Kittle is Out

The bow-tied defender of a rampant free market and the San Diego status quo has been laid off from the SDUT.

From Today’s Voice:
Bob Kittle, the editorial page editor at The San Diego Union-Tribune, has been laid off, according to newsroom sources. So has Bernie Jones, the editor of the newspaper's opinion page.

Kittle has been one of the newspaper's most prominent voices and its public face: A conservative and staunch supporter of San Diego business community.

His predictable editorial slant and contorted defenses of business-as-usual will be missed.

Statement from California Democratic Party Chairman John Burton on Passing of Eunice Kennedy Shriver

With the passing of Eunice Kennedy Shriver today, America has lost a champion for people with developmental disabilities.

The founder of the Special Olympics, Shriver’s work and passion laid the foundation for the greater disability rights movement.

Inspired by love for her sister, Rosemary, Shriver helped eradicate the stigma of developmental disabilities and foster breakthrough in research and education.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver’s spirit and humanity live on through her loved ones.

My heart goes out to her children, including California First Lady Maria Shriver and Santa Monica City Councilman Bobby Shriver, her siblings, including Sen. Ted Kennedy, and the entire family. Eunice Kennedy Shriver will be deeply missed.

‘Steinberg v. Schwarzenegger’ Constitutional Lawsuit to be Filed Next Week

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 7, 2009


‘Steinberg v. Schwarzenegger’ Constitutional Lawsuit to be Filed Next Week


SACRAMENTO – Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) today announced that he will file a lawsuit against Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger early next week that contends the Governor violated his constitutional authority in making line item vetoes to portions of the Legislature’s budget revision bill in July.

The suit will be called: “Steinberg v. Schwarzenegger.”

“We elected a governor, not an emperor,” Steinberg said. “In making these line item vetoes the Governor forced punishing cuts on children, the disabled and patients that he couldn’t win fairly at the bargaining table. And in doing so, he overstepped his constitutional authority.”

On Wednesday, the non-partisan 93-year-old Legislative Counsel Bureau issued an opinion that made clear that the Governor had no right to unilaterally undo the budget agreement, causing further harm to people and violating his constitutional authority and the checks and balances contained in our constitution.

In its opinion, the Legislative Counsel Bureau said that a Governor can only line item veto “appropriations,” and what the Legislature sent him on July 24th were not “appropriations” – they were revised reductions in existing, previously enacted appropriations that we made in February.

See the opinion here:

http://senweb03.senate.ca.gov/focus/budget2009/LegCounselVetoes.pdf

Steinberg said he will use his campaign funds to pay for the lawsuit, which will be filed in San Francisco Superior Court. While the lawsuit will address the Governor’s constitutional authority, the breadth of the suit will be determined by Steinberg’s attorneys and other plaintiffs may be added.

I am running for Chula Vista City Council

PERAZA FOR CITY COUNCIL

For Immediate Release
August 6, 2009

HUMBERTO PERAZA DECLARES CANDIDACY FOR CHULA VISTA CITY COUNCIL

Humberto Peraza announced today that he has formed a campaign committee to run for Chula Vista City Council.

“As a young father, I want to do everything possible to make Chula Vista a better place for our families,” said Peraza. “As a member of the City Council, I will focus on delivering basic services, such as police, fire and parks, while we balance the budget. In these tough times, I will make job creation and revitalizing our local economy a
top priority.”

Humberto Peraza enters the City Council race with the support of Congressman Bob Filner, who has represented Chula Vista in the Congress since 1992.

Peraza served as District Chief of Staff for Filner for four and a half years, helping local communities secure federal funding for transportation and other community projects.

Currently serving as Senior Policy Advisor to San Diego Council President Ben Hueso, Peraza was appointed by Chula Vista Mayor Steve Padilla to the Chula Vista Charter Review Commission and was elected as Chair of the Commission. He also is a member of the board of the League of Conservation Voters.

The Peraza campaign is off to a quick start with a strong leadership team, including Paola Avila of AB Consulting and Development, Rose Kapolczynski of Progressive Strategy Partners and Kelli Maruccia of KM Strategies.

