Eureka - Did The City Find Its Soul?

When I saw this News Headline on Democracy Now this Thursday morning October 23, 2014, I thought about why the people of Eureka are not up in arms over the killing of Tommy McClain and are not supporting and participating en masse. It's been five weeks since Tommy McClain was gunned down and aside from a couple of news reports there has been absolutely nothing. When checking local blogs, a normal morning ritual, lo and behold I came across News Chanel Three's report: "Locals join national effort in protesting police brutality," including Tommy McClain.

It seems after five weeks since Tommy McClain was killed, not because he threatened or brought violence to anyone, but because he was violently assaulted by Eureka City Police officers for doing what everyone in Eureka has the legal right to do, someone in this community decided to speak up for him. I guess that is something in light of the fact that all everyone wants to talk about are the elections and the imposition on property owners to pay more taxes and eat GMOs. Yet, I don't see anything about the McClain killing from those running for office. Checked the local blogs, other than what's posted below, and the newspapers. Not even one letter - nothing. Not about the police, the killing of Tommy McClain or the demonstration about police brutality.

There was this disgusting diatribe from John Chiv: "Protest at the Courthouse, maybe this election distraction will work?" where he denigrates the the protesters and their protest of police brutality. Which clearly identifies him, his priorities and his position in the matter of police criminality. We wouldn't want anything like a police killing to interfere with the election of more gutless corrupt politicians and the smooth running of the money flow that props up his friends and their strongarm enforcers. So much for his lawful, moral and ethical pseudo standards he holds before this community like a trophy.

But for a small group of courageous people, the conduct of the majority of people in this community is a living indictment of irresponsibility and corruption. Impunity grants a sure judgment: "You reap what you sow" Eureka. Live and learn. Everyone that votes is responsible and ultimately accountable for the crimes committed in their names. Most people seem to believe, at least that is how they act, that "Good" will triumph over "Evil." Most everyone carries on like they have no say in that outcome. Personally, I don't think the good people, what few there are, will prevail. They've clearly abdicated that right. Not until they start enforcing law, which I don't see happening. Tragically it looks like Tommy McClain will end up just another casualty of a losing war.

This is the News Headline from Democracy Now:

"O22" Protests Against Police Brutality Held in Over 80 Cities

Protests against police brutality were held Wednesday in Ferguson, Missouri, and more than 80 other cities across the country. New York City residents joined the National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation.

Danette Chavis: "My name is Danette Chavis. I’m the mother of Gregory Chavis, who lost his life at the hands of NYPD in October 2004. I am convinced that nothing will change concerning this action until it is bought to the highest levels in government. We need nationwide action. We need the U.S. attorney general of the Department of Justice to deal with the issue of police brutality once and for all. Thousands of people are being murdered whose cases we know nothing about because they don’t have the ability to have their tragedy highlighted in the media." [Emphasis mine.]

This is the News Chanel Three's report:

EUREKA - Every October, protests are held nationwide to end police brutality. For 19 years, the annual event has taken place on October 22. But for protestors on the North Coast, one day is not enough. They continued their march through the night on October 22 and into the 23. 

“If a civilian accidentally kills someone, they're first arrested. And we're seeing this across America now, that when it's an officer that kills someone, even when it's an accident, there's no arrest,” one protestor said. 

The rain didn’t stop this local group from joining the national effort against police brutality and bringing justice on a local level. 

“Yesterday was the national days of protest and today we also protest in Eureka on October 23 because on October 23, 2006, Christopher Burgess, a 16 year old person in our community was shot and killed,” another protestor said. 

They protest for Burgess and also for Tommy McClain, another victim in an officer involved shooting in September. 

“We have to change this. We have to start holding the police accountable so that in the future, they will show restraint when dealing with members of the community rather than treating people like they're in a combat zone,” the protestor added. 

The protestors are carrying their message on posters starting in Arcata Wednesday morning, with an all night vigil at Cesar Chavez Park over the night, and finishing in Highland Park Thursday evening. 

“Living here long enough, I’ve seen this happen again and again and it keeps happening and keeps being perpetuated because there's no recourse. There's no accountability for the officers,” the protestor said. 

And they march with a mission. One stop along their way was at the coroner’s office to petition an inquest into the death of Tommy McClain. 

“We just want the judicial system to treat the police like they treat anyone else who was accused of a murder, especially if there is evidence proving that that person did murder someone,” the protestor said. 

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eureka
exclamation
a cry of joy or satisfaction when one finds or discovers something.

