MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2014 - SEPTEMBER 7, 2014
riversideindependent.com
Riverside County law enforcement received military equipment for domestic use BY VICKIE VÉRTIZ
New York Times on August 15. The federally sanctioned program was intended to reuse surplus military equipment to law enforcement agencies for protection during counter-narcotics and terrorism operations, reported The Desert Sun. Neighboring San Bernardino County received over a hundred fourteen assault
plomas are awarded as a joint effort of the Riverside County Board of Education, Riverside County Superintendent of Schools, and the Riverside County Department Please see page 2
Please see page 4
rifles, four helicopters, one plane, and over 280 night vision pieces. The program is operated in California by the state Office of Emergency Services. Riverside County is huge, stretching from the Colorado River to Norco on the west side. Please see page 4
Riverside County Superintendent of Schools seeking to honor veterans with missing high school diplomas at Operation Recognition They answered the call of duty and served in World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam War. While they served, some missed out on completing high school. Riverside County Superinten-
dent of Schools, Kenneth Young, is calling on veterans to receive long overdue high school diplomas through a program known as Operation Recognition that has presented diplomas to more than 250 veterans since 2007. The di-
Federal civil rights lawsuit filed over Riverside County Sheriff ’s Department shooting of Luis Morin Today, August 26, 2014, Diana Perez filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the County of Riverside and the deputies involved in the January 27, 2014 shooting of Luis Morin. Mr. Morin was unarmed at the time of the shooting and was not a danger to anyone. Tragically, several family members, including children, watched as a deputy working for the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department fatally shot Mr. Morin in the back. Mr. Morin is at least the ninth western Riverside County resident fatally shot by law enforcement since June 1, 2013. Shootings by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department have been the subject of numerous civil rights lawsuits in the recent period. In June 2014, the County of Riverside settled for $1,500,000 with the family of Adam Bosch, an unarmed man who was shot and killed by Riverside County sheriff’s deputy Steve Lycopolus on July 7, 2013 at an AM/PM gas station. Deputy Lycopulus fired seven shots at Mr. Bosch, striking him in the back four times. On June 11, 2014, a federal jury returned a unanimous verdict in favor of Plaintiff William Howard and against Defendants Deputy Armando Munoz and the
-Photo by Terry Miller
The federal Excess Property Program, also known as 1033, has provided surplus military equipment to civilian law enforcement agencies across the country for nearly 20 years. Riverside County received over 200 assault rifles, two armored vehicles, a helicopter, and a mine-resistant vehicle since 2006, as reported in the
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Ten second warning of Napa earthquake makes the case for full west coast early warning system Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) released the following statement after the U.C. Berkeley Seismological Lab provided residents in Oakland and San Francisco with a ten second warning before the Napa Valley earthquake shook their homes, businesses and infrastructure: "Today's successful use of the early earthquake warning system shows that a full West Coast system would be successful in giving residents, businesses and critical infrastructure an important warning of a large magnitude earthquake. While this was not the 'big one,' we need to be prepared to save lives and protect vital infrastructure -- even a few seconds of warning will allow people to seek cover, automatically slow or stop trains, pause surgeries
and more." Earlier this year, Rep. Schiff through the Appropriations Committee included $5 million in funding in the Fiscal Year 2015 Interior and Environment Appropriations bill for the Earthquake Early Warning System, the first time Congress has ever provided funding specifically for the system. Schiff also led a group of 25 Members from California, Washington and Oregon in organizing a request that the committee fund an early earthquake warning system. A limited system developed by Caltech, UC-Berkeley and University of Washington, in conjunction with the United State Geological Survey (USGS), has already been deployed and has proven that the early warning technology is sound.
Change lives. Make wishes come true.
