The Bully Pulpit

Peace be with you.

"Do any of you believe the charges are fueled by the supposed feud?"

It’s the opposite – the DA is just choreographing a more elaborate “coroner’s inquest.” This will be the exception that proves the rule that cops are above the law and not to be questioned. The DA refused to indict on his own review of the facts (in keeping w/good-old-boys), convened a grand jury to indict (hey, it wasn’t me), will lose the case (they were just innocent), and the police will pump us full of rhetoric how Moore, Burgess, and Cotton were “good kills.” DA wins, cops win, and well the rest of us don’t really matter anyway. If we didn’t learn anything else from the “coroner’s inquest” we should of learned that they will spare no expense to manipulate public perception.

love eternal
tad

As I've said before, I would think it would be in the officer's favor for Gallegos to handle the case himself- Gallegos having a reputation as a mediocre attorney when he was in private practice.

That said, no way of knowing and I suspect it will be the make up of the jury that's more important.

Yea I think the cops killed the woman because they hate the DA.
Are you an idiot or just to lazy to examine the real issues?
A life was needlessly taken and all you can do is sling mud and obscure the issue at hand?
Is the DA suppose to not hold law enforcement to uphold the law because some (like yourself) will accuse him of doing so for political reasons or for retribution?
How about asking if law enforcement should be above the law or not, since that is the only real question.

Do any of you believe the charges are fueled by the supposed feud, even though the Grand Jury technically made the decision?

It casts a conflicting pall over the proceedings. I don't think it's a wise decision for him to prosecute the case.

Did Gallegos file this ridiculous case because of the feud ?

Partly. It was also partly him playing up to his left-wing base.

As far as going the Grand Jury route ? That was an act of cowardice on his part. He took over a year & rather than have the gumption to just file, he used the Grand Jury as cover. The defense attorneys are not even allowed to be in the courtroom & the Grand Jury hears only want Gallegos allowed them to hear.

This case is doomed to fail just like his ill-advised case against PALCO.

"Are you an idiot or just to lazy to examine the real issues?
A life was needlessly taken and all you can do is sling mud and obscure the issue at hand?"

Dearest Jefferson,
Slinging mud by commenting on the conflict between cops and the DA? Whether you noticed or not, such a rift exists, and I simply asks whether that, in your opinion, that had something to do with the charges being brought. And you didn't answer the question, BTW. Nor did I make the accusation.

This is a miscarriage of justice and yet another steaming example of the DA pursuing personal agendas instead of doing his job. As an officer of the court, a prosecutor is obliged to seek the truth and reveal any mitigating facts ... not just be a zealous advocate.

Never have commanders been criminally charged for managing a crime scene. Every indication is that the police found themselves in a terrible position of trying to save lives dealing with an armed and dangerous mental health patient.

And waiting nearly two years after the fact to lead a grand jury by the nose to this ill advised action is compounding the felony. Shame on Mr. Gallegos.

Want to take any bets on when he loses this case, as he has every other witch hunt in his erstwhile career?

1st off, Gallegos has won ever murder case he has tried since he took office (vs. his predecessor who had not won a single murder case in 10 years)

Putting that record aside, lets just look at what happen. A disturbed woman, this was someone's mother, you know, your sister or even your daughter could some day grow up to be mentally disturbed, imagine if this happen to someone you loved, and she was killed because someone who truly was incompetent (pretty much everyone agrees that Douglas was not qualified for the job, including the rank and file and the city manager), someone who asked for the promotion to this position and happily cased the checks, someone asked for this responsibility, was negligent. He used a sledge hammer (SWAT), a deadly weapon if there ever was one, where all that was needed was to send in her friend with a pack of cigarettes, or at the most, a mental health professional. Or, just wait her out.

Funny too how those of you who are so big on "personally responsibility", do not feel that the chief ( the one person who's job it is to actually be responsible), should not be held responsible for his actions.

p.s. Fullerton, I think Jefferson was talking to Faulk

The quality of the criminal grand juries here is apparently no better than the quality of the regular grand juries. Unfortunately.

Grand Jury review of police shootings are automatic in many places as are post shooting drug tests of officers. I personally feel Mr. Gallegos has avoided doing things that needed to be done in an effort to appease the far right good 'ol boys. Things such as not fire Worth Dikeman a lot sooner.

I remember Mr. Dikeman's excuse in the paper after a child molester he prosecuted got a sentence that many felt was too light that the accused "had a slick attorney". He then cited that case in the PL recall to denounce Mr. Gallegos as being to soft, hinting that he even condoned molestation and the like.

