Homeowner Blasts Sheriff's Department For Raid On Dem Candidate Fundraising Event
Shari Barman, the homeowner who was arrested at this past weekend's fundraiser for Democratic Congressional candidate Francine Busby (CA-50), put out a statement yesterday evening. She condemns the sheriff's department's raid as having been based on a non-legitimate noise complaint by a politically-motivated neighbor, who had allegedly yelled anti-gay slurs towards the event, and she accuses the arresting deputy of having committed unprovoked brutality.
Key quote:
Contrary to what has been reported, I did not in any manner strike Deputy Abbott. He and I had only been conversing for a minute or two when he grabbed my arm, twisted it behind me and threw me on the floor. His actions were completely unexpected, excessive and I believe, unwarranted. The remaining guests who witnessed what occurred and who were pepper sprayed were stunned and outraged.
Also contrary to what has been reported, this was the first time any deputy had been to my home that evening. I believe the noise complaint to the police may have been politically motivated based on the shouting we heard during Ms. Busby's speech.
In my opinion the charges brought against me are unfounded and were brought only in order to cover up Deputy Abbott's unprofessional behavior. What happened in our home was shocking and I don't believe would have happened had the situation been handled properly.
Full statement after the jump.
As the Cardiff homeowner involved in the incident on June 26, I want to issue the following statement in an attempt to address much of the misinformation which has been reported.
On June 26, we hosted a fundraising event for Congressional candidate Francine Busby. The event was scheduled from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and was an opportunity for those interested to meet Ms. Busby. Approximately 50 people attended. At around 8:15 p.m., on our back patio, Ms. Busby made a brief speech to those in attendance with the use of a PA system. During her remarks, a male heckler from another property behind our home started shouting disparaging remarks about Busby as well as gays. Ms. Busby finished her remarks at around 8:45 p.m. and the event continued. Shortly thereafter, most people started leaving. Other than quiet background music there was no other entertainment.
At approximately 9:35 p.m., as the event was winding down, with the remaining guests just standing around engaged in conversation, a Sheriff's deputy named Marshall Abbott walked into our home unannounced and asked for the homeowner, at which time I identified myself. In a very aggressive manner, Deputy Abbott said he had received a noise complaint and I explained that Ms. Busby had used a PA system for approximately 30 minutes but we were very aware of finishing before the 10 p.m. sound ordinance went into effect. Deputy Abbott asked for my name and date of birth. I gave him my name and politely asked him why he needed my date of birth. He said it was for identification purposes in case they needed to return to the premises. Because he had my name and I had identified myself as the homeowner, I asked why he would need my date of birth. He told me I was under arrest, grabbed my right arm, twisted it behind me and threw me on the ground. Some of the 25 or so people who were still in attendance observed what was happening and started asking the deputy what was going on. My partner, Jane Stratton, asked him to please be careful as I had recently had right shoulder surgery. His response was to knock her to the ground. At this point, some of the guests attempted to come to my aid and to Ms. Stratton's. Without warning the deputy started pepper spraying everyone, even those who were simply standing in the area. All of this happened in a matter of minutes. I was subsequently arrested and transported to the Vista detention center and released the following day at 11am.
Contrary to what has been reported, I did not in any manner strike Deputy Abbott. He and I had only been conversing for a minute or two when he grabbed my arm, twisted it behind me and threw me on the floor. His actions were completely unexpected, excessive and I believe, unwarranted. The remaining guests who witnessed what occurred and who were pepper sprayed were stunned and outraged.
Also contrary to what has been reported, this was the first time any deputy had been to my home that evening. I believe the noise complaint to the police may have been politically motivated based on the shouting we heard during Ms. Busby's speech.
In my opinion the charges brought against me are unfounded and were brought only in order to cover up Deputy Abbott's unprofessional behavior. What happened in our home was shocking and I don't believe would have happened had the situation been handled properly.
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Josh
Matt
Eric
Brian
She is obviously guilty of assault and battery on a police officer and resisting arrest. yuk, yuk, yuk.
June 30, 2009 9:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
Big out of court settlement coming soon?
June 30, 2009 9:49 AM | Reply | Permalink
Not likely. Pigs cover up for other pigs; just like slimy, greasy bacon sticks together in the packaging..
June 30, 2009 11:02 AM | Reply | Permalink
Depends whether anyone caught it on video though.
June 30, 2009 12:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
Completely guilty of CWD!
