Attacking the Whistleblowers in Monterey

NOTE BY NORSE:  The author of this article and the homeless woman Sunny Fawcett have been outspoken criticis of police harassment of the homeless in Monterey.  They were guests on my radio show last night, archived at http://www.radiolibre.org/brbb/brb130718mp3  .   Sunny’s case is also described at http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/opinion/local_spin/article_dac54a5e-d449-11e2-8591-0019bb30f31a.html  (“Traffic Stop Becomes Criminal Case for Homeless Woman”).  Sunny lives her van; Brian lives outside.  Both report massive attacks on homeless people in Monterey driving them to nearby Seaside.

Monterey Police Harassment of a Homeless Woman!

by Stan Lee (writer), , June 30, 2013

This is the story of the Police Department in Monterey pulling over a Homeless Woman for driving too slow and impeding traffic, when there is no such violation and there was no traffic!
Monterey Police Officer John Olney pulled over a Homeless senior woman on September 19th, 2012 for “impeding traffic” in the middle of the night, when there was “no traffic”. Claiming that she was in violation of “Vehicle Code 22400”, while driving on Garden Road for going “too slow”.The code that she was cited for was for driving “too slow” on the Highway, not on a City Street, something that Officer John Olney shouldhave known.

The Officer was even “caught lying” on the Police Videotape, stating that she was driving 18mph and as low as 6mph, when the Police Radar documented that she was going between 30 and 35 MPH and then was pulled over. Only once during the time Officer Olney followed her did she go under 30MPH (28) before she was pulled over.

When Officer John Olney pulled her over he never mentioned anything about weaving, which he would later document in his report for the basis of pulling her over.

The Homeless Woman would not roll her window all the way down, because she had seen and heard how the Monterey Police Department had been harassing the Homeless and she heard stories of a woman that rolled her window down and a Police Officer unlocked her door and then she was thrown on the street by a few Officers. She was clearly afraid of the Monterey Police Department!

Then out of fear, the Homeless Woman asked the Officer to call Police Chief Phillip Penko. Officer John Olney then said “the Police Chief was probably in bed sleeping” and instead called a couple of Supervisors that never even bothered to introduce themselves to the Senior Homeless Woman. But instead one of them choose to peak into her passenger window and startle her. Something she thought was very creepy!

That same Supervisor named Frank Russo stated on the Police video of the scene that Officer John Olney “had gotten way more out of her than we did”. He had pulled her over on September 11th, 2012.

So the last time she was pulled over Supervisor Frank Russo told her that her head lights were not on, but when he decided to actually look at them he realized that he had made a mistake. So she wasn’t cited for that traffic stop by this officer.

So this Homeless Woman has been stopped by 2 Police Officers in Monterey on two different occasions for phony violations that both officers had no proof of. Isn’t that harassment of a homeless person?

Then a month after the last traffic stop by Officer John Olney she received a letter in late October 2012 informing her that she was being charged and they were issuing a Criminal Complaint against her.

The Crminal Complaint was filed by Mr. Dean Flippo of the Salinas District Attorney’s Office claiming that she had been charged with violating Penal Code 148 (a) (1), but he never bothered to take into consideration that the Police video revealed that Officer John Olney lied about her speed, quoted VC 22400, which is for Minimum Speeds on a Highway and not for driving on a City Street. Garden Road is not on a Highway, it’s a City Street.

Then the District Attorney’s Office forgot to document the fact that Supervisor Russo had claimed on the Police video of the scene that she cooperated more than she did when he pulled her over on his traffic stop a week before.

The Penal Code that they used was PC 148 (a) (1) which is for a person who willfully Resists, Delays and Obstructs an Officer from performing their duties. This is such a joke because the Supervisor Frank Russo stated on the Police Video that she cooperated more than the previous time and she wasn’t cited on that occasion. So why charge her with a crime?

Supervisor Frank Russo said at the end of the Police video that “I was just going to break her window”, which goes to show that the Police in Monterey, California need to learn how to properly deal with Homeless People and stop their violence towards them.

To further prove how foolish the Monterey Police Department and District Attorney’s Office has been in this case, they want to cite her for willfully resisting, delaying or obstructing the Officer from doing his duties. Yet you have a Supervisor stating to Officer John Olney that he got way more out of her than he did when he pulled her over and that she found the Police untrustworthy.

Keep in mind also that it was a dark secluded road, in the middle of the night and she is a senior Homeless woman that was all alone. Something that the Officers did not even take into consideration.

If the circumstances were reversed John Olney would have acted in the exact same way. If it were his mother he would have wanted her to proceed with the exact same caution that she showed.

Would you trust an officer, when he has another one sneaking up to your passneger side window?

Is there really a minimum speed limit for driving on a city road in Monterey? Are drivers required to only drive the speed limit and not a fraction below it? Doesn’t there have to be traffic to be pulled over for impeding traffic? Is it illegal for a woman to be scared after being pulled over in the middle of the night? Is asking a question to an officer resisting, delaying and obstructing the Officer from performing his duties?

Instead of the Monterey Police Department putting the spotlight on Homeless People, the Media should put their spotlight on them for citing hundreds of Homeless People for illegal camping in business areas using Monterey City Code 23-3(a), when they know that this code is for Recreational Areas only, which makes it fraud! Some of these Homeless People have received fines that they couldn’t pay and had to serve jail time and some received probation.

The story behind the story is that the Monterey Police Department are making it illegal to be Homeless in the City of Monterey, California and they have no right to enforce this kind of fraud and undeserved punishment on innocent people!

If you would like to see a peaceful change take place in the City of Monterey then please contact “The Monterey Mayor Chuck Della Sala”, The Monterey Police Department”, “The Monterey City Councilman Alan Haffa”, “The Monterey City Manager Fred Muer”, “Monterey Police Chief Phillip Penko” and “The City Attorney’s Office” and ask for immediate change and dismissal of all the illegal camping tickets and to cease the illegal sleeping and camping that the City Council voted on in a secret meeting without the voters consent and approval!

To this day the Monterey Officers still enforce this Monterey City Code 23-3(a) and give out these tickets, knowing it is illegal, but they never put on the ticket that it is for a Recreational Area only.

 

 

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