Eureka effect
From Wikipedia
The eureka effect, also known as the aha! moment, refers to the common human experience of suddenly understanding a previously incomprehensible problem or concept.

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[Picture Source]

--Joe

UPDATE: Singled Out - Adam Laird Case

This hasn't happened yet, but based upon what I read in today's Sunday, October 13, 2013, Times-Standard news paper, I fully expect the judge to throw out the criminal complaints against former Eureka Police Sargent Adam Laird. Front page headline: "Prosecutors oppose motion to dismiss EPD assault case."

Here is a clear-cut case of Paul Gallegos and his "Prosecutors" doing things that give Laird's lawyers legal rights to have the matter dismissed. When Laird is caught red-handed and really has no legitimate defense what does the District Attorney do to protect the police? He makes a little mistake, something you can attribute to his fervor or his staff's fervor - an excusable mistake. Ultimately, there is no justice or accountability.

The problem doesn't end there. Such action is a tacit defense of these kinds of people to continue totally justified committing such crimes. As a consequence, the EPD, Murl Harpham and the District Attorney's Office and Paul Gallegos are totally without any credibility. As it is, all actually, are without any justifiable legitimacy to exist in any capacity now - they really only represent and defend one another.

-Joe

"Singled Out" - No Doubt

Add caption

Chief of Eureka Police, Murl Harpham solidifies his legacy.

On Thursday, September 26, 2013, the Times-Standard newspaper awarded their readers with the picture of a beaming Police Chief Murl Harpham as he finished hiring a whole raft of new employees. Harpham is slated to retire when  the new Police Chief Andrew Mills is installed in November. Normally this action should not cause a second look, but when you read this morning's front-page headline, (Saturday, October 5, 2013) "Singled out: Defense attorney claims police sergeant was targeted for political views," Harpham's tenure in the EPD begins to make since. For years now, he's been running the EPD whether he was the police chief or not. After the last fiasco the City Fathers had with Garr Nielsen, it all begins to make sense - Harpham's stacking the deck and clearing out the refuse, all to solidify his legacy. You can be your bottom dollar everyone of these new hiree's fits the bill perfectly, including Andrew Mills.

Let there be no doubt, this kind of policing belongs in Egypt and Syria:

Laird, who has been with EPD since 2005, has pleaded not guilty to charges that he committed assault under the color of authority during a Dec. 6, 2012, arrest of a juvenile suspect and knowingly filed a report that included a false statement, or false statements, about the incident. His trial is slated to begin Dec. 16.  

Prosecutors allege that Laird used excessive force when he allegedly kicked a teenage suspect in the back while he was lying on the ground being handcuffed by another officer after a foot chase. The incident -- which was reported by another EPD officer and investigated by both the DA's office and EPD -- was caught on video through another officer's dash-mounted recording system.  

Former Humboldt County Chief Investigator Mike Hislop, who recently retired, and EPD Sgt. Rodrigo Reyna-Sanchez both said the video appears to show Laird used excessive force. According to Griego, a defense expert who reviewed the video found Laird acted appropriately when faced with a high-risk, noncompliant suspect. 

But, then this kind of obscenity is Murl Harpham's "tough" kind of "cop," isn't it?

Laird's lawyer says: "According to Griego, a defense expert who reviewed the video found Laird acted appropriately when faced with a high-risk, noncompliant suspect." "A high-risk noncompliant suspect"? Notice! This kid is not guilty of anything, he's a "suspect" only. "High-risk"? He's on the ground with his hands behind his back subdued and controlled by another officer putting him in handcuffs. The District Attorney, local judges and police agencies should understand, that while this kind of brutality as been standard fair during Murl Harpam's tenure, the world is changing. All of these people that swear an oath to uphold and enforce the had better understand that conduct OUTSIDE the law is reserved for criminals whether they wear a badge or not.

Don't forget, this guy was a trainer in the police department. Someone agreed with his policies or philosophies justifying such abhorrent conduct.

-Joe

SICK!

This is what happens when you give the police the right to brutalize peaceful protesters.

Of course, in places like Syria, in Palestine's Gaza, and West Bank, and Egypt they just shoot you dead, but this is America. They see peaceful people that dare want what is rightfully theirs in an altogther different way. They teach you lessons you'll remember and suffer with the rest of your miserable lives.

What I'd like to know is where are the REAL MEN protecting this girl? As long as the so-called men are cowing around wringing their hands, shaking in their sneakers, of course, these bullies are going to brutalize and then blame the victim. That's why they're handcuffing her before giving her help.