CAMPAIGNING WHILE DEMOCRAT
June 30, 2009 9:48 AM | Reply | Permalink
HEYYYY ABBOTTTT! WHO'S ON FIRST?! NA NA NA NA HEY HEY GOOD BYE!
June 30, 2009 9:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
Still no mention of this on MSRNC or CNN. Anyone hear anything at all on any of the corporate media?
This is an outrage. I'm sure the corporate media whores will eventually have to report it after the story gets out and they have no choice.
Typical conservative thugs.
June 30, 2009 9:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
I haven't seen anything on MSNBC or CNN.
The San Diego Union Tribune has been covering the story.
From today's article:
The story is weird, even for San Diego. I'd be interested in finding out who said what when they made the noise complaint. Did someone allege that they were some kind of armed terrorist cell having a cheer meeting?
June 30, 2009 10:44 AM | Reply | Permalink
Fox'll change it around to a Republican event, raided by the Black Helicopters that Bachmann warned us about.
June 30, 2009 4:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
Olberman had it on MSNBC, citing the deputy as the worst person in the world. Though he obviously deserved that title, I think the incident warranted more straight treatment.
July 1, 2009 12:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
I don't say this lightly, but on average, I fear police officers far more than I fear crime. If I were walking down the street, I would be more likely to cross it to avoid an officer than anyone else.
Maybe this comes from growing up in Texas, I can't say...
Anyway, when I hear NRA types talking about their need to defend themselves, etc, I think about the growing police state that I've experienced in this country and kind of understand.
June 30, 2009 9:57 AM | Reply | Permalink
I have to agree with this. I have seen some very good police officers, who I would trust with my life, but they tend to be out numbered by the others. And, in any situation where tension builds up, I avoid being anywhere near one of them. The problem is that far too many people become police officers just to enjoy having absolute power over others, a dangerous situation.
June 30, 2009 10:38 AM | Reply | Permalink
I have to agree also. I know some police officers who are people of real integrity. But here in Cache Valley (northern Utah) where there isn't enough real crime and real minorities to keep the police occupied, they target young people who's appearance makes it clear they aren't Mormon. Some are consistently rude, mean, and abusive, and some are fine with lying in their reports and in court. There is usually no way to prove it, as it occurs in situations where it's their word against that of a non-Mormon non-connected citizen, often a young person. It's scary and maddening.
June 30, 2009 11:18 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'm hopeful Jim Webb's work on the criminal justice system might lead to some fundamental changes, because I'm sort of stumped on how we fix this. But we do live at the mercy of those who are supposed to protect us now. If they ask you for your papers, you have to show your papers.
It begins with this hall monitor mentality. That we (non-police) are all up to something and that the police officer's job is to catch us at it. It's really dangerous, and only getting worse as the police are now becoming increasingly well-armed and feel increasingly defensive or attacked.
June 30, 2009 11:26 AM | Reply | Permalink
Living in the city that made COPS what it is today (um, what exactly ,i>is it today?), I don't have anything to say against them. They've a stressful job and there will be some that break, but it seems extremely rare to me.
I wonder if there's a tape of the phonecall of the person reporting the "noise complaint", however.
June 30, 2009 1:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
it's not anything CLOSE to rare. did you know that police kill at least 350 people a year in the U.S.? that's a fact. what's rare is a cop ever being held to account for beating and shooting unarmed people.
in oakland now, there's a cop who shot an unarmed man in the back as he lay face down and the only reason that cop is on trial now is because it was caught on video. if there had been no video, he'd still be on the beat today and it would have been blamed on the guy for getting shot in the back.
the only other cop to be charged with murder was in detroit a few years back, and that was reduced to manslaughter I think. he was convicted though
btw, in oakland, OPD kills about 5-6 unarmed citizens a year, and in the last 5 years they've shot 45 people. guess how many of those people shot were white? I'll give you a hint -- Oakland is about 32% white. go ahead guess... welp, the answer is "not a single one." you think that's an accident? you still think it's "rare" for cops to go berserk? it's rare for cops to kill white people and it's rate for cops to be held to account, but police brutality is anything but rare (unless you happen to be of a privileged race)
June 30, 2009 2:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
Mysteriously erased, no doubt. But maybe there's a backup. It's been a long time since Rose Mary Woods erased the only 18 minutes of tape implicating Nixon in Watergate.
June 30, 2009 4:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
hoppy,
I have trouble with police who dress like these guys and carry machine guns like they do, they're like paramilitary. I think they have an orgasm looking at themselves in that picture.
