist on avoiding the use of the phrase “beating death.”
Goodrich was also quick to note that Thomas had objects not his own in his possession, that he knew was nothing more than trash fished out of a train station trash can.
Goodrich whoppers in other cases surfaced this fall, too. Like the sad defense of Kenton Hampton and Frank Nguyen whose untruths were an attempt to convict the completely innocent Veth Mam of assaulting cops. After a jury unanimously acquitted Mam, Goodrich’s lame defense was that the cops did not commit perjury because they thought they had the right man, a story that requires us to substitute utter incompetence for outright perjury. Well, take your pick. It hardly matters anymore.
If Gennaco’s investigation really is legit, and if Goodrich wants to save his oily hide, he may have to finger somebody higher up.
In any case, let’s hope the new “Acting” Chief Hughes starts acting, and starts by putting the odious and arrogant Goodrich where he belongs – behind the wheel of a squad car; or better yet, pounding the Barf Beat in downtown Fullerton.
Almost on cue, who pops up to start cluck-clucking anti-recall nonsense? That’s right, the old dithering bird-brain herself, Molly McClanahan, who was recalled in 1994 for instituting an unnecessary utility tax.
Enjoy the vague abstractions and self-righteous pontification. You are left to your own devices to figure out what in the hell “emotional mischief” is. It’s anybody’s guess.
Let Molly do what Molly does best: babble idiocy about “the body politic” and the “soul of the City.” Let Molly roll out the same garbage she did eighteen years ago: that recall is only supposed to punish “malfeasance.” Wrong, dingbat. That’s what the Penal Code is for. Recall was instituted in California to get rid of politicians who had obviously failed in their duty to their constituents by placing special interests first. And that is precisely what has happened in Fullerton. And that’s why the recall of ’12, like that of ’94, is going to succeed.
In case you missed it, the City Hall cheerleading Fullerton Stories website did a typical fluff post on the departure of Sylvia Palmer-Mudrick, the person who has been writing all those propaganda press releases that Jackie Brown, Barbara Giasone, and Lou Ponsi have been re-typing under their own names for the past twenty-five years. Good-bye Sylvia, enjoy your pension.
What caught my eye was the remarkable quote by four-month old “Acting” Chief (and soon to be massive pension recipient) Kevin Hamilton, who coughed up this oily hairball:
“Sylvia loves this town with all of her heart. She’s (recently) seen a side of Fullerton she’s never seen before … a town under attack.
“She continues to defend the reputation of this city, and she would give her life for this town,” Hamilton said.
A town under attack? Really?
And just who the in Hell do you think you are you jackass? It was your police force that robbed, beat up, perjured, sexually assaulted, and murdered innocent citizens. How goddam dare you claim that the City is under attack.Your filthy, corrupt department is under attack – by us, the citizens of Fullerton. We are the City, not you and your gang of thugs, hoodlums and pickpockets.
Say what you like about Don Bankhead, but you have admit the old coot is a treasure trove of Recall campaign material. Here is King Bankhead objecting to having his image and words captured for posterity by Sherri, a Recall campaign stalwart. I guess if I were as dim as the King, I wouldn’t want anybody recording what I said, either.
Two great lines.
First: “I’m a private person when I’m not working or on duty.” On duty?! He still thinks he’s a cop, which explains where his first misplaced loyalties are. Of course his “duty” is to represent all of Fullerton, even the victims of criminal behavior by the police, not just the public safety unions who support his political campaigns.
Then: I still have public…private rights to live by.” What the hell is that supposed to mean? Bankhead’s sudden shyness never stopped this oaf from approving City spy cameras set up to take our pictures without asking our consent. More nonsense from Mr. Scrambled Eggs for Brains.
And finally, why is Bankhead parked in a handicapped spot? We know all about his fake “disability” scam, but really, his sense of entitlement, even fraudulently come by, is remarkable.
