City police face lawsuit for alleged illegal search
 

By FRED LUDWIG, Californian staff writer e-mail:  fludwig@bakersfield.com
Sunday April 01, 2001, 10:48:53 PM 

A lawsuit by a high-ranking state corrections official accuses Bakersfield police of an illegal search of his home. John Ferguson alleges several officers entered his Bakersfield home in confrontational fashion without his permission in March 2000. 

Ferguson is a Department of Corrections lieutenant who works at Mesa Verde Community Correctional Facility in Bakersfield, a privately operated prison for inmates nearing their release dates. Police entered his home looking for phones that they suspected had been stolen by Ferguson's son, Joseph, a police report states. They did not need a warrant because Joseph Ferguson was on probation, a condition that subjects him to warrantless searches, the report states. 

The younger Ferguson was not on probation, said Ferguson's attorney Kathleen Ellis Faulkner. In an earlier court case, Faulkner said Joseph Ferguson had agreed to such searches, but only if officers are looking for drugs or drug paraphernalia -- not stolen property. So the search violated constitutional protection against warrantless police searches, Faulkner said. Joseph Ferguson had been prosecuted on a charge of loitering for narcotic activity, Faulkner said. But he did not actually possess drugs in that incident, Faulkner said. Ferguson has suggested the incident was retaliation for his criticism of police handling of the double murder at Casa Loma Park. 

Ferguson spoke at a public meeting after the shooting, saying police should have been at the park after learning of the large crowd there, Faulkner said. Both sides describe the search as confrontational. After John Ferguson refused entry into the home, an officer "pushed into my body and threatened to pepper spray me if I did not let them in," Ferguson stated in a written complaint to police a week after the incident. He added another officer "put his face near mine and coldly stared at me, signaling to me that he was more than ready to put his hands on me." 

The police report describes Ferguson as belligerent, standing in the way of officers as they tried to enter and getting in an officer's face. The police report states officers showed Ferguson paperwork from the court case against the younger Ferguson justifying the search. Ferguson said an officer held up the paper from a distance but didn't let him read it. Police said they seized a phone from the home. The police report suggests charges against John Ferguson for obstructing police. No charges were filed against either John or Joseph Ferguson, Faulkner said. She said the obstruction allegation triggered a review by corrections officials that cleared Ferguson. Bakersfield police refused comment. 

A city investigation of the complaint concluded officers had the right to search and acted properly, said Assistant City Attorney Bob Sherfy. Sherfy said the lawsuit had not yet been delivered to the city as far as he knows, and that he could not address specifics of the case. The suit seeks compensation including punitive damages of $5 million. 

COURTS: He accuses Newport Beach officers of excessive force and wrongfully arresting him last summer. 

MORNING 
April 10, 1999 
Byline: The Orange County Register 
An Orange County deputy district attorney filed a civil-rights lawsuit against the Newport Beach Police Department on Friday, accusing officers of using excessive force and wrongfully arresting him in August.Newport Beach police officers arrested Deputy District Attorney Edward Flores early in the morning of Aug. 14, 1998, on suspicion of being drunk in public and resisting arrest. Officers used a choke hold and pepper spray to subdue Flores during the arrest. The state Attorney 

COURTS: John Robertson alleges that he was fired in order to stymie a criminal probe. 

MORNING 
August 5, 1998 
Byline: ANN PEPPER 

The Orange County Register 
Former Orange Police Chief John Robertson has filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit alleging that he was fired to prevent him from pursuing a criminal investigation against several city officials. The 16-page suit also contends that the city didn't give Robertson an opportunity to disprove allegations that he had conducted an improper investigation, one of the main reasons given for dismissing him. Orange City Attorney David DeBerry on Tuesday said the suit's allegations. . . 

 http://www.uniontrib.com/news/metro/20011208-9999_7m8bike.html

San Diego Union Tribune 

Cyclist beaten by cop gets $410,461 

City rejected offer to settle case for $6,000 

By J. Harry Jones UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER 
December 8, 2001 

A jury has awarded a San Diego firefighter more than $400,000 after finding he was falsely arrested and beaten by a police officer during a confrontation in Pacific Beach in 1999. The verdict was returned by a Superior Court jury Wednesday in a case in which the City Attorney's Office rejected an offer from the firefighter's attorney to settle the dispute before trial for $6,000. The money was awarded to Thomas McHale, 53, a Cardiff resident and triathlete who said he was attacked while training on the morning of April 11, 1999, as he rode his bicycle from downtown San Diego to his home. 

