Posted onBehind Closed Doors

Who is Jay Cicinelli?

by 462 Comments on Who is Jay Cicinelli?

The anonymous caller to yesterday’s KFI’s John and Ken program identified an Fullerton police officer with one eye as physically participating in the July 5th beating death of Kelly Thomas.

As hard as it is to believe, Fullerton does indeed employ a cop with one eye, and has been identified by our commenters as Jay Cicinelli. Cicincelli was a rookie cop in LA when he was shot multiple times in 1996 as described in this 1998 LA Times article.

2005 Orange County Register file photo of Hugo Garcia and Jay Cicinelli

Apparently in the aftermath of this incident Cicinelli was deemed incapable of meeting physical standards, was placed on permanent disability and separated from duty with the LAPD. Here’s where the story gets interesting, Fullerton-wise. Cicinelli’s career as a law enforcement officer was far from over.

A more recent image shared by a reader; Cincinelli is purportedly the officer on the right.

It seems that a high ranking LAPD cop, Michael Hillman took special interest in Cicinelli and eventually he used an old LAPD acquaintance to land Cicinelli a job in Fullerton. That acquaintance? Yep, Chief Pat McKinley, as detailed in this glowing 2009 tribute to Hillman on the OC Sheriff’s website, after Hillman had followed Sandra Hutchens to the OCSD. Here’s the operative sentence by Cicinelli:

“I think he had a lot to do with getting me this job, I know he was good friends with (Fullerton Police) Chief Pat McKinley. How many departments are going to hire an officer with one eye?

The implications of employing and deploying a one-eyed cop on the streets of Fullerton are rather worrisome; the possibility that Cicinelli may have undergone severe trauma that has never been adequately addressed is even worse. Of course this latter issue is speculation; but McKinley’s role in bringing this cop to Fullerton calls into question issues of cronyism, poor judgment, and ultimately, perhaps, responsibility for what happened to Kelly Thomas.

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Posted onThe Crime Beat

The Return of the Informant

by 176 Comments on The Return of the Informant

The anonymous informant on the Kelly Thomas beating called back into the John and Ken show on KFI today.

Notable claims made by the informant:

  • The officers involved were allegedly shown the video while they were writing their reports, allowing them to make sure that all of their accounts match.
  • Officer Hampton was allegedly attempting to handcuff the suspect but had to back off because the blood from another officer’s strikes was splattering on him.
  • The informant claims that the officer who allegedly does most of the beating is a retired LAPD officer who was shot in the eye on duty three weeks on the job. Fullerton later hired him as the officer with one glass eye.
  • As recently as Friday night, this same officer was assigned to plain-clothes duty in the gang unit.
  • An officer was allegedly bragging about the beating the next day in the locker room.
  • There is a long history of cover-ups within the Fullerton Police Department
  • The police reports were ordered to be rewritten many times because management did not like the way the reports were written.
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Posted onHome Town Hero

Sharon Quirk-Silva Says: “Release The Video”

by 94 Comments on Sharon Quirk-Silva Says: “Release The Video”
Regrets are like ........
Release the video!

To Fullerton Community Members:

As a member of the Fullerton City Council, and a mother, I am deeply disturbed by this tragic event. I am so sorry that this has happened in the city of Fullerton. I have talked to Mr. Ron Thomas to express my sympathy. I have demanded that all six officers be placed on administrative leave and that we fully investigate this incident.

I have asked for detailed accounts of this event and to see the video and release the video.

As a leader in Fullerton, I know that it is our job to be transparent, accountable, and to serve and protect our citizens.

More than anything, I am committed to finding justice for Kelly Thomas.

As a mother, I can only imagine the sheer pain that the family must be enduring right now. Not only losing a son, but dealing with such a horrifying death.

My thought and prayers are with the Thomas Family and our community at this difficult time.

Sincerely,
Councilmember Sharon Quirk- Silva

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Posted onBehind Closed Doors

To Redevelop or Not to Redevelop?

by 8 Comments on To Redevelop or Not to Redevelop?

Last week Gov. Jerry Brown signed in to law two bills designed to drastically diminish, or at least change redevelopment in California.  Assembly Bill x 126 eliminates redevelopment agencies (RDAs) altogether in municipalities across the state on October 1, 2011. It also prohibits RDAs like Fullerton’s from any new beginning any new activities or issuing any more bonds, loaning money, buying more property and number of other things they normally do. Once the RDA disappears, the City of Fullerton would take over all outstanding duties like debt service while the rest of the agency’s revenues are distributed to schools and other things usually underfunded by the diversion of tax monies to RDA districts.

