By Doug Porter

Higher ups in the San Diego Police Department may have been more concerned about negative publicity than getting at the facts about accusations alleging sexual misconduct as far back as 1997 by former police officer Anthony Arevalos from according to federal court transcripts obtained by 10News.

A confidential meeting between former chief William Lansdowne and Executive Chief David Ramirez, according to attorney Joe Dicks in publicly released transcripts of oral arguments that reference still-sealed depositions, was held “to try and figure out not if it really happened, not if there are any witnesses left, only to take documentation that is going to come around and bite them in the bottom.”

I looked around the local media this morning. Aside from a mention the VOSD Morning Report, the local media seems to treating this as a non-story. Here’s an excerpt, not for the faint of heart, from the 10 News story:

Lawyers for Arevalos’ 13th victim, who is only known as Jane Doe, address a 1997 incident where Arevalos detained a mentally unstable woman and took pictures as she preformed sex acts on herself with his police baton.

Arevalos’ former partner alerted police supervisors of the incident. However, court records show it was never reported to internal affairs. Arevalos would go on to assault 13 women while on duty until his conviction in 2011.

“This all could have been stopped years ago,” Arevalos’ former partner Francisco Torres said under oath in 2012. “He has his Polaroid out and when I got there the female was in the backseat again naked with her handcuffs in front of her and she had the baton.”

This information is being revealed thanks to the perseverance of victim Jane Doe, who has refused to settle out of court with the City of San Diego. City Attorney Jan Goldsmith has waged a media campaign seeking to deflect her demands for a court-empowered monitor of SDPD practices, trying to paint the victim as a gold digger.

Via a March 28th City of San Diego press release:

“The upcoming trial is about what injuries Jane Doe suffered and how much she should be awarded,” said City Attorney Jan Goldsmith, who pointed out that the City settled with the other 12 victims because the City understands its legal responsibility. “She says she fears being outside because of the incident, for example, and should be awarded damages for that. We want the jury to see all the evidence and set a reasonable amount for whatever injuries they find she, in fact, suffered. That’s what the case is about.”

On March 27th Judge Michael Anello dismissed claims by the victim against individual officers, identified as William Landsdowne, David Bejarano, Rudy Tai, Danny Hollister, Kevin Friedman, Victoria Binkerd, Robert Kanaski, Max Verduzco and Jorge Guevara, basing his decision on the body of law that protects government employees from liability for many types of misconduct.

“Jane Doe” is seeking a court-empowered monitor to examine SDPD practices. The City has has made a big deal about inviting in the Justice Department’s Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) to conduct an “audit” of the Department. COPS’ investigative powers are limited to voluntary cooperation. Its findings are merely recommendations, which other police departments, like the Las Vegas PD, have elected to give mere lip service to implementing.

An investigation by COPS into the Albuquerque, NM PD, which included horrific instances of use of excessive force (like a man who doused himself in gasoline being tased by the cops and catching fire), includes 44 recommendations.  But those changes can’t be implemented without going through a lengthy and non-binding negotiation process.

The Real Reason for Issa’s IRS Inquisition

via addictinginfo.org

Today’s UT-San Diego (and no doubt many other papers around the country) includes an Associated Press story saying that Congressman Darrell Issa’s House Oversight Committee voted along party lines on Thursday hold a former IRS official in contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions.

Their chances of actually getting a conviction against Lois Lerner, who previously headed the IRS division that processes applications for tax-exempt status, are slim and none, according to Congressional Research Service data cited by Rep. Elijah Cummings. The Maryland Democrat who is the ranking member of Oversight released a report on Wednesday saying, according to Politicio, “Issa is pulling from the playbook of the late Sen. Joe McCarthy, who waged an infamous witch hunt against alleged communists in the 1950s.”

The non-profit news organization ProPublica has reviewed documents released by the committee about the inner workings of the IRS’s Exempt Organizations division. They give an insight into how that office approached applications of social welfare nonprofits, also known as dark money groups because they spend money on elections without reporting their donors.

And guess what their number one takeaway was? From ProPublica:

The IRS planned to deny the application of Crossroads GPS.

Crossroads GPS spent more than $90 million from unknown donors to elect conservatives in the 2010 and 2012 elections, far more than any other dark money group. By the beginning of 2013, the IRS was planning to deny the group’s application, the documents show.

The potential denial wasn’t about the group’s flavor of advocacy. It was about their flaunting of the law. I doubt Issa will be putting that in any of his press releases.

Seaworld Loses OSHA Appeal

From ohsonline.com, h/t Lorena Gonzalez:

OSHA has won the appellate case involving its enforcement case against SeaWorld of Florida LLC following the death of killer whale trainer Dawn Brancheau on Feb. 24, 2010. A 2-1 decision issued April 11 by a panel of three judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit found that SeaWorld “recognized its precautions were inadequate to prevent serious bodily harm or even death to its trainers and that the residual hazard was preventable.”