Some creatures in Nature’s realm need to mass produce their potential offspring. It’s a numbers game. Sea turtles lay thousands upon thousands of eggs in desperate hope that at least a few will return to the sea and grow up to be happy sea turtles.
In politics, the act of desperation is reflected in blind mailings to all voters in the vain hope that a few voters will respond. Yes, it sure is desperate. In the reptilian campaign to save the scaly hides of the Three Dithering Dinosaurs desperation has set in, all right. You might call it a last gasp.
Here’s a very expensive mailer they just sent out to everybody, anybody, trying to get folks to rescind their signature on the pro-recall petition. But they have zero idea who has signed the petitions. Talk about desperation! Just to show how inept the Three Sluggish Sloths’ handlers are, they even sent one to – Tony Bushala!
If you happen to get one of these in the mail you can do the Recall a favor. Write in: Go Screw Yourself, Ackerman, and mail it in. See, Pat McPension, the kook who hired all those crooked Fullerton cops, and who makes almost $20,000 a month in retirement, has to pay for the postage!
Show the anti-recall committee your creative writing skills by scratching something fun onto their reply cards. Take a picture, upload it to www.tinypic.com and post it in the comments before you mail it away!
Let us flash back to the early stages of the FPD’s attempted coverup of the Kelly Thomas killing. Here’s the FPD’s version of the story, as passed along from Sergeant Andrew Goodrich via the uncurious OC Register.
This story came out the day after the beating, even before Kelly was taken off life support, and the dissimulation was already well underway. Months would pass before the DA’s revelation that an innocent man had been beaten to death under color of authority.
And speaking of color I have helpfully highlighted in bold red statements and assertions from Andrew Goodrich that were flat-out lies.
Man who scuffled with police still in critical conditionThe 37-year-old man, believed to be a transient, is suspected of auto burglary, police said.
By SEAN EMERY / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
FULLERTON – A man suspected of trying to burglarized cars remains hospitalized with life-threatening injuries after police say he fought with officers trying to search him.
Authorities say Kelly Thomas, 37, injured several officers who tried to detain him Tuesday night, while family members allege that police used excessive force in taking him into custody.
About 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, officers went to investigate reports of a man trying to burglarize cars in a parking lot next to the bus deport in the 100 block of South Pomona Avenue, Fullerton police Sgt. Andrew Goodrich said.
Officers spotted a shirtless man with a beard, shorts and a backpack who they suspected of being involved in the attempted burglaries, Goodrich said.
The man began to fight officers as they tried to search him, Goodrich said.
“We don’t know why he was so combative and resistant to the officers, but it took upwards of five to six officers to subdue him,” Goodrich said.
During the scuffle, Thomas suffered head and neck injuries and was taken to a hospital, where he was listed in critical condition, Goodrich said.
Two officers suffered moderate injuries during the fight, including broken bones. They were treated at a hospital and released.
It was unclear if the officers used non-lethal weapons to subdue Thomas.
“According to his family, he has a history of mental illness,” Goodrich said, adding that he is a transient in Fullerton and surrounding cities.
Ron Thomas, Kelly Thomas’ father, said his son was homeless by choice and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia.
“When (police) rolled up, he was by a vehicle. They wanted to search his backpack, and he turned on them,” Ron Thomas said.
Thomas contended that his son’s injuries were the result of an “extreme use of force” by officers, who he believes “slammed” his son’s head and face into the ground. Based on his son’s injuries, Ron Thomas believes officers “took his legs out from under him while pushing him downward.”
“They have all the training, they have the weapons, they have the Tasers, and he is 160 pounds, barehanded,” Thomas said.
Thomas is on life-support, his father said, with doctors telling the family that he likely suffered brain damage.
“I can understand why a father would say that, but we are going to do a thorough investigation,” Goodrich said of Thomas’ comments. “Some of our officers also went to the hospital due to injuries they suffered. Sometimes when we take people into custody who don’t want to go into custody, we have to use force. It is never the preferred way of doing things.”
