There have been comments from readers that perhaps it would be better not to report to our citizens on the unfortunate events of July 5th at our Transportation Plaza and later in our City Hall. They said that perhaps everything was working as planned and that there was no oversight needed. Perhaps there was no need to get involved.
Would that it were true. However…
Those who hoped that this was all just a big mistake should watch the video of District Attorney Tony Rackauckas describing the events as he saw them. Notice the look that can only be described as disgust as he clearly states the order of events. And listen when he says, “…citizens have a right to self-defense, even against the police, if they are using excessive force not performing a lawful duty” and “All people in this great country of ours have a constitutional right to be free from the imposition of unlawful and excessive force under the color of law.”
Many people talk about rights. But the right Tony Rackauckas is talking about it the right all the other rights are based on, the right to life, because it can not be exchanged for another right. That is the right, the DA tells us, that Kelly Thomas was denied.
Something certainly happened at the bus depot that night. Hiding it will not undo it. Tony Rackauckas knows this, and so do thousands of Fullertonians. Thousands of people in this town have done something remarkable. They recognized that a something terrible had happened. They set about correcting the problem. They talked about it. When no one listened, they shouted. People from our arts community, our business community, educators, local blogs and websites, military veterans, members of local government, even members of our city council, put their foot down, and stood, for an accounting. When all stories were confused and inveigled they demanded clarity, and transparency.
There is still a lot of work to do, but the people of Fullerton can do it. We have what it takes to correct these problems and put our best foot forward. How do I know this? Well, because we have to! To ignore and wait for this to all go away would be to fail, to kick the can into the future where it would sit and wait for us. If there is one thing we know it is that the future will come. It is yesterday that never comes, and that is what we should stop waiting for.
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