The City Attorney's Office argued at trial that McHale picked a fight by being profane and uncooperative with the officer. At trial, both sides agreed on how the confrontation began: McHale was riding north on Mission Bay Drive when a patrol car driven by San Diego police Officer Robert Wills nearly sideswiped him, coming within a few inches. McHale yelled something like, "That was too close!" 

At Mission Bay Drive and Garnet Avenue in Pacific Beach, Wills and McHale stopped next to each other at the traffic light, and McHale again shouted something to Wills. A few blocks later, Wills stopped McHale by pulling his patrol car in front of McHale's bicycle on Damon Avenue. Wills testified that he got out of the patrol car to write McHale a ticket for veering into the traffic lanes. Matthew Lees, McHale's attorney, said the two men argued and McHale demanded that Wills call his supervisor. 

Lees told jurors that without provocation, the officer put a choke hold on McHale while McHale was still straddling his bike and wrestled him to the ground. The two then struggled until a passer-by asked Wills if he needed help and held McHale's legs until he was handcuffed. Deputy City Attorney David Brodie presented the jury with a different scenario. He said McHale screamed profanities at the officer from his bicycle and continued to curse at Wills as the officer tried to write a ticket. He said McHale repeatedly refused to hand over his driver's license and then "appeared to be trying to escalate the situation into a physical altercation" by glaring, puffing his chest out and refusing to cooperate. 

Brodie argued that Wills placed the choke hold on McHale after the triathlete grabbed the officer and ripped his shirt. Lees, however, told jurors Wills' shirt was ripped because McHale "was fighting for his life while being choked." McHale was arrested and booked into jail on charges that included resisting arrest and assaulting an officer. He spent less than a day in jail before being freed on bail. More than a year later, the charges were dismissed at the request of the City Attorney's Office, and McHale filed a lawsuit. 

Lees said McHale, who is a world-class triathlete in his age group, offered to settle the case for $6,000, but the offer was rejected. In the initial phase of the trial, the jury found that the officer battered McHale and falsely arrested him. Lees then again offered to settle the case for $35,000 before the jury resumed deliberations to determine what damages should be awarded. The city countered with an offer of $15,000 and McHale declined, Lees said. 

The jury then returned with an award of $410,461. Brodie said the city will ask Judge Janis Sammartino to reduce McHale's award. "The city feels the damages that were awarded are outrageous and excessive," Brodie said. "The city felt, and still feels, the plaintiff's behavior was extremely hostile and belligerent toward the officer. The officer acted appropriately and reasonably throughout the incident and the plaintiff did not." 

Wills could not be reached for comment yesterday. McHale yesterday said he felt vindicated by the verdict, but does not want to gloat. He said he is bothered that Wills was not punished by the Police Department for his actions. Police will not comment on personnel matters. Both attorneys said there was no mention at the trial of any disciplinary action taken against Wills. Since the incident, Wills has been promoted to detective. Three months after his altercation with McHale, Wills was one of two officers involved in the controversial fatal shooting of former professional football player Demetrius Dubose. 

Dubose, 28, was killed July 24, 1999, in Mission Beach when he was shot 12 times by police responding to a burglary complaint. Five of the gunshot wounds were to his back. The shooting caused an uproar, especially in the black community. Wills and Officer Timothy Keating were cleared of wrongdoing by District Attorney Paul Pfingst, who determined that the officers used appropriate force after Dubose advanced toward them with nunchaku that he had taken from Wills. A wrongful-death lawsuit was later filed on behalf of Dubose's mother in federal court. J. Harry Jones: (619) 542-4590; mailto:%20jharry.jones@uniontrib.com

Del Norte County jail worker found guilty of sex with inmate 
 

ASSOCIATED PRESS 
December 7, 2001 

CRESCENT CITY – A Del Norte County jail worker has been found guilty of 
having sex with a female inmate. 

A jury convicted James Brian Weaver, 33, Friday on one felony count of oral 
copulation with an inmate. Weaver's wife and child stood near him in the 
courtroom as the verdict was read. 

The case against Weaver hinged on a secretly recorded conversation between 
the jail worker and another female inmate, Natalie Curington. 

Curington never got Weaver to admit he had sex with the other woman last 
spring, but the prosecution said his lack of denial implicated his guilt. 

Weaver, who did not testify during the trial, is scheduled to be sentenced 
Jan. 3. 