The primary will be held in June 2010 and the runoff, if necessary, will be held in November 2010. Humberto Peraza is running for Chula Vista City Council Seat 2, currently held by Councilmember John McCann. McCann is unable to run for reelection due to term limits.

Peraza attended public schools in San Diego and graduated from San Diego State University with a bachelor’s degree in political science.

Peraza, 35, lives with his wife Lisa and sons Ben, 5, and Dylan, 2, in East Chula Vista.

###

Rep. Bob Filner (CA-51) draws a line in the sand

Quick Hits

I leave town for a bit and all the good stuff happens. I’m citing articles that have been piling up in my inbox:


Candidates Fundraising Prowess (SDUT 8/3/09)
Kevin leads all with $72K. No surprise here. Wayne is in 2nd with $26,542 minus 5K he lent himself which puts him at 21K. Very good in this economic climate. Alvarez in 3rd with $16K is very good and a surprise. Labor has been dissing his chances yet he comes out stronger than anyone else in the 8th district. This should raise eyebrows.


DeMaio and Privitization (Voice of SD, 8/3/09)
Carl, in his latest act of performance “art”, ranted about the city’s lack of progress implementing privatization. I call it “art” because, were he serious, he would call the Mayor out for not doing anything and would name names let alone try to do something as a member of the same government that is supposed to implement privatization rather than take up time on the City Government channel.


Bejerano’s Fundraising Prowess (SDUT 8/6/09)
Because there are nothing but Republicans playing to their base for Sheriff, Bejarano can easily slide in through appealing to the other half of the electorate that isn’t beholden to the right. His commanding fundraising lead so far looks to put him in a grand position to make this a real race.


CA Assembly’s Profile in Courage This Week (LA Times, 8/6/09)
28 members of the Assembly voted to OK offshore oil drilling. That record has been expunged. Good thing to know that our tax dollars are paying for elected who would rather cover their ass than defend them. I never thought I'd say this, but when the CDP has the balls to go on record for issues we believe in and the Assembly, where in name we have a majority, won't, the old order is ready for a fall.

Saldaña is in!

According to the San Diego News Network, Lori Saldaña is in the race for the seat currently held by Ron Roberts (#4) on the County Board of Supervisors.

So how does this change things? A lot.

Saldaña
Has good name recognition and already represents most of the 4th District through her current position in the state assembly. She hasn’t had a real race since her first but she’s proven that she can do what needs to be done to win. If she hires Remer, who almost tanked her first run, this race goes from a slam dunk to competitive. His record last time out wasn’t encouraging, but hopefully Saldaña can overcome his shortcoming and pull this one out.

Frye
Unlike Donna who I think is done. Frye can’t raise money, can‘t assemble a real campaign team, and can’t help out her CoS Steve Hadley in his run for her seat if she is distracted by her own race. Sure there are die-hard Donna supporters who would believe her if she said the moon was made of cheese, but they are too few and unorganized in general to pull off a race against someone like Lori.

Jackson
And the same goes for Sheila. She has an even smaller base to work from and, without a solid from Labor, will have an even harder time of it. IMHO, she should stay at the Board of Education because the 3-2 voting block that passed the PLAs is too fragile to allow freelancing.

Conclusion
Will go to a runoff after June with Saldaña and the Republican who challenges Roberts. This guy has made many enemies over the years and isn’t loved by his side.

Let the Seals Stay

This La Jolla thing has been batty from the start, so let me make the point that it hurts San Diego more to get rid of the seals than to let them have the Children’s Pool.

There are valid health reasons for getting rid of them but the truth is that the seals can make better use of this beach than we can. They birth and we swim. They seek shelter and we abandon the place at nightfall.

The climate is changing and so must we. As such, we should address other issues (deficits, crumbling infrastructure, etc. ) and leave the seals be.

