Union Goons – Page 36 – Friends For Fullerton's Future

October 1, 2011October 1, 2011Behind Closed Doors

Toxic Waste Dump In Fullerton

Pat-McKinley-Cops-300x206 — A glut in the toxicity market...

In yesterday’s OC Register, Councilman Pat McKinley, the chief architect of the Fullerton Police Department’s profound culture of corruption, responded to the news that KFI’s John and Ken are coming to Fullerton to promote his recall.

“They are toxic people who create problems for a lot of folks. I wish they would stay away.”

More PR gold from the man who ran the FPD into a moral cesspool during his 16-year stint as Chief of Police.

Oddly, McKinley has offered no public opinion as to the comparative toxicity of:

1) police officer sentenced to jail for fraud to support his pill habit.

2) police officer arrested in Miami airport for iPad theft.

3) police officer who smashed recording device on jail wall to avoid complicity in jail suicide.

4) police officers beating up and falsely arresting Veth Mam.

5) police officers lying on the witness stand about Veth Mam.

6) police officer beating up and falsely arresting Edward Quinonez.

7) police officer sexually assaulting a dozen women in the backseat of his patrol car, with recording device turned off.

8 ) police officers issuing traffic citations to harass protesters.

9) police officers ambushing and murdering a helpless homeless man.

10) police officers turning off recording devices during murder.

11) police officers colluding to falsify reports about said murder.

12) superior officers coaching said falsification.

13) return to street of said miscreants.

14) police officer spokeshole deliberately issuing lies to the media to misdirect, temporize, stall and otherwise obscure said murder and cover up.

15) councilmembers insulting protesters as “lynch-type mob.”

16) councilmembers discounting injuries of murder victim.

17) police officer arrests Emmanuel Martinez by mistake (or on purpose) and he spends 5 months in jail.

Good God! What a litany of toxic behavior, and the really scary part is that this is only the stuff we know about. And the chowderhead McKinley has the nerve to call anybody else on the planet “toxic?” The level of denial of responsibility is remarkable. Of course being given a $215,000 a year pension may create an unavoidable attitude of arrogance and self-entitlement.

However, Mr. McPension has a generous streak, to be sure:

“Councilman Pat McKinley said he supports the radio hosts right to stage a rally, but the former Fullerton police chief certainly disagrees with the pair’s opinions…”

Well, thanks awfully, Pat. You support the First Amendment. Well, you support it when people are watching, obviously. No elaboration about what he specifically disagrees with John and Ken about.

September 29, 2011September 29, 2011Law N Disorder

Accused Murderer Bailed Out… By Fullerton Cops!

by Travis797 Comments

Accused murderer Manny Ramos was able to make bail early this morning, and KTLA says the fundraising was done by Ramos’ fellow Fullerton police officers.

One of our readers passed along this letter purportedly from FPD officer Benjamin Lira seeking donations to get Ramos out of jail. It was posted to the Big City Cops Facebook page, an online hangout for off duty cops.

Check out that nifty logo of the police group who was passing around the letter. I’m told that oderint dum metuant is Latin for “Let them hate so long as they fear.”

September 26, 2011September 26, 2011Behind Closed Doors

The Murder of Kelly Thomas

by Mr. Peabody369 Comments

For months FPD spokeshole Andrew Goodrich has been telling the public that Kelly Thomas fought with the police, that there was an “altercation.” That was the Big Lie of course, but the lazy cowards who still work for the OC Register were only too happy to pass that along in their cavalier description of what we knew happened all along: a cold blooded murder. At first they characterized it as a scuffle and a tussle. Then they decided that “fight” was just about right.

Here’s a vide that captures some of the chilling truth about what happened. But not all of the truth, because that is still being withheld from us, and that is why the public should see the video for themselves, with no more self-serving interpretations from the cops.

September 25, 2011September 26, 2011Setting The Bar Low

Ahoy There Matey! FFFF gets a Visit From an FPOA Alum!

by Joe Sipowicz120 Comments

This is really too fun to pass up.

The other day we received an unsolicited visit from some guy named Art Wiechmann who claims to be a 57 year old retired sergeant in the FPD.

That certainly squares with this gentleman.

Mr. Wiechmann insisted on informing us what great guys Mssrs. Ramos and Cicinelli are. From his vantage point on board the S.S. Douchebag, Ramos and Cicinelli look like some sort of stand up guys. But Art’s judgment may not be that great, either.

