Strange thing happened to me tonight, on the way home from the airport. I wrote a post a few months ago after I got a bogus traffic ticket near my home. The City of Santa Ana had allowed one of their trees to almost completely block a stop sign that was poorly lit. I fought the ticket and won.
I drove by that stop sign again tonight, making sure to stop and wait for awhile before continuing. The city tree has been all but chopped down. There is now a bright light over the stop sign. I guess the public works department reads my blog.
As I got closer to home and in fact was pulling into my driveway, a Santa Ana police cruiser suddenly came up behind me and flashed their powerful search light in my rear window, then they sped away. It was very strange. I was driving at the speed limit and not causing any trouble. Was this a message to me? That sounds paranoid, but when Santa Ana Councilwoman Michele Martinez was not voting in lockstep with the Pulido cabal, she was pulled over at least a half dozen times, in a few months.
And George Collins, who ran for the Council in 2006 and prevented a Pulido puppet from winning, told me that he was recently told by a Santa Ana cop that “we are watching you.” Collins is known now for his website, which makes fun of the Pulido cabal on a regular basis, by airing video footage of Council meetings they don’t want you to watch.
Memo to Pulido and Santa Ana Police Chief Paul Walters – back off. I mean it. If your cops decide to pull any funny business on me or any of my bloggers, I hope you both know that I will make damn sure the story gets on the AP wire – just like when I embarrassed the City Council when they first tried to censor me and my fellow bloggers and just like I did when I resigned my city commission after Pulido hack Sal Tinajero threw our blogger Thomas Gordon off the EPIC/Gang Commission. Bring it on Pulido and Walters. You will be sorry. This time your corruption will surely end up on 60 Minutes.
Art,
The pattern of behavior by the City of SA you describe is scary.
These are potential civil rights violations and RICO criminal activities that the city is playing with here.
Dangerous.
Art
I have been “lit up” by police cruisers passing by my house late at night when I happened to be outside and I have no political ties to my community. But as you describe this sounds like some kind of a specific tactic of intimidation. I suggest if it happens again you wave and try to flag the cop down. If he stops, then you at least can find out what he claims he is doing. Thank him for taking care of your home and get his name. If he doesn’t stop then you know for sure.
LOL. Right. The SAPD is following the likes of Art Pedroza around.
You should get into zen. It would help you check your ego.
Santa Ana Police Officers are only required to have a high school diploma or equivalent to be eligible to apply for their job. Pretty basic don’t you think. How scary is that?
You know what surprised me? That some police officer took time away from his donut to shine his light on you!
I have never had an experience like the one you describe Mr. Pedroza and I have lived in S.A. for over 25 years. Perhaps it’s the type of cars you drive or something else about you that is causing the police to give you a second look. On the one hand O.J. asks for more proactive police work but now you say back off? I find the police department to be quite polite at all times. Please tell us more about Councilmember Martinez’s experiences with the police departement? Being stopped by police SIX times in a few months is not normal. I wonder what she was doing at the time she was confronted by the police? I think most people can go a whole lifetime in S.A. and never have any contact with police. Please tell us more about this. If what you are saying is true then it’s a concern.
Like my Pappy used to say, “those who commit no crimes have nothing to fear from the police” Wise words then, wise words now.
Dear Loopy’s sister,
FYI
The vast majority of Santa Ana police officers have college degrees (including Stanford University) and many also have advanced degrees.
Santa Ana is the new South Gate. Miguel Pulido is the new Albert Robles. I love it. How long before Pudrido goes to jail?
“Bring it on Pulido and Walters. You will be sorry.”
Like we’re gonna back down to a blowhard like you. We have the law on our side. What do you have? Your blog?
We’re so scared.
Dear #5 an all
Having had lived in SA for over 30 years I have been pulled over more then a few times. The only ticket I received was for speeding dowm Flower back in ’89. Yes it was deserved.
Other times is was for DWM (Driving While Mexican). Two times I was pulled over on my street. The first time the cop said I was trying to get away from him. He blocked my path and has his weapon drawn. Guess what? No ticket.
Years later after I had moved to another street I got pulled over again. This time the cop said I was tailgaiting another car. he asked me the standard bogus questions whether I was in a gang or on drugs. I laughed at his questions and he got more angry. It was also funny how when he tried to shine a flashlight in my car and his battery was dead. I almost reached over to let him borrow mine but stopped myself. He surely would have shot me because, you know, “he feared for his life” Guess what? After all that song and dance he gave me, no ticket.
There have been other times not as eventful and again no ticket. Who knows, maybe I dazzled them with my perfect English…
“those who commit no crimes have nothing to fear from the police”
Tell that to Geronimo Pratt.
Maybe the officer thought the size of your head was blocking the view of other drivers…get a life Art
Thanks Art for bringing this to light. Same thing happened to me a while back and then a group of Black helicopters flew over my home. What day of the week did this happen to you?
Apparently, some of you do not believe that the council and SAPD do not have a mutual benefit arrangement.
You are very nieve. The PD knows who votes for their budget and salaries. The council and PD take care of each other.
The PD union/association should not be allowed to support council elections by contributions or election endorsements.
Let individual police officers support whomever they please. City employees unions have too much influence over this council.
“some of you do not believe that the council and SAPD do not have a mutual benefit arrangement”
No it’s not that, I just don’t believe that they are too worried about Art Pedroza and the Orange Juice.
What are they worried that Pedroza will expose them as “Trannies” and they want to shut him up before he can do it? Give me a break.
Sounds more like Homeland security than SAPD. Next time get a good look at the badge!
Art, do you have a green card? If yes, you have nothing to worry about… , If no, then get one at the swapmeet in Mexico.
Maybe they thought we were the one putting up the “Re-Elect Janet Nguyen for Supervisor” signs all over Santa Ana.