As a friend of mine noted, in Monterey and Carmel there are million dollar homes on the beach next to Sea Lions who spend about 3-4 months a year having sex and birthing. No one there would dream of calling for their removal. You swim and surf at your own risk but that risk is implicit in doing so there.

And seals are quieter and cuter than Sea Lions.

I’m not anyone of influence but I don’t think San Diego wants to be known as the place where seals are not welcome and happy happens. That leads to bad jokes on late night TV. What San Diegans should do is bust out the seal merchandise and set up shop.

San Juan Capistrano has swallows. We can have seals.

Say NO to New Offshore Drilling

From the CDP:



As you may have heard, legislative leaders and the governor have reached a tentative budget deal that the Senate and Assembly could vote on as soon as tomorrow.

One part of the package is a Republican-written bill that would allow offshore drilling in state-controlled waters off California’s coast for the first time since the devastating 1969 oil spill off the Santa Barbara coast. This proposal is an affront to all Californians and we must urge lawmakers to vote it down.

* This sweetheart deal for one oil company was negotiated behind closed doors, without any legislative hearings to allow public comment.

* It strips the State Lands Commission – which has approved or rejected oil leases for the past 150 years – of this power and gives it to a commission controlled by the governor’s administration. This commission would have unlimited authority to rewrite the lease to benefit the oil company.

* The offshore drilling plan does not solve either this year’s budget problems or systemic problems. That’s because its promises of future revenue are not actually written into law.

This Republican offshore drilling scheme endangers California’s environment. It would further pad the pockets of oil executives. And it does virtually nothing to solve the state’s current or future budget problems.

Ironically, the same Republican legislators who support this sweetheart deal are the ones who refused to vote for our Democratic leaders’ proposal for an oil-severance tax like the one levied in every other oil-producing state.

Please call your local lawmaker and urge him or her to say NO to new offshore drilling. Say NO to jeopardizing our coastline for minimal budget help this year or in the future.

Please call them today to protect California’s coastline. Tell them to vote against allowing new offshore oil drilling.

This scheme reminds us again why it’s so important to have a majority-vote budget in California so Republicans cannot hijack the budget process to make bad policy changes that are extraneous to the state budget.

Peace and friendship,
John

Kehoe issues statement on judge's order to disperse La Jolla seals

From a press release dated today:

SAN DIEGO – SAN DIEGO – Sen. Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego) issued the following statement today after Superior Court Judge Yuri Hofmann ordered the City of San Diego to begin dispersing the seals from The Children's Pool beach in La Jolla within 72 hours:

“I appreciate the urgency of this matter and have asked Governor Schwarzenegger to immediately sign my legislation, SB 428, which would give the City discretion on whether the seals stay. Judge Hofman’s order appears to be a hasty move, given that my legislation needs only the Governor’s signature to resolve this 16-year problem. The City has already spent over $1 million in legal fees, and the Judge should take into account the Legislature’s strong bipartisan effort to spare the City from spending an additional $700,000 to immediately remove the seals.”

###

County Employees Call for Term Limits

From an SEIU Press Release:


San Diego- San Diego County employees today held a press conference at the County Administration Center to call for term limits for the San Diego County Supervisors. Margaret Johnson, a long-term County employee, filed an initiative with the San Diego Registrar of Voters to limit the Supervisor’s terms. The initiative would amend the San Diego County Charter to limit a Supervisor’s time in office to two four-year terms.

“The same politicians have run San Diego County for years, but they have failed to address the pressing issues facing our County,” Johnson said. “These career politicians have become so entrenched with special projects that they are routinely re-elected, even though they’ve lost touch with the needs of all the people of San Diego County . In fact, no incumbent Supervisor in San Diego County has lost a re-election bid in over a decade.”

Service Employees International Union Local 221, the union that represents San Diego County employees, was at the press conference to support the term limit initiative.

“We need new leaders with new ideas to improve the quality of life in San Diego County - leaders who are not focused on their own issues and benefits,” Service Employees International Union Local 221 President Sharon-Frances Moore said.

Once the initiative has been processed by the County, petition gatherers have 180 days to get 77,537 valid signatures in order to get the initiative on the June 2010 ballot.

