River City Hall; Don't worry; be happy

"I must follow the people. Am I not their leader?"


---Benjamin Disraeli


"There go the people.
I must follow them for I am their leader."


---Alexandre Ledru-Rollin


"Go to the people. Learn from them. Live with them. Start with what they know. Build with what they have. The best of leaders when the job is done, when the task is accomplished, the people will say we have done it ourselves."


---Lao Tzu







I studied American Sign Language for several semesters, a language that is both beautiful and complex at the same time. Each semester, we were required to do presentations in front of the rest of the class, using all of our skills and relating a story, explaining a process or discussing an issue, all in ASL.

If it's your second(or third) language, ASL is elusive in terms of understanding it, let alone "speaking" it. But for the hearing person growing and living in a culture which is hearing-centered, the more elusive skills are receptive, because "listening" to ASL is much different than with oral speech. Many hearing people are passive listeners who sit there and take it all in, or half of it. To a deaf person, that impassive approach can be viewed as apathy or rudeness in a language where the listener is as much an active participant as the person expressing themselves through it.

There are moments in learning that language when you can feel it, which often provide the most important learning experiences. Giving a presentation in which the audience is simply passive, can feel like it's more difficult to communicate. I had one such experience and my instructor said that I did fine, my audience was rude and he would dock them accordingly when it came time to grade their presentations, because signing skills were not the only ones being tested. Good receptive skills were just as crucial, he said.


The audiences which we faced while giving our presentations done in ASL remind me of how the current city council conducts its weekly meetings.

I'm not much of a public speaker but I've improved somewhat from my first civic speech in 1998 at the Riverside Unified School District Meeting where they voted to name the new high school in Orangecrest after Martin Luther King, Jr. I spoke for the allotted three-minutes, couldn't see the board(due to CNN's spotlight behind where they were sitting) and then went to the bathroom to throw up. But practice lessens the nausea and nerves over time, in fact it's the only thing that really does for people who feel that way when they speak publicly.

What I like about speaking before the city council is that it's a tough, very unreceptive audience so at the very least, it's good practice. The only people this city's elected officials appear happy to see are those they call up on the phone telling them to attend a meeting so they can fill the seats. Their favorite Rolodex appears to include both the Greater Chamber of Commerce and the Riverside Downtown Partnership. They greeted them and lined them up ahead of time for the show called, Riverside Renaissance and now more recently, to anoint Riverside the "city of the arts".

Contrast that with the reception given to appearances by larger groups of people, be that members of the city's labor unions or groups of community members they have little to no desire to see pack the chambers. Sometimes, they appear to want to hunt down the city official or staff member who sent the notification to some of these groups to pack the chambers in protest of some development in city business not quite on the official radar.

But everyone, whether they receive the official welcome mat or not is part and parcel of this city. A successful and viable city government will be one where its elected body individually and collectively realizes this to be true.

Maybe some day. But what we have now is a wide variety of facial expressions appearing from the dais during city council meetings.

Eyes rolling, muttering, laughing, new BFFs Nancy Hart and Steve Adams chatting it up while people are addressing them. Next thing you know, they'll start plucking nose hairs on the dais, anything to look disinterested in anything that runs counter to what they agree with. It's all I can do sometimes to continue my speech without knowing whether to laugh at their behavior and facial expressions(or as ASL refers to them, nonmanual markers) or feel sorry for them for their unhappiness. I don't remember ever seeing a city council which looked so unhappy most of the time.

Unhappiness when anyone disagrees with them. Unhappiness when anyone reminds them that the majority of the city's population aren't wealthy White people. Unhappiness that leads some of them to call individuals "snitches" when they aren't there to respond to it, "liars" when they are present or they get upset and talk about their personal business at meetings. Maybe just unhappiness, period because like all of us, they have their private lives off the dais and face challenges like other people.

These behaviors are not much different than those my nieces and nephews used to exhibit for the same reasons. Maybe the issues involved were less complex, less municipally based but the eye rolling of a Dom Betro who's got a very subtle form of eye rolliing mastered at this point, the scowling of a Nancy Hart and the grumbling of a Steve Adams are pretty much the same as those you might see in young children when they are told they can't eat play-do, stay up too late or a host of other restrictions placed on young children.