Union Station Homeless Services Receives Service Enterprise Certification Union Station Homeless Services is pleased to announce that it has been certified by California Volunteers as a Service Enterprise. A Service Enterprise is defined as an organization that has shown a strong commitment to leveraging volunteers and their skills to successfully deliver on its social mission. “We are so thrilled to receive this certification and incredibly grateful to our volunteers and community partners who bring so much compassion and help Union Station Homeless Services meet its bottom line,” says Octavia Sisley, Director of Volunteer and Community Programs. With this certification, Union Station Homeless Services becomes one of the first organizations in California to be recognized as a Service Enterprise by CaliforniaVolunteers, the state service commission in California. Research conducted by the TCC Group, a national program and evaluation firm, found that organizations operating as Service Enterprises outperform peer organizations on
all aspects of organizational effectiveness, and are more adaptable, sustainable and capable of scaling their work. Union Station Homeless Services has completed an extensive assessment, training/consulting, and certification process that led to this recognition. By achieving this level of excellence and certification, Union Station Homeless Services is now better equipped to leverage the time and talent of volunteers in building our organizational capacity. “This certification illustrates how our volunteers are an integral part of the Union Station Homeless Services family. Their selfless time and energy have always been critical factors to the overall success of our programs,” says Gwen Hourihan, Volunteer Coordinator. For more information regarding volunteer opportunities with our organization, please visit unionstationhs.org/help/volunteer. For more information regarding the CaliforniaVolunteers Service Enterprise Initiative, please visitwww.CaliforniaVolunteers.org.
Operation Recognition Continued from page 1
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of Veterans Services. “Our veterans are qualified and well deserving to receive diplomas,” Young said. “We want to do everything we can to make it possible for them to share that graduation experience with their family and friends.” The 2014 Operation Recognition ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, November 12, at the Moreno Valley Conference and Recreation Center, 14075 Frederick Street, Moreno Valley. In order to be recognized at the ceremony, completed application forms and supporting documentation must be received by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, October 6, 2014. Application forms are available online at www.
rcoe.us/operationrecognition or can be requested by telephone. Interested persons may contact Tracey Case at (951) 826-6570 or via email at tcase@rcoe.us. The program is open to current residents of Riverside County whose high school education was interrupted by military service in World War II, the Korean War, or the Vietnam War. Education Code Section 51440 authorizes the granting of retroactive high school diplomas to eligible veterans. Section 51430 authorizes the retroactive granting of diplomas to Japanese-American citizens whose internment by federal order in World War II prevented them from graduating from their hometown high school.
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Rep. Schiff urges Department of Justice to fund body-worn cameras for local police departments Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) announced that he is circulating a letter to his colleagues which will be sent to Attorney General Eric Holder urging the Department of Justice to help fund local police departments’ purchase of small body-worn cameras in order to increase transparency, decrease tensions between police and community members, and create a record of events. Schiff, who is a member of the Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations Subcommittee and former Assistant U.S. Attorney, stated: “As the investigation into the death of Michael Brown illustrates, the circumstances of an officer-involved shooting can arouse the strongest passions in a community and breed an atmosphere of profound distrust. Having a video record of events not only deters the use of excessive force, but it also helps dispute or demonstrate claims of police brutality – in either case it improves community confidence in a just result. Studies done in localities that have implemented body-worn cameras have shown a positive impact by demonstrating a commitment to transparency and accountability and helping to deescalate potentially tense interactions. “Given the Department of Justice’s crucial role in helping state and local law enforcement adopt best practices, I believe it’s time to expand our support to include assistance to law enforcement agencies that would like to adopt body-worn camera technology for their police officers. The Department of Justice can use existing funding streams, or work with Congress to create a new pool of resources for local governments to help implement body-worn cameras for police officers throughout the country.” From the letter: “Police
departments around the country have begun adopting small body-worn cameras for police officers on patrol. These cameras provide a visual and audio record of interactions with the public, so that in the event of a confrontation or policeinvolved shooting, such as the one that occurred in Ferguson, there is an inalterable record of the events. There are also indications that the presence of body cameras has a civilizing effect on both police officers and the public, resulting in lower incidences of excessive force complaints and deescalating tense situations before they
become violent. Perhaps most importantly, cameras can instill greater trust in police departments on the part of the public they are sworn to protect. In communities with frayed police-community relations, cameras demonstrate a commitment on the part of the local police department to transparency and accountability, while protecting officers from false or frivolous complaints. For all these reasons, the adoption of body cameras has been well received in the jurisdictions that have begun to use them, both by the public and the officers wearing the cameras.”