###

Stop another bad GOP appointment

From the San Diego County Democratic Party:

On Tuesday, July 14, the San Diego City Council will be voting on the Mayor's appointment of John Davies to the San Diego Airport Authority. Currently, the Airport Authority has 8 Republicans and only 1 Democrat.

We need our Democratic Council members to stand up to the mayor and so no.


Who is John Davies?

JOHN DAVIES is a friend of Pete Wilson
John Davies has been a Planning Commissioner, head of CCDC, Regent of the University of California, and Appointments Secretary to then-Gov.
Wilson. He has a long and impressive resume thanks to his friendship with Pete Wilson, but did you know... ?

JOHN DAVIES recently served as Mayor Sanders' enforcer as Chairman of the City Charter Review Commission which advocated for expanding and making permanent the strong mayor form of government. In that role he fought hard to keep the cities power base in the hands of the downtown business establishment.

JOHN DAVIES is NOT a FRIEND to People of Color or Women While on the University of California Board of Regents, John Davies was one of Ward Connerly's most consistent and vocal allies in attacking affirmative action and opportunity for women and minorities at the University of California.

He voted in favor of SP-1 and SP-2 (the UC precursor to Proposition 209), and endorsed Prop 209 (which served to eliminate affirmative action in California).

He was also the only UC Regent to join Ward Connerly in voting AGAINST "Comprehensive Review Admissions" which allows UC to look beyond mere grades and test scores in evaluating students for admissions, despite evidence that UC professional schools were rapidly losing the ability to recruit minority students.

He was a vocal proponent for Proposition 54, pushing to eliminate the ability of the government to even collect racial information - thereby making it impossible to show racial disparity in contracting, health access or educational gains.

JOHN DAVIES is NOT a FRIEND to the LGBT Community While on the UC Board of Regents, John Davies voted AGAINST domestic partner benefits for UC employees.

JOHN DAVIES is NOT a FRIEND to Labor
While serving as Chair of the Board of Children's Hospital, John Davies helped fight the efforts of hospital janitors and medical aids to unionize, spent hospital resources to help delay a first contract, and ultimately engaged a decertification campaign against the workers.

He is AGAINST Project Labor Agreements and Neutrality in Union Organizing


Would John Davies be your Friend on the Airport Authority?

Please contact each council member with a simple message: VOTE NO ON THE APPOINTMENT OF JOHN DAVIES TO THE SAN DIEGO AIRPORT AUTHORITY!


Photo of District 1 Councilmember Sherri Lightner District 1
Councilmember Sherri Lightner
E-mail: sherrilightner@sandiego.gov

Photo of District 2 Council President Pro Tem Kevin Faulconer District 2
Council President Pro Tem Kevin Faulconer
E-mail: kevinfaulconer@sandiego.gov

Photo of District 3 Councilmember Todd Gloria District 3
Councilmember Todd Gloria
E-mail: toddgloria@sandiego.gov

Photo of District 4 Councilmember Tony Young District 4
Councilmember Tony Young
E-mail: anthonyyoung@sandiego.gov

Photo of District 5 Councilmember Carl DeMaio District 5
Councilmember Carl DeMaio
E-mail: carldemaio@sandiego.gov

Photo of District 6 Councilmember Donna Frye District 6
Councilmember Donna Frye
E-mail: donnafrye@sandiego.gov

Photo of District 7 Councilmember Marti Emerald District 7
Councilmember Marti Emerald
E-mail: martiemerald@sandiego.gov

City Council District 8 District 8
Council President Ben Hueso
E-mail: benhueso@sandiego.gov

News Flash! DeMaio plans to be in his own district!

Shocking I know, but bear with me.

After hosting a small business roundtable in the 3rd (!), Carl has decided to do something in his district other than vote from there.

From a flyer I was sent:


Join Councilmember DeMaio as he reports to his constituents on the “State of District 5” and updates the entire city on efforts to reform city government. The program will provide San Diegans with a compelling road map for making government work again in our communities.

