CA-50

San Diego D.A.'s Office Asking Everybody About Raided Busby Fundraising Event

Eric Kleefeld | July 24, 2009, 5:28PM

Let's take a moment to examine a now-notorious arrest that occurred at a private home, and made headlines around the country -- no, not Henry Louis Gates, but the fundraiser for Democratic House candidate Francine Busby (CA-50), which was raided by the San Diego County Sheriff's Department several weeks ago.

You may recall that attendees at this house party said a heckler shouted anti-gay slurs over a fence, and about an hour later a deputy paid a less than friendly visit to the event, saying that a noise complaint had been made about a Democratic rally. One thing led to another, and a bunch of middle-aged Dems got pepper-sprayed, and a full back-up of officers came -- including dogs and a helicopter.

I checked in with Busby today for the latest news, and she walked me through how the county district attorney's office had taken over the investigation. "They've been very diligent about contacting all of the guests who attended, not just those who were there later," Busby told me. "And the feeling I'm getting back from people is that they're handling it very professionally, and people have been very comfortable with the procedures."

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Neighbor Of Raided Busby Fundraiser: The Call To The Sheriffs Didn't Come From Me!

Eric Kleefeld | July 10, 2009, 2:14PM

So who exactly did call in that noise complaint against a fundraiser two weeks ago for Democratic House candidate Francine Busby (CA-50) -- the one that, through a bizarre series of events, culminated in a full-scale raid by the San Diego Sheriff's Department? One of the host's neighbors, it turns out, is very eager to clear her own name and say it wasn't her.

I just spoke with with Jeannie Goodsell, a retiree who lives immediately adjacent to the residence (though the lots are very large -- the houses are over 100 yards apart). The caller is believed by attendees to have been the same person who yelled obscenities and anti-gay slurs at the event -- and Goodsell doesn't want any confusion that this didn't happen from her house.

She said there was no noise at all. "We were home. We didn't even know that the party or whatever it was, the fundraiser, happened behind us," Goodsell told me. "We heard the helicopters that night, but every once in a while helicopters do fly over these orchards, so we didn't think anything about it." She only found out what happened from reporters who came by her home to ask her about it.

"What started bothering us is, it showed up in print that people directly west behind them started harassing them and yelling things about gays," said Goodsell. "We're liberal Democrats -- we have a Buddha on our table."

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CA-50

Leaked Police Report Sheds Light On Raided Busby Event

Eric Kleefeld | July 8, 2009, 12:12PM

Here's another clue that's come out of the now-infamous fundraising event from two Fridays ago for Democratic House candidate Francine Busby (CA-50), which ended in a raid by the San Diego Sheriff's Department when things got out of hand with a deputy who was responding to a noise complaint.

A preliminary police report that has been leaked to the media (the Sheriff's Department is not releasing documents, due to an ongoing internal probe) shows that the noise complaint originated from a house nearby, with the caller incensed over "a loud Democratic rally with loudspeakers."

This corroborates what Busby had previously told me, that the deputies who came to the event said they were responding to a complaint about a "Democratic demonstration." For her part, Busby has said that the event was not loud, but was a standard fundraising house party, at which she briefly spoke through a microphone and had finished up her remarks at some time around 8:30 p.m.

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CA-50

Busby Meets With Sheriff: "He Was Receptive"

Eric Kleefeld | July 3, 2009, 2:28PM

Democratic House candidate Francine Busby (CA-50), whose fundraising house party last Friday night ended disastrously with a now-infamous raid by the San Diego Sheriff's Department, met yesterday with the county's new Sheriff William D. Gore, who was just sworn in yesterday, and she told me today that it was a constructive meeting.

The incident began after an unnamed person, believed to have been a heckler who reportedly shouted obscenities and anti-gay slurs at the event, phoned in a noise complaint.

"I congratulated him on being sworn in. We had a conversation about this incident. I told him that I'm going to be completely cooperative with him, because I think it's going to be so important that we find out how this happened, and why this happened, and make sure it doesn't happen again," said Busby. "And I told him that it's very important to me to find out that if there was political motivation behind the phone call, for two reasons. One, is these types of political meetings occur all the time for all candidates. It's important that people feel safe when they attend one of these, and it should be a protected right in our democratic process. And two, law enforcement should never be put in a position to be used in a political way."

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CA-50

Homeowner's Attorney: San Diego D.A.'s Office Taking Busby Raid Seriously

Eric Kleefeld | July 2, 2009, 2:44PM

The extensive press coverage, both local and national, that has surrounded this past Friday night's sheriff's raid on a fundraiser for Democratic House candidate Francine Busby (CA-50) seems to have had a real effect on the officials overseeing the case itself.

I just spoke with Christine Carlino, the long-time personal attorney for homeowner Shari Barman, who was arrested at the event, and she told me there could be some significance to the fact that the San Diego District Attorney's office is now personally involved in looking at the charges against Barman and a guest who was also arrested. (Note that Carlino is a civil attorney, not criminal, but she does still bring some local expertise.)

The key thing to understand here is that San Diego County is divided into several jurisdictional regions -- for example, Barman's home is in the North County region, as opposed to the city of San Diego itself, where the county's District Attorney is based.

Under routine circumstances, an arrest made in North County would stay with the North County prosecutor. But the county's D.A. in San Diego has taken over the case, which is out of the ordinary.

This doesn't really speak either way to whether charges will be dropped or dismissed. But what it could mean is that the D.A. might be aware of just how controversial this has become, and how important it is going forward to get this right.

