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IF you see an ak in california call it in
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sorensen440
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If you zoom in on the bottom right of the screen in the red it overlaps the viewer
maybe im wrong but thats what I see
maybe im wrong but thats what I see
Connecticut Yankee
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East Palo Alto "Wolfpack" - PD Corruption (2002)
This is from a 2002 article but it is germane.
Tainted Justice: EPA police force faces corruption allegations
January 16, 2002 By The Stanford Daily Staff
Editor’s Note: This is the second article in a weekly series examining issues facing East Palo Alto. Today, The Daily looks at allegations of police corruption within the East Palo Alto Police Department.
While some Stanford students celebrated this New Year with fireworks and idle resolutions, many East Palo Alto residents entered the year with a much more aggressive agenda: to expose and eliminate corruption in the East Palo Alto police department.
At the first city council meeting of 2002, hundreds of East Palo Alto citizens rallied at the town’s Municipal Center to protest alleged corruption and misconduct within the city’s police department.
Re-hired officer Cole seeks active duty
The primary goal of the protesters was to confront the city council about its approach to a controversial case involving police Sgt. Robert Cole, who was recently reinstated to the police department after being fired in 1999.
On Dec. 13, a federal judge ordered the city to re-hire Cole, but by immediately placing him on “administrative leave,” the Police Department has all but ensured that Cole will stay off active duty indefinitely.
Cole originally came to the East Palo Alto force in 1986. In 1992, East Palo Alto earned the title of national “Murder Capital” for having the highest per-capita murder rate in the country — 42 murders occurred in the town of about 24,000 that year, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
In that same year, 279 robberies, 346 aggravated assaults and 406 motor vehicle thefts occurred in the city, which lies just two miles from Stanford, according to statistics compiled by Rand California.
The town, which has less than half the population of Palo Alto, had five times as many violent crimes reported that year.
Corrupt ‘Wolf Pack’ emerges
Over the next two years the crime rate in East Palo Alto declined, as the Rand figures show. But within the police force a new group of officers emerged who engaged in illegal activities; they dubbed themselves the “Wolf Pack,” according to Cole.
“The ‘Wolf Pack’ was a group of heavy-handed officers who assaulted and burglarized, falsified police reports and committed perjury,” Cole said.
“I told the officers who were under my command ‘No more.’ When I went to my superiors, the effort to push me out of the department began,” he continued.
East Palo Alto resident Henry Salas, who describes himself as one of Cole’s “warrior supporters,” said the corruption in the East Palo Alto Police Department is harming the community.
“This isn’t right, this isn’t justice — especially in your own police department.”
Salas said that he would like to see Cole restored to active duty —but that even attaining this goal would signal only a partial victory for Cole and his supporters, who recognize that this case is only one manifestation of the deep-seated institutional corruption within the department.
Since Cole began to uncover the corruption in the force, three officers have served prison sentences for misconduct.
“Rob Luddon and Daniel Munoz were arrested, convicted and did time,” Cole said. A third officer, Shawn Wildman, also served a prison sentence, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
For a relatively small town, East Palo Alto has experienced unusually high levels of public furor and negative press over police misconduct — and not only in response to the Cole controversy.
Records of lieutenants questioned
In the past few years, the department has faced a number of other serious allegations of misconduct.
In January 2000, rookie officer Shawn Wildman was charged by San Mateo County prosecutors with sexual battery and abuse of authority for allegedly molesting three teenage girls in the back of a squad car, according to Cole.
According to both Cole and an independent report of the Human Rights Defense Committee of San Jose, there is a claim against the city that Lt. Rod Norris — who at that time was one of two second-ranking officials in the department — and Police Chief Wes Bowling attempted to cover up Wildman’s misconduct.
According to the Mercury News, when one claimant’s mother called Norris to file a complaint about Wildman, he laughed at her.
But San Mateo County Superior Judge Mark R. Forcum wasn’t laughing when Wildman’s case came before him.
Wildman pleaded no contest to the charges and was sentenced to six months in jail; Norris was promoted to head the department’s patrol division, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
The Mercury News reported that Norris himself has engaged in misconduct. That newspaper said that four independent police sources claim that Norris “was forced to leave the Richmond Police Department for stealing evidence.”
In at least one other case, the department has promoted an officer with a spotty record.
During the early 1990s, Sgt. Thomas Alipio was one of the leaders of the “Wolf Pack.” He had been fired from the Oakland Police Department for multiple counts of brutality on citizens, burglary and falsifying payroll records, according to Cole.
“In court cases, Alipio has pled the Fifth Amendment — which protects defendants from having to answer incriminating questions —on 29 questions involving falsifying police reports and unnecessary brutality on citizens,” Cole said.
Since then, Alipio has been promoted to the rank of lieutenant, and one of the roles of his job is investigating citizens’ complaints, Cole continued.
Allegations include sex harassment, drug disposal
But Wildman, who went to prison for his sex offenses, is not the only officer who has come under fire for sexual misconduct. Several former officers of the East Palo Alto police department allege that members of the department sexually harassed them.
