SLPD

Is it OK for SLPD to “fib” if it helps them catch their guy?

Is it OK for SLPD to “fib” if it helps them catch their guy? Short Notes 1 Response »

Jul 042013

This case is an interesting example of how the SLPD does business. And I think it brings up a good question

Is it OK for the SLPD to “fib” and break the law, in order to enforce the law? In other words, should the ends justify the means?

In this case, the police was apparently told of several incidents in which people had car trouble after parking at Washington Plaza, and were approached by a man wearing overalls who offered to fix the trouble for them for money. The victims suspected, with good reason, that the guy was causing the troubles himself.

Bicycle police officer Brian Buss starts looking for the guy, and yesterday, around 10:30 AM, he spots him. But what can he do? Much to his chagrin, the Bill of Rights has not been totally suspended so he can’t just arrest him, or even search him for looking suspicious. So, instead, he decides that the man is “drunk in public” and arrests him for that. He searches him, and finds a wrench and a bolt. A couple of hours later a tow truck comes into the parking lot, and Buss apparently was able to confirm that the bolt the man allegedly had been removed from the car in question.

Seems pretty straight forward. But it seems awfully convenient that the suspect was “drunk” in public at 10:30 AM on a weekday. And not only drunk, but that he was unable to exercise care for his safety or that of others or that he was interfering with the free use of a public way. You would think that if he was drunk enough to actually be in violation of public intoxication laws, his former victims would not have fallen for the scam in the first place.

So let’s assume that the cop made it up. He needed an excuse to search this man, and this one was the easiest. Is it OK? He caught the criminal, after all. It’s not at all clear that the charges will stand – a judge reading the press release is likely to see the arrest as a false one, and thus any evidence that came from it could not be entered in court -, but the guy probably got a big scare and won’t do it again. They didn’t mention his name on the press release this time, so they won’t get sued for libel.

What do you guys think, it’s OK for the police to ignore constitutional guarantees of due process, if it gets them the bad guys? Comment here on in facebook.

2014, Weep or Run? Candidate Field for San Leandro offices looks dismal.

2014, Weep or Run? Candidate Field for San Leandro offices looks dismal. Politics No Responses »

Jun 302013

The 2014 elections are just around the corner, and I can’t believe how dismal the candidate field is in San Leandro. Actually, “dismal” is putting it lightly.

Mayor
Mayor Stephen Cassidy will be seeking re-election. His pitch of “I’m not as incompetent as Tony Santos” narrowly won him the seat in 2010, but he now will have to run on a record that is only marginally better than his predecessor’s. He did balance the budget – but only because voters passed Measure Z -, and he ended up getting the police union to agree to pay into their pensions, but only in exchange for raises. His biggest accomplishment so far was giving the green light to the Lit San Leandro project, but he handicapped it by making zoning code changes incompatible with the “live-work-play” concept he now realizes the city needs to spouse. Even then, there is nothing scarier to anyone seeking to invest in a town than a capricious regulatory system. Still, Lit San Leandro has potential and if it can hook in a couple of big companies into town, his chances at re-election look good.

Councilmember Diana Souza, who is being termed out in 2014, and former councilmember Surlene Grant are giddily waiting on the sidelines preparing to jump in if something handicaps Cassidy – or, more likely, if he decides he doesn’t want to go through the rigors of a second campaign in which he will have to defend himself and his record. While neither Souza nor Grant is particularly well positioned for defeating him by herself, rank choice voting opens up the possibility that they will both run, team up, and attack Cassidy from two different angles.

Neither Souza nor Grant, however, seem likely to be much of an improvement over Cassidy. Neither can point to many accomplishments while in office, and neither has a history of leadership while in the Council. I was not very active in politics while Grant was in office, so I cannot totally dismiss her yet – but Souza has proven herself unable to do anything but follow directions in the 7 years she’s been in office.

I am hoping that someone else will jump into the race, but I don’t know who it could be. Councilmember Jim Prola seems unlikely to do it at this point and nobody else in the City Council has much to offer. The School Board is mostly made up by new members without the experience to take on the reigns of the City. The only exception is my husband, Mike Katz-Lacabe, but he has pulled papers to run for City Council District 1. Former School Board President Morgan Mack-Rose was just narrowly defeated on her bid for the District 2 City Council seat, so she is likely to be out of the political picture for a while. It’s possible, however, that someone will rise up from the community – though I haven’t seen much noise from anyone who might become a serious candidate. Dan Dillman, of course, may decide to run again and this time do it seriously. Depending on how badly Cassidy falters in the upcoming year, he might actually have a shot.

