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Exclusive video of the press conference will be up as soon as it’s done uploading onto YouTube is up now, at the bottom of this post.
The press conference, that is, held by attorney Matthew Pappas and former LAPD Deputy Chief Steve Downing this afternoon in the friendlier confines of the Long Beach Westin, since Santa Ana police threatened to disrupt the more logical Santa Ana venue.
The press conference, that is, detailing the issues underlying the federal lawsuit related to the now nationally infamous “NubKicker” raid of Santa Ana’s collective “Sky High Holistics.”
The buffoonish and sometimes illegal misbehavior of Santa Ana cops in last month’s raid, believing themselves to have destroyed all the shop’s video equipment but still being secretly filmed by a second hidden video system, captured the nation’s attention! High points of that are right here, to jog your memory or catch you up:
And that’s good because there are bigger issues underlying this than the fratboy-like antics of a few supposedly “rogue” cops, which we’ll get to. But first, what do we know about this raid now that we didn’t before?
Destruction of Property.
I’ve had people, naively defensive of the police for this day and age, ask, “Well, they spoke rudely when they didn’t know they were being taped, but what’s illegal here?” Good question. Answer – a few things. First of all, destruction of private property, which is estimated at over $100,000.
That started with a door broken in unnecessarily (and unauthorized) with a battering ram, includes the destruction of expensive video equipment, counters and cases, a safe, the FLOOR (damaged while trying to crack the safe), and includes the seized cash and medical cannabis.
As former LAPD Deputy Chief Downing makes clear in the video you’ll see soon, after a raid like this, you proceed in orderly fashion to gather evidence. You don’t destroy expensive video equipment, break glass cases, demolish a safe and the floor beneath it for which you have no warr — we’ll get to that next. All the things cops do all the time at raided pot shops when they’re not being filmed, and a portion of which we got to see above.
#Warrant Fail X 4
I’ve had people, naively defensive of the police for this day and age, shrug “Well, it was a no-knock warrant.” Well, as it turns out, it wasn’t. They had no need OR right to break the door down with a battering ram as they did, dressed up like ISIS fighters in ski masks with automatic weapons – it’s just their idea of fun.
Party Judge!
Another fascinating anecdote was who they GOT the warrant from – as The Weekly reported, one officer boasted to another of the grand old times he’d had with North Court Judge Jonathan Fish, who apparently also drinks like a fish. You’ve already probably heard about this cop reminiscing about drinking beer with this judge while driving together to the Staples Center. (“That fucking blew me away.“) But Downing wondered today: Why did they need to go up to this friendly judge in Fullerton to get a warrant, when Santa Ana cops have a courthouse full of ’em next door?
But that’s JUST THE BEGINNING of what they didn’t have proper warrants for. They had no warrant to break into the collective’s safe to seize their money, but they did so anyway, with stoogelike incompetence and destructiveness. And they also had no warrant to demand the patients’ records as they did, but here’s where we get the next segue:
Travails of “Officer NubKicker” and Marla James
After hearing this macho female officer’s fantasy a few times, we may think “What did Marla James do or say to make this woman feel like “kicking her in the nub?” I mean, I know Marla can get pretty passionate, what sort of “words were had” that were left out of these edited videos? That picture was filled in a little better at today’s presser.
“OC’s Matriarch of Medical Marijuana” as pictured in Weekly
Marla was there at the collective as a volunteer, and she knows the law around medical pot better than anyone. When the police demanded she open the safe and give them the money, she refused because they had no warrant for that. When they demanded patients’ records, a blatant violation of the HIPPA Act for which they also had no warrant, she again said talk to the hand.
So, frustrated with her and her husband David’s lack of “co-operation,” the police proceeded to ticket them for running an unauthorized dispensary. After forcing her to hold her hands in the air for what she estimates as twenty minutes, the female officer (now known popularly as Nubkicker) shoved a ticket in Marla’s lap and demanded she sign it. Now, Marla is also legally blind, couldn’t read a word of the tiny print on the ticket, and was highly reluctant to sign it without her husband, who was being held 200 feet away, reading it to her. But after Officer Nubkicker emphatically gave her the choice of signing NOW or spending the night in jail without her various medications, she relented and signed. THAT is your backstory.
Lotteries and Pulido.
Back last year, when the Santa Ana Council, terrified of the popularity of local activists’ dispensary-regulating Measure CC, decided to put up their own competing Measure BB against it, and when part of BB turned out to be a lottery which determined the eligibility of dispensaries and collectives to operate in the city, Pappas and others immediately wrote to advise Santa Ana’s attorney that such lotteries had been ruled illegal in a case Matt had litigated in Long Beach. (Ryan Pack vs. Long Beach.)
