Peace be with you.
I tried to go to the arraignment of David Douglas and Toni Zanotti, but the Humboldt County Court Clerk’s office either lied to me or the DA’s office failed to make the public arraignment public. On Monday, December 10, 2007, I went to the clerk’s office a little after 10:00 am and asked if “David Douglas” was scheduled to be arraigned that day. The clerk claimed she checked her computer and “no charges had yet been filed.” She told me that the cutoff for the 1:30 arraignment calendar was at 11 am. At 11:30 am I again went to the court clerk and again asked if a “David or Dave Douglas” was scheduled to be arraigned she again seemed to type something into her computer and again she said no. She then told me that the next arraignment court is at 4:00 pm and that it’s cutoff time was 3:00 pm. We all know that by 3:00 pm the two accused of criminally negligent homicide were granted a continuance on their arraignment until February 21, 2008 during the 1:30 arraignment calendar by Judge Feeney. Now I don’t want to make too big of a deal about my rights being trampled on, but my rights were fucking trampled on!
Let’s see who did get to learn of the PUBLIC arraignment before the fact. In today’s you-can-hold-it-in-your-hand edition of the times standard (12/11/07) there is a front page picture of the court hallway. The picture is full of people who were able to find out what time the arraignment was to be. So get out your magnifying glass and let’s play count the cops.
Starting at the back and to the right of the column in the middle of the hallway there are three Bailiffs. Bailiffs don’t count because they are always there. There is one additional bailiff behind the gentleman with his hands in his pockets left and towards the back.
Walking up the hallway on the left rear is an EPD officer on duty (I would assume, unless they now wear there uniforms to social events). I can’t tell who is behind the cop in the rear – probably some poor person who just happened to be getting arraigned on some stupid class-crime on that of all days, but I don’t know.
From in front of bailiffs to somewhere behind the photographer on the right I can identify 17 uniformed cops and a bunch that know are cops but I can’t tell for sure if they are suited up as enforcers. One can only assume the entire eureka police department was ordered to report to the court house, under the color of law, and at tax-payer expense, to pack the gallery of Douglas’ secret public appearance.
First of all, bullshit dog-and-pony shows just don’t get it. We already had that unrealistic, one-sided, fairy-tale. Remember it was called an inquest. Secondly, I don’t have any faith in our DA’s ability, or should I say desire, to prosecute this case. Paul Gallegos, the DA, didn’t bring charges against these two - a grand jury did. If Gallegos was going to prosecute this crime he would have done so. He didn’t! He either believed he couldn’t or he didn’t want to. During the Human Rights Commission’s police review forum on December 4, 2007, Gallegos said, “I am confident from my experience with law enforcement and from my discussions, that they have significant concerns about that process [police review]” - no shit! Daniel Mintz, the heroic reporter who left the Arcata Eye after its owner took a bribe to pursue a story, documented this in Southern Humboldt’s paper The Independent today under the title “DA Advises Against Police Review.” (Unfortunately I can’t find this paper on line.)
Having a DA who both by his words and his actions support the police in their “internal findings,” and the neo-police chief Garr Nielson who dispatches the entire Eureka police department to the court house, and the secret arraignment courts does little to dispel my belief that they are just covering up another murderer in our midst.
love eternal
tad
4 comments:
I think it is more than just a cover-up: it is a ritual. A sort of game of gambling and dress-up to determine who's loyal to the "in" group, and where they get to be on the heirarchy. But to play the power game is to flirt with the possibility of back-stabbing, double-crossing, and savage ambitions.
Feeney plays the role of the untouchable deliverer of judgement, who will, of course, absolve the cops of any wrong-doing.
But the cops are playing their own game of intimidation: packing the court-room, reminding judge Feeney that he is dealing with people who will kill, and who will stand with their fellow cops, even when they kill innocents, just in case Feeney had some kind of revelation that it was up to him to protect the citizenry from unchecked brute force.
And the result will be the symbolic absolution of sins of the police commander-types, and affirmation that Feeney is indeed wise, and loyal to the cult of city mercenaries who enforce the will of the uber-class with intimidation and brute force.
...just wondering,
Do most people accused of "criminally negligent homicide" get to go free on O.R.? Is the current lieutenant Zanotti suspended or whatever? or is he out there committing more negligent criminal homicides?
It is interesting that "Bragg, who has experience representing law enforcement personnel," and Judge Feeney were "law partners," and that the opposing lawyer had no problem with Feeney hearing the case.
I could be over-reacting to all this, though. I mean, maybe the cop Zanotti usually makes sure that the cops under his command never use excessive unnecessary lethal force,... and maybe there aren't any judges who didn't use to be law partners with boot-lickers of the hired gunmen of the upper-most class (the uber-class).
Shit, cops aren't even prosecuted when they shoot innocent unarmed people who are't even breaking any laws or threatening anyone.
Well, i checked out rose's blog. They seem pretty nuts over there. These are the type of people who cheered when the nazis rounded up the gypsy and roma people, along with those deemed "street people".
I guess it doesn't matter much what kind of song and dance they do at their little get-together at the good ol' courthouse, or what the raving maniacs in the blood-lust camp are blogging. The damage is done, and more damage is coming.
- What matters is what we do, what we can control. I'm glad you're still calling out the bullshitters on their bullshit, tad. -
But cops killing people is only half the story. According to TIME magazine, cop-killings are the highest they've been in three decades.
(http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1666750,00.html),
Divide and conquer.
The innocents who are killed by cops die for the ambitions of the uber-class to enslave the citizenry. The cops who are killed die for those same twisted ambitions - not for noble ideals of justice, equality, and security.
You'd do better to give up all your aspiriations and live in poverty than to serve the interests of society's slave-masters by brutalizing and intimidating all but the uber-class, or to defend those who's crimes are so blatant and public that they are meant more to coerce and threaten the entire populace than to be concealed.
Peace be with you.
Gallegos said in today’s times-slanderer “People understand the need for it (law-enforcement), they respect law-enforcement, they defer to law-enforcement, but the have certain expectations. . . I think the defendants (two cops) will get a fair shake in this community.” Well Paul, I think the defendants will get a get-out-of-jail-free card, and go on to kill again.
Gallegos had two years to be “independent” and “monitor law enforcement,” but instead half a dozen people died at the hands of unmonitored law-enforcement in Humboldt County. If Gallegos really “monitors” the cops, why hasn’t something been done about Chris Burgess? Where are the Martin Cotton charges? Hell, Chris’s mom got thrown out of her apartment because Lyles, her son’s murderer, advocated to her landlord, under the color of law, her eviction. Gallegos may think he is fooling this community, but like Pontius Pilate knows that the blood is on his hands.
love eternal
tad
i just read about the peoples project claims against the city (about time!) in the ARCATA EYE. Hoover did a crappy job, of course, and still refuses to report on the 9th circuit decision from april 2006.
i would like to know more and stay updated, expecially if i can help.
Who knows where to download XRumer 5.0 Palladium?
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