That Mr. Gallegos is prosecuting this himself does not appear to me to be vendetta driven but displaying long needed good leadership in setting an example by taking personal responsibility.

The fact that police leaders have never been asked to account for their actions in any situation and their rather disgusting display of utter indignation that they ever be accountable to 'we the people' is pretty strong evidence that it is time the precedent was set and that, perhaps, the massive numbers of complaints that have fallen on belligerent, vindictive and deaf, ears have at least some merit.

Humboldt County has a very long history of an inordinate level of criminal activity and well documented cases of official corruption. That these same segments have worked against the District Attorney in a most vicious manner reveals the extent of this in my opinion.

I for one would welcome the prosecution of real criminals rather than homeless people, dress code violators and pot smokers and also welcome this case, whatever the outcome, as setting a precedent in accountability commensurate with the power of one's position.

Remember just this one thing about Gallegos......Tim Stoen.

"Remember just this one thing about Gallegos......Tim Stoen." Well people make mistakes. Maybe Mr. Gallegos will not be so quick to hire a Republican next time.

Tim Stoen was more than a mistake and Stoen is no republican.

Personally, I would like the District Attorney to convene a criminal grand jury to investigate the multiple fatality accident in the construction zone for the Caltrans median barrier project. There is no way that road should have had the left lane closed for over a half year, and the striping not applied to the roadway soon after the paving was completed. The District Director, the Senior Construction Engineer and the Resident Engineer should all be investigated, charged, and prosecuted for criminal negligence.

"Tim Stoen was more than a mistake and Stoen is no republican.",/em>

Mr. Stoen was just masquerading as a Republican, Brian?

Mr. Stoen had a stellar record prior to his employment in Humboldt County and his relationship with Jim Jones ended shortly after Mr. Jones started using meth and headed towards the usual insanely paranoid authoritarianism resulting from it's use.

I would also like to address a couple of the original questions upon reflection;

"My questions are as follows: Do any of you believe the charges are fueled by the supposed feud, even though the Grand Jury technically made the decision? And, do you think Gallegos' taking the reins of the prosecution makes the defendants nervous, or gleeful at the chance to take on the surfer DA in court?"

I think the Grand Jury decision is not a technicality.

I think that the string of police killings would draw at least this much investigation in any jurisdiction in America and be welcomed by honest, innocent and competent police forces to make their innocence clear to all. Again, if anything, Mr. Gallegos may have held back because of perceived political bias as I believe he did in the case of not firing Worth Dikeman earlier. Whether in an effort to accommodate the entire electorate, which he represents, or in fear of the entrenched right wing belligerents, it is always a waste of time to attempt appeasement of such self righteous people and he should have done the right thing in both cases sooner.

I think the defendants are more that a little nervous at the prospect of Mr. Gallegos' prosecution and that we will see their entire defense rest on avoidance of any examination of evidence starting with desperate attempts to dismiss, venue shopping, possibly another corporate backed attempt to recall Mr. Gallegos and, if they fail and it does go to trial, intense smearing of witnesses to discredit their testimony, exclusion of evidence on all sorts of questionable grounds such as some sort of "necessary police secrecy", the usual intimidation, and working the legal technicalities, running up the county's legal bills and so on. We will also see the Arkley Reporter running smear headlines on a strategic basis during certain phases of this process.

Mr. Gallegos, aside from other qualities and issues, is very brave and has taken on a formidable task.

Maybe Mr. Adamson could share some of the "well documented cases of official corruption" he mentions in his 11:17 am post ?

Some facts would be nice.

Its nice see a voice of intlligence speaking for the people keep it up noel

Sheriff Renner; Disappearing funds and details I can't recall.

DePaoli; Payola, bribery in a murder case he was prosecuting as D.A.

Such things as the recent revisitation of a trial in which Mr. Dikeman openly rejected Native Americans from jury duty, based on their being Native Americans, also qualify in my opinion and very much points to a deep seated prejudice that has pervaded entrenched Humboldt County politics and therefore it's government for a long time. These types of prejudices have pervaded other parts of the country also but, in my opinion, have persisted longer here and, among other problems, have left us a lot less safe by preventing good judgment to prevail in law enforcement and our courts.

The list also goes back several generations with increasingly terrible actions though the ones that were not prosecuted were, as they are today, the real corruption. The massacre, and other persecutions, of ethnic minorities is also well documented and, in the case of native Americans, was not even considered a crime in California until well after the beginning of the 20th century. Not all the residents of Humboldt County approved of the massacres or such forms of corruption as bribery and trial tampering and misappropriation of public funds but there has been a disproportionate amount of skulduggery here in Humboldt County, contrary to the loudly voiced opinions that everything was just peachy here until those pesky hippies appeared with their naive notions of love and peace and mutual respect and how things ought to operate.

