Being in the dark, and its different meanings

"I'm the one that wants to hear from him and I don't want an offer of proof."


---Presiding Judge and "Strike Team" member, David S. Wesley rebuffing an oral motion by Prosecutor Alan Tate




Let there be light, was a phrase that could have been said at the Riverside County Hall of Justice today after a series of power outages sparked an evacuation of the building.

Okay, it's probably not the best of days to be on the top floor of the building, but some of us were, including a group of people in Dept. 61 listen to the "Strike Team" judge, David S. Wesley admonish both prosecutors and defense attorneys over a special circumstances murder case-turned-possible-death-penalty-case-at-the- 11th-hour.

Suddenly as if to provide emphasis on Wesley's words, the room went completely dark. The emergency lights came on and several deputies came in the room because several of the defendants were in custody. The lights came back on, flickered several times in the next 10 minutes then went dark again for good.

The hearing proceeded except for some sighs and oohs and aahs when it went dark but as Wesley appeared to be wrapping up his ruling without ever saying exactly what it was, the courtroom was cleared and everyone was ordered to go down the stairwell. So down six floors we went but it quickly got bottle necked because people flowed into the traffic of people going down the stairs. Some lawyers grumbled about past power failures in the building.

People milled around, not sure what to do until the deputies said that the courthouse would remain closed until at least the afternoon session began. A webcam reporter with the Press Enterprise filmed people while asking them what they thought about when the lights went out.

Being in the dark?

So Wesley will return with a decision on Monday while probably spending the weekend wishing that he'd stayed in Los Angeles County.

Speaking of being in the dark.

This situation reminded me of the current status of the officer-involved shooting of Lee Deante Brown which returns back to the Community Police Review Commission's agenda today for the umpteenth special meeting.

When we last left off over a month ago, the CPRC had received a sort-of response from the Riverside Police Department to the questions that were submitted by Commissioner Jim Ward addressing the evidential material provided by the department' s Officer-Involved Death Team in its own investigation.

The couple of days that the department had promised to respond last time out turned into more days and then weeks.

It's hard to believe but the case involving Brown who was shot and killed by Officer Terry Ellefson on April 3, 2007 has yet to be resolved by the CPRC. It's more than likely that it's already been adjudicated by every other relevant body because there's no complaints coming from the department about the fates of Ellefson and Officer Michael Paul Stucker(who since 2003, has had one shooting) being left in limbo so at this point, whatever finding by the CPRC will have even less meaning than it would otherwise, which puts it somewhere less than zero.

The department has also demurred on answering several of Ward's questions by saying that the only responses that can be found are intertwined with whatever investigatory work product was put forward by the department's administrative "investigation". Meaning that the only place it can be presented and thus discussed is behind closed doors. Throw that in with musings awhile back about whether or not the finding by the CPRC had to necessarily be released to the public and the investigation and review of this shooting which is in year two has taken an interesting turn.

In the past, the department has used similar tactics when it believes that a problem which exists so one wonders if this is a situation where there supposedly is no problem according to the department why it is pushing the controversial case in this direction. After all, this is supposed to be the era of glasnost in comparison with past decades before the department underwent five years of court-mandated reforms.

But it was first Summer Marie Lane and then Brown which led to the massive changes enforced ton the CPRC by the city council and two of its direct employees, City Manager Brad Hudson and City Attorney Gregory Priamos. Many of the community members including three Latinos have departed and for the most part, been replaced by polished political appointments, all of whom are White. Three of them have ties to law enforcement, to the city or more specifically to the Riverside Police Department.

One took campaign donations from several law enforcement labor unions including the Riverside Police Officers' Association. Several also have either ran for political office or work on political campaigns. Three of them have prior board and commission experience and in fact, two were taken off of the same commission and placed on the CPRC.

More than one prospective complainant has changed their minds about filing after asking about the composition of those who will evaluate and review their complaint, asking if it's the city's commission or the communities? Where are the Black and Brown people, they've asked about a commission that's less ethnically and racially diverse than the police department. It appears unbalanced to them with lack of community representation mirroring the diversity of this city.

For the Brown case, it's twisted and turned through the process from the day it happened. Expect more of the same as the city tries to rush the public portion of the process to a close.






Relations aren't warm between any of the remaining contestants in Election 2007, but the Press Enterprise is paying special attention to the conflict in Ward Five.



Both Chris MacArthur and Donna Doty Michalka are locked in a tight battle to win the seat that will be vacated by Councilman Ed Adksion.

Like with Ward Three, the focus has been on the mailers that are sent out in bulk, one after the another, often including lurid accusations sometimes complete with artwork about the opposition.

With that, ladies and gentlemen, we bring you the Ward Five election.


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MacArthur came out swinging in the primary with a mailing that said Michalka backed requiring Riverside police to accept Mexican consular cards as valid identification. A footnote to the accusation said that in her work, she coordinated outreach to encourage migrant workers to open accounts with her credit union, which accepts the consular cards as valid identification.

Michalka said she is not a policymaker at her credit union and her personal views do not reflect her employer's practices.

"I'm not in favor of illegal immigration," she said.