In July of last year, former police officer Gina Garabaldi was awarded a $185,000 settlement after allegedly being unfairly fired from the department. Garabaldi won the sexual harassment suit she filed — but the city will not re-hire her, Salas said.
The same is true in the case of former officer Alma Goddard, who, according to Salas, was also awarded a settlement after bringing forth a similar claim. Goddard, like Garabaldi, has not been reinstated to the police department, Salas said.
But Training Officer Terry Brown, the officer Goddard filed a claim against, was promoted to the rank of acting sergeant, according to the Mercury News.
And allegations of improper handling of controlled substances also have emerged.
In November, former officer Kenneth Cassettari filed a claim against the city of East Palo Alto. Cassettari was on duty with a field-training officer last year when they discovered a gram of black tar heroin, according to a claim Cassettari filed against the city.
Instead of reporting the finding, the officer instructed Cassettari to dispose of the heroin in a nearby dumpster. Cassettari recognized that disposing of a controlled substance is illegal and reported this incident to Alipio, the claim reports.
“After I made the above reports I received phone calls from other officers telling me to ‘watch my back,’ ” it continues.
By the end of last year Cassettari, like Cole and Garabaldi, was no longer an employee of the East Palo Alto Police Department; he was fired by mail on May 18, his claim reports.
Police Chief Bowling called ‘really ineffective’
Police Chief Wes Bowling has been head of the police department for the past six years. The level of alleged corruption in the department has led some citizens to call for his resignation.
“He’s ineffective,” Salas said. “He’s really ineffective.”
Bowling said he could not comment about these allegations because litigation is ongoing, while City Councilwoman Myrtle Walker declined an interview for the same reason. The East Palo Alto city attorney’s office did not return The Daily’s calls.
Despite the hundreds of protesters that packed the City Council Chambers on Jan. 8, Cole supporters say that the City Council won’t listen to them.
“This council is ignoring those people they represent. It’s appalling,” East Palo Alto resident Belinda Rosales told the Palo Alto Daily News.
Source URL:
http://daily.stanford.edu/article/2002/1/16/taintedJusticeEpaPoliceForceFacesCorruptionAllegations
This is from a 2002 article but it is germane.
Tainted Justice: EPA police force faces corruption allegations
January 16, 2002 By The Stanford Daily Staff
Editor’s Note: This is the second article in a weekly series examining issues facing East Palo Alto. Today, The Daily looks at allegations of police corruption within the East Palo Alto Police Department.
While some Stanford students celebrated this New Year with fireworks and idle resolutions, many East Palo Alto residents entered the year with a much more aggressive agenda: to expose and eliminate corruption in the East Palo Alto police department.
At the first city council meeting of 2002, hundreds of East Palo Alto citizens rallied at the town’s Municipal Center to protest alleged corruption and misconduct within the city’s police department.
Re-hired officer Cole seeks active duty
The primary goal of the protesters was to confront the city council about its approach to a controversial case involving police Sgt. Robert Cole, who was recently reinstated to the police department after being fired in 1999.
On Dec. 13, a federal judge ordered the city to re-hire Cole, but by immediately placing him on “administrative leave,” the Police Department has all but ensured that Cole will stay off active duty indefinitely.
Cole originally came to the East Palo Alto force in 1986. In 1992, East Palo Alto earned the title of national “Murder Capital” for having the highest per-capita murder rate in the country — 42 murders occurred in the town of about 24,000 that year, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
In that same year, 279 robberies, 346 aggravated assaults and 406 motor vehicle thefts occurred in the city, which lies just two miles from Stanford, according to statistics compiled by Rand California.
The town, which has less than half the population of Palo Alto, had five times as many violent crimes reported that year.
Corrupt ‘Wolf Pack’ emerges
Over the next two years the crime rate in East Palo Alto declined, as the Rand figures show. But within the police force a new group of officers emerged who engaged in illegal activities; they dubbed themselves the “Wolf Pack,” according to Cole.
“The ‘Wolf Pack’ was a group of heavy-handed officers who assaulted and burglarized, falsified police reports and committed perjury,” Cole said.
“I told the officers who were under my command ‘No more.’ When I went to my superiors, the effort to push me out of the department began,” he continued.
East Palo Alto resident Henry Salas, who describes himself as one of Cole’s “warrior supporters,” said the corruption in the East Palo Alto Police Department is harming the community.
“This isn’t right, this isn’t justice — especially in your own police department.”
Salas said that he would like to see Cole restored to active duty —but that even attaining this goal would signal only a partial victory for Cole and his supporters, who recognize that this case is only one manifestation of the deep-seated institutional corruption within the department.
Since Cole began to uncover the corruption in the force, three officers have served prison sentences for misconduct.
“Rob Luddon and Daniel Munoz were arrested, convicted and did time,” Cole said. A third officer, Shawn Wildman, also served a prison sentence, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
For a relatively small town, East Palo Alto has experienced unusually high levels of public furor and negative press over police misconduct — and not only in response to the Cole controversy.