Noel Adamson the voice of intelligence ? Now that does bring a smile to my face.

Noel you are sooo way out to lunch. You are right about some missing investigative funds under Renner. DePaoli's mis-deeds occured after his brief stint as DA, while he was a private attorney.

Is that the best you can do Noel ? You go from the massacre of Indians to pesky hippies ?

Proof positive smoking too much dope is not good for a person.

Trivialization and slander still does not constitute an argument against prejudicial corruption nor does it speak well of those that express such vicious and irrational hatred for Gallegos in general, "GMF". You sound like the usual right wing trolls who are busy defending young men who paint swastikas in public places and supporting the targeting of homeless people rather than criminals, and do so from the anonymity so loved by the cowardly arm chair warriors of the right.

It does not offer me much comfort that Mr. DePaoli's corruption suddenly developed after a brief stint as D.A. or that misappropriation of funds is considered a minor faux pas.

As I stated, the real corruption does not get investigated because it is the people who are responsible for investigation who have been corrupt. One of my friends claimed she was raped by sheriff Cox while in custody in the early 70s. She was a very credible person and she did not smoke pot or otherwise "deserve" this. Her allegations could obviously not be pursued leaving them to be accepted or rejected on her word alone and those of us that know her believe her and witnesses. I have met numerous people over several decades who have reported that Sheriff's deputies told them that "they did not investigate hippy murders" and have heard them on the radio refusing to answer calls to in progress shooting until the shooting has stopped. "We'll come later and fill out the paperwork".

When threatened by people on dope, Eureka police have had to defend themselves using lethal force.
If the DA and Grand Jury want to do something constructive, why don't they ask: Where did each dopehead get his/her dope? How many dopeheads are waiting to attempt suicide by police shooting?
Are the DA, Grand Jury and shakedown attorneys on call 24/7 to intercede when a drunk or doped person is threatening to kill and wanting to be killed?
As Christmas and New Year's eve approach, the crazies will come out of the woodwork. Do you want the police to delay or stay away so that these potential killers can thin the population? Delays were deadly in the Columbine and Pennsylvania Amish incidents.
So, instead of accusing and whining, please post your plan to deal with sucidal, deranged drunks and dopeheads wanting to kill and to be killed.

Yours, Jerry Hurley, Redding

Chief Douglas and Lt. Zanotti set up the SWAT team. Here you have a woman in a mental health crisis. She is yelling, making threats, has a flare gun. An EPD officer in another building sees Cheri Lynn Moore put down the flair gun, and radios that informnation to the SWAT team.

Now just hold on to that image. She's scared, but she's put down the flare gun.

Now let's talk about SWAT team training. SWAT members receive extensive training relating to the discharge of their weapons and the scenarios they are likely to encounter. The training consists of repeated lifelike simulations such as what to do when confronted with somebody holding a gun. In the simulation the SWAT officer repeatedly fires their simulated weapon at the simulated target--if a suspect is pointing a gun at the SWAT team member, the officer in the simulation is trained to fire immediately to save their own life, the lives of other personnel, and members of the public. THERE IS NO DECISION MADE. When an officer receives a visual--person pointing a gun at them--they have been trained to shoot WITHOUT THINKING. They literally cannot help themselves.

Going back to Cheri Lynn Moore. She is scared, but she puts down the flare gun. Then the EPD forces the door open. Of course Cheri Lynn Moore, already frightened then terrorized by her door being beaten down, picks up the flare gun and points it at those who have just violently gained entry into her apartment. The four SWAT team officers, WITHOUT THINKING, now closer to the instinctive level, and in complete compliance with their training fire their weapons at Cheri Lynn Moore.

Chief Douglas and Lt. Zanotti are responsible for setting up the SWAT team to kill a frightened, troubled woman. As commanders they should have known what would be the most likely outcome when the SWAT team was sent up to Cheri Lynn Moore's apartment and broke her door down.

ALERT! This case was TOSSED by the Judge - never made it to trial. Just like the Palco case. No merit.
☛ ER http://eurekareporter.com/article/080826-judge-throws-out-douglas-zanotti-case
Feeney said the indictments the grand jury handed down to Douglas and Zanotti in December 2007 weren’t supported by probable cause. Insufficient evidence regarding the former leaders’ alleged failure to oversee other law enforcement was also presented to the grand jury, Feeney said, and instructions given on “exigent circumstances” were inadequate.
The grand jury should have also been instructed on justifiable homicide by law enforcement officials, Feeney said.