Future headline: Council majority agrees to allow Whitaker to view silent video, but only under certain conditions.
By Joe Sipowicz
First, was the protracted saga of Fullerton City councilman Bruce Whitaker, who for seven moths has been trying to get access to the video of FPD cops beating Kelly Thomas to death. This is a pretty reasonable request, you would think, given the fact that the cops have watched and re-watched the video (Acting Chief Dan Hughes says he’s seen it 400 times); it’s been viewed by the DA; it’s been watched by Cicinelli and Ramos’s lawyers; apparently it’s even been watched by Ron Thomas, father of the dead man. But for some reason the City Manager and City Attorney believe they have the authority to deny access of this public document to Bruce Whitaker, and have used the majority vote of the Three Dim Bulbs to continue to deny Whitaker access.
Read the rest of “The Insidious Theft of Our Sovereignty”
I wonder if and when its use at trial if it will be broadcasted publicly like the Rodney King Beating?
*”Evidence in an ongoing investigtion”? Unless of choice it has already been released to the general public. Should be Tony R’s call as the DA…..not the Fullerton City Attorney or City Mgr. call, unless someone has already filed a lawsuit against the City for the “wrongful death” which is a possibility. Then of course, the City Council would
be privy to the info in :Closed Session” only.
No, you are wrong. The video belongs to the City of Fullerton, not the DA. Whitaker is not a potential juror.
In any case we now know the video has been watched by family members of the accused who are commenting on it in the freakin’ Register.
Wow Tony you haven’t been able to bribe someone to get you a copy?
*Tony “Boss:…..All evidence local or federal that becomes part of felony court proceedings must be cleared by the presiding judge in the case before it ever can
go public. The best example was the Rodney King tape. Remember, that was one
of the first cases of a public citizen taking that evidence. He quickly released it to the
media and even then the judge sequestered the showing of that tape, not to prejudice any potential aspiring jurers in the case. Little doubt that Tony R…..has “the con” regarding this issue and unless Tony R feels that it is necessary or that the evidence
can be secured without a public viewing…..he can pretty well do whatever he wants until after the trial…or that the judge rules on that issue.
The issue isn’t having it go public but that Whitaker has a right to view it.
In any case the accused kin folk have seen it and are blabbing to the media.
So why can’t our elected representative see it?
Do you know what the stated reason is? There could be a reasonable one, if it’s out of their control due to the lawsuit, but I don’t know what it is. Do they have a “litigation committee” that he’s not on?
“Damage Control” ….of course! Dr. B….thought it was quite interesting that the F.P.D. used the old photo of Kelly as part of their PR Campaign…..against dischevled homeless folks in general. Has anyone done a survey on how many Homeless Folks there are in Fullerton? Did anyone interview other Homeless Folks and ask them how the Fullerton PD had treated them in the months preceeding Kelly’s death? Probably a very big issue….that no one is addressing. Just a quess….of course!