Author Archives: demotropolis

Riley June Williams, Pelosi’s Laptop Thief, January 6 Insurrection

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This post is to document what we have found so far regarding the prosecution of Riley June Williams for multiple charges related to her participation in the January 6 insurrection.

Case Documents

Explosions Rock East Oakland Neighborhood : Car Fire

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26 May 2017

In the early morning hours, just after two o’clock, the neighborhood near Allendale and 38th Avenue in East Oakland was awakened by a loud explosion first thought to be an earthquake. Within minutes, more explosions demanded investigation. A car was in flames, and the flames were climbing a tall tree as fuel began streaming downhill along the curb in the form of liquid fire.
 


 

One of the problems Oakland faces reared it’s ugly head again as this reporter attempted to call for fire services : dispatch from a 911 call goes directly to California State Patrol, which then has to forward the call to Oakland dispatch. This arrangement causes delays in response time. In this case, the dispatcher acknowledged knowing about the fire, yet insisted upon asking for the name of the caller, which was the least important bit of information under the circumstances at the time. These delays can be deadly. In this situation, the fire and explosions threatened two other nearby cars and one very tall tree. Had those also caught fire, the next to go would’ve been the duplex just across the sidewalk.

Thankfully, a crew arrived in time to extinguish the fire before it spread. The burned out car was removed before dawn.

Fire crews are still investigating.

car ablaze

car ablaze

 

CA Prison Spending Soars to All Time High in Governor’s Budget

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11 May 2017

CA Prison Spending Soars to All Time High in Governor’s May Budget Revise
Advocates Argue that Savings from Parole and Sentencing Reforms Not Fully Realized

Sacramento — This morning, Governor Jerry Brown released California’s 2017-18 revised budget – a budget that increases total funding on corrections to $11.4 billion (2017-18), up from $10.6 billion last year (2016-17). Brown’s increase in corrections spending falls out of step with the will of the people of California. The budget projects a decline of the adult prison population by .7% due to voter mandated criminal justice reforms like Proposition 57, yet, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation budget continues to soar at an all time high this year. In a moment where California’s values are under threat by the federal government, the state cannot afford to drain its social safety net to expand prisons and jails.

Over 64% of California voters have already taken a stand against wasteful spending by passing Prop 57 last fall, however the savings are offset by the Governor’s budget. The budget estimates that Prop 57 will reduce the average daily population by approximately 2,000 in 2017-18 with result in net savings of $38.8 million in 2017-18, yet the total corrections budget increases by an all time high of $600 million. Despite these spending increases, CDCR insists on neutering the potential cost saving effects of Prop 57 by refusing to implement retroactivity, expanding credits to non-violent third strikers and applying credits to the earliest possible parole dates. As the budget is finalized, advocates turn to legislative budget leaders, encouraging them to with Prop 57 regulations. Arguing that by fully implementing the will of California voters to reduce mass incarceration millions of dollars in savings could be realized.

“In the Senate Budget committee hearing Senator Skinner asked Secretary Scott why CDCR won’t implement retroactivity. He stated that it was because CDCR did not have the capacity to do so. The Governor’s revised budget allots an additional $1 million to implement Prop 57. We strongly recommend CDCR use this additional funding to implement retroactive milestone earning credits” said, Charles Berry, board member of Initiate Justice, a member organization of Californians United for a Responsible Budget.

In addition to full implementation of voter-mandated reforms, state legislators are still concerned about California’s deadly prison and jail overcrowding and are pursuing further common sense sentencing reforms like SB 180 (RISE Act). Authored by Senator Mitchell, the RISE Act would repeal an enhancement for prior drug convictions. Experts believe these enhancements have contributed to jail and prison overcrowding, and do little or nothing to deter drug sales.

“The policy of sentencing people with nonviolent drug offenses to long periods of incarceration has proven an expensive failure,” said Eunisses Hernandez, Policy Coordinator for the Drug Policy Alliance. “Like Prop 47 and 57 before it, savings from reduced jail crowding would free up funds that could be invested in programs and services that improve public safety, including community-based mental health and substance use treatment, job programs, and affordable housing.”

