Politics in our town is changing. It is going through a quite painful process of introspection in our Police Department and our City Hall. The sequence of events that followed the tragic beating of Kelly Thomas have revealed a uncomfortable lack of accountability and an almost total lack of transparency.
Reports of confiscation of witness video, initial misinformation, total lack of disciplinary action until publicity required it, legal moves against local publications that reported the incident, a “hush fund” offer to the victims father, and a stern refusal to release high-quality video of the incident or any other evidence, all flies in the face of campaign promises of “transparency”.
These events have lead two city council members to demand the release of the video tapes and also the resignation of Police Chief Michael Sellers.
Video of bystander accounts during and immediately after the incident, along with the gruesome picture of Kelly Thomas after the beating, have sparked outrage in national and international press.
The DA is refusing to release the city’s high-quality video of the incident, but when asked on CNN about the contents of the tape DA Chief of Staff Susan Kang Schroeder chocked up and said, “Your heart…, your heart is … sad, watching what was on the tapes.” She claimed that releasing the video could cause witnesses or jurors to be swayed by “what they saw in the media” instead of the truth.
It is because of the painful nature of this process that it is important that we keep a civil tone. What needs to be said must be said but a direct identification of the nature of the problem is more important than veiled threats or offensive language. In civil discourse the best defense is not “a good offense”.
We present these notes to you because we should be prepared as the world turns their eyes towards Fullerton. A wise man once said, “When you are going through tough times, keep going!” That sounds like good advice. Now it is time to shine a light on our guiding institutions and look directly at them. If we make the effort to fix these problems the right way we can see a newer, brighter future for all Fullertonians.
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