The Fullerton Recall Archives - Page 8 of 18 - Friends For Fullerton's Future

May 9, 2012May 9, 2012"Dick" Ackerman

Judge Orders Trial in Kelly Thomas Killing

Manny's Boo boo — The judge was not impressed.

This afternoon in Santa Ana, Superior Court Judge Walter Schwarm declared that sufficient evidence exists to warrant a trial for the two Fullerton cops accused in the death of the mentally ill, homeless man, Kelly Thomas last July. Manuel Ramos and Jay Cicinelli will stand trial for second degree murder and involuntary manslaughter, respectively.

Although many critics have claimed that more serious charges should have been brought against all the officers charged, it should be noted that on-duty cops have never been prosecuted for a capital crime in the County’s history.

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 7, 2012May 7, 2012Behind Closed Doors

Cops Got Scratches Tended To By Paramedic As Kelly Thomas Lay Dying in the Street

by Joe Sipowicz212 Comments

One of the most shocking things to emerge from the Preliminary Trial of Manny Ramos and Jay Cicinelli for the killing of Kelly Thomas are the statements made by Fullerton Fire Department personnel that the cops received attention to their miscellaneous scrapes as Thomas, whose face had just been bashed in, and who was suffocating in his own blood, lay ignored nearby.

For pure callousness, incomprehensible inhumanity, and well, evil, it’s pretty hard to beat this story. The images of minor scratches sustained by the Fullerton cops is comical, especially given the fact that were sustained committing a crime; juxtaposed to the image of Kelly Thomas’s shattered face they present ample evidence about the nature of the beat down delivered to the homeless man.

Hilariously, Manny Ramos was quoted as saying he’d been in “the fight of my life.” Given that he was seventy pounds overweight, notoriously lazy and obviously a coward, this may actually be a true statement. Certainly it will provide a good headline for Lou Ponsi. But Ramos’ injury received a bandaid and off he went. Kelly Thomas is dead. He was dying on the pavement, alone and unattended, as the cops that killed him got first aid.

And that is truly sickening.

May 4, 2012Dick Jones

Pat McKinley Says Pro-Life Protesters Have Superhuman Pain Tolerance

by The Fullerton Shadow60 Comments

It was posted here six months ago, but I still can’t help but ponder the creepiness of this old film every time I think of Pat McKinley.

How could a human being justify such bone-breaking violence against passive citizens? I suppose it would require a complete emotional callousness towards the condition of anyone unlucky enough to live outside of his law-enforcement bubble. Indeed, the then-LAPD captain Pat McKinley told the judge that these folks had a “unique ability to withstand pain” that required his officers to use extreme force.

What sort of warped mind could spin out such psychobabble as an excuse for extreme violence visited upon the citizens of the United States of America? Well, the kind of mind that said this.

It just makes no sense to me at all. For decades this man has been trusted to wield the force of government in the pursuit of justice, and instead he has chosen to use it against those who stand in the way of his convenience.

It’s time to get this sociopath as far away from public office as possible. Forever.

May 4, 2012May 4, 2012Behind Closed Doors

Hey, I Remember That Name From Somewhere

by Mr. Peabody75 Comments

Ever since the FPD announcement that the oleaginous Andrew Goodrich was being replaced as PIO with a guy named Jeff Stuart, I’d been wondering why I seemed to remember that name.

Then it hit me. Back in March FFFF ran a post about some dude named Ernest Benefiel who apparently tried to commit suicide with booze and pills, and whose reveries were disrupted by an all-out assault by the Fullerton SWAT team; an assault that ended with Benefiel going to jail for years and years – while his conviction was overturned not once, but twice.

And who is listed on page 5 of the civil law suit as one of Pat McKinley’s gun-happy SWAT team members who turned a paramedic call into a neighborhood shoot-out? Jeff Stuart.

Welcome to the club.

May 3, 2012May 3, 2012Behind Closed Doors

Gennaco Delivers Report Part Deux

by Grover Cleveland50 Comments

According to The OC Register, here, the outside “independent” investigative company hired by the City to look into the actions of the cops that beat Kelly Thomas to death last July has delivered its report on the incident. Unfortunately, nobody gets to see the report authored by Mr. Michael Gennaco except Acting Chief Dan Hughes – because it relates to police personnel matters. And, as everybody knows, those matters are shrouded in a veil of impenetrable secrecy. Just the way the police unions like it.

So we are left to guess at the contents of the report and left to guess whether or not our elected officials will be able to see it. Speaking of guesses, my guess would be no, except for Pat McKinley, of course, who seems to get special privileges when it comes to sticking his nose into personnel matters regarding the dubious characters he hired as former Police Chief.