Donald Trump’s repeal of federal reforms, like Obamacare, are well underway, and his threats to withhold federal funds from states that refuse to comply with his aggressive immigration policies continue. Governor Brown’s budget and press conference shared no plan if a major federal financial hit impacted California like the possible repeal of the Affordable Care Act.

“In a moment when federal pressure could lead to severe cuts to health and human services, as well as education, it seems like a no-brainer that funding should be cut from the state’s bloated corrections budget to protect the social safety net. Now is the time for the Governor to take a stand against the racist and oppressive policies that will come down federally.”

The people of California, progressive legislators and the CURB coalition believe that the appropriate response to looming budget threats is not more wasteful spending on incarceration, but commonsense reforms coupled with a reduction in corrections spending. California should continue to pursue aggressive parole and sentencing reform efforts and repeal all prison and jail expansion efforts.

CURB will be joining the California Partnership at a series of statewide press conferences to respond to today’s budget.

Los Angeles, Thursday May 11th at 12pm – Ronald Reagan State Building (300 S. Spring St.)
Sacramento, Thursday May 11th at 11am – State Capitol Bldg 1st Floor Room 1190
San Francisco, Friday May 12th at 1pm – California State Building (355 McAllister St.)
Riverside, Monday May 15th at 10 am – CA Towers (3737 Main St.)
Coachella, Monday May 15th at 10 am – Veterans Park (1515 Sixth St.)
Bakersfield, Monday May 15th at 11 am – Kern County Liberty Bell (1415 Truxtun Ave.)

Ace Hardware Admits to Profiling and Discrimination

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1 December 2016

In response to either a ‘request’ or ‘order’ from Morton County Sheriff, Ace Hardware Corporate instructed stores in the vicinity to refuse to sell small propane tanks and other ‘incendiary devices’ to anyone who looks like they might be from or supporting one of the nearby Water Protector encampments. These camps are full of people enduring winter weather for the sake of protecting the regional water supply from future contamination by the Dakota Access Pipeline. A representative from Demotropolis was told as much over the phone on 30 November. In the audio which is posted here, an Ace Corporate representative not only acknowledges that Ace is agreeing to follow the wishes of Morton County Sheriff or Mandan Police, he also acknowledges committing profiling and discrimination by admitting they will still sell all items to people, unless those people look like they’re from the encampments or are getting supplies for those who are.

Beginning at 19:45 in the embedded audio recording :

Ace Corporate rep Scott : Any materials that could be used as incendiary devices
Guillermo : So … that’s propane … only to Standing Rock, people from Standing Rock. … How would you know who the customer is? … How are they determining who’s from the camp and who is not?
Ace Corporate rep Scott : That’s being done by law enforcement officials.
Guillermo : … in the Ace Hardware store … This isn’t a blanket ban. It’s not that the store has completely stopped selling that. They’ve only stopped selling this to who [sic] they believe is from the camp …
Ace Corporate rep Scott : I don’t think that’s part of the statement at all. I think law enforcement is at Ace to refrain from selling any materials to anybody. There’s nothing that specific in the statement at all.
Guillermo : So does that mean that the hardware stores are not selling to … to anybody … I mean they stopped selling propane completely?
Ace Corporate rep Scott : That’s my understanding
Guillermo : … I spoke to the hardware store at Bismark and they said that they aren’t, in fact, selling propane to anybody. So which is it?

The long recording goes on, Guillermo having conferenced in representatives from a Bismark Ace Hardware store. After awhile, one of those reps acknowledged that he agreed to refrain from restocking the small green fuel canisters because police told him one was used as a weapon and almost killed someone. Guillermo pointed out that there is no evidence of such a thing happening at all. The representative refused to hear the truth that there is video evidence that police have been firing explosives, claiming he is not interested in politics. He said, ‘I don’t care about the facts, they’re threatening my life.’ While anything is possible, it seems he interpreted calls made to pressure him as threats to his own safety. By all accounts so far, callers have threatened to boycott, not to harm him as a person. Jeff claimed he has ‘a great relationship with the tribe.’

