Attorney General Horne Finds Reasonable Cause to Believe Open Meeting Law Has Been Violated in Quartzsite
PHOENIX (Friday, July 29, 2011) – Tom Horne, Arizona Attorney General, today released partial information regarding the Attorney General’s Office investigation of events in Quartzsite. Horne stated:
“Normally, we do not release the results of an investigation until it has been completed. However, because this is a matter of unusual public interest, we are prepared to say that, based on review of a video of a July 10 meeting, there is reasonable cause to believe that there has been a violation of the Open Meeting Law, inasmuch as the public was excluded. The meeting was held under the misconception that an emergency meeting can be conducted without the public present. Independently of the question of whether the Town Council had a legitimate reason to hold an emergency meeting, even proper emergency meetings must allow the public to be present. The exception is if there is a legitimate basis for an executive session, and the City Council did not attempt to hold a proper executive session during the emergency meeting. The investigation of this and other alleged violations of Open Meeting Laws is ongoing.” http://www.azag.gov/press_releases/july/2011/110729%20Open%20Meeting%20Law.html
From the "badge cam" of Sgt. Xavier Frausto", this video does not start until about 20 minutes into the meeting, according to the meeting minutes on the Quartzsite Post Office Bulleting Board.
And the zoning proposal for HTR Holdings LLC, is reortedly to open a gun shop and future shooting range near the Scholars Academy. It appears that Planning and Zoning has already given it's official blessing. But don't bother filing an open records request for proof of that, as nobody has seen the town clerk in the office since the illegal meeting, and Al Johnson is stalling big time...
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by Doug MacEachern, columnist - Jul. 24, 2011 12:00 AM The Arizona Republic
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/2011/07/23/20110723maceachern0724-sane-perspective.html#ixzz1Szsp3AJSWhen Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik shared with the world the results of his personal investigation into the Jan. 8 Tucson-area shooting - people with political views different from his had caused the murders to happen, he concluded - someone special was listening.
The sheriff, who decried his state as a "mecca for racism and bigotry," became quite the celebrity then. He knew, intrinsically, that the talk shows - in a nutshell, Fox News - were "inflaming the American people," by which he meant conservative, "tea partyish," American people, by whom he meant people whose smoldering hostilities rendered them capable of murder once the right buttons were pushed.
Tucson shooter, tea-party activist. They all stew in the same pot of hate, in Dupnik's view.
"That may be free speech, but it's not without consequences," Dupnik said on the day of the shooting.
The sheriff's message went out over the airwaves, just like all those so-called hate messages. And someone special was listening.
Four days later, Quartzsite Police Chief Jeff Gilbert stood before his Town Council and delivered his own sober message about "hate." There was too much controversy out there in Quartzsite. Too much "propaganda." And too many people with a real dislike for local government officials.
"The (Tucson-area) shooting clearly appears to be motivated by a disturbed individual who is reported to have distorted political views, was anti-government, did not like or trust government officials, and believed they were just trying to cover up some conspiracy," said the chief.
"Does any of this sound familiar to our community?"
To those of us on the outside of Quartzsite, the little town certainly does seem seriously whacked-out. The best that outsiders can tell, a lot of it is loon vs. loon. It's hard to discern the precise politics of that isolated town near the Colorado River. But it is clear the police chief believes his opponents are anti-government types. And Chief Gilbert clearly sees it as his duty to protect the government from them. Any way he can.
"These words are warning signs," said the chief as he read from an e-mail he received from one of his long-standing opponents.
"The words of hatred hiding behind the Constitution, these are warning signs. The propaganda that's being spread about the local government, these are warning signs. The behavior and outbursts, the actions that have taken place in some of these council meetings, they are warning signs."
As The Republic's Dennis Wagner reported last Sunday, Chief Gilbert indeed has taken all those "warning signs" seriously. Numerous Quartzsite residents contend Gilbert has ordered his tiny force to harass them. He is issuing them tickets, indiscriminately, they claim. And he is charging them with faux crimes. Many Quartzsite-ites, including the mayor, say they have been "arrested" on Gilbert's orders multiple times.
