Police

The Rick Styner Case: Court Documents Show Porn & Burglary Charges Are Bogus

The Rick Styner Case: Court Documents Show Porn & Burglary Charges Are Bogus Community, Legal, Police 2 Responses »

Jun 132013

Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned William Congreve, The Mourning Bride When I wrote my preliminary analysis of the criminal charges filed against San Leandro High School Teacher Richard Styner, I relied purely on the facts as reported by the media. I have now obtained the actual court documents filed in this case. These include the charge sheet filed by the District Attorney, and the “declaration of probable cause” on which those charges are based, executed by San Leandro Police officer Cathy Pickard. Based on them, I can say [Continue Reading]

Prelude to a Lawsuit: Mayor Cassidy Condoned Public Humiliation of Men in “Gay Sex” Arrests

Prelude to a Lawsuit: Mayor Cassidy Condoned Public Humiliation of Men in “Gay Sex” Arrests Community, Legal, Police No Responses »

Jun 112013

The City of San Leandro and the San Leandro Police Department were just hit with a class-action lawsuit for false arrests and issuing malicious press releases in their botched sting operations meant to catch men soliciting non-commercial homosexual sex in public areas. Last year, when the Police Department issued a press release announcing one such sting operation, I wrote to Mayor Stephen Cassidy expressing my concerns with what appeared to be illegal and discriminatory behavior in the part of the Police. When Mayor Cassidy expressed his approval of the SLPD’s methods, I spoke up at a City Council meeting. [Continue Reading]

Is Head Librarian SLPD’s Chief Next Target?

Is Head Librarian SLPD’s Chief Next Target? Police No Responses »

Jun 102013

An Open Letter to Chief Sandra Spagnoli Dear Chief Spagnoli: You have requested that the public alert you about “similar incidents” to those concerning the charges for child pornography filed against SLHS teacher Rick Styner. According to court documents, as reported by the media, these charges arise from “more than 200 pornographic stories” found on his computer, including one about a 14-year-old girl having sex with her brother, reportedly accompanied by the naked picture of a girl that looked to be underage. The story mentioned in court records sounds very much like “Flowers In The Attic “, the best seller [Continue Reading]

SLPD Hit with Class Action Lawsuit for False Arrests and Issuing Malicious Press Releases

SLPD Hit with Class Action Lawsuit for False Arrests and Issuing Malicious Press Releases Legal, Police 5 Responses »

Jun 062013

Is High School Teacher SLPD’s latest victim? Earlier this week, the San Leandro Police Department issued a press release announcing the filing of charges for “possession of child pornography” against Rick Styner, a teacher at San Leandro High School. In one day, the reputation of a man that, by all accounts, had been honorable and respectful of his students, has been destroyed, possibly beyond repair. I don’t think any of us can imagine the social opprobrium the Styner family is experiencing right now. And yet, a careful reading of the facts as reported in the news stories do not show [Continue Reading]

Democratic Delegates Pass Resolution on Domestic Use of Drones

Democratic Delegates Pass Resolution on Domestic Use of Drones ACDCC, Police, Politics 4 Responses »

Mar 112013

(Correction) Last Saturday, delegates to the California Democrats Convention from Region 5 (encompassing most of Alameda County, as well as western Contra Costa and northeastern Santa Clara counties) had a pre-convention meeting. At the meeting, I introduced a resolution to have the California Democratic Party urge Congress and the California Legislature to pass legislation requiring police to obtain a warrant before using drones for law enforcement purposes. The resolution (see below for the text) was overwhelmingly approved by the delegates present at the meeting. It now goes up to the state party’s Resolutions Committee for consideration – along with potentially [Continue Reading]

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