The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) has published a Statement of Solidarity with Standing Rock Sioux Tribe against Dakota Access Pipeline. The Water Protector Legal Collective (WPLC), an initiative of the NLG, has filed suit for Excessive Force against Peaceful Protesters. The recent filing of the MOTION FOR TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER AND PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION and accompanying PLAINTIFFS’ MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER AND PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION lay out some of the abuses which have been committed by law enforcement against unarmed, non-violent, prayerful Water Protectors. An online search using the key terms #NoDAPL, Water Protectors, Dakota Access Pipeline, #ProtectOcetiSakowan, #DefendStandingRock, #WaterIsLife, #MniWiconi #IStandWithStandingRock … combined with the word ‘livestream’ or ‘video’ will bring one to plenty evidence supporting the claims made in the lawsuit. No evidence has been found which supports the claims made by law enforcement that Water Protectors have rioted or used violence or weapons of any kind.

Throughout the recorded discussion, it became clear that the right hand didn’t know what the left hand was doing. One thing is certain : the owner of one of the Bismark stores had ‘selling the store’ on his mind. While that’s a harsh reality for him, it proves that the pressure from a boycott and making calls to the stores and to Ace Corporate offices is already having an effect. It’s also become clear that people are willing to make decisions based solely upon false information being delivered to them by police, as there is evidence and eyewitness testimony that Sophia Wilansky was injured by rubber bullets and also by an explosive device aimed directly at her by police. There is no evidence that any Water Protector has used any weapon at all, including fuel canisters.

A second call this morning to Mark Zeman, who manages the Ace Corporate customer service department, brought news which is in direct opposition to everything learned earlier today and yesterday. During a call yesterday, a representative named Cathy began reading a statement which acknowledged that Ace Corporate had agreed to follow a mandate by law enforcement to stop selling anything which ‘could be used as incendiary device’ to anyone from the #NoDAPL encampments. After passing the Demotropolis reporter to Mark Zeman, he began to read that same statement. The reporter requested that Zeman please email the statement, so as to assure that the statement would be published in full and without error. After agreeing to do so, Zeman failed to send the document. During today’s call, Zeman directed our reporter to a new web page set up by Ace Corporate, claiming that they are not refusing to sell any products to any people. He also refused to send yesterday’s statement for comparison, so there is no visible verification of that previous statement as of publication.

The updated statement reads :

Oak Brook, Ill.,December01,2016
Ace Hardware statement on North Dakota protest and product sales
Update: As of Thursday, Dec. 1 at 10 a.m. local time, Ace Hardware stores in Bismarck, N. D., are in-stock and selling 1 lb. propane canisters.

At Ace, our local store owners take great pride in serving their neighbors and it is our policy to serve all customers without discrimination and to follow all laws in each respective community.

We understand the concerns that have been shared with us regarding product sales related to the recent protests in North Dakota and have been working very hard to gather all of the facts from our locally-owned Ace stores that operate in the area and local authorities. To be candid, we’ve been working feverishly to unearth all of the facts, which have been cloudy at times.

In an effort to clear any misunderstanding and/or misinformation, Ace Hardware can now confirm that there is no ban on the sale of products at our locally-owned Ace stores; customers should feel free to check with their local store for inventory availability.

On Thursday morning, 1 December 2016, Ace Corporate revised it's statement regarding the sales of propane canisters to the public, including to Water Protectors.

On Thursday morning, 1 December 2016, Ace Corporate revised it’s statement regarding the sales of propane canisters to the public, including to Water Protectors.

A call to verify this new statement, and to get a copy of yesterday’s statement went unanswered. As is visible on the screenshot of the Ace revised statement 1 Dec released today, the Ace Corporate contact regarding this issue is :

Kate Kirkpatrick
Corporate Media Relations
kkirk@acehardware.com
630-990-1478

During a call to Bismark Ace Hardware this morning, the worker who first answered and subsequently a manager named Jeff first claimed that the information which has been circulating was wrong. Jeff claimed that the Bismark Ace Hardware was not refusing to sell specific items to specific people or to anyone, and that all products were being sold to any shopper. After a few minutes, he clarified that he was the manager, not the owner by the same name. When he was informed that the owner had been recorded saying the opposite, he entered into conversation. He did not have answers when asked from whom and what agency came the original mandate from law enforcement to refrain from selling fuel canisters to Water Protectors. Jeff was asked whether if he as manager, or the owner of the store, could be convinced that Water Protectors are acting in absolute non-violent fashion and are putting their health and safety and even lives on the line to protect the water supply, the Bismark store would consider actually making donations in their support. After a few minutes of listening to descriptions of the violence being used by law enforcement against Water Protectors, along with an offer to provide evidence, his answer was yes, that donating might be possible. He was provided an email address to enable the owner to contact Demotropolis.