If no one else pans out, however, I might actually consider running myself. I’ve never had political ambitions of my own, and this would really be a last-ditch solution; I hope it does not come to that. But I do believe that this city needs to have someone at its helm that takes the responsibilities of the Mayor and its duties towards the community seriously. Our Police Department needs to be audited and brought under civilian control – it is unconscionable that we have narcotic officers selling drugs of dubious origins, officers with a record of brutality killing unarmed civilians without any repercussions, false child porn charges filed against established members of our community, persecution of gay men and a Chief that lies to the community and the Council and tries to manipulate the political process, without any consequences whatsoever and, of course, turning San Leandro into a surveillance state. This needs to be a campaign issue. There are, unfortunately, many others.

Districts 1 , 3 & 5

San Leandro has a hybrid type of district elections. Council members must live in a particular area of town, but they are voted on by residents of the whole city.

Michael Gregory is terming out from District 1 . So far the only person I have heard that might be running for that seat is my own husband, Mike Katz-Lacabe. He pulled papers last November.

Diana Souza is terming out from District 3 herself, so that will also be an open seat. Board of Zoning Adjustments member Lee Thomas has already indicated that he will run for that seat. I tried to meet with Thomas to get an idea of his political philosophy, only to find out that he doesn’t have any. I give him credit for his honesty in refusing to engage on policy discussions before he has spent the time to learn about the issues and figure out what he thinks (though he might have considered putting off running, until he becomes acquainted with these little matters). But if someone is unwilling to answer the question: “on a scale from one to ten, how progressive are you? “, then I can only conclude that he either has no political views at all or that he is unwilling to stand up for them. In either case, that’s not what I want in a City Council member. I much rather have someone who is conservative, but who is clear and honest about his political philosophy, than someone who will decide on issues as the wind blows or his pockets are filled.

This means that I am actively looking for someone to run for that seat. In my view, the requirements for office are intelligence, integrity and a real commitment to the public good and the democratic process. A tall order, any day.

Finally, Pauline Cutter seems likely to seek re-election for District 5, and I haven’t heard of anyone poised to challenge her.

School Board

Just like with the City Council, School Board members run for a district but are elected at large. The School Board has 7 members, only 2 of whom faced a contested election – the other 5 just walked into the office. Katz-Lacabe has been trying to reduce the number of members from 7 to 5, to make it more likely that those serving are actually elected, but he has gotten little traction.

Three seats will be up for election in 2014. Lance James, who represents the north-eastern area of town will be running for re-election. Ron Carey, who represents the area south of Davis St., east of 880 up to the first railroad tracks, has said he’s not running. He had been appointed to that seat. If Mike Katz-Lacabe runs for City Council, then his School Board seat (adjacent on the east side to Carey’s, extending up to East 14th.) will be open. So far I haven’t heard of anyone interested in running for either.

If you know more political gossip, if you’re interested in running for office and want to announce here or seek my help, or if you just want to gossip, please comment here or in Facebook.

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 without much difficulty that the charges against Styner are bogus and they should be dismissed.

Styner was charged on two counts: residential burglary and possession of child pornography. He plead non-guilty to both. He was released on his own recognizance.

The residential burglary charge is based on allegations that Rick Styner entered the home of a friend (referred to as “Jane Doe” in court documents, but known to be former San Leandro High School principal Amy McNamara Furtado), while she was out of town, using a key she had given him for emergencies. Once there, he allegedly opened her closed dresser drawers and took pictures of her underwear and unidentified “personal”, “intimate” items. He also is alleged to have removed her running pants and underwear from the drawers, laid them out and photographed them. The declaration does not indicate the alleged purpose behind this conduct.

Unfortunately for the DA and Ms. McNamara, this conduct does not constitute a crime. Under California law, a residential burglary is the unlawful entrance of a dwelling with the intention to commit a larceny or another felony. Styner is not charged with larceny and, contrary to media reports, the police declaration does not state that he removed any item from McNamara’s home or that he had any intention to do so. The police declaration also fails to allege any conduct by Styner that could constitute a felony under California law. The SLPD had wanted the court to charge Stnyer with “disorderly conduct,” under a Penal Code provision (PC 647(J)(1)) that criminalizes the use of a camera to spy on a person – but this section is very clear that the person has to be present. In any case, that would be a misdemeanor.