The issues here are particularly interesting given the fact of the impending trial of Mssrs. Cicinelli and Ramos for manslaughter and murder, respectively. Negative findings could have an impact on that case. If, as many anticipate, Mr. Gennaco tends to whitewash the case we can expect a comparatively speedy release of the report with some exculpitory headlines by Lou Ponsi. Gennaco’s undernourished first report was more interesting for what it left out than for what it said,

Also lurking in the back of the room is the potentially costly civil trial and possible Civil Rights charges by the Feds. So if the report indicates that the cops acted way outside policy and procedure look for a protracted release of minimal information, or no release at all.

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.

May 1, 2012May 1, 2012Behind Closed Doors

Finally, An Honest Cop

by admin102 Comments

photo-2 — It may take awhile to get through this...

For the past year we have been waiting for somebody inside the Fullerton Police department to get sick enough and tired enough of the evident Culture of Corruption to come clean. I believe we have finally found our man, and I think his narrative will be instructive to those interested in peering behind the curtain that the FPD has drawn around itself.

Cronyism, nepotism, unprofessional conduct of all sorts is the immediate picture, and far from being isolated from the bad behavior, I think we will discover that the “leadership” of the department has been fully aware of what’s been going on. In some instances the upper echelon itself will be found to be neck deep in the morass as two successive chiefs completely abdicated their responsibility to run a clean, effective police force.

Stay tuned as I learn more.

April 30, 2012April 30, 2012Behind Closed Doors

New Spokeshole Beats Same Tired Drum

by Joe Sipowicz46 Comments

Here’s a telling article from the Daily Tital that addresses the poor, misunderstood FPD. See, the real problem is just that the public needs to be better educated, and of course there was this little problem of transparency that gosh darn it, is just so much better now.

Despite including a good quote from Ron Thomas, the dad of FPD victim Kelly thomas, the author of the piece, Mark Payne steps in some deep FPD bullshit when he adds this gem:

The department has been under attack by various activist groups for almost a year since the beating of 37-year-old Kelly Thomas on July 5, 2011, which led to his death five days later. His death was allegedly caused by Fullerton police officers.

Wrong on all counts. The department is under legitimate protest for its serial malfeasances and crimes. And Kelly’s death was caused by members of the FPD. Nobody “alleges” that. It’s a fact. And the DA has charged two of the cops with murder and manslaughter. That’s just lazy work, there.

But it gets even better. New FPD spokehole Jeff Stuart is permitted a plaintive, last word:

Stuart said the last year has been trying for the Fullerton Police Department, but when you look at their track record versus other agencies, they do a good job.

“We want people to come down. I’m proud of this department … We are a good department,” Stuart said. “If you look at the number of calls we handle every year and the number of complaints we get in relation to those calls, (they) are minute — they’re infinitesimal.”

More pathetic handwringing and denial from the FPD. If the boy reporter had bothered to find out a little bit more about his subject he may well have asked which part of the following list constitutes “infinitesimal” complaints:

Alber Rincon – Serial molester of in-custody women; $350,000 settlement.

Miguel Siliceo – misidentification and incarceration of wrong man who spent five months in jail.

Cary Tong – accusation of battery and civil rights abuse; broken finger and missing cash.

Kenton Hampton – accusation of assault, battery, civil rights abuse, perjury. Wrong man almost convicted.

Frank Nguyen – accusation of perjury (see above).

Ramos, Wolfe, Hampton, Blatney , Cicinelli – murder, manslaughter, civil rights abuse, etc., etc. A dead man haunts the FPD.

FPD Command – allowed the killers to view the video of the killing and rewrite their reports until everybody got his story straight.

Todd Major – abuse of controlled substance, conviction of fraud. Ripping off Explorers? Really, Todd?

Kelly Mejia – conviction of grand theft at a TSA checkpoint. Crooked and stupid is no way to go throughout life, hon.’

Vincent Mater – charged with destruction of evidence in jail custody death. Hey, we banged that corpses head against the bars!

Andrew Goodrich – dissemination of erroneous information never retracted. Too busy to get it right?

Mike Sellers – protracted medical leave punctuated by a disability claim and massive pensioned retirement. Business as usual. La dolce vita!

April Baughman – charged with two-year’s worth of theft from the FPD property room. Okay, who’s the accomplice?

etc. etc.

Well, who knows. Maybe someday young Mr. Payne will have the opportunity to write the right article about the Culture of Corruption in the FPD and quit spinning puff pieces at the behest of kindly, avuncular police spokesmen. We can only hope.