A majority of Gilbert's own police force says it has had enough of the harassment. In June, 10 of Gilbert's 14 sworn officers signed a letter declaring they had "no confidence" in their chief. They complained about the citizen harassment and about the chief using the law to protect his friends.
The officers asked for public-safety officials outside Quartzsite to investigate. The Arizona Department of Public Safety says it is complying.
That was in June. Now, allies of Chief Gilbert are retaliating against the cops. The town has placed eight of the officers who signed the letter, as well as a staff technician, on administrative leave pending an investigation into their attempt to defame "the integrity and reputation of the town of Quartzsite, its chief of police, its town manager, and its common council."
The officers have been ordered to stay in their homes during the day. A de facto "house arrest," according to the town's mayor, Ed Foster.
"The chief of police is acting irrational," said the mayor. "What rational person, with all the national media attention focused on Quartzsite now, would act like this?"
I'm no shrink. Nor do I play one in news columns. But I have no doubt that Chief Gilbert, like Sheriff Dupnik before him, firmly believes he is the only rational person in the room. And he believes it is his job to come down on those people whom he deems the crazies. Which is to say, those people whose views he dislikes.
During that same Jan. 11 town meeting, Gilbert spoke directly to Mayor Foster, whom he views as one of those crazy people:
"Mr. Mayor, as the person running our Town Council meetings, I am passing this warning on to you," he said.
"You are the person charged with the responsibility for controlling the meetings to assure the business of the town is conducted without personal attack, outbursts and disruption. And I am the one who is charged with the responsibility of the safety of the public. And I hope and pray that the town of Quartzsite never makes the news for such a tragedy. I take all of these warning signs seriously. Mr. Mayor, I hope you do the same."
That's serious talk. Grim. Sober. Scary in an "angry man with a gun" way. And a predictable consequence of listening to too much wild-eyed political speech.
From Clarence Dupnik.
Reach MacEachern at doug.maceachern@arizonarepublic.com.
Quartzite officials have become enemies of the Republic. When officers no longer have the right to remain silent, citizens cannot speak, there is no due process with the building official and enforcement of town codes and ordinances, equal treatment and equal protection have long gone by the wayside, town officials have committed TREASON!
People are apparently receiving the following letter from Governor Jan Brewer's office:
The Governor’s Office of Constituent Services is in receipt of your email received July 13, 2011. We are responding on behalf of Governor Brewer.
Thank you for contacting the Governor’s Office to express your concerns regarding the current situation in Quartzsite, AZ. As you may know, the Governor does not have the authority to intervene in local law enforcement matters. Nor does this office have the authority to investigate misconduct by the police, county jails, federal prisons, and/or judges.
We understand that you have filed a complaint with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office. The Attorney General is the appropriate office to investigate allegations of Open Meeting Law violations. We trust that their office will respond to your complaint in a timely manner. For your convenience, we are providing their direct contact information.
In addition, complaints against law enforcement officers are filed with the Arizona Peace Officers Standard and Training Board (AZ POST), which is under the jurisdiction of the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS). If you have not already, we suggest you contact the AZ POST to submit a formal complaint for review. Once the complaint is received by their office, the investigation process begins. The length of the investigation varies depending on the circumstances surrounding the case. Upon completion, the AZ POST will then forward the results of its investigation to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, which has the authority to take action as deemed appropriate by their office. For your convenience, we are providing the contact information for the AZ POST.
Arizona Peace Officers Standard and Training (AZ POST) Board
In the meantime, all members of the Quartzsite Police Officers have been put on paid administrative leave, and Assistant Town misManager Al Jognson is in charge of investigating whether or notit was an ethical breach of town policy to blow the whistle on Chief Gilbert. Clearly, the Constution appears to be suspended within town limits!
Yesterday, false rumors were being circulated around town that Police Chief Jeff Gilbert had been "cleared of all charges" relating to complaints made by his own officers.
In a lengthy report prepared for Town Manager Alex Taft (as per the actual documents). The cover sheet reads:
"As Town Manager for the Town of Quartzsite I am waiving Attorney - Client Privilege to release this report on the Internal Investigation of Police Chief Gilbert by Sonja K. Boun. Attorney at Law of Jackson Lewis LLP." It was signed "Alex Taft, Town Manager.