Art, you got a call. Disney wants its Pirates of Carribean animatrons back.

September 24, 2011Behind Closed Doors

What Did McKinley Know, And When Did He Know It?

by admin295 Comments

McKinley's Crew — Gee, this is getting depressing.

Friends, we just received this e-mail from a gentleman named George Marshall Thompson who asked if we would publish it. Yes, we will, George. ‘Cause that’s how we roll. And thanks for the submission.

Dear FFFF,

We all saw Fullerton councilman, former police chief and architect of the culture of corruption within the FPD, on CNN. After his cavalier and insulting comments about facial injuries he indicated his belief that it was probably just two cops involved in the murder of Kelly Thomas. He also denied seeing the video.

And after the DA charged only Ramos and Cicinelli with crimes, I’m starting to get a picture in my mind. And that picture ain’t pretty.

We can speculate all day about whether or not McKinley saw the video and then lied about it; or simply read the doctored reports; or received “unofficial” briefings from his pals in the department and the FPOA to which his colleagues on the council were not privy. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if something tumbles out of McKinley’s closet when he is deposed by Garo Mardirossian. But something else is disturbing: the fact that McKinley’s ostensible “speculation” about two cops mirrored anonymous troll comments on this site and ultimately neatly corresponded with the DAs charges.

Is it conspiratorialist to suggest that it McKinley himself participated in the plan to hold Ramos and Cicinelli under the bus as a form of damage control for the other four cops, and more importantly from his perspective, for the good of the whole FPD? Maybe, but it sure is weird that McKinley seemed to know what was going to happen six weeks before it did. And McKinley isn’t psychic. He isn’t even very smart.

Throughout this whole affair I’ve picked up the vibe that it was McKinley who was calling the shots for the City of Fullerton as disaster after disaster piled up; that it was he who told Sellers and Praet to try to buy off the dad, and that he was receiving inside information, perhaps not even shared with the City Manager, and certainly not with Whitaker or Quirk.

Maybe someday we’ll know McKinley’s role throughout the so-called “internal investigation” that never even started until Gennaco was hired. In the meantime one thing remains crystal clear to me. It was McKinley’s total lack of oversight of his own police department that led to the horror show that’s been unfolding the past few months, and that keeps unfolding as more and more Fullerton cops are busted for one crime or another.

The reputation of the Fullerton Police Department is unreveling before our very eyes. And the people of Fullerton are going to pay dearly for the corruption therein.

G.M. Thompson

September 23, 2011September 23, 2011About Us

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

by The Fullerton Harpoon268 Comments

Here are some wonderful thoughts by frequent commenter “Jt” who reacts to a typical threatening comment made by a self-professed law enforcement employee. This employee seems to think he is entitled to unconditional love and respect from his employer (us) and that lack of said respect may very well result in what can only be construed as the same sort of physical rebuke visited upon Kelly Thomas by the FPD.

Understanding this attitude is important to understanding the mentality of the bad cop, a world-view enabled by pliant politicians controlled by aggressive police unions.

Jt responds:

You’ve said a lot of stuff on this board, a lot of it true, some false, some thought-provoking, some reasonable, some not. I thank you because you have helped me understand the mindset of contemporary police officers in this region, and that has been truly valuable.

There is one thing in your post though I really want to address. This is for me the essential issue here. it is the issue of whether the police deserve or should feel as if they require citizens to be “respectful”, and what the consequences should be if they are not.

For me, this is what this case, and the Mam, Quinonez and other soon-to-be known cases of FPD abuse are all about.

Let me just put this out there. Disrespect of a LEO is not itself a crime. It is NEVER a valid excuse for any of the following: assault, false arrest, perjury, murder.

But that is what we are seeing in case after case. Officers who feel “disrespected” fly off the handle, lose it, manhandle the citizenry, arrest them on bogus charges, and commit perjury about these cases.

Look at the Quinonez case. Dude’s Dad was killed by police. Clearly he has issues with them because of that. Walks by Kenton Hampton, sees him busting somebody, says something about “cops killed my dad.” Hampton sees this as “disrespect”, smacks him into a wall and arrests him for being drunk in public despite Quinonez having 0.00 blood alcohol level.