Only a stupid fool would buy into this game. The only good I can see that comes from something like this picture is a wakeup call. To those would-be demonstraters and protesters, take a good look and ask yourselves, is it worth it? If you are standing up for your legal rights and what you are doing is totally legal, then you have the legal right to defend yourself against the criminal agressor. In other words, you have the moral, ethical and legal responsibility to defend yourselves. Failure to do so is a defacto admission justifying the accusations and consequential actions of the police. The government and their police know this and is why and how they co-opt and justifiably brutalize anyone that would ask them for their permission or legal right to exist or be an equal citizen.

If you're not prepared to take these steps then simply stop cooperating and hold the people that support this kind of police brutality, or "tough cop" mentality accountable. In Eureka that starts with the current crop of City Coucil people and the Eurekan's that voted them in.
[Picture was taken from Facebook]

This incident took place on August 11, 2007. An update three years later, Judge orders new trial for Alexandra Svoboda, is the reason I wrote this article. The kind of support the community employs to justify using the justice system as a further weapon of assault is demonstrated here. This is the reason why accountability starts with these people who find the police are attacked when they physically atetack someone and call it an arrest. There is only one word that describes such people - SICK!

--Joe

Humboldt Shame

[UPDATE]

When I picked up my Wednesday, November 23, 2011, Times-Standard paper today and the this picture pasted on the front-page, Use of pepper spray at Davis brings back memories of '97 Palco protest; university president launches investigation and read the caption where they used the word, "allege,"  I was instantly enraged – AGAIN!

Allege means to "assert without proof." Then writes, "Eventually, officers swabbed pepper spray on the protesters' eyes in order to remove them." The fact is, they didn't need to "swab" anything in their eyes to "remove them." They used pepper spray just like they us the Taser to force submission and forced yielding - coercive rape at it's essence. The paper, regardless the writer, in this case Dona Tam, never gives-up on the biased propaganda justifying the crimes.

I was out of this area when that incident took place. When people found out that I was from Humboldt County they wanted to know what kind of neanderthal barbarians Humboldt County people had on their police forces? The only conclusion anyone could accept is that these people were not only sick, but sadistically sick.

We're not talking about just the Sheriff and Police Chief and their officers, but the whole damned community. The sickness that permeates this community was quite well defined when the justification for what amounts to a form of sadistic rape legally declared acceptable. What did the people in this community do about the District Attorney, the Sheriff, the Eureka Police Chief and the officers involved? The consequences of those acts that day are clear in the pictures of how the police deal with peaceful people all over the world. No father of any worthwhile value, including one of the girl's father, Jan Lundberg, would ever tolerate their daughter's treatment recorded here for the whole world to see. When you look to the criminal for justice, and get injustice, you are as guilty of the crimes committed as they are.

Shotgun pellets or pepper spray, what's the difference?

When you read articles like this one: Torture’s Future, By ERIC LEWIS in the New York Times and this one by Glenn Greenwald: The roots of the UC-Davis pepper-spraying along with pictures like this of what the heroic police and courageous solders are doing to their neighbors it all kind of jumbles together as something that doesn't involve YOU. Problem is, when you pickup your local newspaper and see similar pictures that happened right in your own hometown and know there is a twenty year legacy of such acts of vile hatred and sadistic barbarity, you've got to face the facts – like it or not.

When Eureka Police Chief Murl Harpham tells the homeowners and business people in Eureka that he has “tough” cops at their beck and call. These are the kind of “tough” people he's talking about. Notice in the accompanying article: Police pay third visit to Occupy Eureka at courthouse – Notice this statement: [O]one woman was arrested Tuesday morning after she allegedly became aggressive with a county employee, Harpham said.” “Became aggressive” in what way justifies an arrest? Raise their voice in objection? And the county employee didn't precipitate the incident with aggressive conduct? That “county employee” kept their business to themselves, just walked quietly by and never said a word or made a filthy gesture? Eureka police officers are, when they want to be, are extremely thin-skinned. Simply asking them a question can be cause for aggressiveness in their minds. Consequently, everyone walks a tightrope when dealing with the police.

These words by Swellsman are worth repeating:

And, yeah . . . the rest of us might want to think about trying to undo some of the power and public relations imbalance that we have allowed to creep into law enforcement’s favor by our past apathy in the face of public abuses. 

Despite what they’ll tell you, and what we’ve been conditioned to believe, the cops are not the law. The law resides in a system, not in a person, not even in a group of people. Cops are merely citizens – just like you and me – who have been given special dispensation to arrest people under certain circumstances and then turn them over to that system . . . and nothing more. 