If and when Demotropolis acquires a copy of (or statement verifying) any mandate received by the Bismark (or any) Ace Hardware from law enforcement, that will be added to this article.

If and when Demotropolis acquires a copy of the 30 November 2016 Ace Corporate statement regarding this issue, that document will also be added.

Water Protector Sophia Wilansky : Victim of State Sponsored Terrorism

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22 November 2016

As Water Protectors at Standing Rock attempted to clear wreckage which had been blocking a public road for a month, they were attacked by a militarized police force which was led by Morton County Sheriff. While the sheriff and his deputies are legally public servants, they have spent the past many months working for private security firms and private business which have moved onto tribal lands (designated by treaty) for the purpose of digging up sacred sites to bury a pipeline. After years and decades of oil pipeline leaks, truck explosions, and other highly destructive ‘accidents’ caused by oil distribution methods, the people are attempting to stop the pipeline from crossing under the Missouri River. They are also claiming rights to the lands, and attempting to protect sacred sites from destruction by these corporate and police state entities.

1851 Treaty Map

1851 Treaty Map

After months of altercations in which private security, pipeline workers, and police from several states attacked Water Protectors with dogs, teargas, ‘rubber’ bullets, explosives, pepper spray, water cannons, vehicles, loaded guns, and long range acoustic devices (LRAD, also known as ‘sonic weapons’), police again attacked.

On 21 November under cover of darkness, police used many of the above mentioned weapons against Water Protectors. Police have repeatedly lied about these attacks, this time claiming they did not spray water on Water Protectors, then returning to defend the use of water as weapon. During this attack, the ambient temperature that night dipped to 18°F, well below freezing, thereby putting Water Protectors in immediate risk of death by hypothermia.

Among the injured was Sophia Wilansky, who was unarmed and, as is true of all other Water Protectors involved, presented no threat to any person. She had her arm blown apart by an explosive device fired by police. Below is the press statement made by the family of Ms. Wilansky as to her injuries and status at this time.

Sophia Wilansky was one of 300 Water Protectors injured by militarized police violence.

Sophia Wilansky was one of 300 Water Protectors injured by militarized police violence.

