Law N Disorder Archives - Page 31 of 42 - Friends For Fullerton's Future

December 22, 2011December 22, 2011Law N Disorder

What is Corruption?

That is a rather provocative question, and it came up in a comments thread in another post. The comments were by frequent guest “Vernon Dozier” and our own one-armed gunslinger, Joe Sipowicz. Here’s what they had to say:

#48 by Vernon Dozier on December 22, 2011

There is zero, I repeat zero evidence that the entire Fullerton Police Department is corrupt. Some of the people on this blog have such hatred for police in general they will go after anybody in the department for no reason at all.

I think it’s completely reasonable to point out the faults of the police here, but it needs to be tempered with the GOOD that is done by the GOOD officers of the department. The morale is very bad at the Fullerton PD right now. An insider recently told me that numerous officers are considering employment with other cities. Who’s going to replace them? Who would want to work for Fullerton PD when certain residents – and commenters on this blog – automatically will hate them because of their career choice? The longer people continue with unsubstantiated trash talk, the worse this problem becomes.

Eventually it will get so bad, the only people willing to work for Fullerton PD are clones of Cicinelli and Ramos.

Do you really want that?

Reply Quote

#49 by Joe Sipowicz on December 22, 2011

Vernon, your statement rests upon the definition of “corrupt.”

How can so many instances of law-breaking by members of the FPD have occurred without the knowledge and silent acquiescence of the whole crowd. I am not being flip here. We’ve identified around twenty cops with direct knowledge or participation in crimes/coverups. So what was Hughes doing? What was Hamilton doing? What were the rest of the 120 sworn cops doing?

That’s right, going along – for their FPOA brethren, their early retirement and their six-figure pensions.

Is that a form of corruption? You tell me.

Good point, counter point. Do good people look the other way when bad things are being done? Does that make them no longer good? Feel free to share your thoughts.

As to Vernon’s point about good cops not wanting to work in the current environment, that’s hard to argue with. However, I would think that good cops would want to work in an environment where honor really means something. Right now it’s all a sham and almost everyone knows it. And it’s not “trash talk” to call it like it is.

We need a new, zero-tolerance cop culture run by a chief who will not mistake protecting the institution with his real responsibility to the people of Fullerton. Hard to find? probably. Can our current council find the right man, or woman? Unlikely. But it’s a job that needs to be done and soon.

As the criminal, federal and civil lawsuit costs keep mounting, not even the most die-hard FPD defenders will be able to deny it.

December 22, 2011December 22, 2011About Us

Fullerton Is Under Attack!

by Joe Sipowicz23 Comments

Last night my compadre the Harpoon penned an angry response to words attributed to outgoing “Acting” Chief Kevin Hamilton that Fullerton was “a town under attack.”

It was a good try, but Harpoon missed the point. Fullerton is under attack!

Fullerton is under attack by a rogue police force that couldn’t control its own uniformed hoodlums, even if it wanted to. And apparently it doesn’t.

Fullerton is under attack by a sclerotic trio of antiquated imbeciles who will never take responsibility for their own failure of leadership.

Fullerton is under attack by a bureaucracy that has fraudulently duped the water rate payers for at least 15 years by tacking on a 10% tax on their water bills without a single effort to inform them about it. Every step of the way in this squalid scam the City Council nodded agreement, and said nothing.

Fullerton is under attack from the Redevelopment Army of jobbers, fixers, bag, men, whores, and other assorted camp followers who want to divert funds from necessary public use into the pockets of favored “developers,” consultants, and lobbyists. And our Three Sclerotic Tree Sloths? Bamboozled? Of course not. These supposedly staunch conservatives are hooked on the smack of Central Government Economic Planning like a street hype is to his junk.Jones even referred to Redevelopment money as candy to be handed out to deserving kids.

Think the threat is false? Even now the Three Dry Wells are pursuing a legal battle to illegally broaden Fullerton’s Redevelopment zone into areas where there is no blight, a basic legal requirement.

Fullerton is under attack by an ignorant, somnolent, rude, self-righteous Turgid Trio that has left the city’s infrastructure a mess, the citizens in fear of their safety, and budget reserves depleted.

Yes Fullerton is under attack. Harpoon got one thing right. We are Fullerton. And we’re fighting back

December 21, 2011December 21, 2011Dead heads

Hamilton Makes It Official: Fullerton Under Attack!

by The Fullerton Harpoon75 Comments

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.

December 21, 2011Behind Closed Doors

A New Acting Chief

by Joe Sipowicz96 Comments

The old one lasted four months and the one before that hightailed it for the tall grass when the going got tough. Boy did he get going.

Anyway, the new man is 28 year FPD veteran Captain Dan Hughes, who was the boss of all those rogue cops we’ve been telling you about lately, so that’s a real bad sign right there. Was he part of the report write-and-rewrite perpetrated by the killers of Kelly Thomas? Such things are not for the public to know, and you can bet your last nickel City Manager Joe Felz hasn’t got the huevos to find out. Hughes also got kudos from folks for tearing up the “excessive horning” tickets of which he was seen orchestrating the issuance. ¡No bueno, numero dos!