The Riverside Police Officers Association, which has endorsed Michalka, called MacArthur's accusation about Michalka and the ID-card proposal "vicious lies" in a mailer. Both Michalka and union officials said illegal immigration is a federal issue, not a City Council issue.

MacArthur said how the city deals with illegal immigrants is a legitimate issue.

Council members serve four-year terms and are paid $43,600 a year, including a monthly car allowance.






Endorsements from the dais have heavily favored Michalka over MacArthur with Council members Dom Betro, Andrew Melendrez, Nancy Hart and Frank Schiavone as well as Mayor Ron Loveridge endorsing the former. MacArthur is being endorsed by Adkison and Councilman Steve Adams.



I guess that means if MacArthur gets elected, there's going to be a civil war on the dais.




Adkison did speak up on the law suit the city filed against Ken Stansbury and Riversiders for Property Rights. He said he didn't support charging them for attorney's fees as was threatened on the original complaint filed by the city.



It's easy to say that now that the threat to do so has already exacted the result of intimidating members of the organization to the point where they dropped out for fear of having to pay the city's legal fees which are at least $150,ooo and climbing at this point. In fact, the threat and intimidation tactic sanctioned by this city's elected government against this organization has for the most part achieved what it had set out to do which was to break the will of the Riversiders for Property Rights.

Stansbury still is going strong with the court case that started when his organization dared to try to circulate a voters' initiative on eminent domain in this city, but that doesn't negate what has already been done to chill the public expression of a community activist organization.

There's some people who believe that if they don't see you, meet with you or even have heard of a community organization then not only does it not exist, but apparently it has no right to exist. As if all community organizations have to fill out paperwork and register their existence at City Hall.





More letters about political candidates in the Readers' Forum in the Press Enterprise from some happy and unhappy campers. Note to Councilman Art Gage: Perhaps you should rethink your mailer strategy. They don't seem to be all that popular.










Victoria Avenue is getting a makeover courtesy of the billion dollar baby, Riverside Renaissance.

Current Ward Three Councilman Art Gage is ecstatic.


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It's a lovely, lovely street," said Councilman Art Gage, whose ward includes a portion of the avenue. "It's about time the city is stepping up and doing this project. It will make a world of a difference. I don't know where else you can find a street like this. I know there are probably streets equally as nice, but I've never seen one."



Victoria Avenue's most staunch supporters spoke up too.


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Hal Snyder, the first president of Victoria Avenue Forever, can identify every tree on the linear drive. He loves how it was meticulously thought out with trees of the same kind grouped together and the palms equally spaced out -- he's measured.

The Victoria Avenue resident of 33 years walks the road's pathway and medians daily, checking on the trees' health.

"There is still so much that needs to be done," said Snyder, 74. "We have something unique with Victoria Avenue. I hope we can get it looking as beautiful as it was when it was created."

Along those lines, clippings of the Ragged Robin roses, which line the medians, will be taken to a nursery and later replanted in the balding areas during the spring, Foster said. The red beauties are no longer available commercially.Longtime resident Jody Duncan, 52, said she takes comfort knowing that while the rest of the city has changed, the avenue hasn't.

"There aren't many things in Riverside that say Riverside anymore," she said. "Most parts of the city look like anywhere else. But the Mission Inn and Victoria Avenue are two places that still say Riverside."







Did the brain sucking amoeba strike in Riverside?

A Press Enterprise article about a woman who got sick and died after swimming in Lake Elsinore asks this question.

The Riverside County Sheriff/Coroner's office said liver failure killed her although tests showed the woman's liver appeared normal.


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This amoeba is found in the sediment at the bottom of lakes and creeks," Sunenshine said. "It is naturally found in over 70 percent of lakes and fresh water in the South. The shallower the water, the more likely to be the amoeba."

The parasite threatens humans when air temperatures rise above 80 degrees and lake bottom sediment is kicked, she said. An infection could occur when someone goes underwater.

"The amoeba goes up the nose. ... It attaches to a nerve in the nose and attacks the brain and spinal cord," Sunenshine said.

Victims tend to be boys or young men, but no one knows why, she said.

Most people die because they don't get immediate care. Three documented survival cases exist, Sunenshine said.

Doctors often confuse symptoms with those of bacterial meningitis, which also can be fatal.

"It's an incredibly rare infection. Most docs don't think about it right away. They don't think to ask the patient if they have swum in fresh water," Sunenshine said.

A spinal tap typically confirms diagnosis because the amoeba is visible in spinal fluid under a microscope, she said. An autopsy will find that nerves in the nose and brain have been destroyed in a certain pattern.

No cases have been reported this year to the California Department of Public Health or the Riverside County Department of Public Health.

State Public Health Department spokeswoman Lea Brooks said no one knows of any previous cases of primary amebic meningoencephalitis because it doesn't have to be reported to state officials.


The Center for Disease Control in Atlanta and the state's own public health agency will be testing to determine if this amoeba caused this woman's death.






In Los Angeles, that city's department has come out with a scathing report blaming lack of training and supervision for the behavior of its officers during the infamous May Day incident at MacArthur Park according to the Los Angeles Times.