Sophia Wilansky's horrible injury

Sophia Wilansky’s horrible injury

Sophia Wilansky's torn arm : closeup reveals bone

Sophia Wilansky’s torn arm : closeup reveals bone

November 22nd, 2016 at 9:00am CST
For Press Conference information contact medichealercouncil@gmail.com
Prepared by Standing Rock Medic & Healer Council at the Standing Rock Dakota Access Pipeline Resistance Camps
On November 21st as a direct result of the violent police response at Standing Rock towards unarmed people opposing the Dakota Access Pipeline, a 21 year old woman from New York City, Sophia Wilansky, was severely injured when a concussion grenade thrown by police hit her left arm and exploded. Sophia was heading to bring water to the unarmed people who were being attacked for several hours by Morton County Sheriff forces. The Morton County Sheriff’s Department has stated that she was injured by a purported propane explosion that the Sheriff’s Department claimed the unarmed people created. These statements are refuted by Sophia’s testimony, by several eye-witnesses who watched police intentionally throw concussion grenades at unarmed people, by the lack of charring of flesh at the wound site and by the grenade pieces that have been removed from her arm in surgery and will be saved for legal proceedings.
Sophia was safely taken out of North Dakota for emergent surgery and is currently in stable condition. Below is her statement as conveyed by her father, lawyer Wayne Wilansky.
“At around 4:30am after the police hit the bridge with water cannons and rubber bullets and pepper spray they lobbed a number of concussion grenades which are not supposed to be thrown at people directly at protesters or protectors as they want to be called. A grenade exploded right as it hit Sophia in the left forearm taking most of the undersurface of her left arm with it. Both her radial and ulnar artery were completely destroyed. Her radius was shattered and a large piece of it is missing. Her medial nerve is missing a large section as well. All of the muscle and soft tissue between her elbow and wrist were blown away. The police did not do this by accident – it was an intentional act of throwing it directly at her. Additionally police were shooting people in face and groin intending to do the most possible damage. Sophia will have surgery again tomorrow as bit by bit they try to rebuild a somewhat functioning arm and hand. The first surgery took a vein from her leg which they have implanted in her arm to take the place of the missing arteries. She will need multiple surgeries to try to gain some functional use of the arm and hand. She will be, every day for the foreseeable future, fearful of losing her arm and hand. There are no words to describe the pain of watching my daughter cry and say she was sorry for the pain she caused me and my wife. I died a thousand deaths today and will continue to do so for quite some time. I am left without the right words to describe the anguish of watching her look at her now alien arm and hand.”
A fund set up by friends and verified to help with Sophia’s recovery is set up here:
https://www.gofundme.com/30aezxs
The Standing Rock Medic Healer Council deplores the ongoing use of violence by the state of North Dakota to address the concerns of the thousands of people peacefully assembled at Standing Rock to insist on the right to clean healthy drinking water.
Water is Life, Mni Wiconi
Signed,
Linda Black Elk, PhD, Ethnobotanist, Sitting Bull College
Michael Knudsen, MPH candidate, Standing Rock Medic & Healer Council
Noah Morris, EMT
Amelia Massucco, RN
John Andrews, RN
Kristina Golden, EMT, herbalist
Sebastian Rodriguez, RN
Rosemary Fister, RN, MNPHN, DNP Candidate
Rupa Marya, MD, DoNoHarm Coalition, University of California – San Francisco
David Kingfisher, MD, JD, Wichita State University
Jesse Lopez, MD, Heartland Surgical Care
Kalama O Ka Aina Niheu, MD, Aha Aloha Aina
Howard Ehrman, MD, MPH, University of Illinois – Chicago
Geeta Maker-Clark, MD, University of Chicago
Elizabeth Friedman, MD
Vanessa Bolin, ALS Paramedic
Contact: Michael Knudsen, Medic Coordinator and Standing Rock Sioux Tribe ethno-botanist Linda Black Elk, PhD – medichealercouncil@gmail.com

Ms. Wilansky’s father, Wayne Wilansky, was interviewed by Paul Blume about the incident, her surgery, current condition, and prognosis.

24 November 2016 UPDATE : video from interview with Wayne Wilansky by Democracy Now Wayne Wilansky Interview

Check back for updates to this situation, as links will be added for those who have not researched the back story to this most recent attack by police. With permission from the family, photos and video will also be added.

Arizona Highway Patrol Terrorizes Man and Young Daughter at Gunpoint

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18 August 2016

This was posted by the victim of this State of Arizona sponsored terror attack on 12 August 2016.

Follow · August 12 · 

Tonight, I was arrested at gunpoint by an Arizona highway patrol officer who threatened to shoot me in the back (twice) in front of my 7-year-old daughter. For a moment, I was certain he was going to kill me for no reason. I’m alive, and I need to share the story. PLEASE SHARE IT, because I have an important reason for staying up past 1AM to write it down.

Here’s what happened:
My daughter and I are from San Francisco, on vacation, traveling through the Southwest. Today we were driving from Hoover Dam to the Grand Canyon in a Toyota Camry we’d rented from Fox Car Rental in Las Vegas. In Williams, Arizona, as I exited Interstate 40 to head north toward the Canyon rim, I was pulled over by an AHP officer who’d been tailing me for a couple of miles. I hadn’t been speeding, so I wondered if perhaps the car had a broken taillight or something. I rolled down my window and waited.