CA-50

Busby Campaign, Supporters And Allies Publicly Mobilize Against Sheriff's Raid

Eric Kleefeld | July 2, 2009, 1:09PM

Democratic Congressional candidate Francine Busby (CA-50) and her allies have been embarking on an extensive public relations campaign in the wake of a raid on a campaign house party by the San Diego Sheriff's Department -- due to a noise complaint that is believed to have come from a person who heckled the event -- which ended in multiple people being pepper-sprayed and the full complement of deputies, including a dog unit and helicopter, coming in to arrest one of the hostesses and a guest.

On Monday, three of the women held a press conference, blasting the arresting officer, Deputy Marshall G. Abbott. "He had a raged look in his eyes and his head was bobbing from side to side," said Kimberley Beatty, who said that she had called 911 to report that he "appeared to be out of control."

And last night, the San Diego ACLU put out a press release, which was forwarded to us by Busby herself, lambasting the Sheriff's Department for all manner of improper behavior here, and calling for greater transparency as the process of investigating this whole mess goes forward. The opening paragraph of the press release is essentially a dry narration of the reported events -- ending with an extraordinary closing sentence, emphasis ours:

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.

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CA-50

Busby Raising Money Off Of Sheriff's Department Raid Against Fundraising Event

Eric Kleefeld | June 30, 2009, 12:18PM

Democratic House candidate Francine Busby (CA-50) has now sent out a new fundraising e-mail for the final day of the second quarter, trying to make lemonade out of her fundraiser from this past weekend, which ended when the San Diego Sheriff's Department raided the event and after somebody -- believed to have been a heckler who had shouted anti-gay slurs at the assembled crowd -- called in a noise complaint against the Dem event.

"It's the 11th hour to show that you have the courage and the commitment to stand with me against the strong forces that are gathering against us," Busby writes.

The fundraiser ended with a homeowner being arrested, and multiple people being pepper-sprayed. The deputies went all out, too, going so far as to bring in a helicopter to deal with a crowd of middle-aged Dems raising money for a local candidate!

"So what am I going to do about this travesty? Fight harder. Fight for the truth. Fight to defend our civil rights. Fight to defend free speech and Democracy," Busby adds (emphasis in the original). "I am going to fight even harder to stop this hateful intimidation. I hope that I can count on you to fight this battle with me."

Full e-mail after the jump. Special thanks to TPM reader SG.

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CA-50

Homeowner Blasts Sheriff's Department For Raid On Dem Candidate Fundraising Event

Eric Kleefeld | June 30, 2009, 9:22AM

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.

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CA-50

San Diego Sheriffs Launch Probe Into Raid At Democratic Candidate's Fundraising Event

Eric Kleefeld | June 29, 2009, 4:40PM

The Los Angeles Times reports that the San Diego Sheriff's Department is now undertaking a review of a raid over the weekend against a fundraiser for Francine Busby, a Democratic candidate for the 50th Congressional District.

A neighbor made a noise complaint against the event, and this neighbor is also suspected of being the same man who heckled the event with anti-gay remarks shortly before the complaint was made. Other neighbors told the local media that there was no noise problem. After the officers arrived, attendees ended up being pepper-sprayed and a hostess was arrested.

In an interview with TPM, Busby said the noise complaint was not legitimate and was based on the neighbor's political agenda, and she blamed the arresting officer for the violence that resulted.

"We cannot take action based on media accounts and will conduct a thorough inquiry to include interviews of witnesses at the fund-raising event," said Undersheriff Bill Gore -- who as it turns out will become the full sheriff effective this Friday, upon the retirement of his predecessor.

CA-50

Busby Blames Local Resident's Political Agenda, Sheriff's Department Officer In Raid On Fundraiser

Eric Kleefeld | June 29, 2009, 3:47PM

I just spoke on the phone with Francine Busby, a previous and once-again Democratic candidate for California's Fiftieth House District, about Saturday's raid by the San Diego Sheriff's Department on a fundraiser she held, in which multiple people were pepper-sprayed and a hostess was arrested after a neighbor made a noise complaint.

Busby strongly denied that anyone at the fundraiser did anything to provoke violence by the sheriffs. (For their part, the sheriffs claim that somebody kicked an officer.) And she put the blame squarely on a neighbor who heckled the crowd, then called the sheriffs to complain of loudness from Democrats.

"You could hear his voice very clearly, it was loud. But as far as the actual words, I didn't hear them," Busby explained. "I heard my name, and obviously derogatory words. Other people heard profanity, and somebody heard something about gays, as well."It should be noted that the event was hosted by a lesbian couple.

"The deputies were telling people that they were taking statements from, that the call came in about noise from a Democratic rally, or Democratic demonstration," said Busby. In fact, she said, she had last spoken at about 8:30 p.m., and the police arrived an hour later when most of the attendees had left. "It was a nuisance-noise call, because there was no noise, and the fact that it was described as a Democratic rally or demonstration indicates to me that this person was calling for his own political motives."

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CA-50

Dem Congressional Candidate's Event Raided By San Diego Sheriffs

Eric Kleefeld | June 29, 2009, 3:07PM

Now this is a truly bizarre story, about a Democratic Congressional candidate's fundraising event being raided by a whole squad from the San Diego Sheriff's Department -- including pepper-spray and a helicopter!

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that a fundraiser for Francine Busby, who previously ran for the deeply-Republican Fiftieth District and came close to winning in the 2006 special election and subsequent regular election, was raided by sheriffs after an unnamed neighbor made a noise complaint. Busby now calls it a "phony" noise complaint, and the article says that multiple neighbors said there was no great noise at all.

Here's the twist: The fundraiser was hosted by a lesbian couple, and shortly before the sheriffs came a particular neighbor had shouted anti-gay slurs at the assembled crowd. "It was a quiet home reception, disrupted by a vulgar person shouting obscenities from behind the bushes," Busby says.

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