Goodrich said police are conducting a criminal investigation into the attempted burglaries, as well as an internal investigation into the officers’ actions.
“It’s always unfortunate when someone is injured, and we do what we can to minimize injuries whenever possible,” Goodrich said.
So did Goodrich ever suffer any consequences for all this unadulterated bullshit? Of course not, for this is Fullerton government where there is no accountability for malfeasance, and nobody in officialdom finds it objectionable that the official City spokesman has not even a passing familiarity with the truth. Of course it could be argued that Goodrich was just a useful idiot in the service of a cover up of an event about which he was largely misinformed by his fellow union members or their (and his superiors)
Either way the whole thing stinks. And any way you slice it looks like a cover up.
Here’s a little message we got at FFFF Central Ops today. This seems to be the talking point of law enforcement trolls in the Kelly Thomas matter. Blame dear old Dad for neglect, and now for wanting to cash in. This writer actually tries (without success) to redeem his/her ignorance and appalling spelling and grammar by admitting that the cops who murdered Kelly should be punished (well Hell, that’s mighty big of ya).
Name:
Email:
Privacy: You may publish this, but protect my identity
Subject: mr thomas’s alterior motives
so kelly thomas’s father threw kelly out of the house, put him on the street, and put him in an arm bar to force him onto a psych unit. hiis son was starving and homeless for years, but now all of a sudden mr thomas cares about him? he just wants millions out of this..yes the officiers should go to jail but mr thomas put his son out there in those volatiile condiitons simply because hiis son did not want to take his meds…if mr thomas cared about kelly’s wellbeing so much he would not put him on the streets you would think that that would be more dangerous for someone’s health than being off a drug
Of course we have been all over this ground before and if you believe that Kelly’s parents had the legal or practical ability to restrain their boy and force him to take medication you are a damned fool. In any case this simple, inescapable, unavoidable truth remains: if Ramos, Wolfe, Cicinelli, Blatney and Klein had not killed him, Kelly Thomas would be be alive today.
As far as a big payout is concerned, I’m wondering if advertising Ron Thomas’ greed is going to be the tact taken by the Three Recalled RINOs and their misbegotten backers, in an attempt to deflect criticism for their own dismal failures, before and after the murder.
So far the Three Tree Trunks have adamantly refused to even admit that there is a Culture of Corruption that runs through the police department – a culture created by McKinley’s incompetence (or worse) and nurtured by Jones and Bankhead’s sleepy and grumpy indifference. So why not cast about for a somebody else to blame?
Last spring Dean Francis Gochenour, 52, was arrested in Fullerton for suspicion of drunk driving and was taken to the Fullerton jail. He never left. Not alive, anyway.
In the early morning hours of April 15, 2011 Gochenour was discovered in a holding cell, dead. Death by apparent “hanging” was passed out by the cops to the media, although what he was hanging from and by what means wasn’t elaborated. Here’s the brief news clip.
Almost immediately, however, stories began to emanate from the basement of the police HQ to the effect that Gochenour had been demeaned and taunted by the arresting officer; that he had been admonished by the cop to kill himself; that the cop’s behavior had been witnessed and or overheard by a jail employee and reported to his bosses; that a superior had confronted the officer in question, whereupon the latter tried to smash his DAR to destroy evidence; but that said evidence was retrieved.
It would not be entirely out of character for a Fullerton cop to urge an arrestee to commit suicide, given what we’ve seen of the thuggish behavior of our police lately. Is that what happened? Exactly how Gochenour died is not clear. In April it seemed a lot less suspicious than it does now, especially since FPD spokesmen have been shown to play fast and loose with the truth.
All of which begs the questions: who was the cop involved and what is his current employment status? In Fullerton, such things are shrouded behind a nearly impenetrable curtain.
We will try to pull it back and find out.