What seems likely is that the DA charged Styner with a serious felony, hoping to intimidate him into pleading to something else. At the arraignment, the judge commented on the weakness of this particular charge.

The child pornography charge stems from a single photograph allegedly found in a folder in the school computer, also allegedly belonging to Styner (some news stories mistakenly reported that 200 photographs had been found, but only one is described on the declaration and he is only charged with one count of possession). The photograph showed a woman posing so as to show her buttocks and part of her labia (in a pose probably similar to this one). According to Officer Pickard the model “appears to be under the age of 18”. Under California law, a charge of child pornography requires both that the subject of the photograph be underage and that the person in possession of the photograph know it. Given that the Police does not claim to have identified the woman in the picture and that the only indication of the woman’s age is Officer Pickard’s appraisal of her buttocks (which begs the question of how much experience Officer Pickard has in assessing women’s posteriors), it seems unlikely that any reasonable juror would believe that Styner “knew” her to be a minor.

There is a more technical problem with this case: the chain of custody. In order for the DA to be able to use the evidence found in the school computer, he must show that after Styner relinquished the computer to the school authorities, proper forensic procedures were followed so as to make it unlikely that anyone would have tampered with the computer files. This includes making a copy of the hard drive and doing any analysis of its contents on the copy, not the real thing. Neither the District nor the Police have released information as to who took control of the computer and what procedures were followed, but if a proper chain of custody is not established, the whole case will be thrown out.

—

I have tried to do a quick summary of the evidence in the Styner case. The charges are weak. They are likely to be thrown out of court, but he can expect to have to spend tens of thousands of dollars on legal fees. Both he and his wife are teachers, he is now in unpaid leave, and regardless of what happens with the criminal charges, it’s likely that he will lose his job. The gist of this is that these charges, however groundless, have destroyed his reputation in this community, threaten his freedom and his financial stability – as well as his family’s.

I don’t take this lightly. If it happened to Rick Styner, a well-liked teacher and a pillar of this community, it can happen to any of us.

The San Leandro Police Department acted at best irresponsibly and at worse maliciously and criminally. It is now incumbent upon the San Leandro City Council both to engage an independent investigator to look into what seems to be a pattern of malicious arrests and press releases by Chief Sandra Spagnoli and the SLPD. It must also pass an immediate policy prohibiting the SLPD from issuing any press releases about any person that has not been convicted of a crime, and to provide a public accounting of the status of the cases of all subjects of prior press releases.

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.

One thing is clear: both Cassidy and the City Council well were aware that the SLPD’s actions were not only illegal, but they exposed the City to legal liability.

—

Official e-mail correspondence between me (Marga Lacabe) and Mayor Cassidy, all from 6/24/12

My first e-mail

Dear Mayor,

As you know, last week two older men were arrested near the bathrooms at Marina park for “loitering in or about a public restroom for the purpose of engaging or soliciting lewd or lascivious acts.” This was done as part of an undercover sting operation, and the two arrests were unconnected to one another. The operation took place during a school day/hours. The SLPD promptly issued a press release including the name and pictures of the two men who were arrested, one of whom was 76 years old.

I’ve been reading about the phenomenon of “bathroom sex” and talking to older members of the LGBT community about it. One of my sources summarized the phenomenon like this:

“[Bathroom sex is] very much a phenomenon of the closet, which in turn is a phenomenon of oppression and stigmatization. The guys who cruise the rest rooms are guys who don’t dare be seen (or are scared to be seen) at normal gay social gatherings. And presumably they’re too marginalized to hook up via internet — the old, the poor, the uneducated. It surprises me that there’s still much rest room action going on. Back in the 70’s, when I lived in backward, ultrahomophobic [midwestern state], it was virtually the only available contact for gay men. In 2012, in the bay Area — really sad the practice still persists, and particularly sad that it’s the best these poor guys can do..”

It is just as sad that Police departments have used the anti-loitering laws (even in their very weakened state) as a tool to harass and shame men who are in the closet. The fact that our Police Department rushed to publish their pictures shows that that was exactly their intent. But this type of behavior should not go unchallenged.

For years, you have been outspoken about your support of gay marriage. I would hope that you would be just as outspoken about your condemnation of the oppression of gay men by our police department.