Records of lieutenants questioned
In the past few years, the department has faced a number of other serious allegations of misconduct.
In January 2000, rookie officer Shawn Wildman was charged by San Mateo County prosecutors with sexual battery and abuse of authority for allegedly molesting three teenage girls in the back of a squad car, according to Cole.
According to both Cole and an independent report of the Human Rights Defense Committee of San Jose, there is a claim against the city that Lt. Rod Norris — who at that time was one of two second-ranking officials in the department — and Police Chief Wes Bowling attempted to cover up Wildman’s misconduct.
According to the Mercury News, when one claimant’s mother called Norris to file a complaint about Wildman, he laughed at her.
But San Mateo County Superior Judge Mark R. Forcum wasn’t laughing when Wildman’s case came before him.
Wildman pleaded no contest to the charges and was sentenced to six months in jail; Norris was promoted to head the department’s patrol division, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
The Mercury News reported that Norris himself has engaged in misconduct. That newspaper said that four independent police sources claim that Norris “was forced to leave the Richmond Police Department for stealing evidence.”
In at least one other case, the department has promoted an officer with a spotty record.
During the early 1990s, Sgt. Thomas Alipio was one of the leaders of the “Wolf Pack.” He had been fired from the Oakland Police Department for multiple counts of brutality on citizens, burglary and falsifying payroll records, according to Cole.
“In court cases, Alipio has pled the Fifth Amendment — which protects defendants from having to answer incriminating questions —on 29 questions involving falsifying police reports and unnecessary brutality on citizens,” Cole said.
Since then, Alipio has been promoted to the rank of lieutenant, and one of the roles of his job is investigating citizens’ complaints, Cole continued.
Allegations include sex harassment, drug disposal
But Wildman, who went to prison for his sex offenses, is not the only officer who has come under fire for sexual misconduct. Several former officers of the East Palo Alto police department allege that members of the department sexually harassed them.
In July of last year, former police officer Gina Garabaldi was awarded a $185,000 settlement after allegedly being unfairly fired from the department. Garabaldi won the sexual harassment suit she filed — but the city will not re-hire her, Salas said.
The same is true in the case of former officer Alma Goddard, who, according to Salas, was also awarded a settlement after bringing forth a similar claim. Goddard, like Garabaldi, has not been reinstated to the police department, Salas said.
But Training Officer Terry Brown, the officer Goddard filed a claim against, was promoted to the rank of acting sergeant, according to the Mercury News.
And allegations of improper handling of controlled substances also have emerged.
In November, former officer Kenneth Cassettari filed a claim against the city of East Palo Alto. Cassettari was on duty with a field-training officer last year when they discovered a gram of black tar heroin, according to a claim Cassettari filed against the city.
Instead of reporting the finding, the officer instructed Cassettari to dispose of the heroin in a nearby dumpster. Cassettari recognized that disposing of a controlled substance is illegal and reported this incident to Alipio, the claim reports.
“After I made the above reports I received phone calls from other officers telling me to ‘watch my back,’ ” it continues.
By the end of last year Cassettari, like Cole and Garabaldi, was no longer an employee of the East Palo Alto Police Department; he was fired by mail on May 18, his claim reports.
Police Chief Bowling called ‘really ineffective’
Police Chief Wes Bowling has been head of the police department for the past six years. The level of alleged corruption in the department has led some citizens to call for his resignation.
“He’s ineffective,” Salas said. “He’s really ineffective.”
Bowling said he could not comment about these allegations because litigation is ongoing, while City Councilwoman Myrtle Walker declined an interview for the same reason. The East Palo Alto city attorney’s office did not return The Daily’s calls.
Despite the hundreds of protesters that packed the City Council Chambers on Jan. 8, Cole supporters say that the City Council won’t listen to them.
“This council is ignoring those people they represent. It’s appalling,” East Palo Alto resident Belinda Rosales told the Palo Alto Daily News.
Source URL:
http://daily.stanford.edu/article/2002/1/16/taintedJusticeEpaPoliceForceFacesCorruptionAllegations
ripcurlksm
Member
..
Why CA? I have lived in NJ most of my life and been in CA for the past three. The gun laws in CA are MUCH better than the ones in NJ! I dont want to move back to NJ now because CA seems to be a better state to own firearms than NJ... whats the deal folks?
can we vote to remove NY+CA from the union
Why CA? I have lived in NJ most of my life and been in CA for the past three. The gun laws in CA are MUCH better than the ones in NJ! I dont want to move back to NJ now because CA seems to be a better state to own firearms than NJ... whats the deal folks?
Get together with a gun buddy.
Each of you buy a gun.
Save every scrap of paper from the purchase.
Each of you turn in the other.
Whether they take the original gun or not, you still have enough money left to buy another.
Repeat often!
Each of you buy a gun.
Save every scrap of paper from the purchase.
Each of you turn in the other.
Whether they take the original gun or not, you still have enough money left to buy another.
Repeat often!
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