Dear readers,
I spoke to Thomas Gordon tonight, as he was leaving a local supermarket. He was followed by a Santa Ana cop for several blocks. The cop matched his every turn for miles.
There is no doubt that Pulido and Walters are using the Santa Ana cops to harass us. If this keeps up we will find out the value of my ACLU membership.
Bring it on Pulido…I will laugh in your face when this story explodes in the media and embarrasses you yet again!
Art,
If you think this is happening, you need to play their game.
What I like to say to people who try to get play tough is “you play with the bull and you’ll get the horns.
Here is a way to show your horns:
On your website you encourage Santa Ana residents to video tape the Santa Ana police at work. Some have cell phones that are capable of recording long periods of time and other have video recorders that can be very handy. You allow these residents to uplaod the videos at your site.
In addition, you allow people who are being pulled over from SA finest to call from their cell into a OJuice website recording machine. This recording will document the conversation between the officer and the person dealing with the officer. You will eventually upload this conversation to the OJ site.
THis will allow the SA residents the opportunity to confirm or deny if the SA police are doing their job or not.
I got a name for the link, try SACopwatch.com
If you use this idea, I’m gonna need some royalities.
#11 obviously you have never been pulled over for no apparent reason. Or you think all those Jews in Germany had it coming, maybe you’ve never been pulled over in a 3rd world country. Myself, as a young Mexican have been pulled over various times in Tustin and Newport. For no other reason than being brown.
Back to the SAPD. The SAPD gets 50% of the city budget. Compared to other cities our size, that is way above the norm. Oakland PD gets 36% while Anaheim is at 42%. The SAPD has much to loose if you go after their budge.
I wonder how many stories we can piece together of police harrasment in SA? I know of two other incidents, one involving threats during a city council election.
Cops work beats, so for the most part the cops you see are assiged to your area.
There should be more get-togethers for meeting your local neighborhood cops.
Oh,
Did I mention the four times I got pulled over in Irvine? Again the only thing I got was a fix-it ticket for my window.
One time a team of two Irvine cops searched my car and of course found nothing after they asked me the bougus questions whether I was in a gang or on drugs. They felt unaccomplished so they decided to give me that fix-it ticket.
Man, it sucked being poor!
And, #21 FYI
Geronimo Pratt, a black panther, was a political victim/prisoner of overzealous cops and the FBI. His framed conviction was overturned after 27 years in jail. Basically the FBI and the cops lied to convict him in the first place.
YOU WOULD THINK THE OVERPAID SANTA ANA P0LICE WOULD USE THEIR RESOURCES TO ARREST TAGGERS AND GANG BANGERS,DRUG DEALERS INSTEAD OF HARASSING ORDINARY TAXPAYERS.
25 years ago, the Newport cops actually had a call named NIN in which they would immediately dispatch an officer to the scene. NIN = Ni**er in Newport. African Americans being pulled over for skin color and their assumed “out of town” status.
The Newport police got caught with that call sign and had to stop. Cops need oversight and a system of accountability. They are supposed to serve and protect. Not harass and convict.
CQT96,
No need for you to feel all that “special”.
Irvine cops literally have nothing to do and that is why multiple units show up for a fix it ticket. Crime is low b/c of their vigilence and the overall law abiding nature of the citizens.
Teenagers who actually live in Irvine are repeatedly stopped and searched routinely. If you ask any teen that drives – doesn’t matter what ethnicity, what they are driving or which village they live in – if they have been stopped by the cops or know of a friend who has, the response will always be “yes”.
Parents who do not train their kids to keep ALL ILLEGAL or contriband articles out of their teens’ cars are in for a rude suprise. Routine car searches are nothing out of place in Irvine.
I predict that Irvine cops will get their department into trouble at some point. Some of the officers act more like thugs than community servants.
Sorry Art, but I have to strongly disagree with you on this post.
I have nothing but the utmost respect for SAPD and to see you drag their name through the mud is a slap in the face to the many wonderful officers that I’ve come to trust and rely on.
If you honestly think that a police unit that tails you for a few blocks or being lit up by a squad car in front of your house is harassment, you’ve lived an easy life.
Leave the conspiracy theories to Mulder and Scully 😉
Ben,
If it was just me, that would be one thing. But they have been tailing Thomas too. Ask him. He even has taken pictures of the squad cars in question.
And you are ignoring what a Santa Ana cop told George Collins – “we are watching you.”
There is little doubt in my mind that Pulido and Chief Walters are misusing our police department, in order to carry on their political vendettas.
I’ve spoken with Thomas before about his police experiences. Granted they are interesting, but not surprising since he’s quite the vigilante.
Mr. Gordon is a giant white guy with a shaved head. He’s going to attract attention whether or not he’s chasing down taggers or shooing away hookers. Although he’s one of the nicest guys I’ve met in a while, he could easily be mistaken for a “trouble maker”.
As for George’s experience, I’m not ignoring what was stated, but choosing to address your first hand experience.
I’m sure if you got car-jacked after washing your car at one of our local and dangerous carwashes, you’d be more than happy to have been put in the spotlight by the officer.
This one seems like you’re reaching a little too far to me. But hey, I guess it’s better you get the word out now should you go missing or something.
BTW, I’m “watching George” too
Ben,
You really need to talk to Thomas. His recent experiences with SAPD officers are scary. They have multiple units tailing him. That is harassment. It just isn’t right.
This post BTW was indeed a preemptive strike on my part. I wanted Walters and Pulido to know that we are on to them. Thomas and I are both carrying cameras and camcorders at all times.
Maybe I should hit him up on his iPhone cause he’s really bad at returning my emails 😉
Carrying a camera at all times is a Blogger MUST