Anyway II, the OC Weekly’s Brandon Ferguson tells about it here. Follow his link to the vapid Fullerton Chamber of Commerce website where its writer manages to scribble twelve paragraphs on Fullerton’s police chief carousel without a single word or even oblique reference to murders, perjury, assaults, sexual battery, theft, fraud, etc., etc. Too bad the Fringies® are over, or else we’d wave a real winner there in the stoogery category.

December 15, 2011December 15, 2011Dead heads

Fullerton Cops Hit New Low: Tell Virgin Mary “Go Home, or Go to Jail!”

by The Fullerton Harpoon39 Comments

As if they didn’t have enough problems already, the Fullerton Police Department may have a new issue to grapple with: the wrath of the Almighty. According to Brandon Ferguson of the OC Weekly, a couple of Fullerton cops rudely broke up an annual celebration in honor of the Virgin of Guadalupe over in an east-side alley. According to a witness one cop was heard to yell “I don’t give a fuck. You have to end this, or you’re getting arrested.”

Hmm. Nice community relations there.

¡Ay caramba! As they say, ¡No bueno! What’s next for FPD? Breaking down the doors of the church because the music is too loud?

The best part of the story is that apparently FPD spokes-stool Andrew Goodrich has decided to play hard to get with the Weekly in retribution for Marisa Gerber’s magisterial story of FPD law breaking and goonery. Important job tip, Andy: angering the media is no way for an under-employed PR jerk-off to make friends.

December 15, 2011December 15, 2011Behind Closed Doors

Breaking News: Kelly’s Mom Sues Rackauckas

by Joe Sipowicz136 Comments

According to our Friend Scott Moxley over at the OC Weekly, the mother of Kelly Thomas, Cathy Thomas has sued our illustrious District Attorney, Tony Rackauckas. It seems she wants to gain access to materials collected by the DA about the murder of her son by officers of the Fullerton Police Department.

Naturally, the DA said no, forcing Ms. Thomas to sue.

It sure would be nice for someone outside of law enforcement to takle a look at just how the DA came up with the dubious theory that only two cops were implicated in criminal activity; that Officer Joe Wolfe had no idea what was going on just 15 feet from where he was standing; or why he exculpated Hampton and Blatney who not only made made no effort to stop Cicinelli’s tasering and beatdown on Kelly, but seemed to have piled on; his take on the role of Sergeant Craig who seems to have coordinated mop-up operations while the dying man was waiting for hospital transportation; his reasoning behind not charging superiors in a blatant criminal conspiracy to cover up the misdeeds of the McKinley Six.

Well, good luck, Cathy.

December 13, 2011December 13, 2011Fullerton City Council

The Definition of a Cover-Up

by Travis170 Comments

FFFF had a chance to sit down with councilmember Bruce Whitaker to let him explain how the police department and city management deliberately withheld critical information and misled elected decision makers in the immediate aftermath of the Kelly Thomas death.

As you listen, be sure to reflect on the atmosphere of fear and distrust that permeated Fullerton in the weeks immediately following the murder; remember that we were told to remain calm and patient, and that we were to trust our leaders who supposedly had access to all the information that we did not.

Later we found out that our leaders knew nothing, and the city let accused killers roam free with badges and guns while we were kept in the dark.

December 11, 2011Dead heads

When Sherri Met Bankhead; Close Encounters of The Jurassic Kind

by The Fullerton Harpoon196 Comments

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.

December 10, 2011December 10, 2011"Dick" Ackerman

The Sea Turtle Strategy

by Joe Sipowicz95 Comments

RecallTurtles — Their odds didn't look too good.

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!

Recall Reply Mail Contest!

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!

December 9, 2011Dick Jones

It’s Been 5 Months Since a Man was Murdered by the Fullerton Police. Who’s Been Fired?

by Travis137 Comments

Ramos and Cicinelli, the two men charged in the murder of Kelly Thomas, got three months of paid vacation. Now they’re on unpaid leave, but they still have not been fired.

What about officers Hampton, Wolfe, Blatney and Craig who were accomplices in the brutal beating? Nope. Still employed. Still getting paid.

And the FPD management who allowed the six officers to collude on their reports? We still don’t know who’s responsible for that mess. But nobody was fired.

Chief Sellers, who went on vacation, returned only to hide under his desk, and then foraged up a doctors note to dodge his responsiblies while Fullerton suffered? Not fired.

How about Jones and Meyer, the city attorneys who have worked so hard to conceal the department’s criminal activity from the public eye for all those years? They’re still here. And they’re probably making more than ever.

And the City Manager, who’s supposed to be responsible for all city employees and their actions? Not fired. But he did try to give himself a raise.

And finally, the three councilmembers who’ve been overseeing this mess for 56 collective years, who did nothing but insult the murder victim and defend the police department responsible for his death? They’re still here, and they’re still deflecting responsibility for the actions of the city they’re supposed to be running.

Five months have passed and not a single soul has lost their job for their involvement in a murder under color of authority. That’s a pretty stark contrast to those of us in the real world, where people are often fired for showing up to work late or taking a nap on the clock.

But not in Fullerton. This year we have witnessed a demonstration of a power structure so perverse that it can insulate itself from the most heinous of crimes with almost no remorse or repercussions.