At least 26 police officers are still under investigation and could be disciplined for among other things, using excessive force while dispersing a peaceful crowd at the park. Among those injured included several members of the media.


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In the days after the melee, Bratton and other top officials criticized the general tactics of police at the park, but the report offered a level of unvarnished detail and a critical tone that even some LAPD critics described as highly unusual, if not unprecedented.

The review, presented to the Police Commission on Tuesday, was written by Deputy Chief Michael Hillmann and Police Administrator Gerald L. Chaleff.

Reaction to the document was mixed: Some police commissioners called it a blunt effort to get to the truth of what happened, but some civil rights groups criticized it for not delving deeper into the action of individual officers who used batons and less-than-lethal rounds on people.

Bratton on Tuesday repeatedly apologized for "significant senior management failures, myself on down." Bratton had left his office to attend an event at Universal Studios on the day of the melee and learned of the problems when Villaraigosa called him from Central America, where the mayor had gone for the start of a trade mission, according to the report.

"I, as chief of police, regret deeply that this occurred on my watch," Bratton told a City Hall news conference, where he was joined by Villaraigosa and other city leaders. "I accept full responsibility for it occurring on my watch."

Villaraigosa condemned the police response, saying the LAPD had an obligation to ensure the protesters' and reporters' freedom of speech.

"What happened was wrong," he said. "The inadequate planning, the breakdown in command and control, misuse of tactics created a cascading chain of escalating misjudgments."

The "cascade" began well before the May Day protest, the report found.




Guess what? The state of Wisconsin doesn't require psychological screening for its law enforcement officers before hiring. According to this article in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Former Forest County Sheriff Department deputy and Crandon Police Department officer, Tyler Peterson, 20 was hired by both agencies without undergoing a psychological evaluation.

Psychological evaluations for prospective law enforcement officers are required in most states and can be helpful at screening out potential problems in applicants.


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Stephen Curran, a Baltimore-based police psychologist of 25 years who does testing for local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, said the majority of agencies screen whether the state requires it or not, because of liability concerns. The screening usually includes a written assessment and an interview with a mental health professional.

"It can identify people who have patterns of instability in their emotional functioning and their behavior, how they react to stressful situations, how they handle interpersonal conflict," he said.

Psychological screening is even more important for younger applicants, according to Curran, who said he was surprised that Wisconsin's minimum age for officers is only 18.

According to a U.S. Department of Justice-funded study released last year, the mean minimum age for officers around the country is 20.

"When you are young, there is the maturity factor," Curran said. "They haven't developed a track record."

In addition to gauging maturity, psychological interviews delve into relationships, Curran said.

Answers to those questions might reveal tendencies toward domestic violence, which is more common in police officers' families than in the general population, according to several studies.

Carmen Pitre, executive director of the Task Force on Family Violence in Milwaukee, said cases involving police officers are particularly difficult.

"Most victims don't want to come forward," she said. "If an officer is in their life, they're very afraid of the ramifications, of what will happen if they come forward. They don't want him to lose his job, and they know he has access to a gun."





The League of Women Voters in Omaha, Nebraska wants the police auditor back according to WOWT-News.


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Who's policing Omaha Police since the city's police auditor was fired a year ago?

Complaints or concerns about police misconduct are currently being handled at Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey's office, then turned over to internal affairs.

The wrong answer to the problem many in the community see as a very fragile relationship between police and residents who live in parts of the city deemed hot spots for crime.

Tristan Bonn was the city's first and only police auditor. "This terrible spike in violence that we're seeing now is a direct outcome of that poor relationship."

Willie Hamilton of Omahan for Justice Alliance agrees. "This is all about trust. If we don't trust you, we not gonna tell you anything and that's as simple as that."

Hamilton joined a small group at Tuesday's news conference held by the League of Women Voters.

The group says according to its research, an independent police auditor is needed and soon.

“The league has reviewed the issue and become aware of a number of roadblocks to public safety and public trust and has concluded that a public safety auditor is necessary to improve police-community relations,” says Linda Duckworth, president of the League of Women Voters.



In Fort Myers, Florida, relations between the city's police department and minority community, although the city has nixed a civilian review board for now, according to the Fort Myers News-Press.


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As murders increased in Fort Myers, [James]Muwakkil focused on reducing community violence. "He involved himself and that made a difference," Daniels said. "It also let him see that this department cares."

"I guess I've changed some of my attitudes," said Muwakkil. "But the police have changed, too. ... if they're willing to reach out, we have to be willing also."






Where are the signs?


Okay, this probably goes without saying but stealing, detroying or defacing signs for political candidates is not cool and shouldn't be tolerated no matter who does it. Also, to those in the William "Rusty" Bailey campaign, don't post signs on people's property without their permission as apparently happened in one case by the Victoria Golf Course.

I noticed one day that the Bailey sign was in tatters with only the wire frame still standing and that there were Art Gage signs. At first, I thought a Gage campaign person had destroyed the sign and replaced it with a Gage sign.

However, given that this house had three more Gage signs posted since this time which are still standing and given that a Bailey sign next door was not removed or damaged, it appears that the homeowner where the Bailey sign had been posted is in fact a Gage supporter.