And we can see, with the results of the lottery Santa Ana went ahead and had anyhow, why that was a good ruling: Deep-pocketed investors could, and did, submit up to 140 applications, and easily win up to 4 of the 40 available spots. But on top of that, according to sworn testimony which Mr. Pappas promises to produce, an unnamed city official was soliciting $25,000 bribes to get a guaranteed lottery win.
Where Miguel Pulido, Santa Ana’s “Mayor For Life,” comes into all this: As Pappas has long charged in private (but now officially) and as Adam already reported this morning, Pappas also has witnesses who will testify that:
- The Small Dark Lord has financial and “familial” ties to at least one Santa Ana collective (unnamed thus far)
- He’s been seen inside that particular place, and he has “intervened to warn that collective when [city] action was pending, was observed at the collective and intervened with police officials on behalf of the collective.”
- Some time last summer, he and other unnamed city officials enjoyed “limousine services, expensive dinners and shows, currency and gifts from individuals and entities seeking to establish control over the Santa Ana marijuana market.”
- And Mayor Pulido allegedly has, gangster-like, directed police to shut down his favored collective’s competitors, as in this famous raid, which is something like the tenth such raid but the only one successfully caught on tape.
Well, we hope Pappas’ witnesses come through and are credible and believed; I have another source or two to check with; keep checking this place, the Voice’s Adam, and the Weekly’s Nick for the latest on this explosive case! And hey – how do you like that? My video just finished uploading. Mira no más….
As much as I hate what the SAPD did and beleive those officers should be fired, I will rell you Stephan (not Steven) Downing os a WHORE! He is a paid shill who makes $200k per year as an LAPD pensioner. Was directly responsible for egregious “cop” behavior before his tetirement.
Now he peddles MMJ reality TV shows like dime bags to the networks.
He is a PROP in Pappas’ play (as well may be Pulido) to unhook BB.
Thats the endgame. If you need to hire a drunken ex LAPD chief to do it. So be it.But, look closely at where Matthews bread is REALLY buttered.
I wish the video were released. The names named. The charges filed. But, this is a lawsuit. None of that is likely to happen. For thats not the point.
Vern – bad behavior by any officers not withstanding, but you did get complete copies of the warrant and affidavit and reviewed them verbatim before you authored this, yes? Can we assume there is no way you simply took the word of these folks before declaring what the warrant did or did not authorize, and the manner in which it was to be served?
Here, Wayne, signed by Judge Fish. I’ll have a better copy of it to post later:
The inventory pink sheet doesn’t include cash register or patient records. We (yes, I hang with and tend to believe Pappas and the Jameses) didn’t know what a no-knock warrant was or looked like, but a few more knowledgeable people (including Downing) looked at it and said it wasn’t one.
Btw I don’t get paid for any of this, I figure I did enough spending half my day going to this press conference and the other half reporting on it. If I’d-a gone to the court and got a copy of the warrant you can bet I’d have posted it here already. If it turns out we are wrong about the detail of it not being a no-knock warrant, I’ll correct that.
Miguel was only tangentially involved in the Great Park, but still, it’s good to see another one of Larry’s cronies exposed.
Does anyone know what the relationship between Roman A. Reyna and Mayor-for-life Pulido is? Because something doesn’t smell right there, either.
Roman Reyna is an issue. he cannot think for himself thus he is open to manipulation.
If people didn’t vote for him he wouldn’t be “Mayor for life” would he?
Ah. That settles things.
Vern,
“Pulido is the duly elected Mayor” and “people just keep running lousy opponents against him” are two of the favorite refrains of our former commenter KLND/nameless, who was always quick to weigh in to defend him. I checked and, sure enough, this is a never-before-used “burner” IP address. So I’m inclined to delete this, on the grounds that “banned is banned.” Email me your thoughts if you wish. If he posts again, they’re both gone even before we talk.
This particular comment is not worth fighting over, but I still contend that you hold the relatively mild KLMD/nameless guilty for some evil shit some much worse people (including some “carpetbagger” and fake “truck drivin mike”) write elsewhere. But I know you are so sure of that that I’ll never convince you otherwise, differences in grammar, spelling, obsessions, and relative viciousness notwithstanding.
But you’re right, THIS one probably IS ol’ KLMD who SOMEHOW is a Pulido kiss-ass, (hear me, pal?)
Blogs, facebook and the internets in general will make psychopaths of us all.
What is the currents status of those who were scoped up in the last mass raid on several shops a while back?
Matt Pappas?
Sounds familiar. He is an attorney in Orange county. Right?
Long Beach, I believe.
I am shocked! ….. shocked!! … that drugs would involve political and law enforcement corruption ……
That’s always been true — presuming that you refer to state efforts to restrict their availability, rather than use of drugs itself.
As for Santa Ana — we need investigation beyond the local level to get to the bottom of all of this. Pulido and Rackauckas are buddies.
Drug cops are just another gang in the drug war–they like releasing their inner bully and getting paid for it. They are indulging in essentially nothing more than legal thuggery.