July 21st - 7:00 p.m.
Thurgood Marshall Middle School
9700 Avenue of Nations
San Diego, CA 92131
Space is limited, RSVP is suggested
Phone (619) 236-6655
A small reception will be held at the conclusion of the program
www.CleanUpCityHall.com


This is a public service announcement for the residents of District 5 who wonder where the hell their elected representative went.

The SDUT is right, in this case

I blame this on last night’s lunar eclipse and that the SDUT is suffering the same fate as other outlets in getting information from the Sanders Administration.

In today’s editorial section the SDUT takes on Jerry and his promises of transparency in the context of the California Public Records Act:


But it often appears that when requested documents are more likely to embarrass the mayor, the tougher it is to get them. Explanations of why certain information is withheld are inconsistent – sometimes draft e-mails are mysteriously held to be privileged communication, sometimes not. Reporters' messages requesting access to public records are sometimes simply ignored.

Now a new development makes us wonder if the deterioration of Sanders' long-stated commitment to transparent government is complete. The mayor's staff has accused Union-Tribune reporter Brooke Williams and data specialist Danielle Cervantes of using “physical and verbal intimidation” in attempts to get a city employee to provide public documents during a June 17 visit to City Hall. According to deputy press secretary Bill Harris, this “seemed to be an escalation of the intimidating tactics Danielle and Brooke attempt to employ with members of the mayor's communication staff.”

This is preposterous. Sanders, Pudgil and Harris would have the public believe that it amounts to “intimidation” for journalists to try to get the city of San Diego to live up to its legal obligation to operate in open, transparent fashion.

This editorial page has been mostly supportive of the mayor's policy initiatives and backed his 2008 re-election. But we are extremely disappointed by his decision to stonewall and bully the media. What's being done isn't just arrogant. In this state, it's unconstitutional.

Sacramento Today

Thank Karen Bass

From the CDP Chairman John Burton:


Yesterday, Assembly Speaker Karen Bass did something bold: She stood up to the governor and refused to participate in fruitless budget negotiations with him.

That’s because the governor has moved away from solving the real problem – closing the state’s multibillion-dollar deficit. Instead, he has stalled progress to pursue supposed “reforms” that may or may not actually save the state money.

Speaker Bass, however, knows that the pressing concern right now is closing the budget deficit so the state can stop sending out IOUs and start restoring its credit rating. The Speaker has made it clear that she will attend any and all negotiations that focus on solving the deficit immediately.

Please join me in thanking Speaker Bass for having the courage to say that budget negotiations should be about the budget.

Take a moment right now to email Speaker Bass at speaker.bass@assembly.ca.gov to thank her for standing up to the governor and continuing to fight for a balanced budget that preserves the state’s safety net.

Peace and friendship,
John

Lightner and Sewage

FACT: San Diego is a desert
FACT: San Diego is facing a water crisis
FACT; The City Council voted in March to approve a contract to examine recycled sewage as a possible source for drinking water.

And
FACT: According to the Voice, Councilwoman Sherri Lightner has asked the council to vote today to revoke a $438,000 contract it approved in March to examine recycled sewage as a possible source for drinking water.

Why?

We need water. We need to explore every possible avenue.

Experience in engineering, although cool, does not give one enough experience to counter numerous studies and enough real-world examples to make this “exploration” valid.

Her concerns aren’t bad but they should have been raised earlier.

And Faulconer is displaying his usual brilliance in supporting the contract not because of it’s purpose, which he opposes, but because it’s a contractual obligation.

Just another day in the land where “Happy Happens.”

Burton responds to the Governor

From the CDP:

In Sunday's New York Times Magazine, Governor Schwarzenegger said he was "'perfectly fine' despite the fiscal debacle and personal heartsickness all around him. 'Someone else might walk out of here every day depressed, but I don't walk out of here depressed,' Schwarzenegger said. Whatever happens, 'I will sit down in my Jacuzzi tonight,' he said. 'I'm going to lay back with a stogie.'" (Mark Leibovich, New York Times Magazine, 7/5/09)

California Democratic Party Chairman John Burton had this response to the governor's comments:

"Sadly, the governor has once again displayed a shocking lack of sensitivity to the human suffering his budget will cause Californians.