You may also note that this is a lawsuit waiting to happen. While the penal code criminalizes loitering around a bathroom with the intent to engage in lewd conduct, the meaning of this has been narrowed dramatically by the courts. Basically, in order for the charges to stick, you need to have a sex act between the defendant and someone else which involves sexual touching, and it must be observed by someone other than a police officer. The lawyer who argued some of the key cases on this issue has written a quick guide for defense attorneys that explains how the law plays out: http://www.brucenickerson.com/primer.html It’s worth a read. It would also be worth it to read the police report and see exactly what took place and find out whether charges were filed. If it turns out that the police is entrapping gay men just to put their pictures on the internet, that can cost the city some. Nickerson is in San Carlos, which I think is not too far away.

I appreciate you taking this case seriously, and doing whatever is necessary to stomp out any homophobia at the SLPD. I will also appreciate if you pass a policy that requires the SLPD to inform the public of the legal disposition of any case in which they’ve issued a press release that is still available at the city’s website. These men were arrested over a week ago, if they have been charged that information should be posted.

Thank you,

Marga

Cassidy’s response

Ms. Lacabe,

Thank you for your message and expressing your concerns on this important matter. I will inquire further into the question of the SLPD informing the public of the disposition of any case in which the department issues a press release. However, I see a number of practical constraints, including that the disposition of a case can be months and sometimes years from the arrest, and the prosecution is handled by the District Attorney.

No city wants their public restrooms – particularly ones in public parks frequented by children – to be used as a meeting place for engaging or soliciting sex or lewd acts, which is way there is a provision in the state penal code prohibiting such activity. Arresting individuals who have allegedly committed such an offense, and publicizing their arrests, is a means of seeking to deter others from using our public restrooms for similar illegal acts. I appreciate that the nature of this alleged offense – and its publicity with the release of photos – can be deeply stigmatizing and lead to vilification of those arrested. However, no basis exists to support the conclusion that the arrests and press release were part of an attempt to harass or oppress persons based on their sexual orientation.

Stephen Cassidy
Mayor
City of San Leandro
835 East 14th Street
San Leandro, Ca 94577

My response

Mr. Mayor,

I appreciate your candidness as to the fact that the City is publicizing the photos of the accused men in order to “deter others from using our public restrooms for similar illegal acts”. Under the law, of course, the men are to be presumed innocent which makes your statement particularly troubling.

You state that the harassment of men seeking to meet other men at a public park was not based on sexual orientation, I wonder if you have any evidence that it was not? Can you tell me if there has been a sting operation in San Leandro in recent memory aimed to enticing men to have sexual relations with female cops or women to have sexual relations with male cops, so as to then expose them? I’m, of course, referring to circumstances of non-commercial sex.

Finally, I would encourage you to read the book Queer (In)Justice: The Criminalization of LGBT People in the United States which deals exactly with these issues. Chapter 3 (which you can access at http://www.scribd.com/doc/49120847/Queer-In-justice-The-Criminalization-of-LGBT-People-in-the-United-States-excerpt) deals specifically with the tactic of “policing public sex” as a way to oppress this most marginalized social group.

I can only hope that you will change your mind and will put an end to these bigoted practices in San Leandro. San Leandro has already too ugly a history about dealing with all kinds of minorities for you to want to continue with that pattern.

Sincerely,

Margarita Lacabe

Cassidy’s Final Response

Ms Lacabe – I referred to the arrestees as persons who allegedly committed the offense. As a lawyer who served as a deputy public defender, I am fully aware an arrestee is innocent until proven guilty.

And my final response

Mr. Cassidy,

In your statement you expressed support for a policy of releasing the name and photographs of men who have been arrested for loitering so as to warn others that this is what it will happen to them if they do something the police deems illegal. You recognize that the men must be presumed innocent, and thus may not have done anything illegal, but you still believe it’s proper to “out them” to their communities and the worlds to accomplish your policy goal. That is an immoral policy that I would have hoped you’d be above.

The fact that you were a former deputy public defender, and therefore know full well how little evidence the police needs in order to arrest a person for a crime, makes your position particularly troublesome.

Take care,

Marga

—

Public Comment before the San Leandro City Council – July 8, 2012 (these were my prepared remarks, I might have changed them slightly while presenting them).

My name is Margarita Lacabe. I’m a San Leandro resident and an international human rights activist.

Today I’ve come to talk to you about a human rights issue.

About two weeks ago, the San Leandro Police Department arrested two men during a “sting operation” at Marina Park. According to the press release the Police issued, the men were arrested for “loitering in or about a public restroom for the purpose of engaging or soliciting lewd or lascivious acts.”