That’s it. No more redevelopment except finish off outstanding projects and pay off the bond debts that make them possible. However, an alternative exists that would allow RDAs to continue. Gov. Brown also signed AB x 127, which would allow redevelopment agencies to continue as long as a significant portion of their property tax revenue is redirected to schools and other local agencies. On Tuesday night the Fullerton City Council is scheduled to decide which of these paths to take with Fullerton’s RDA. And yes, the redevelopment staff are recommending option #2, which would keep the agency they work for alive.

According the agenda item’s report written by the RDA staff Fullerton would have to pay an estimated “$ 6,259,348 million in FY 2011-12 and $ 1,472,788 million in FY 2012-13” to schools and everyone else, but it would still be worth it for the city to keep the RDA in existence. These figures are based on old numbers that don’t $ 29 of bonds issued by the RDA for housing last year, so the an appeal is planned. The recommendation is based on the idea that more money would be available for redevelopment oriented activities if the RDA is kept in existence.

FFFF readers, and anyone paying attention in town, will recall that last March, in anticipation of the Governor’s actions Fullerton’s RDA gave a laundry list of properties and other assets to the City of Fullerton to keep the state from grabbing it and selling it off to the highest bidder. But AB x 126 made this action retroactively illegal, meaning that the city has to give it all back to the RDA so the state can take it and sell it if the RDA is dissolved.

But wait, there’s more. In 2010 the RDA’s Low and Moderate Income Housing Fund still has about $ 35 million to spend, most of it form a 2010 bond offering. At the last council meeting developers lined up to explain why they should each get a piece of it (more on that in the days to come, I promise).

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Posted onLocal Media

Kelly Thomas Memorial Rally and Protest TODAY

by 195 Comments on Kelly Thomas Memorial Rally and Protest TODAY

There will be a memorial rally and protest outside of the police station from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM today (Saturday). Please come by and make your voice heard.  We must let the FPD  know that we will not let up until those responsible are brought to justice.

More details on Facebook.

Also there will be a candle light vigil for Kelly tonight from 8-10 pm in front of Fullerton City Hall …no signs, just candles and songs

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Posted onThe Crime Beat

Police Insider Offers New Graphic Description of Police Beating

by 354 Comments on Police Insider Offers New Graphic Description of Police Beating

Yesterday the John and Ken Show spent 4 hours expressing outrage over the Fullerton police beating of Kelly Thomas, the lack of media coverage and the cowardly concealment of evidence by Fullerton officials.

Towards the end of the show a man called in purporting to be friends with a Fullerton police officer. He passed along some new, graphic information on what was supposedly seen on the city’s surveillance camera, which the police are still not releasing to the public. Here it is:

Notable claims:

  • One officer supposedly beat Kelly Thomas with the butt of his Taser until blood started coming up all over the officer’s arms and hands.
  • Another officer supposedly drop knees Kelly Thomas’ nose and throat with the full force of his body weight multiple times, crushing the victim’s throat.
  • This happened while Kelly Thomas was not moving or resisting.
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Posted onOrange County Government

Uh Oh. Is the DA’s Investigation in the Hands of the Chief’s Good Buddy?

by 152 Comments on Uh Oh. Is the DA’s Investigation in the Hands of the Chief’s Good Buddy?

We may have figured out why it took the District Attorney investigators three weeks to start talking to witnesses on the Kelly Thomas police beating case…

According to this unsigned note that just came in to our website, Chief Sellers is a close personal friend of DA investigator Stan Berry, who was immediately assigned to the high-profile Fullerton case:

I suggest you check into the connection between Investigator Berry and FPD Chief Sellers. Sellers hired Berry when he was the Chief at Seal Beach PD. Sellers and his wife Rita Fraser-Sellers, are close personal friends with Berry and his wife, Kristen Berry, the Dispatch Supervisor in Seal Beach. They socialize together, vacation together and entertain each other in their respective homes.

Of all the DA investigators, why choose Berry, other than he will help cover for his friend.

Presumably that case assignment was a decision made by the DA Tony Rackauckas. I have confirmed that Berry worked as an investigator under Chief Sellers for the Seal Beach Police Department.

As for as the familial socializing, entertaining and vacationing together…maybe the Chief can clear that one up for us.

If our informant is correct, this would be a huge conflict of interest in a very high-profile investigation.

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