I have no trouble with cops having superior firepower when needed, but the only case I know of needing that kind of firepower was with those two guys in armor using automatic weapons who robbed a bank in California.
June 30, 2009 1:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
Maybe the wingnuts are right.
We need to be carrying firearms to defend ourselves for that time when the government's brownshirts come in and break up our legitimate political activities.
/snark
June 30, 2009 9:59 AM | Reply | Permalink
OR maybe you should remove the snark and think a little more about those brown shirts.
June 30, 2009 4:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
The Crazy RightWing Strategery here is to bankrupt Police Departments NationWide, allowing the hostile takeover of our policing and prisons by DefenseCorpX
June 30, 2009 10:27 AM | Reply | Permalink
I have to wonder at the alarmingly excessive violence and violation of law being so commonly reported about our protectors and servants in the police departments across the nation. From the violently enforced "free speech" zones around any Republic events, to the hundreds swept up and illegally incarcerated in hastily constructed pens during the Republic Convention, our men in blue have apparently, been trying to earn the appelation, "jack booted thugs".
According to a local newspaper report, Deputy Marshall Abbott, who has worked for the department for about two years, was sent in response to the noise complaint, said Sgt. Thomas Yancey of the Encinitas station, which serves Cardiff. A member of the department's psychiatric emergency response team, who was riding with Abbott that day, went with him. Abbott could not be reached for comment.
Now THAT raises all sorts of red flags for me. Just how many of our uniformed defenders have done tours in insanely confused war zones or, perhaps served as some of the hundreds of thousands of mercenaries whose judgment and behavior have raised so many questions?
There seemed to be a concerted effort by Bushies to involve Blackwater, excuse me, Xe, in "enforcement" during the Katrina crisis and many other unnatural disasters. They were patrolling the streets pointing fully automatic weapons at US citizens and sometimes even officials. We have hundreds if not thousands of Yahoos who want to "patrol" the borders and "defend the Fatherland against darkies, wetbacks and terr'rists. I wonder how many of them find a welcoming home in some county and municipal police departments.
What this deputy did, even according to his own "report" is utterly unacceptable. Backing him up, in such a neighborhood with 5 other patrol cars and a freaking helicopter is just senseless and aggressive. I would love for someone with knowledge of right wing connections like David Neiwert to find out if Marshall Abbot has a history with such groups. Where was he before 2 years ago and why was a psychiatric emergency response team riding with him?
More than 200 people have died from being tasered since the Police got their eager little hands on them. The propensity toward violence against ANYONE, perhaps especially elderly women who don't show abject fear should alarm us all.
June 30, 2009 10:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
Where did you get the taser death number from?
June 30, 2009 10:57 AM | Reply | Permalink
Google taser deaths and you will see several sources.
June 30, 2009 11:46 AM | Reply | Permalink
Google?
June 30, 2009 12:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=taser+deaths
July 1, 2009 12:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hmm, background on the police officer's history would be helpful, as would finding the person who called in the complaint and getting a statement.
June 30, 2009 12:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm not sure you understand what a psychiatric emergency response team is or does. It has nothing to do with the presumed mental health of the officer.
My local PD has such a unit. It is comprised of officers with special training in responding to situations involving the mentally ill. Who knows why this person was riding along; it could have been for training (for either one of them) or from a prior call.
June 30, 2009 12:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
I know I feel safer with Deputy Abbott out there.
June 30, 2009 11:01 AM | Reply | Permalink
As long as Costello is with him.
June 30, 2009 12:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Didn't any of the people at tha party whip out a cellphone and take pictures/video? Come-on people use the technology!
June 30, 2009 11:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
It was a fund-raiser with a bunch of 50-somethings. A fun group I'm sure, but not so well versed with the newest latest gadgetry I guess.
June 30, 2009 12:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
They did, and got arrested for it.
June 30, 2009 1:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
Jeezus, when did San Diego become Tehran?
June 30, 2009 3:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
Remember when they were called Peace Officers?
June 30, 2009 11:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
Good times, good times...
June 30, 2009 12:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
“His eyes were darting around the room as if we may have guns,” she said. “Guests were yelling, 'What are you doing? Let her go!'
hmmmmm, i'm thinking they might want to test this guy for steroid use. and considering it's the sdpd, i'd almost guarantee he's taking them.
that photo of the copter crew reveals much about the mentality of that operation. tricked out robocops -- nothing more.