Other people have made similar observations. Contrast that with the behavior and much higher energy levels shown by those who are challenging the incumbents for their seats. Individuals who seem much happier, much more energetic and enthusiastic out there on the campaign trail than their rivals appear on the dais. One reason why these candidates are so appealing to many people, and in fact it's the fact that there are still four council seats undecided that is most telling of what's happening on the political front in Riverside.

Riverside Renaissance should have sailed three of these individuals in office as it clearly was intended to do given its timing and would have left at least two of them feeding dreams of the next mayoral race. Instead, they are fighting to get elected in all venues and spending a fortune in campaign contributions including against candidates they outspend between 5 to 1 and 13 to 1.

One woman commented to me that she thought that the men on the dais acted like little boys who had been told they were due for a time out, rather than grown men at a meeting. Others complained about grown men on the dais yelling for the removal of elderly women, in 2006 and 2007. Some of them went to one meeting, watched this behavior and haven't been back. Obviously even the handlers of several individuals realized that behavior is not showing them in their best light, because the political candidates on the dais have toned that part of themselves down in the last critical months before voters take to the polls.

Still, the facial expressions have continued and have even increased in earnest.

I look at them at meetings and wonder why they chose to be elected officials. They spend most of the limited time they spend at city council meetings looking completely bored and frankly, miserable, like they would rather be any place else. As if they can't wait 10 more minutes to get to the watering hole of choice, which will still be there waiting regardless if the meeting lasts 45 minutes or five hours. The trouble is that there are four candidates who are all too willing to take their places happily and city council conduct at the weekly meetings have factored into several of their platforms.


The two elected officials who often do listen to every speaker are Councilman Andrew Melendrez and Mayor Ron Loveridge. They sit up straight and listen, rather than slump in their chairs, flip through papers, snarl, groan and laugh or whisper among themselves. It doesn't matter if people are heaping flattery, stating opinions, providing input or criticizing them. They just listen. They don't smirk, sigh and flip through reports that they should have read through the week before but at all times, appear to remember who they are, elected officials who chose the position and all its responsibilities.

Being polite doesn't make much difference. Two new visitors attending the meeting spoke on a proposed bill for dealing with the region's housing foreclosure crisis and also received the eye rolls, the sighs, hmphs and grunts. It was embarrassing to watch the elected officials who behaved that way showcast their roster of behaviors for new people attending. Silly speakers for not being savvy to the changing of the order of the meeting agenda after the meeting has started which places the public comment period last.

It bothers me to see several elected officials treat people like this even people who are polite to them simply because they don't like to listen to what they have to say. But it serves more as a commentary about them than it is on those who are addressing their elected officials. It's just as bothering to see how little respect they have for the process and the roles they play in it than it is to see the impact their behavior has on those who pay their annual salaries as certainly as those do who stumped for the "City of the Arts" image rehaul last night.

For those watching at home, there'll be a new edition of the City Council Meeting Drinking Game(tm) posted here soon. Because there are those who say that the meetings although frustrating to watch are fine entertainment and unlike with most television shows, there are no hiatuses. An added bonus is that the conducting and televising of city council meetings will not be impacted by any strikes called by the Big Four guilds in the entertainment field. Since as of yet, elected officials do not qualify as members of the Screen Actors' Guild, they are unable to strike in favor of increased residues from web broadcasts.

What's more rewarding than attending public meetings which it's clear the ruling body wishes were by invitation only, is talking to people in this city including those that Press Enterprise Doug Haberman referred to as being in "my world" who are mystified at why the Riverside Renaissance is being financed on borrowed money and gambling on a future which might instead leave the next generation with unpaid bills, and problems accessing basic city services.

Waitresses at restaurants who watch the televised meetings and ask why the city council looks so arrogant and bored sitting up on the dais, like people who ran for an office they appear to not really want to fill. Yeah, the Fox Theater is nice, but why did they have to seize it from private owners who were in the process of renovation? Why not partner with these residents so that a share dream can be fulfilled? Now that's an interesting concept.

People who are in grocery stores worried about how much of their property taxes will go to pay for these projects or whether or not the rescinded electricity rates will be restored after November. Unofficial bets are being taken as to which exact meeting the city council will turn around and reactivate the same electric rate structure they were flailing their fists about before the election.