Suddenly, the officer rapped on the rear passenger side window with his pistol. My daughter, who was sitting inches from the barrel of his gun, jumped with fear as the officer yelled at me to roll down the front passenger window, his service weapon pointed directly at me. I knew something was terribly awry and I tried to remain calm, keeping my hands visible as I slowly fumbled for the window controls in an unfamiliar car. My daughter rolled down her window and I explained that we were in a rental car, that we had no weapons, and I was having trouble figuring out how to roll down the front passenger window from my driver’s side door. The officer didn’t listen, and kept yelling louder and more insistently, ordering me to comply with his request as he leered at me down the barrel of his pistol. My daughter panicked and tried to get out of her booster seat to reach forward to roll down the front window, and the officer screamed her at her not to move as he pointed his pistol at her.

Somehow I was able to get the window down, and then the officer ordered me to exit the car with my hands up. I did so slowly and with my hands raised as high in the air as possible, and as he came around to the driver’s side of the car he screamed at me to face away from him, as if I were doing something wrong. (I didn’t know this was the protocol for being arrested at gunpoint.) Then, as I had my hands in the air, he yelled, at the top of his lungs, in a voice I will never forget, as my daughter looked on in terror, “Get your hands away from your waist or I’ll blow two holes through your back right now!” My hands were high in the air as he said this, and I was not in any way reaching for my waist. I was utterly terrified. I’ve heard stories of police yelling out false things like this before they unjustifiably attack someone as a way to justify the attack, and I thought this was what was happening to me. I braced for bullets to hit me and all I could think of was my daughter having to watch it happen and being left alone on the side of the highway with an insane, violent cop.

The bullets didn’t arrive, though. I followed every order of the officer as slowly and deliberately as I could, very slowly backed toward him, got to my knees, was placed in handcuffs, and was thrown inside the back of his car. By this time many more officers has arrived, and I could see a couple of them talking to my daughter.

Why was I arrested? The car I was had rented had previously had its front license plate lost or stolen, so the car rental company reported this to the Nevada DMV. The Arizona highway patrol officer, who looked up my plate number while he was tailing me, misinterpreted this Nevada DMV report as meaning that I was driving a car with a stolen license plate, and somehow this prompted him to approach me at gunpoint and threaten to kill me in front of my little girl.

After a few minutes he released me from the handcuffs, and since I knew the truth, I called him out for over-reacting, and told him he had no reason to threaten to shoot me. He stood by his story that I had made a threatening movement toward my waist, and I said it wasn’t true, and he said this wasn’t the place to discuss it. He let me go attend to my daughter but continued to “detain” us for another 20 minutes as he talked to his supervisors, presumably plotting damage control.

I got his card, his supervisor’s number, the case number, and the cards of other officers on the scene. I’m not sure what I’m going to do about it. My daughter is traumatized. She said she wanted to cry to the officers who were comforting her, but she was afraid they would get mad at her. As we drove the final hour to our Grand Canyon hotel, she told me she was confused, because she thought the police were the good guys, and she didn’t know why the officer said he would kill me when my hands were in the air. I tried to come up with an explanation but I struggled for words.

I’m not sure why I’m writing all this down. Maybe it’s because, as I sat in that back of that police car and heard the AHP officer learn the truth from his dispatcher – that the man he’d just captured at gunpoint and threatened to murder was totally innocent – I realized it was very possible that the only reason I was alive was because I am a scrawny 48-year-old white man wearing a Micky Mouse t-shirt and cargo shorts and hiking boots. The officer that arrested me was so pumped up on adrenaline and eager to get a “bad guy” that he could barely control himself, and if I’d looked just a little bit more threatening to him – because I was black, or young, or long-haired, or tattooed, or didn’t speak English – I believe he might have pulled the trigger.

If you are a person who has ever looked skeptically at the claims of Black Lives Matter, or others who talk about police violence, I urge you to consider what happened to me and put yourselves in the shoes of others. I just survived a bizarre gunpoint situation in which I was as innocent as Philando Castile, who was not as lucky as I was. We live in a society where anywhere and everyone can have a gun at any time, and police are responding with fear in dangerous ways. I got lucky tonight. My daughter and I made it to the Grand Canyon and I’m going to try to salvage what’s left of our vacation. Many others – because of the color of their skin or the way they look or because of simple bad luck – did not meet the same fate.