And it seems to me that America would be a lot better off trying to keep that basic fact in mind.

His blog is located here. Picture source is the Times-Standard and Sharif Kouddous.

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[UPDATE :: HUMBOLDT HERALD has an posting on this subject: Humboldt’s history of pepper spray recalled. The comment section is worth considering. By the way, Heraldo's is uncustomarily candid of this longstanding wrong in this community and why he thinks the heavy-handed Government/Police way will ultimately fail.

--Joe

Who Knew? "We Are the 99%"

Extra Benefits of Supporting the "Occupy Movement"

Link Between Financial Crisis and Medical Illness - A little know or accepted reality - The root cause of sickness.

 DR. GABOR MATÉ: Well, you know, among the many inequities in a society are the ones that this protest has brought to light, the inequitable distribution of wealth and power. But what is not so generally realized, that this society also makes people sick. Fifty percent of American adults have a chronic medical illness, and much of that has to do with stress. And if you look at the literature on what causes stress, it’s uncertainty and lack of information and loss of control and lack of expression of self. And the uncertainty that has been forced upon the American population by the recent economic crisis, the loss of control as power has flown into the hands of very, very few people, and the absolute powerlessness of the many in the face of all that, and the lack of expression through the ordinary political process, people are totally disempowered and deprived of their voice. This protest addresses all those issues. So I can only say that this is an extraordinarily healthy thing to happen. People who participate here will be healthier for it as a result, and maybe society, in general, as well. And one more thing, as well. There was a study just this morning that parents who are stressed, they’re not as tuned in to their kids. They’re not as connected to their kids. So when society stresses people, like the current economic uncertainty and crisis does, children are not getting what they need. So this protest, as well, speaks to the needs of children as much as to the needs of adults in general. So that’s why I’m so gratified to see all this.

Dr. Gabor Maté is a Vancouver, Canada-based physician and bestselling author. Similarly to myself he observes, "As somebody who reached political consciousness in the 1960s, just when John Carlos did his famous salute at the Olympics, it’s gratifying to see that the thirst and the demand for justice and power and people’s rights wasn’t restricted to one generation or one time only but is very much alive in America." [Emphasis added]

The rest of the interview can been read here at Democracy Now.

The total looting of the America people and their worldly counterparts of their value as individuals and as countries, their laws, moral and ethical character and what everyone considers the measure of their value is nearly complete. Dr. Gabor Maté explains the ultimate objective - DEATH.

As a side note to learning more about this movement, Dave Stancliff's As It Stands Sunday, October 9, 2011, 'American Uprising' -- ongoing  demonstration for equality is worth reading. An observation worth noting he says, "This blacklash [sic] has no leaders, but the overall message is clear; things have t change." He clearly understands the "message," and makes the observation, but typically does not understand the relevance of no apparent leader or leaders. What he and most others, at least the human species 'others' don't see is that life on this planet is moving from a vertical authoritarian, dictatorial, corrupt, believer-motivated system some call Democracy to a horizontal, intention-motivated system. A system that doesn't need corrupt leaders that betray their country, its Constitution and people or traitor banks and too big to fail corporations. Dave Stancliff is right when he calls it an "American Uprising." He concludes by asking: "As It Stands, can you hear them? The voices ringing out across the land"? The answer is, "NO"! But they will soon enough - That is when the people, in particular those with some small measure of personal value or worth, those demonstrators or protesters that stand for themselves realize that asking for permission is a waste of time and stop cooperating. [Source]

--Joe

Dream On

[UPDATE Below]

Dream On "Send A Message." Meet the Joke called Accountability.

Attorney: Cotton verdict sends message; City: $4.5 million award will not impact general fund

Anyone see the joke?

So who will it "impact"? Will it "impact" the Eureka Police Department? Are these offending officers still working in Eureka on the E.P.D.? How many people were brutally beaten in Eureka during the past ten years, but didn't have the misfortune of dying?

The next time you are confronted by one of these three police officers and you see their name tag, Laird, Winkle or Whitmer, you'd better realize they're no joke.

