"Demonstration", Updates And CMPD Response
Today, Saturday, August 25th, a group identifying themselves as members of the Newport/Costa Mesa Tea Party, conducted a demonstration on the sidewalk along Fair Drive in front of the Costa Mesa Police Headquarters.
The group, who apparently rallied to the call of Costa Mesa resident and long-time activist Phil Morello, paraded along the sidewalk for at least an hour, beginning shortly after 1:00 p.m. When I left at around 2:30 most of the participants had long-since departed. Morello and a few others remained. The only excitement was a guy in a white pickup truck that twice drag-raced down Fair Drive in front of the Police Department while I was there. Passersby would occasionally honk their horns - I guess in support.
Before beginning the demonstration Morello gave them, literally, their marching orders. He said, in part, "These individuals, by whatever actions are occurring, are trying to intimidate and make people change their positions so that they vote in their own best interests instead of the interests of the voters they represent. We can't have that. That's the classic definition of thuggery. So, that's why we're here today. We need to show support and we're not going to put up with it anymore." And off they went...
The group was a mix of Costa Mesa residents and folks from out of town. I spoke with people from Laguna Niguel, Newport Beach and elsewhere. My guess, including estimates by other media folks present, was that it was about 50/50. The total number of participants at any time was around 24, plus a few children carrying flags.
Although the signs expressed a degree of outrage, the demonstration was quite calm and civilized. The folks with whom I spoke were uniformly concerned about the recent event that caused Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer to be asked by a member of the Costa Mesa Police Department to take a field sobriety test on his front porch. Some folks were more aware of the facts than others. Some had no clue - they just responded to the call for action. Some agreed with Righeimer's statement that he had been "set up", while others withheld judgment until the facts are known.
The group "Oath Keepers" had a small contingent on site. They stood at the corner of Vanguard Way and Fair Drive with a banner, shown below. From time to time one of their members used a bullhorn to shout, "Costa Mesa Police Officers, Honor Your Oath! Your Oath Is To The Constitution, Not To Unions!"
I spoke with many of the participants over the hour I was there. One of the organizers was a fellow named Bill Dunlap, from Newport Beach. He's a member of the Orange County Republican Party Central Committee and espoused a broader concern - a national view of this situation. He left early to mow his lawn.
It was clear that this was a hastily-organized event. The signs were hand-made with a certain degree of lack of precision. The most provocative sign I saw was the one Morello was carrying, tightly snuggled up to an American flag. The photo of that sign is below.
To my knowledge - at least while I was there - nobody from The City, nor the CMPD, addressed the group. A conversation with a lieutenant on duty at the time led me to believe no contact with the group was planned as long as they demonstrated peacefully and lawfully.
Only the Daily Pilot was there to represent the "real media". You can read Serna's report HERE. No television nor radio crews showed up while I was there. One local gadfly showed up before the event commenced, took one or two photos, then left after about five minutes without speaking with any of the participants. Facts never seem to get in the way of his opinions on his blog.
I don't know if anyone called it, but the Huntington Beach Police Helicopter did a fly-by during the demonstration.
I couldn't help but observe the large yellow ribbon tied to a tree in front of the CMPD headquarters, along with the sign honoring Officer Jon Smith, currently deployed in Afghanisan that stood along the demonstrator's line of march.
In addition to the coverage already provided by the Daily Pilot and the Orange County Register - all of which was linked in my earlier blog entry - the Register posted a new article today, HERE. If the Daily Pilot produces an article covering this event I'll link to it here later.
Late this evening the Costa Mesa Police Department issued a supplemental Press Release addressing this issue. The text of that message follows:
UPDATE TO PREVIOUS RELEASE. No additional information available at this time. Following an incident reported to the Costa Mesa Police Department on Wednesday, regarding the alleged driving violations of Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer, an investigation was initiated by the Professional Standards Bureau and the Investigative Bureau, at the direction of Chief Tom Gazsi. The source of the call and the alleged report of inappropriate driving is under investigation. Although the caller suggested the Mayor Pro Tem may have been driving impaired, the responding officer confirmed that Mr. Righeimer was not under the influence. A vigorous investigation continues concerning the motive and nature of the call. The Department anticipates a future review of this matter by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. Best Regards, Tim Schennum
WE NEED FACTS - NOW!There is clearly a lot of tension in Costa Mesa about this issue - appropriately so, in my opinion. Until all the facts are known about this event folks on both sides of this issue will fill in the blanks with their own conjecture and speculation. So many questions, too few answers. The longer it takes to get answers the worse it is for the City. We need to know:
- Why did the man who called 911 do it?