The Police Department has refused to release the police reports on the arrests so we don’t really know what the men in this case actually are accused of doing. We do know that California law does not prohibit either solicitation or sex in a public place, unless those involved could reasonably believe someone could observe the sexual conduct and would be offended by it.

The Supreme Court ruled on the “loitering” section of the Penal Code back in 1988, but this has not stopped Police Departments statewide from carrying on raids like the one in San Leandro. The purpose of those raids – invariably carried out against men looking for homosexual sex, never heterosexual – is not to enforce the law but to use it as a tool of harassment against one of the most marginalized and oppressed populations still around: closeted gay men.

“Bathroom sex” is a creature of the closet. It arose because until recently gay men could not be public about their sexual orientations or preferences. Men who came out risked being ostracized, lose jobs and careers, be beaten up, even imprisoned. Things have improved but too many men carry the scars of all those years and are still in the closet. Even here, in the gay-friendly Bay Area. According to the research I’ve read, many of the men who still visit “tea rooms” as the bathrooms are known, are men who are still in the closet.

Now, I don’t know if this is true of the two men who were arrested, but I will note that they were both older men and one was 76!

The San Leandro Police did not just arrest these men, it also issued a press release with their names and photographs. Mayor Cassidy indicated over e-mail that he believes outing octogerians is justified by the greater goal of stopping whatever “illegal behavior” supposedly took place. I don’t agree.

The legal issues surrounding this arrest will be played out in court. I’m confident the men have access to a competent attorney and that justice will prevail.

But the ethical issues remain: people have a right to privacy, even beyond that protected by law. And that includes men and women in the closet, whether they hang out public bathrooms, the Police Station or City Hall.

I don’t have a formal request at this time, but I hope that this is an issue that you will keep in mind. This is 2012, we should not be outing people in San Leandro!

Is Head Librarian SLPD’s Chief Next Target?

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

Jun 102013

A scene from the movie “Flowers in the Attic.” The SLPD considers the book to be “child pornography”.

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 by V. C. Andrews. The novel – which was made into a very bad movie
– concerns four siblings that are raised hidden in an attic and repeatedly abused. As the children enter puberty, the older siblings start to develop sexual feelings for one another, and they consummate that relationship when the girl is 14 years old.

I have checked the San Leandro library catalog, and it would seem that the library does have multiple copies of this “pornographic story”. It would thus seem prudent that the SLPD get warrants to search the homes and computers of all library personnel responsible for distributing such “child pornography”.

“Flowers in the Attic” has sold over 40 million copies worldwide, and it’s a favorite among teenage readers. It would therefore seems likely that the book is also present in San Leandro school libraries and English classrooms. The SLPD should not take any chances and start investigations into all SLUSD librarians and English-language teachers. Perhaps the SLPD should get a court order to have Amazon.com and other booksellers disclose the identity of everyone in the city that has bought a copy of this “pornographic” novel, so the investigation can become even more inclusive. Who knows what other untold crimes people who read this story may be committing?

Of course, I understand that the problem is not only this “pornographic story” in Mr. Styner’s computer, but the fact that it was illustrated with a picture of someone who appeared to be underage. While there may be a question about the age of the model in that photograph, there is no question that actress Thora Birch was only 16 when she appeared nude in the Oscar winning film American Beauty. The main library, and undoubtedly hundreds of San Leandrans, have a copy of this movie and thus, according to SLPD standards, seem to be in possession of “child pornography.”

As you probably also know, when I wrote my article on the Styner investigation, I linked to pictures of Brooke Shields in Pretty Baby
– a movie in which she appeared nude when she was barely 12 years old. Not only should the SLPD thus be able to arrest me, but everyone who read my story and clicked on the link. I should be able to provide for the Chief the IP addresses of everyone in that situation. Will arrest warrants follow?

Thank you, once again, for your commitment to keep San Leandro free of any real crime. I support your crusade to clean the bookshelves of San Leandro’s citizens. It’s definitely a much more important endeavor than paying attention to pesky little things like robberies, actual burglaries, domestic violence and, the peskier of them all, corruption and misconduct within your own department.

Sincerely,

Margarita Lacabe

—

This letter was e-mailed to Chief Sandra Spagnoli and copied to Mayor Stephen Cassidy, the other members of the City Council, City Manager Chris Zapata, Assistant City Manager Lianne Marshall and City Attorney Richard Pio Roda.

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