June 30, 2009 11:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
The cops were from the San Diego County sheriff -
not the San Diego city police.
I read in the report that that Deputy Abbott walked into the home where the fundraiser took place. Shouldn't he have knocked on the door? Don't they need a warrant to enter a home?
June 30, 2009 12:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
No warrant required to wander through an open door.
June 30, 2009 12:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sotomeyer disagrees
IANAL but I don't think there was "reasonable suspicion of a crime" in the case of a noise complaint.
Today the majority takes the unprecedented step of holding that police officers do not violate the Fourth Amendment's protection of the home when they seize an individual standing inside his or her home without a warrant or applicable warrant exception and based only on reasonable suspicion that a crime is being committed therein. The majority reaches this extraordinary result by holding that the expectation of privacy of an individual standing dozens of feet inside his or her home with an open door is the same as that of an individual standing on a public street. See ante at [24-25]. It purports to base this endorsement of police intrusion into the home on the Supreme Court's decision in Santana v. United States, 427 U.S. 38 (1976), which it claims stands for the proposition that once the door of a home is opened, a home is no longer a home for constitutional purposes, i.e., the special protections for homes set forth in Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573 (1980), do not apply. See ante at [22]. The majority's reading of Santana is not only incorrect but is irreconcilable with decades of Supreme Court Fourth Amendment jurisprudence. Because I believe that the warrant and probable cause requirements for entry into a home set forth in Payton apply in this case, and that the officers had neither, I would affirm the district court. I therefore respectfully dissent.
June 30, 2009 1:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
(1) Notice that Sotomayor was in the minority in that case -- it was decided the other way.
(2) Decisions in the Fourth Circuit are not binding in California anyway.
June 30, 2009 3:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sorry, Second Circuit.
June 30, 2009 3:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sidebar: Encinitas is an incorporated city that contracts with the SD Sheriff's department for police services rather than having their own police dept.
I wonder if the good citizens of Encinitas will want to reconsider that decision.
I know and love this part of SD County. It used to be a great laid-back surf community but with the building boom, it's much more conservative/rich than it used to be. Such a sad story.
I'm interested in seeing the fallout from this, in North County as well as the Sheriff's Dept.
June 30, 2009 4:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
hmmmmm, i'm thinking they might want to test this guy for steroid use.
Most certainly.
June 30, 2009 4:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
Usually I think of TPM readers as a more enlightened bunch. So, I'm sort of disappointed that no one has yet mentioned the fact that America is undergoing an epidemic of STEROID ABUSE by local police officers.
The symptoms are pretty easy to identify, it's called 'ROID RAGE", and this cop sounds like he's been doping for a while.
Mix into this the cultural dimension of southern California, and San Diego, with it's dense population of Christian conservatives, John Birch Society members, and anti-immigration advocates.
Remember... this is where Blackwater wanted to build a training facility. Sounds like they had the demographic pegged.
So, is it time to call for a nation-wide investigation of local police department's illegal use of steroids? I mean, this does seem like it more important than keeping Barry Bonds out of the hall of fame. (which I completely support, btw.)
June 30, 2009 11:55 AM | Reply | Permalink
There seemed to be a concerted effort by Bushies to involve Blackwater, excuse me, Xe, in "enforcement" during the Katrina crisis and many other unnatural disasters. They were patrolling the streets pointing fully automatic weapons at US citizens and sometimes even officials.
there was a very hinky incident during that time in one of the parishes and described on 60 minutes by the sheriff who witnessed it about one of these contractor-types cutting the only remaining communication lines in the midst of that catastrophe. i've never seen any explanation or further discussion of just who that pig was and what the intent of his actions were... but, they aren't hard to guess.
June 30, 2009 11:55 AM | Reply | Permalink
Again,
San Diego county is a Democratic Majority county, and though this is a recent development, it has been trending that way since Pete Wilson inspired so many Latinos to become voters. (Hey, thanks Pete!)
In any case, having lived in the North County I was surprised that Busby was considered a viable candidate to take over Cunningham's district, but its true...this district like many before it will eventually go Dem...
(for years and years we came close to getting the Pasadena Glendale district of impeachment manager Jim Rogan blue...and when it turned, it didn't take long to be considered a safe Democratic District.)
That being said, in both Orange and San Diego county there does seem to be a problem with the training and professionalism of the various sheriff's departments. In those two countries you don't have the kind of training, diversity or discipline you would have in places like Los Angeles.