A woman came up to me in a supermarket and hugged me one day because she had been concerned about an issue I had spoke on but because she ran her own business, couldn't attend the meetings though she watched them on television. She worried about how much all the new development would impact traffic throughout the city, which include portions already in a gridlock. Would people be able to find her business through all the traffic jams?

Elected officials and others joke about how the city's problems are traffic, traffic and traffic but what's been done to address the problem and its impact on among other things, the ability of public safety employees to respond to emergency calls for service by city residents or their fellow employees?

People ask why there's all this emphasis on high-priced "yuppie" housing downtown and high-scale commerce when one of the biggest issues in that part of the city is inadequate parking. When they build all these new projects, where are all the customers, residents, business owners and employees going to park their vehicles?

You can bring half of Orange County to downtown to see a play, shop at a store, eat at a restaurant or move into a condo-loft, but if they can't park their vehicles, they will come here, take a look and then take their business or lodging needs elsewhere. If you build it, they may come but will they stay if there's no place for the vehicles which brough them there?

Then there are Ward Four and Ward Seven residents who ask why their elected officials who they elected to four-year terms don't wish to serve out those terms, but instead choose to seek higher office. If you don't support us, why should we support you?

Then these elected officials wonder why so many people are interested in running for their council seats against them when they invariably strike out in a much higher league of politicians. Why? Because political candidates often look for vulnerabilities which might enhance their own chances and candidates who decide to run for a different political office some place else are viewed as being politically vulnerable. Jumping ship to try to run for another position presents a picture of an elected official who is no longer interested in what he or she is doing, in technicolor.

That's why people are skeptical of Adams who tried to jump ship to the state assembly level, didn't make it past the preliminaries and then came back to his ward's residents, telling them why they owed him a second term when it looks clear that he didn't really want to complete his first one.


Riverside did anoint itself the City of the Arts in front of a select crowd of people. The report didn't mention the expenditure of money but as usual, the concept is approved first, then it comes back for expenditures on its different components.

What's interesting is that the cities that Riverside is striving to be just like this time, the cities with an abundance of artistic opportunities and venues have never called themselves, been called or ever included on their official seals that they are cities of the arts. They just supply the artistic opportunities and venues to a wide variety of people in ways which are more inclusive than exclusive. They also create many opportunities for children of all backgrounds to learn the trades so they will become the next generation of artists. They are cities, which have arts not cities of the arts(tm).

Press Enterprise reporter, Doug Haberman actually believed that the crowd present at the city council chamber comprised the arts and culture crowd as he called it. It was hard to respond to him because he's such an unabashed fan of the city government for a mainstream reporter in a way I didn't expect.

Ideas like these and others elicited more scoffing and eye rolling from the dais, which just shows that those on the dais lack any real inclusive vision beyond the latest slogan they have chosen to stick on a city that's stuffed to the gizzard with titles. Cities like Indio and Temecula which are smaller than Riverside have more festivals for people to attend including those emphasizing the arts.

One wonders what will happen when Riverside, which many of us believed was actually the "city of the trees" after of course being the "city of the oranges" moves on to seek an identity some place else. This city always seems to be in search of a way to reinvent itself, most often after it receives some bad press in either the national or international media or during an election cycle.

Some of the unhappiness on the dais may be attributed to that time-held ritual of election campaigning which is polling prospective voters through phone banks and other means. Betro's pollsters haven't been very happy with his numbers lately and in the camp of William "Rusty" Bailey(which shares phone bank polling services with Donna Doty-Michalka's camp), a huge chunk of people called are planning to vote for Ward Three Incumbent, Art Gage. The Gardner camp is happy with its polling results at this point in time. Both Ward One and Three races appear to be quite tight. Time will tell how each turns out, who sits on the dais and who goes home.

However, polling is exactly that polling. The only votes that count are the ones officially cast by 8 p.m. on November 6. So if you are in those wards that are up for election, vote and do so proudly. Let the voter turnouts be as high as possible.