 
 

Killer Cop’s Attorney Harasses Victim’s Mother

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11 June 2015

On 2 November 2012, Danielle Willard was shot and killed by Shaun Cowley, then a detective in West Valley City, Utah. Willard was crouching down in the passenger seat of her own car just before two plainclothes detectives approached and shot her. Police subsequently claimed that she had driven the vehicle toward them, but no evidence supports this claim. A witness saw Danielle Willard and a man drive into the parking lot. The male was driving. Another witness said that they heard gun shots before the car started moving again. This would mean that Willard was shot and her car was already in gear to go backwards. The first shot killed her and she had no control of the car after that. There was no way she could have been trying to run anyone over. Another witness said that, after the shooting, Cowley went to the middle of the parking lot. He laid down. There was no car or person anywhere around him. There has never been any explanation as to why he would do such a thing. There has also been no explanation as to why, when police contacted the man who was running away, they failed to identify him, accepting (or inventing) the story that he just happened to be jogging nearby this police action.

Because of incidents which occurred in the weeks before this police killing of an unarmed woman, efforts are still being made to explain why police targeted Danielle Willard in the first place. She had made 911 calls to get help when her apartment was overrun, then taken over, by people she feared. Her family wants to obtain records of these 911 calls and records and reports of any police action or contact with Willard as a result of those calls.

Jarvis with Cowley just after case dismissed

Jarvis with Cowley just after case dismissed


In June 2014, Cowley was charged with manslaughter, but 3rd District Court Judge L.A. Dever dismissed the case against Cowley four months later. By the end of October 2014, after a 10-month investigation, an internal review board found the shooting of 21-year-old Willard to be “unjustified” and West Valley City fired Cowley.

Recently, two and a half years after Shaun Cowley shot and killed unarmed Danielle Willard, Cowley managed to force the hand of the city to be reinstated, collect partial back pay and partial pension, only to resign from the job. Much of what lead to this resolution, according to City Manager Wayne Pyle, was due to a technicality. The Salt Lake Tribune quoted Pyle’s statement to the press :

Pyle said he was “very pleased” with Cowley’s resignation, adding that it was a “step that needed to occur.”

Pyle insisted that the case for firing Cowley was “completely reasonable and justified,” but said it was dismissed over a technicality.

“Mr. Cowley is not in any sense of the word either vindicated or a scapegoat,” he said. “All of the problems that existed with Mr. Cowley from the very beginning of this investigation still exist today. Drugs and money were missing and continue to be missing.”

Cowley’s attorney is a former prosecutor and law enforcement instructor. Lindsay Jarvis Harding has used mostly political explanations for why West Valley City settled with her client. According to the same Salt Lake Tribune article :

She asserted that city and police officials may have rushed to settle with Cowley to keep potentially damaging information from being made public during the employment hearing.

“At that hearing, every single one of West Valley City’s skeletons would have been uncovered,” Jarvis said Monday outside her Sandy office. “Part of what the city had to prove was that the discipline against Shaun was proportionate. That gives us the opportunity to go through the discipline of every single other officer in that department. We are talking about people who are breaking into houses to steal panties. Officers who were having sex on duty. We are talking lieutenants violating their own policies and procedures to break into Shaun’s locker and take evidence without Shaun’s presence. This is a situation where West Valley City did not want this information out in the public.”

This looks to be an admission of her client’s guilt.

The most recent twist in this story came via facebook message from Lindsay Jarvis Harding on 10 June 2015. Her facebook page has since been taken down.

So, at this point, after seeing your posts, I’ve come to the conclusion that you’re a hateful bitch. I tried to talk to as a person because my heart ached for you and I thought you were actually a human being just suffering from the loss of your daughter. However, it’s honestly no wonder your daughter turned to heroin, had sex with the dealer, had marijuana and heroin in her system at the time of her death (in spite of your ongoing public assertions that she didnt). Have you actually read the police reports? Have you forgotten you told police this was her “last chance” as she was in rehab for the third time? Hello, she was a junkie. She needed a fix. She was desperate. She tried to kill an officer. You’re so blinded by your hate, and probably your regret, as you’ve flown to Utah more times since she died than you did when she was alive, that you refuse to see the truth. Why don’t you take your million and shut up? At the end of the day, you got paid by a corrupt city, your daughter’s bull shit case was thrown out of court, and Shaun was reinstated with full benefits. Get a hobby – the people you surround yourself on the bullshit sites are criminals. Three of the death threats have come from convicted stalkers on your websites.