And one wonders why this noise complaint required a citation when there was no direct evidence of noise.
This is a case study of a guy who really needs to be fired, one wonders how he actually graduated from a police academy.
June 30, 2009 12:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
The photo that accompanies this article succinctly illustrates everything, okay maybe not everything, that is wrong with civilian law enforcement these days. You have three men in military combat garb, two of whom are carrying what appear to be M-4 assault rifles, a military weapon. They are supposed to be county sheriffs, yet they look like they are about to go on patrol in Afghanistan.
Sadly, it’s typical that most city and county law enforcement agencies now have what amounts to a paramilitary unit. It almost makes SWAT teams seem quaint.
June 30, 2009 1:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
I don't get the multiple cars and helicopter, even if there had been a valid noise complaint.
I'm not so ancient I don't remember being at parties where neighbors didn't legitimately call in complaints, but I don't recall anyone ever responding with a helicopter
Who made the dispatch decisions and on what basis? Sending mutliple cars and a helicopter into a residential neighborhood over a noise complaint is just flat out beyond weird and beyond any standard policy anywhere. So I come back to who made the dispatch decisions and why?
June 30, 2009 1:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
I recently graduated from college in southern California -- up in LA County. It is unusual that officers would respond to a house party of ~50 people with a helicopter (especially before midnight). However, it's not unusual for the police to show up to larger parties (say, 100 people) with a helicopter and a half-dozen or more cars, often almost unannounced. This is more of a fundraising gimmick than anything else.
The scam goes like this: the homeowner gets one warning and is told that if the police have to return, they'll be fined according to the number of units that have to respond. So the homeowner is given the warning. Five minutes later, before anyone's had a chance to leave, 5+ police cars and a helicopter show up. Fifteen minutes later, everyone's gone and the homeowner has a $1,000+ fine. The luckiest homeowner gets to go to jail for the evening.
June 30, 2009 2:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
There must be a recording of the neighbor making his complaint about "noise" and that would be a good place to start the investigation. I have no doubt the complaining neighbor was a "good christian" and wanted hell fire and damnation to rain down on his "godless" gay neighbors.
June 30, 2009 1:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
It is absolutely sad to hear about this. There's certainly more to the story.
I just wonder a one thing:
no one there had the presence of mind to whip out a cell phone and film this little event from the back wall?
If the statement is accurate, you've got a "don't tase me, bro" moment ready to upload to YouTube 5 minutes after the cops leave.
Lesson learned..?
June 30, 2009 1:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
You are forgetting that we middle aged folks don't immediately think of grabbing our cell phones when dealing with an emergency.
June 30, 2009 1:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Apparently some of the old folks at Busby's event did whip out their cell phones, but I haven't seen any youtube videos. One did call up to report the sheriff abuse.
Some eye witness accounts in the comments on this site.
June 30, 2009 4:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
Maybe there are no you tube videos because of this
June 30, 2009 4:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
There is a live chat going on over at the SDUT website.
A witness said that people were not arrested for taking pictures. They were just handcuffed and threatened with arrest.
June 30, 2009 4:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is a bizarre story. Was Deputy Abbott acting out of political motivations? Is he a GOP donor, for example?
Or is he a homophobe or just a violent police?
Otherwise, I see this as more of an outgrowth of the militarization of our police forces and them becoming more occupying armies than police defending the public.
Welcome, rich people, to life in America.
June 30, 2009 1:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
Where's the Rodney King videographer when we need him?
June 30, 2009 2:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
Or Oscar Grant
June 30, 2009 3:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
Deputy Abbott does not deserve to wear the badge: he should be fired from the police dept immediately and face battery and assault charges. Good cops especially need to speak out now against this unacceptable abuse of power.
June 30, 2009 2:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
you always hear lots of talk about how it's a rogue cop, the one bad apple theory and all that jazz, but if that were true then the so called 'good cops' would be turning in the ones that make them all look like the gestapo before this sort of crap happened.The sergeant in this story doesn't come across as a real winner either,imo.I imagine he had to authorize the helo and K-9 call out which would only have been necessary if the party goers had scattered and were running and hiding in the neighborhood.Somehow I have a hard time visualizing the wine and cheese reception crowd playing hide and seek w/ the cops.
July 1, 2009 9:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
Was there a helicopter used in the raid? It was mentioned yesterday but no mention today.
June 30, 2009 4:08 PM | Reply | Permalink