Signs are being stolen and being replaced include those representing Ward One candidate, Mike Gardner. Also being hit hard is Ward Seven candidate, Terry Frizzel in Ward Seven. It's probably no coincidence that these candidates are being hit particularly hard in the final round of Election 2007, because they are the two grass-roots candidates and perhaps those stealing the signs believe if they do it enough times, they won't be able to afford to replace them. In portions of Ward Three, signs are staying up for the meantime. Stealing and defacing signs no matter who does it is repugnant behavior.




On the issue of eminent domain in Riverside, the Press Enterprise has included this survey. Fill it out and be heard.





New Riverside County Sheriff Stanley Sniff promoted Valerie Hill to be the new undersheriff, the first woman in history to fill that position.


(excerpt, Press Enterprise)


"I have been so blessed," said Hill, 56, shortly after Sheriff Stan Sniff announced the promotion during a Board of Supervisors meeting. "It is hard to describe the feeling. I am very excited and can't wait to see what we can do."

Sniff also announced the promotion of Chief Deputy Pete Labahn to assistant sheriff.

A longer article on Hill is here.




Seven more felony cases were dismissed due to lack of available judges, according to the Press Enterprise.


(excerpt)


As [Judge Helio J.]Hernandez moved through the cases -- six of the dismissals took place in the morning, one in the afternoon -- prosecutors placed on the record their office's questions about why courts not traditionally used for criminal cases weren't being called into play to avoid a dismissal.

Currently criminal trials are being heard in courts normally assigned to them and the county's civil courts as well. Virtually no civil trials have been heard in Riverside County for several months.

Court administrators have said family law court, juvenile court and probate court are off-limits for criminal trials. "Family law protects children and probate protects older people," Hernandez said.

A visiting 12-judge strike team has a specific mission of hearing the county's oldest cases, but Hernandez noted that all of those judges were in trial and not available anyway.

Deputy District Attorney Alan Tate said the prosecutor's office agreed with the important role of those courts.

The district attorney's office has previously said the law is unclear about how far the reach can go into civil courts when criminal trials face dismissal due to speedy trial violations.

There is already an appeal before a panel of Orange County Superior Court judges over two misdemeanor dismissals that took place in January.


The Los Angeles Times also tackled this issue.


(excerpt)



Fields said the county's judges had done everything they could to avoid the dismissals, including virtually shutting down civil trials. "We have maximized our resources. Every available trial courtroom is filled," Fields said.

Officials in the district attorney's office have urged the court to send expiring cases to judicial officers handling family law, probate and juvenile dependency matters. Fields, the presiding judge, has refused.

"In our view, there are courtrooms available to try these cases, and therein lies the conflict," Steding said. "Dismissing criminal cases is against public safety."

Fields said the law was ambiguous on whether a criminal case should take precedence over family law matters, such as restraining orders.

"We have tremendous need to protect victims of domestic violence . . . and we have an obligation to protect children. . . . So we feel that's an unacceptable option," he said.

Last year, Riverside County's judges handled 795 criminal trials, nearly twice the load they handled in 2002, Fields said.

That exceeded the number of trials heard in San Diego County, even though it has about 1 million more people and roughly twice as many judges, he said.

Riverside County's judges are on pace to handle about 950 criminal trials this year, not including those handled by the strike force.






A police sergeant in Mesa, Arizona was forced to undergo training in the First Amendment, according to the Arizona Daily Star.

After he finishes the training, Sgt. Michael Doherty must give a report on what he learned to officers attending different roll call sessions.


(excerpt)


The group Immigrants Without Borders was taking part in a weeklong business boycott in west Mesa.

Witnesses said Doherty made a fist and extended his middle finger against the window and began laughing.

When the truck came around again, witnesses said he reached across the cab and made the same motion, pressing his middle finger up against the passenger side window.

He made the first gesture by passing his middle finger along the side of his nose and the second gesture by scratching his nose with his middle finger pointed up, Doherty told investigators. He said both gestures were meant to "flip off" the crowd.

Doherty said he made the gestures out of a general dislike for protesters and said he did not know what the protest was about, the report said
.
Doherty said the incident was not racially motivated.

"Let's make sure this is clear," he said. "I'm not a racist and my wife is Mexican. My closest friends are Mexicans, and I love Mexicans."