She sent this message to Danielle Willard’s still grieving mother, Melissa Kennedy. Ms. Kennedy had only one direct message exchange with Jarvis previously. That exchange occurred during the afternoon of 19 November 2014. Jarvis was angry about words which had been posted by others on the facebook page set up demanding Justice for Danielle Willard. Though Ms. Kennedy apologized for and took down the comments which Jarvis found offensive, Jarvis still threatened ‘legal action’ against anyone posting words she didn’t like. As an attorney, it would seem that Ms. Jarvis would know about the first amendment, but she revealed complete ignorance by making the threat, proving herself a bully :

Discussions regarding my husband and unborn child are pretty low and I will not tolerate it. If it continues, I will take legal action.

Ms. Kennedy reports that she was completely taken by surprise and horrified when this most recent message appeared in her inbox.

lindsay jarvis harding 1

lindsay jarvis harding 2

Rules of professional conduct for Utah lawyers is a state mandated standard enforced by the Utah State Bar Office of Professional Conduct . The discipline process is described on their website.

The Utah State Bar provides a reporting tool for beginning the process of reporting attorney misconduct.

 
 
 

Breaking Curfew

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23 May 2015

People took to the streets in Oakland tonight to protest Mayor Libby Schaaf’s unconstitutional implementation of a curfew designed to stop people from lawfully gathering in protest of ongoing government abuses which have included the killings of unarmed children. After many years and tens of millions of dollars lost to lawsuits and settlements for police misconduct and brutality in Oakland, Schaaf once again, as her predecessor Jean Quan did before her, enlisted the Oakland Police to commit violent crimes against the people. Besides committing multiple counts of kidnapping and illegal detention, police didn’t hesitate to use chemical and explosive weapons against the unarmed, non-violent people who were lawfully gathered. A number of people were taken into custody based upon the claim of government right to enforce a curfew against law abiding citizens. As of this reporting, there were no claims by police that any violence or destruction of property was committed by anyone they assaulted and kidnapped.

The Oakland Police incident Commander for tonight’s violent assaults on the people of Oakland was Capt. Anthony Toribio. A criminal report was lodged called in to OPD over telephone against Toribio, Schaaf, and all officers involved in tonight’s violence. Incident #150523000777 should be filed and available for additional information to be entered by Tuesday. The report was taken by Sgt. James Henry.

Police said that those arrested who were without warrants would be cited and released.

On a side note, a dictionary defines ‘arrest’ as a legal term, suggesting the word itself insinuates legal authority of a person to take custody of another person by force. They would’ve been more honest to say ‘those who were violently assaulted and kidnapped without cause’ would be cited and released.

Protestors could be heard shouting some interesting thoughts between chants of ‘who’s streets, our streets’ and other more colorful reminders.

‘you are not free until we are free’
‘we don’t negotiate with terrorists’

For the second time, an 18 year member of Berkeley Cop Watch, recently trained to observe as a National Lawyers’ Guild observer, while wearing a green hat identifying him as a legal observer, was arrested for ‘failing to disperse.’ This time he faces an additional charge added for ‘failing to obey a traffic officer.’ Asked if he had any comment, elder Russell Bates said “Yeah, we all got shafted by Schaff.”

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The first booking report to emerge is for Ashley Yates, showing bail set at $7500, and the police excuse for caging her as ‘remain at scene:riot/etc’ to be arraigned 7 May at Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse. She’s being held in the notoriously nasty Santa Rita jail.

By all accounts, police were the only ones rioting at this otherwise noisy yet peaceful gathering.

Anti Police-Terror Project organizer Cat Brooks was one of the many to sacrifice her freedom for the cause of justice. Her parting words for the evening were recorded by Frank Sosa.

“It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love and protect one another. We have nothing to lose but our chains.”

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