When you read what Police Chief Murl Harpham has to say about this incident and his defence of his and his officer's continued right to use excessive force anytime they determine some "suspect" is not "compliant" you should clearly understand his definition of and what he means by "tough cop." It certainly doesn't have anything to do with restraining someone for transport. It has everything to do with beating or torturing someone into submission. When the city endows a group of people with that right - a right that puts them totally above the law, with complete impunity, you empower a gang or pack mentality and Cotten was just one of the many  guaranteed casualties. Read the deeper meaning emphasized by what Murl Harpham says as quoted in the Tuesday, September 29, 2011, issue of the Time-Standard. Harpham's defense of this kind of police action makes him and his officers defacto judge, jury and executioners. What he fails to understand is that his attitude in trying to make such a defense is what delegitimizes the justification of his authority and mandates the pack or gang mentality that permeates policing today. As such, they become the law, dictating to everyone what they can and can't do on any given whim.

What impressed me is how candidly Murl Harpham defines the war and simplifies whose lives are most valuable in this community.

The only people that award, if paid, sends a message to are the people that own property and pay taxes in the City of Eureka. Problem is, THEY ARE NOT LISTENING. If they are "hearing the word," they're afraid somone might brand or accuse them of being a "cop hater."

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[UPDATE] Humboldt Herald has some terse and wanting re-write of this matter. He says: Eureka Police lose big in Martin Cotton case – How he comes to that conclusion is a rather dark mystery. Sounds like this blogger's been spending too much time with the people over at the Times-Standard.

--Joe

Tazer Torture

[UPDATE Below]

Death on the North Coast

As reported in the Times-Standard newspaper, Wednesday, June 23, 2010: Del Norte man dies in Taser incident.

Incidentally, the Times-Standard also tweeted: @eurekaTS: Our most-read story today is about the Del Norte man who died from a Taser incident.

Here again a sick person is killed by the police incompetently trying to affect an arrest. According to the Times-Standard as told to them by the Del Norte Sheriff's Office, “...the deputies found Daniel Sylvester, who became violent and assaulted the deputies.” Why is the report always the same? They knew going in, again as reported, “...a 911 call regarding a man with a history of psychological problems who was 'out of control' – when they got there “the reporting party” ... “were scared and had left.” Uniformed and armed police officers confronting such a person in such a situation always pose a threat to the sick person. So, why is it that the very first thing they do is “deploy a tazer”? Even sane normal people when really angry are not prone to immediately submit to some officers order when they believe the officer is unreasonable. Hell, you can't even ask one of the guys a question without threatening them or their perceived authority.

Here again is a classic example of the standard use application of tasers by the police. Taser guns are often used by police as a compliance tool on unarmed individuals who pose no deadly threat, who are drunk or on drugs and simply quarrel with officers.

This idea that this or any other person is guilty of some crime just because a police officer decides to confront someone is taking our normal relatively peaceful communities into the same reality that this country brought to Iraq and Afghanistan – Shoot first and explain it away after. Personally, while I and my family support the police and always look to them as our first line of defense, we certainly do not want to live is some sort of bastardized police state.

Two well-trained, able-bodied police officers BEFORE receiving Tazers, where there was absolutely no justification for lethal force, would have simply taken control and enforced that sick man's arrest. Why? Because they weren't there to protect their thin skins as a first priority. They were there to HELP that sick person. And not by first torturing that poor person to death because he or she didn't respect and instantly comply or obey their every command and dictate. Those two deputy Sheriff's officers might as well have done the same thing the two Eureka Police officers did to David Sequoia, simply put a gun to his head and execute him. It amounts to the same thing – they're both dead and for the same reasons.

As long as the police are unable to do their jobs without people first giving them that right, there are going to be many more unnecessary deaths. The police, the individual police man or woman are NOT the Law. They enforce the law. There is a difference. They are not accuser, prosecutor, judge, jury or executioner. So how it, that is how they conduct themselves when they enforce their legal mandate when someone refuses to immediately so what they want?

Websites of interest:

1. Police Brutality (and Atrocity) Blog
2. Electrocuted While Black  "Tracking and reporting on pre-trial, extra-judicial death penalty, because it's 21st century lynching, by another name."
3. Tazer International Advisory Bulletin - Issued to police October 12, 2009.
4. Use of Force Continuum - 6 level specific process police follow.
5. Amnesty International's continuing concerns about Taser use. U.S.A. use of taser.

[UPDATE :: Tuesday, June 6, 2010]

Mother of man Tased and killed in Del Norte speaks out – now we get the other side of the story.

Why are the witness accounts always different than the police official reports? The Times-Standard's John Driscoll reports that the mother, who initially called the police and told them of her son's mental state of mind before the engaged him says, “her son was backing away from deputies.” So what obscure, nonsensical reason could this person possibly be doing that made these officers believe he was attacking them, that they were “fighting for their lives”? You think maybe he raised his voice a little and told them to stay away? Fear can do that you know?

 --Joe