DISABLED OFFICERS WIN COURT BATTLE THEY SAY S.J. POLICE DEPARTMENT GIVES THEM DEAD-END JOBS

The San Jose Police Department has violated the Americans With Disabilities Act by relegating its disabled officers to a prescribed handful of jobs in which they have ''little or no possibility for promotion,'' an appeals court ruled Friday. 

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a unanimous decision released Friday, reversed a trial court decision that had dismissed a lawsuit filed by six officers who contended they were given ''no real work'' and. . . 

SETBACK FOR EAST P.A. COP WHISTLE-BLOWER CASE: STATE HIGH COURT REFUSES TO REVIEW APPEAL OF DISMISSAL FROM FORCE.

The California Supreme Court dealt a blow to an East Palo Alto police officer who has been fighting his dismissal for insubordination, saying he was a whistle-blower exposing departmental misconduct. 

The court refused to review Sgt. Robert Cole's appeal of a First District Court of Appeals decision that upheld City Manager Monika Hudson's authority to fire him. The Supreme Court's order denying review was issued last week. . . 

Sheriff's deputies sue county over benefits
by Lenny Roberts 

Adding fuel to an already volatile situation, Ventura County Sheriff's deputies assigned to the county's jails and court system staged a work slowdown Monday, and the Deputy Sheriff's Association, through its Santa Monica-based attorney, Stephen H. Silver, has filed a $100 million lawsuit against Ventura County and its Board of Retirement. 

In November, the 830 members of the association - who have worked for the past year without a contract - voted to do whatever it takes to secure a new working agreement with the county, including staging a strike. 

The union is demanding an improved pension formula that would permit employees with a minimum of 25 years of service to retire at age 50 and earn 75 percent of their salaries at retirement, instead of the current 50 percent. 

Monday's slowdown occurred when deputies followed the suggested procedure of transporting prisoners to court one at a time, instead of ushering them in in small groups. The delay tactic reportedly slowed some court proceedings down by as much as 90 minutes. 

County Executive Officer Johnny Johnston said, "The slowdown was designed to aggravate and pressure people like me and the board members, but didn't jeopardize any public safety." He described the action as somewhat out of sequence. 

"This would normally break off bargaining, but we've gotten used to the union not proceeding with normal protocol. The deputies can do their work fast or slow. Did this violate laws? Probably not." 

The lawsuit, according to the association, pursues a claim against the county brought in June, when the Coalition of County Employee Unions served a notice stating that the county was improperly using the excess funds in the retirement system, and alleges that the County Board of Retirement allowed excess earnings in the retirement fund to be used inappropriately to "relieve the county of its statutory obligation to make its contributions to the retirement system." 

According to the complaint filed last week, the alleged abuses began in fiscal 1996-97 and have continued ever since. 

Although employees have continued to make their required contributions into the system, the county, the lawsuit alleges, has made no contributions in its capacity as employer since 1996, and has relied on the excess earnings in the system to excuse its own payment obligation amounting to approximately $20 million per year into the general fund. 

Johnston said that in 1995, the county's retirement plan was underfunded, and it was necessary to borrow $155 million. The interest on that loan is $22 million a year. 

"That money was invested in 1995 when the stock market shot through the roof," Johnston countered. "The stock market is not performing as it was then, and (if we are forced to borrow another $100 million) it means hospitals, parks, libraries and police would be adversely affected. We've agreed on wages being in parity, it's the retroactivity issue." 

But VCDSA President Glen Kitzmann said, "The excess investment funds generated in the retirement system are the product of employer and employee contributions, but we believe the county has used those funds solely for its own benefit to avoid its own obligations." Kitzmann added that the alleged actions violate the California Constitution and Government Code. 

"It's time they were stopped," he said." 

Johnston said that based on legal advice, there's no merit to the lawsuit. "They're just drawing attention to it, and it's a misguided strategy with little success. All that might results is taxpayers having to borrow $100 million to put into an already overfunded retirement plan. We've already shown to have sufficient funds to pay the money we've agreed to, but the union would like to take any excess money and give themselves retroactive benefits. 

"The money we're currently using to pay law enforcement would have to be diverted for a new loan, and to pay that loan, we would have to remove people." 

The two sides were scheduled to resume negotiations Tuesday afternoon, but if retroactivity continues to be a non-negotiable item, Johnston said the contract issue may not be soon settled. He has had discussions with Sheriff Bob Brooks to determine what course of action would be taken in the event of a strike. 

"I don't believe they will ever strike. They are just inconveniencing both the Sheriff and me," he concluded. 

© 2001 The Ojai Valley News