- Was he acting as an employee of the law firm that worked for the Costa Mesa Police Officers Association?
- Who, if anyone, paid him to do it?
- Was he just acting as a "rogue operator", which he apparently has a history of doing during his time as a police officer in Riverside before he left that job under a cloud?
- Is he subject to criminal penalties for reporting Righeimer?
THIS WILL AFFECT THE ELECTION...
This event, in my opinion, has changed the face of the election dramatically. We need answers FAST.
Labels: CMPD, Jim Righeimer, Phil Morello, Tea Party, Tom Gazsi
posted by The Pot Stirrer at 8/25/2012 08:09:00 PM
20 comments
Another thought is... this guy's a dirty politician and something like this diverts attention away from the critical eye he been getting and redirects it at his opposition.
You'll immediately start hearing from Mensinger, Fitzy and the rest, how this shows who they're fighting the good fight against. The union thugs who do these kinds of things to a good family man in front of his kids.
This comes right out of a political playbook. Don't doubt that this will be in the news and brought up over and over again to paint an example of who they are standing up to and this is the price that they pay for standing up to the union thugs.
I'm not buying it.
Calls to police are easily traced. Nobody over 14 would do such a "set-up."
I would bet that friends of Righeimer did this to cast aspersion upon CMPD and generate sympathy for the gang, in order to distract from the 3 stooges heading toward a massive election loss in November.
Riggy sounds exactly like his buddy Jim Fitzpatrick. Fitzy falsely accused other CMSD Directors of a personal attack and having some sort of vendetta against him too! Wow, these two knuckleheads are obviously using the same playbook. It’s getting really old. Boohoo, let’s cry to the Daily Pilot. They look like complete fools!
I thought these guys were confident their side is going to win? If so, why would they be worried about a couple of enemies? After all, as Deepthroat said in another post, they have some bombshells of their own that should be coming out within a week. Wow, I can’t wait for that! Hmmm, perhaps this news story is just a set up…
Take some advice Rig and Fitz: If you do the right thing and quit pissing people off, you’ll find that your life will be much, much better. It’s really that simple. You should try it. That way, you wouldn't have to be so paranoid.
Quote Steve Mensinger... "in the end the tactics define the cause and it's supporters".
There it is! The political reason behind something like this... is so he can say that.
Those damn union thugs have to be behind this "tactic". Right? I'm not buying it.
Maybe this call was placed by a fellow GOP person as a scheme to make it look like the unions are playing dirty, thus taking some of the heat off of Mr Righeimer and his group.
Agreed - if someone did this as a 'prank' for lack of a better term, that doesn't even belong in the Dirty Politics Pantheon.
If not, they will still try to use it to their advantage, as they already are. Seeing lots of new names on the Pilot comments coming out in support, as they should.
But who can forget the checkpoint fiasco a few years back? Anyone, on any side, can play dirty, as we've come to learn. Would sure be nice to know the truth - the good, the bad and the ugly.
http://news.yahoo.com/police-investigating-reported-threat-against-akin-231410114.html
I can't help but be suspicious.
This reminds me too much of the brick through the window at Skosh Monahans and
the vandalism at Estancia HS.
Did we ever get to hear what happened, who did it, etc.?
Any resolve, any arrests?
Did the note tied to the brick ever appear?
NO- they faded away in the sunset.
This may very likely be the same scenario.
We shall see.
something doesn't fit here...kind of reminds me of the mysterious red paint on Mensingers truck and the mystery brick at skosh's
This is gonna be a wild election season
Just like other commenters said. What about all the previous "incidents"? Monahans, where the cameras miraculously were not working, Mensinger's vandalism where he didn't make a police report. What ever happened with that "stink eye" deal? I seem to recall that was unfounded. In each of these cases, it was Riggy or his boys who brought this into the public eye, not the police department. Again. It's all very fishy.
This incident clearly needs some of the city's vaunted "transparency"!!