“The remedy imposed for SeaWorld’s violations does not change the essential nature of its business,” the majority opinion written by Judge Judith W. Rogers states. “There will still be human interactions and performances with killer whales; the remedy will simply require that they continue with increased safety measures.”

Senate CIA Report Findings Leaked: Your Tax Dollars at Work

I’m including this item simply because I have serious doubts that it will be reported locally, not because I’m surprised at any of the conclusions.

The McClatchy News Service Washington Bureau has obtained a copy of the findings of the “maybe we’ll declassify it next month” (which they’ve been saying for five years now) report of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Here’s what the government has been fighting to keep secret:

• The  CIA’s  use  of  enhanced  interrogation  techniques  did  not  effectively  assist  the  agency  in  acquiring  intelligence  or  in  gaining  cooperation  from  detainees.
• The  CIA  repeatedly  provided  inaccurate  information  to  the  Department  of  Justice,  impeding  a  proper  legal  analysis  of  the  CIA’s  Detention  and  Interrogation  Program.
• The  CIA  subjected  detainees  to  interrogation  techniques  that  had  not  been  approved  by  the  Department  of  Justice  or  had  not  been  authorized  by  CIA  Headquarters.
• The  CIA  did  not  conduct  a  comprehensive  or  accurate  accounting  of  the  number  of  individuals  it  detained  and  held  individuals  who  did  not  meet  the  legal  standard  for  detention.
• The  CIA’s  claims  about  the  number  of  detainees  held  and  subjected  to  its  enhanced  interrogation  techniques  were  inaccurate.
• The  CIA  inaccurately  characterized  the  effectiveness  of  the  enhanced  interrogation  techniques  to  justify  their  use.
• The  CIA’s  use  of  enhanced  interrogation  techniques  was  brutal  and  far  worse  than  the  agency  communicated  to  policymakers.
• The  conditions  of  confinement  for  CIA  detainees  were  brutal  and  far  worse  than  the  agency  communicated  to  policymakers.
• The  CIA  impeded  effective  White  House  oversight  and  decision-­‐making.
• The  CIA  has  actively  avoided  or  impeded  congressional  oversight  of  the  program.
• The  CIA  impeded  oversight  by  the  CIA’s  Office  of  Inspector  General.
• Numerous  internal  critiques  and  objections  concerning  the  CIA’s  management  and  use  of  the  Detention  and  Interrogation  were  ignored.
• The  CIA  manipulated  the  media  by  coordinating  the  release  of  classified  information,  which  inaccurately  portrayed  the  effectiveness  of  the  agency’s  enhanced  interrogation  techniques.
• The  CIA  was  unprepared  as  it  began  operating  its  Detention  and  Interrogation  Program  more  than  six  months  after  being  granted  detention  authorities.
• The  way  in  which  the  CIA  operated  and  managed  the  program  complicated,  and  in  some  cases  hindered  the  national  security  missions  of  other  Executive  Branch  agencies.  Management  of  the  CIA’s  Detention  and  Interrogation  Program  was  deeply  flawed  throughout  its  duration,  particularly  so  in  2002  and  2003.
• Two  contract  psychologists  devised  the  CIA’s  enhanced  interrogation  techniques  and  were  central  figures  in  the  program’s  operation.  By  2005,  the  CIA  had  overwhelmingly  outsourced  operations  related  to  the  program.
• The  effectiveness  of  the  enhanced  interrogation  techniques  was  not  sufficiently  evaluated  by  the  CIA.
• CIA  personnel  who  were  responsible  for  serious  violations,  inappropriate  behavior,  or  management  failures  in  the  program’s  operation  were  seldom  reprimanded  or  held  accountable  by  the  agency.
• The  CIA’s  Detention  and  Interrogation  Program  ended  by  2006  due  to  legal  and  oversight  concerns,  unauthorized  press  disclosures  and  reduced  cooperation  from  other  nations.
• The  CIA’s  Detention  and  Interrogation  Program  damaged  the  United  States’  global  reputation,  and  came  with  heavy  costs,  both  monetary  and  non-­‐monetary.

I just thought you’d like to know.        

On This Day: 1945 – During World War II, American soldiers liberated the Nazi concentration camp of Buchenwald in Germany. 1947 – Jackie Robinson became the first black player in major-league history. He played in an exhibition game for the Brooklyn Dodgers. 1956 – James Brown debuts on the R&B charts with “Please, Please, Please.”

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Doug Porter

Doug Porter was active in the early days of the alternative press in San Diego, contributing to the OB Liberator, the print version of the OB Rag, the San Diego Door, and the San Diego Street Journal. He went on to have a 35-year career in the Hospitality business and decided to go back into raising hell when he retired. He won numerous awards for his columns from the Society of Professional Journalists in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. Doug is a cancer survivor (sans vocal chords) and lives in North Park.

Latest posts by Doug Porter (see all)

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