The firm hired to investigate our police dept. specializes in workplace law, primarily, protecting the interests of management. "When complaints arise, we work with clients to take incisive action to effect solutions that minimize costs and maximize results." It's no surprise that the report depicts complaining officers in a less than sympathetic light, and goes so far as to accuse them of lying without any evidence to back up that assertion! The report also recommends that Officer Herlen Yeomans (a long suffering target of the chief) should himself be investigated. "Indeed it appears that some of the witnesses were untruthful in interviews and fabricated information in an effort to bolster claims alleged in the Anonymous letter." (What anonymous letter? Last time I checked, the officers signed their letter.) And "Witness A (Yeomans) apparently lied several times throughout the course of this investigation. To the extent that the Town wishes to separately investigate Witness A's possible dishonesty during the investigation, the Town should make sure that any such investigation is handled by a neutral party or agency if feasible, so as to avoid an appearance that Chief Gilbert is retaliating against Witness A for participating in this investigation and making allegations against him." Boy, this woman takes "risk management" to a whole new level. How does she look at herself in the mirror? Good thing our boys in blue are lawyer-ed up!
Does attorney client privilege exist with a town employee if the attorney is working for "the people"? I don't think so. Did Alex make a special arrangement, so that the officers testimony would remain confidential? Their statements were not in the report. Neither was a copy of their written complaints, which detail things like alleged evidence destruction and Sgt Frausto botching a major drug bust, which endangered the lives of undercover officers.
What was in the report, was Gilbert admitting to calling Sgt. Ponce's crew "the gay squad", giving the Hispanic officers African American bobble head dolls while giving Caucasian officers white bobble heads, using profanity, and publicly humiliating Officer Yeomans in a department wide meeting with a snide comment about "wiping his ass hairs off the toilet."
"In interviews, Lizarraga and Lukkasson said they do not care if some council meetings are deemed unlawful or if public-records laws are broken." - AZ Republic
When elected and appointed officials break the law with such impunity, soon or later there are going to be repercussions.
It has been suggested that instead of sending the council and police chief letters and emails, perhaps we should send them "Soap on a Rope", as they will need it where they are going. If you really want to send a message, custom "Soap on a Rope" is available (See link below - you've been warned!) Any questions Chief Gilbert?
While you may ask your friends why someone would want a soap-on-a-rope shaped like a... "member", we know we caught you looking!
This well-hung product (let's just call him Dick) is made by hand (no comments please!) right here in the good old U.S.A.
He's made of 100% pure glycerine soap with a deep purple glitter hue and pleasant summer scent that's guaranteed to get you in a lather. This guy is completely 3D with no rough edges and at four and a half inches long, claims to be larger than the competition (don't they all?)!
Over the last week or so, the town of Quartzsite has been catapulted into the international spotlight, and for all the wrong reasons. What is happening in my town, could happen in your town. From the responses I have received, it appears to be happening in other communities.
So what's going on in Quartzsite? Well, it's hard to sum it all up briefly, so I'll start with rumor control about what isn't happening. We are not technically under "martial law" as reported by some, but the town council did hold an illegal, secret meeting on a Sunday, wherein they declared "the existence of an emergency" and several sections of town code and policy were suspended "until (date) or until two-thirds of the Council determines that an emergent circumstances no longer exist which create an imminent risk to public safety and the safety of elected and appointive officials, whichever occurs first."
What caused this alleged "emergency"? Angry emails from around the world, after members of our council and senior staff basically staged a "mutiny" on Mayor Ed Foster, and usurped his authority to chair the June 28th Council Meeting. This was videotaped by local realtor Douglas Gilford and the video was posted to his Youtube internet channel where it went "viral". Despite claims by the police chief and town manager, nobody has actually seen any of the emails supposed to contain "death threats" that were the stated cause for the drastic and possibly unlawful actions.
During the agendized open "Call to the Public", Councilman Joe Winslow demanded I 'be quiet" or "I could be removed." Over the strenuous objections of the mayor, Police Chief Jeff Gilbert, Sgt. Fabiola Garcia and Officer Rick Patterson wrestled the microphone from my hand and physically removed me at the insistence of all present members of council, with the support and encouragement of the town manager and town attorney. My elbow was injured in the scuffle, and although I was never told that I was under arrest, or read my rights, I was handcuffed and given a traffic citation for "disorderly conduct" before being released to the ambulance and taken to the hospital in Parker, AZ.