During his interview with investigators, Doherty chalked up his behavior to a rash of immaturity and said that he deserved to be disciplined, because he was driving a marked car at the time. It' s interesting that Doherty cited a lack of knowledge of what was being protested as a reason for the obscene gesture and as he explained to the investigator, he just didn't like demonstrators in general.



Unfortunately, Doherty was not only representing his own views of the demonstrators through his actions, but he was representing his law enforcement agency and making it appear as if it endorsed his actions, including his choice of expression. Was he acting as an individual or as the designated by self or otherwise spokesman for the Mesa Police Department?






In Portland, Oregon, a group of attorneys is telling the Portland Police Bureau to police themselves or we'll sue you according to the Portland Mercury.


(excerpt)


The message behind the claims is that if the police bureau does not start doing a better job of policing itself, then civil rights attorneys are only too happy to start hitting the city for $30,000 here, and $50,000 there, every time its officers act with impunity and as if they are above being held to account for their actions. There’s both a first and fourth amendment theme running through all four suits, making them all the more emotive for any casual observer.

In the long run it would both be cheaper for the City, and better for the community’s trust in the Police Bureau, if the city invested in a more thorough police review process.

“This is a case of police taking the easiest route in the middle of the night, and it’s time to take a stand against the excessive force in these cases,” said Benjamin Haile of Haile Greenwald, which has filed all four of the suits (working in conjunction with another attorney, J.Ashlee Albies on one)—referring to the example of Greg Benton’s case.

“The right to engage in free speech without government targeting, discriminatory treatment or arrest is a fundamental bedrock of democracy and the suits seek to ensure the protection of our basic constitutional right to free speech,” said Leah Greenwald.>



Another police officer arrested in Atlanta for firing shots at a couple outside a bar, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.


(excerpt)


Marietta police said they charged Officer Steve Iman, 27, a four-year veteran of the Atlanta Police Department, with aggravated assault for allegedly shooting at Chris Chvala, a 23-year-old Georgia State University student, and Chvala's girlfriend early Friday morning.


If convicted of the felony charge, Iman could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, authorities said.

Atlanta police suspended four officers who were with Iman and allegedly fled the incident scene and did not report the shooting to superiors until confronted by the department.

Iman is accused of shooting at Chvala's Ranger pickup truck as the man was fleeing after a verbal confrontation with the officers, according to police reports.

Two bullets shattered the truck's back window, said Peter Chvala, the victim's father.

"If his girlfriend had been sitting up, she would have gotten one right in the head," the elder Chvala said Sunday. "He pushed his girlfriend onto the floor when he heard the shooting and kept going. He was scared for his life."

Neither Chris Chvala, of Marietta, nor his girlfriend was wounded. The man's father declined to give the woman's name, which was absent from police reports.



Atlanta Police Chief Pete Andresen lamented the latest arrest, coming in the wake of a scandalous wave of behavior including the fatal shooting of Kathryn Johnston, 92, by narcotics officers who broke into her house after obtaining a warrant from a judge based on false information.

Here's the chain of events according to the article.


(excerpt)



Marietta police responding to a 911 call said they interviewed a witness, Matthew DeMartinis, who told them he was Chris Chvala's former roommate, DeMartinis told investigators that Chvala had gotten into an argument with some men other witnesses believed were off-duty Atlanta police officers.

DeMartinis said that after bar management asked the men to leave, the argument continued in the parking lot, where Chvala kicked one of the officers' cars, according to Marietta police reports.

Chvala told Marietta investigators that the argument broke out because the officers suspected him of hitting on one two women who were partying with the officers, police said.

"The victim stated that he then tried to leave in his truck and the suspect jumped on the hood," the police report said. "The victim stated that he then stepped on the gas to get away and the suspect rolled off the truck and the suspect and his friends started running after his truck and shot at his truck."

Besides the two bullets through the rear window of the Ranger, one of which lodged in the front windshield, at least one other bullet struck the truck, police said.

Iman was the only officer who shot at the vehicle, firing four times, and the bullets came from his department-issued .40 caliber Glock, said Marietta police Sgt. Brian Marshall, one of the investigators in the case.

Iman and some witnesses said Chvala tried to run Iman over as the motorist was leaving the parking lot, but other witnesses supported Chvala's version that Iman jumped on the hood of the truck and Chvala accelerated to escape, Marshall said.