No. This will not stand. We have the right to disrespect each other without being beaten or falsely arrested for it. You can disrespect me, and I can disrespect you. Being a cop doesn’t make you special, and it doesn’t entitle you to respectful treatment from every person at all times. If I am clearly threatening bodily harm to you during an encounter, by all means use force if necessary to subdue me and take me in (though kindly stop when I am subdued rather than just beating me for the fun of it, but that’s a separate issue). If I am rather just mouthy, disrespectful, and contempuous of your authority, you know what? Too bad. That is not a crime.

It is a new era. The citizenry is increasingly well-informed, well armed with cameras and ready to use them, and ready to disseminate information about bad policing at a moment’s notice. We will exchange information, we will show up at City council, we wil publicize you, and we will call for investigations of EACH AND EVERY incident of police brutality or misconduct we witness or hear about.

Being a cop is NOT like being in a gang where you are entitled to respect. Being a cop means you work for the citizenry. They have every right in the world to disrespect you. A lot more disrespect is coming your way soon. The cop mentality of “don’t you dare disrespect me” is a relic of the past which will only lead to lawsuits and citizen revolts ala Fullerton. And we’re not even close to being done with this department yet.

Cops – do not think that the public must fear and respect you. Do your job, do it politely and professionally, and understand that RESPECT IS EARNED. If you can maintain a calm and professional aspect even as I flip you off, you may actually earn that respect.

There will come a day when I can walk right up to a cop and politely tell him to fuck off and he will know that there is absolutely nothing he can or should do about it. That I am just expressing my first amendment rights, and those rights are far more important than his fragile ego or sense of self-worth related to his position of power and authority.

Any cop who does not understand this will be forced out of public service. The citizenry will no longer tolerate public servants who think they exist on some higher strata above the citizenry. If you cannot deal with this Reality, you must find a line of work in which you do not profess to “protect and serve.” “Protecting and serving” require humility and an ability to endure the disrespect of those for whom you serve.

September 21, 2011September 21, 2011Dead heads

SHOCKING! DISGUSTING! OUTSIDE AGITATORS STIR UP TROUBLE IN FULLERTON!

by Joe Sipowicz79 Comments

We all know the story. The Old Guard is always squawking about them thar’ outside agitators who come to town with their evil commie agendas about civil rights and other suchlike newfangled eye-d-ers. We’ve already heard it about those protesting for transparency and justice in the brutal beating death of Kelly Thomas at the hands of the Fullerton Police Department.

Hilariously, the Three Blind Dinosaurs – Jones, McKinley and Bankhead – have decided to hire an entire gang of outsiders to defend the indefensible – them. So let’s take a quick look.

Ackerslime2 — Yes. I have a price. And it's remarkably low.

First there’s the mastermind, Dick Ackerman, another Mesozoic castoff who operates a sleazy lobbying scam for the Nossaman law firm, and who was just handed a huge multi-million dollar low-income housing project by his three pals on the council, and who has millions of good reasons to keep these incompetent nitwits on the council. Ackerman is a real paragon of virtue who was busted for illegally lobbying the Legislature, who created a phony charity in order to vacation in Hawaii, and who tried to foist his dimwitted wife as an Assemblywoman on Fullerton by cooking up a fake address in our city; actually Ackerman lived, and still lives behind a guarded gate in Irvine, so of course that makes him a shameless liar.

We just found out that Ackerman is peddling his ass as a expert on how to “manage” angry citizens; oh, you know the sort. The kind who react badly when innocent men are murdered in their streets.

dave-ellis-91 — The metamorphosis into an oxygen breathing creature was slow and painful.

Then there’s Dick’s hand-picked mud-slinging associate – a despicable toad named Dave Ellis. Rather than delve into this miscreant’s high crimes and misdemeanors we’ll just let Orange Juice Blogmeister Vern Nelson have at him in a brilliant expose. This creep is from Newport Beach.

Now, perhaps, the funniest bit of all – the anti-recall address: 603 E. Alton Ave. Ste. H . Santa Ana, CA! Santa Freaking Ana?! I guess they couldn’t find a convenient PO box in Fullerton.

It’s true that the superannuated drain clogs have engaged the services of a couple of local stooges to give the appearance of grassroots support, but really, outside of a few shopworn drunks at the boozy Chamber of Commerce mixers, who will support the Tumescent Trio?

One of the boosters is a rather loathsome reptile named James Alexander, known in Fullerton City Hall as a small-time influence peddler and bag man for big developers. This guy is a main chance sort of lizard, and his chances are dwindling rapidly.