"Proposing a budget that would deprive 900,000 children of health care and force 400,000 aged, blind and disabled into nursing homes is no joking matter. It's the shame of our state.

"The governor owes the people of California an apology. He also owes them a more humane budget crafted in conjunction with our Democratic leaders."

Transparency for Everyone Else

According to yesterday's SDUT, San Diego City Councilmembers have a slush fund similar to the County Supervisors. Called “infrastructure improvement funds,” these monies are leftovers in the budget from years past that they can spend as they wish.


Lani Lutar, president of the San Diego County Taxpayers Association, said there ought to be more disclosure on how and why the reserves are being spent. She says she believes allocations from the reserve accounts should be part of council agendas.

“Certainly that would be important to do for the purposes of transparency and accountability,” she said.

Faulconer disagrees.

“I don't think the full council wants to spend time deciding how to spend minimal amounts of money on narrowly defined one-time expenses,” he said.

He opposes rolling back the reserve funds into the general fund.

“These leftover funds give us an opportunity to quickly address needs in the communities we represent – needs that otherwise would be ignored or stuck in a holding pattern,” he said.


A few points:
- The article begins with Carl DeMaio planning to donate $25,000 to help build the Rancho Bernardo history museum. For a guy who spends more time in District 3 than his own, a token monetary effort is better than nothing when it comes to representation.

- The 40 watt bulb that is Faulconer defends the status quo by calling these funds, which are lifelines for some, minimal which might be true were they dolled out in the hundreds and not the thousands.

- It’s not everyday that the SDCTA comes off better than Frye on the issue of transparency, especially since she has the most cash at her disposal. Then again, what better way to promote her COS as a candidate than by cleaning up her district seeing how he’s going to run on her record. I’m not against making the city livable, but I wish the counclmembers would do so in a manner that wasn’t so blatantly political.

- Ditto for Ben. The 8th could use Ben’s allocation, Frye’s and then some. Felipe has his work cut out for him and any improvements his brother could make would be positive in one of the most abused district in the city.

Statement of Kevin Keenan, Executive Director, ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties Regarding Sheriff’s Department Handling of Cardiff House Party fo

Statement of Kevin Keenan, Executive Director, ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties Regarding Sheriff’s Department Handling of Cardiff House Party for Congressional Candidate Francine Busby

On Friday, June 26, 2009, according to press reports and witness statements, a San Diego County Sheriff’s deputy, responding to a noise complaint, entered the home of Shari Barman who was hosting a political gathering to support Francine Busby, a candidate for Congress. When the homeowner questioned why she had to provide her date of birth, the deputy grabbed her arm, put it behind her back, and brought her to the ground. Feeling intimidated by a group of mostly middle-aged women, he pepper-sprayed a number of guests and arrested Barman.

The ACLU has received a number of inquiries about whether the civil liberties or rights of the event hosts and guests were violated. Because the Sheriff’s Department will not release 911 recordings or other documentation about the incident, it is hard for us to determine all the facts. The ACLU calls on the San Diego Sheriff’s Department for more public disclosure and transparency in what appears to be a significant abuse of power by a peace officer who intruded into a person’s home and reacted with unwarranted force to an unsubstantiated complaint alleging a minor infraction. With the limited information that we do have, the incident raises a number of troubling questions.

1) What right did the Sheriff’s deputy have to enter the property in a non-emergency situation in the first place?

2) What right did Deputy Abbott have to demand the date of birth of the host?

3) How did peace officers allow this situation to get out of hand to such a dramatic extent, and why did the deputy not use his training to deescalate the situation instead?

Based on what is now known, the Sheriff’s deputy may have illegally entered a private home, disrupted lawful political activity, demanded personal information that was not required, and used physical force that was unnecessary, and thereby caused an escalating confrontation.