Iman's shooting at the truck couldn't be interpreted as self-defense, Marshall said.

"Shooting at a car that is leaving, whether it hit you or not, is aggravated assault," said Marshall, who noted that the investigation found no reason to levy any charges against Chvala.


A law enforcement officer working at another law enforcement agency also fired a shot from his gun which was determined to be an accidental discharge.




The Daily Southtown Editorial Board tackles the issue of whether or not police officers in a portion of Chicago should be required to have GPS devices on their cell phones.

Some say doing this improves the safety of the officers. Other feels like it's making supervision too intrusive.


(excerpt)


We can sympathize with officers' discomfort about constant electronic monitoring. No one wants the boss watching over him ever minute of every day. But cops are in constant potential jeopardy, and it's in their best interest for backup assistance to be readily available.

And the unfortunate fact is that it's in the public's interest for the department to have better supervisory capabilities, as was demonstrated once again this week when the interim superintendent disbanded the Special Operations Section - the so-called "elite" unit that was given wide latitude to investigate gun and drug crimes, but some of whose members have been accused of abusing their latitude by committing serious criminal acts, including home invasion, kidnapping and even plotting the murder of a fellow cop to keep him from testifying about alleged crimes.

"The recent incidents involving officer misconduct have been disheartening and demoralizing, especially to the officers who serve this department honorably every day," said interim Supt. Dana Sparks.

Obviously so. Better supervision of all police officers can help weed out the rogue cops, such as the so-called "bad apples" in the Special Ops unit. The department has a right, as well as a responsibility to use the new technology to achieve it.





There's some really strange accounts coming out of Wall Township in New Jersey involving that city's police department and Officer Todd Verrecchia. It looks like a war has broken out including over the internet over an incident involving a would-be-ascending-to-the-chief-position who was pulled over on a DUI and the officers who pulled him over.

The city had earlier settled a law suit filed after it was discovered that a camera had been hidden in a locker room. The city paid out about $145,000 for that law suit that was filed by 50 police officers including Verrecchia who received about $2,500.


(excerpt, Asbury Park Press)


[Then Chief Rob]Hall had previously said the camera was placed in the locker room following reports that a police officer had found a racially biased note in his locker. Robert Woodruff, the attorney for the plaintiffs, said Hall and other individuals, including Sullivan, decided to install the camera without a warrant or approval from the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office to try to ascertain who had slipped the note. Hall and others, in their response to the suit, had admitted installing the camera.

William Joseph Wolf, the Lakewood-based attorney for the defendants whose signature on the settlement agreement is dated July 11, said Thursday he did not recall why Madhavan received $25,000 and that all of the terms of the settlement had been "subject to negotiation."

Verruni said he also did not know why Madhavan had received $25,000.

The cost of the settlement would be covered by the township's insurance. The township is one of 36 municipalities in the Monmouth County Joint Insurance Fund, which is represented by Somers Point-based Scibal Associates, Verruni said.

"We didn't pay anything on this," he said.



Capt. Bernard Sullivan filed a $5 million defamation of character law suit after he was determined to be not guilty of a driving under the influence charge filed against him after his arrest.


(excerpt, Ashbury Park Press)


Sullivan's claims include false arrest, false imprisonment, rescission of appointment to chief of police and defamation of character, according to the notice.

Township Attorney Roger McLaughlin said that under state law Sullivan now must wait a minimum of six months before filing suit and has a maximum of two years to file.

The claim will go to the township's insurance company, the Monmouth-Ocean Joint Insurance Fund, which is represented by Somers Point-based Scibal Associates, McLaughlin said.

However Sullivan's attorney, Bruce McMoran with the Manasquan-based law firm McMoran, O'Connor and Bramley, said they do not have to wait the six months before filing suit.

"They have a chance to settle and if it doesn't settle we'll file suit,'' McMoran said.



It seems that Verrecchia was upset at the not guilty verdict and had a few things to say about it according to Red Bank Green. He had testified in trial against Sullivan as the officer who had stopped his vehicle.