If not for the internet, occurrences such as these would probably go unnoticed in a community of 3,600 people. The media has been calling town officials for their statements, and they have been back peddling and making excuses rather quickly. This has probably prevented them from acting upon whatever powers they believed they had anointed themselves with. Calls for intervention by the governor and the state attorney general have been made. Now, we are waiting to see what action they will take to restore sanity and the rule of law.
This could happen anywhere. Especially when the citizens do not attend local government meetings, and hold their elected officials accountable. Will you let this happen in your town?
Jennifer "Jade" Jones, Publisher
The Desert Freedom Press
Bullhead City Bee
1905 Lakeside Dr.
Bullhead City, Arizona 86442
Phone: (928) 763-9339 • Fax (928) 763-1510
What happened to the private investigator used to cover up criminal complaints against Police Chief Jeff Gilbert...oops, I mean find out why officer morale is so low? Where is the promised report? Weeks have gone by since ten members of the Quartzsite Police Officers Association were interrogated without an attorney present - so where is this report that was supposed to clear the chief and pacify the angry masses? Could it be the report shows the chief was a very, very bad boy?
According to the Parker Pioneer in a story dated 6-16-11, "Taft said an investigation of Gilbert was being conducted, but declined to state who was performing it. She said she did not want the investigation to be compromised by the political climate. She said the investigation should be completed within a week."
Please let us see it Alex. The people want THE TRUTH!
The town council appears to be trying to create panic among Quartzsite citizens by holding an unannounced secret meeting, and nobody can get a straight answer.
At 12:00 today, Quartzsite Town Council-members Cowell, Kelley, Lukkasson, Anderson and Winslow held a special, locked door meeting at town hall. In attendance were Town Clerk Karen Norris and (appointed at an illegal meeting) new Town Attorney/Town Prosecutor?Town Parliamentarian Martin Brannan They voted unanimously to take some kind of action. It was reported that from what could be heard through the glass door, they may have possibly declared a state of emergency in Quartzsite, after town officials were deluged by angry emails for several days. When confronted by unnerved citizens, Cowell waffled, Lukkasson denied, and Kelley said he couldn't talk about it. The mayor refused to participate in an "illegal meeting", and was locked out of the building.
Alex Jones, Ernest Hancock, Mark Skoda, Tom Gambill - the radio talk show hosts have been interviewing Mayor Ed Foster and Jennifer Jones over the June 28th "call to the public" incident.
CBS Ch 5 news, the Arizona Republic, the Arizona Independent - everyone wants to know what the heck is wrong with Quartzsite officials. We wish we had an answer for that!
In an attempt to declare martial law or something, Mayor Ed Foster reports that state officials were contacted by Police Chief Jeff Gilbert because he has reported receiving death threats. Stay tuned...
It was a suspense filled day at Quartzsite Town Hall. Although several people had pulled packets to run, and three had filed campaign spending limit affidavits, no one had turned in nomination papers with only two hours to go...First, Jose Lizarraga made it official. Then Republican Precinct Committeeman Michael Roth filed. Then, Desert Freedom Press Publisher Jennifer Jones reportedly made it, with only minutes to spare.
Both Roth and Jones share common ground with current Mayor Ed Foster, and blame Lizarraga for voting in lockstep with the town manager's other puppets on the council, thereby directly causing the current public safety crisis the town is in. According to Jones "He's the fireman that turned his back on the police. If he had done his duty, and voted to put Chief Gilbert on administrative leave when Ed (Foster) called the special meeting, I would have never been injured!"
"I'd like to thank the 'dirty laundry' Lukkasson's for collecting all those signatures and giving me the opportunity to be part of the political debate again", said Roth."The Lukkasson's wanted the taxpayers to fund another election, I think we should give them one they'll never forget!" said Jones.
Apparently, Jones and Foster nominated Roth. Roth nominated Jones. As the incumbent, Foster did not need to file any paperwork.
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