Fourth Amendment Protections

Above all else, the Fourth Amendment protects the privacy of the home. As a general rule, a peace officer may not enter the home without a warrant, consent, or exigent circumstances. Someone other than the owner can legally consent to entry of the home only if the officer reasonably believes that person has authority to give consent. Such consent may be revoked by the owner.

In this incident, press reports and witness statements suggest that at about 9:30 p.m., Deputy Abbott and a Psychiatric Emergency Response Team clinician entered the home through the open front door, asking where the homeowner was. None of the reports suggest that the homeowner or even a party guest invited the officer inside, and, in any case, it is doubtful at best that an officer could reasonably believe a party guest has authority to consent to entry of the home. Proper constitutional procedure would have been for the deputy to ask for the homeowner to be called to the door to be informed that a neighbor had made a noise complaint.

From the information currently available, it seems the deputy did not observe excessive noise himself but was acting on the unsubstantiated complaint. Most witnesses described the event as a typical political house party, without amplified music or entertainment. Busby stated that she delivered a talk via microphone between approximately 8:00 and 8:30 p.m. during which she was interrupted several times by a neighbor shouting in opposition. Other nearby neighbors report hearing nothing at all until the eight back-up patrol cars and a helicopter arrived on the scene. In these circumstances, it is possible that the deputy violated the owner’s Fourth Amendment rights by entering her home without a warrant, consent, or exigent circumstances.

Providing Legally Required Information

It is not a crime to refuse to provide information that officers have no legal right to require, nor is it a crime to question an officer’s right to seek such information. In this incident, according to a Sheriff’s spokesman, Deputy Abbott approached the homeowner and asked for her date of birth so he could file paperwork alerting the city to the noise complaint. According to most reports, the homeowner asked why the deputy needed her date of birth and started to walk away, and he restrained her.

A person is only obligated to provide information if it is legally required. It seems clear that at most, a minor noise infraction was taking place. It is not clear that the deputy had the authority to demand the homeowner’s identifying information, but, if he did, certainly the person’s name and home address should suffice. That the Sheriff’s deputy used physical force against a 60 year old woman when she questioned whether providing her birth date was necessary is of grave concern. Even if she unlawfully refused to provide the birth date or acted disrespectfully, common sense and good judgment would dictate an alternative to the use of force.

Breaking the Peace Instead of Keeping the Peace

It is almost unfathomable how this incident was allowed to escalate to this degree. The fact that this incident escalated so quickly, and involved physical force, repeated use of pepper spray affecting numerous attendees, several older guests reportedly knocked to the ground, at least eight law enforcement officers, including a sergeant, a helicopter, an ambulance, two people being booked at Vista Detention Facility and perhaps several others arrested or detained for “talking back to an officer” or taking photos with their cell phones but later released at the scene—all because of a vague noise complaint—speaks to a serious lack of law enforcement restraint.

Police officers and sheriff’s deputies receive training in public order policing or crowd control. Even if the events unfolded exactly as described by the Sheriff Department’s spokesperson, there appears to be no justification for the melee that the deputy’s actions created.

Subsequent Remarks of Sheriff’s Department Officials

Since the incident occurred, there have been troubling indicators that some Sheriff’s Department officials do not appreciate their responsibility in such police-civilian interactions or the important Fourth and First Amendment interests at stake. Most notably, Sgt. Thomas Yancey told the Union-Tribune, “If Francine Busby was there, why not take a leadership role, step up, and nip this thing in the bud?” Sgt. Yancey’s statement reflects an arrogance and dismissiveness unbefitting a law enforcement officer. It is the responsibility of law enforcement officers to handle such situations with professionalism and respect for the rights of the public.

The ACLU calls for a full and independent investigation and appropriate action taken. The investigation should determine whether the deputy acted within his authority to enter Barman’s home, whether he had the right to demand information that was not legally required, whether he used unnecessary force in restraining her, and whether he and subsequent responding officers overreacted and unnecessarily escalated the situation.