(excerpt)


[Presiding Judge William]Himelman found Capt. Bernard Sullivan not guilty despite testimony from the arresting officer, Patrolman Todd Verrecchia, that Sullivan had run a red light, nearly hit another car, was driving on the wrong side of the road and gave a Breathalyzer test that showed his blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit.

Afterward, breaking a gag order imposed on him by his superiors, Verrecchia said the verdict was "the most disgusting and disturbing possible outcome" for the case, according to the Press.

From the story:

Following a 10-minute recess, Himelman returned to the courtroom with his verdict. In giving his ruling, the judge described Verrecchia as "someone who enjoyed his job a little too much."
Himelman also discredited Verrecchia's testimony about his own movements prior to spotting Sullivan's car and his claim that he didn't recognize Sullivan's vehicle.

From the story:

Himelman also discussed an hourlong DVD [defense attorney James] Fagen had submitted into evidence containing footage from a surveillance camera showing Sullivan in the processing room of Wall police headquarters after his arrest.
"I didn't see (Sullivan) staggering, I didn't see him falling, I saw him walking around," Himelman said. "What I saw on that surveillance tape was a man who had five beers, not someone who had 10 beers."


Verrecchia expressed outrage afterward.

"For four months, I've had to deal with my integrity being questioned and now a judge questions it," he said.
Sgt. Frank Lancellotti said he and Verrecchia have received very little support from both police administration and the Township Committee since the arrest.

"With 18 years on the job, the justice system has failed me . . . and the town has failed me," Lancellotti said.

"I honestly don't want to be a cop anymore," Verrecchia said, "because I now know that I don't make a difference."




The latest incidents involving Sullivan, Verrecchia not to mention other foibles involving the Wall Township Police Department are being discussed here and here. Apparently, there have been problems in this section of New Jersey for quite some time.


Here is a blog about Wall Township police here and another blog is here talking about the corruption on the force, but who's writing it?


The first blog, the Wall Township Police Forum paints a much different picture of the Sullivan incident.


(excerpt)


Patrolman Verrecchia who made the initial stop was a rookie with less than five years as an officer. Patrolman Verrecchia also has a very disturbing police record. Since he has become an officer in Wall Township he has been at the center of some of the worst scandles the town has ever seen.

He is believed to be responsible for sending racially explicit hate mail to the police department's only African American officer. He then has taken the lead in a lawsuit against the very town he works for in an attempt to cover his tracks. He has convinced up to 50 other officers to also file lawsuits against the Township of Wall. He has been suspended five times last year alone for disciplinary actions as a result of behavior believed to be directly related to his actions as a police officer. He has tried on several occasion to sue some of the officers he works with personally.

That means for reasons other that related to actions as a police officer. This would cause the accused to have to get a lawyer at their own expense along with being represented on some level by a township paid attorney.

Since Verrecchia's arrival to Wall he has cost the town big bucks in lawsuits with more on the way. He is currently believed to be under investigation for several other incidents.



And so it goes, in New Jersey. More to come I'm sure.



Here's a rather interesting campaign event in Riverside tonight.


Downtown Antique Shop Tour With Candidate Mike Gardner
Wednesday, October 17
Tour starts at 6pm

A tour of several antique shops, each of which are being eyed for acquisition by the Redevelopment Agency.

Tour starts at Old Glory, 4344 Market at 6:00 p.m., then move to Brookleberry's Antiques and Mr. Beasleys Antiques, 3653 Market at 7:00, and finishes at 6th Street Toy and Antiques at 8:00 p.m.

At each location we will offer an informal valuation of one antique or other piece guests bring in. Use a photo for large items.

Refreshments will be served.

These are good businesses in good buildings and they should be allowed to stay where they are until they want to move.



So Old Glory is coming up on the redevelopment chopping block as well. What a shame but there's really no place for it in the "new" downtown.








Some statistics:




Visitors include the following:



The City of Riverside

The County of Riverside

Georgtown University

Nixon Peabody LLP

NBC/Universal

Sunrise(Switzerland)

West Des Moines Community Schools

State of California




Search engines used:


blogdigger.com

technorati.com

search.naver.com

cnn.com

lawinfo.com




Some of the search terms visitors used:


"shoot first law ga"

"gary tranbarger"

"fairmont summer programs 2006"

"race dicrimination court"

"Bill Lockyer"