Then there’s some other guy named Larry Bennett, who not only backs the Dinosaurs with a weird myopia, but also defends the police union in its role in creating the Culture of Corruption in the FPD. I suppose he has to. His boys and the FPOA are inextricably joined at their collective hips, it would seem. And that’s why there’s a recall in the first place. I am also informed that Bennett sells life insurance to all these geezers, so the myopia is explained actuarially, and the circle conveniently closes.

As the recall signature gathering draws to a successful conclusion we will discover how much (and how little) support the Three Blind Dinosaurs actually have in Fullerton itself.

September 20, 2011September 20, 2011Dead heads

Don Bankhead, Champion of Ethics and Civil Rights!

by The Desert Rat240 Comments

Bankhead3 — Laughing all the way to the Blank. Head.

But not recently.

Politicians should always be careful about what they say. The public has a nasty habit of remembering their pronouncements.

Back in 1990 during his failed bid for County Sheriff (remember, right before his “total disability” pension claim), Don Bankhead needed a hook to get folks interested in his bad comb-over, lackluster self. So he discovered that he was really a reformer who was interested in establishing an “ethics unit” at the OCSD, you know to clean up the mess over there. Read all about it in an LA Times article, here. Enjoy the rich irony as Bankhead pontificates:

“We’ll put the shine back on the badge and we’ll all have a good clean Sheriff’s Department,” Bankhead said. “If no one’s rights are violated, we won’t get sued.”

Now fast forward to Tuesday night’s Fullerton City Council Closed Session Agenda that is littered with lawsuits against Fullerton and its lawless police department. If ever there was a department in need of an ethics unit it would be the FPD – over which Bankhead has refused to provide civilian oversight since 1988.

In the past few months the media has learned of FPD personnel charged, convicted, or alleged to have participated in grand theft, credit card fraud, kidnapping and sexual battery, assault, false arrest, and perjury, all culminating in the brutal bludgeoning death of a mentally-ill homeless man. And Mr. Ethics? Silent as a graveyard.

A word of advice, Mr. Bankhead. Time to get going establishing that ethics unit where it will do the most good. In your own department.

September 19, 2011September 20, 2011Behind Closed Doors

Jones, Bankhead & McKinley’s Chickens Come Home To Roost

by Grover Cleveland117 Comments

And by come home to roost I mean a veritable pile-up of embarrassing and expensive lawsuits we will all have to pay for.

Check out the slew of new legal threats against the city on this week’s agenda, ironically followed by salary and pension negotiations with the unions whose members caused these problems in the first place. I wonder if Bankhead, Jones and McKinley will make that connection. Highly doubtful.

And don’t forget that City Manager Joe Felz is going to take another swing at getting that raise. God Almighty, who is minding the store?

Correction: Felz raise didn’t make it on to the agenda for some reason.

September 19, 2011September 19, 2011Patdown Pat McPension

Snouts of Fury: Aardvark Pays Fullerton a Visit!

by admin267 Comments

At Saturday’s protest of the hapless Fullerton Police Department, some perceptive folks espied a character who immediately drew suspicion, sore thumb-like, as some sort of plant. Of course they challenged this individual, who, thoughtfully provided a business card.

Craig Fury - Aardvark Tactical — An aardvark with a business card!

Craig Fury. “Law Enforcement Territory manager.” Aardvark Tactical.

FYI, an aardvark is a homely creature that roots through the dirt for bugs which seems aptly descriptive; the use of the name could also be a tactic just to get to the front of the phone book.

Our Friends discreetly followed Mr. Fury for several blocks down Commonwealth Avenue before he doubled back and wandered into – the FPD HQ! So what gives? Did the cops employ this clown to spy on peaceful protesters? If not why was he there?

Pat McPension's pet aardvark — Yes, we carry the full line of Pat McPension gear...

I note that on their website that Aardvark “featured partners” include Safariland, the company that McKinley worked with (on the taxpayers dime) developing his special vest that was later purchased by the Fullerton Police Department. Aardvark is an “authorized dealer” of Safariland equipment. Did McKinley and the anti-recall drones employ this guy to take pictures of scary members of Kelly’s Army? If not why was he there, and why the loop-de loop?

Aardvark arguing — Aardvark explains himself

Aardvark pretending to leave — Aardvark pretends to leave

Aardvark sneaking back into the station — Aardvark sneaks back into the station

I think somebody in authority (now who would that be?) needs to inform the police that the FPD facility is owned by the taxpayers (us) and that they had better stay out of politics on public time (ours) and in a publicly owned facility (ours).