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The Blue Door Museum Store Grand Opening The Art Alliance, the fundraising arm of the Riverside Art Museum, invites you to The Blue Door Museum Store Grand Opening on Thursday, September 4, from 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. It is a night to celebrate BLUE from blue food to a medley of songs with BLUE in their titles! Celebrate with us as we open the doors to a new shopping experience at the museum. The first 100 guests will receive a free BLUE gift. The Grand Opening is free to the public and light refreshments and appetizers will be served. Join the fun by wearing something BLUE. There will also be an opportunity drawing to win one of three BLUE-inspired art items: an acrylic painting of the River-
side Art Museum’s Blue Door by artist Rita Pacheco; a silver, crystal quartz, and blue kyanite necklace and earrings by artist Cathy Morford; and a blue ceramic Spirit House by artist Ed Traynor. Opportunity drawing tickets are $10 per ticket or $25 for three at the front desk. All proceeds benefit the Riverside Art Museum. The goal of The Blue Door Museum Store is to provide a unique shopping experience for our patrons by featuring local artists’ work and providing an additional source of revenue for museum programs, as well as for the local artists whose consigned work is offered for sale here. For more information, call Lucile Arntzen at 951-274-9292 or email to lsa51@sbcglobal.net.
Update: “Kill-switches” for cell phones now mandatory BY JENNIFER SCHLUETER Last Monday, Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill into law which requires cellphone producers to install a “killswitch” into phones manufactured after July 1, 2015, and sold in California. These “kill-switches” will make smart-
phones inoperable should they fall into the wrong hands. Rightful owners would be able to lock their phones with antitheft software. The bill was introduced by State Senator Mark Leno as a result of constantly rising cellphone thefts.
Military equipment for domestic use Continued from page 1
The county does still use the surplus military gear for its Special Weapons and Tactics team. However, the needs of the county are not the reason it received the military equipment. “Receiving this equipment through the 1033 Program has allowed us to obtain equipment we didn’t otherwise have funding to purchase,” Deputy Armando Munoz, Riverside County Sheriff’s Department spokesman, said to The Desert Sun in an email. He added, “The equipment has been beneficial to the safety of our deputies and their ability to carry out the department’s mission to protect the public.” Nonetheless, the public benefit of these weapons has come under scrutiny lately due to the recent uprising in Ferguson, Missouri after an unarmed teen slated to attend community college was killed by a police officer. The police forces in Ferguson have drawn much attention to their tactics since the militarization of their police departments has assaulted the news media and the public alike during the unrest. “At a time when we must seek to rebuild trust between law enforcement and the local community,” Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said, “I am deeply concerned that the deployment of military equipment and vehicles sends a conflicting message.” These kinds of sentiments
were expressed across party lines by Senator Claire McCaskill, a Democrat of Missouri, and Senator Rand Paul, a Republican of Kentucky. It should be noted that the federal government had been paying for body armor, mineresistant trucks and other military gear and putting little if any restrictions on its use by law enforcement for over a decade, said the New York Times. The Times also stated that “in the name of fighting terrorism” some of these weapons grants “have been consistently popular since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. If there has been any debate at all, it was over which departments deserved the most money.” In Ferguson, protesters and the media alike have stated that police do not differentiate between people in the crowds who behave violently and those who are peacefully protesting. One night, police aimed directly at a group of photographers and reporters and hit a photographer with a rubber bullet. The tactical units will be out there if firebombs are being thrown at officers or if demonstrators are otherwise behaving violently, Chief Jackson said to the Times. “If the crowd is being violent,” he said, “and you don’t want to be violent, get out of the crowd.”
Morin shooting Continued from page 1
County of Riverside in a similar police shooting case, awarding Mr. Howard $7,810,000. Mr. Howard, who was unarmed at the time he was shot in the face on April 7, 2011, suffered a severe brain injury and partial paralysis. On August 25, 2014, a state jury determined that Riverside County sheriff’s deputy Christopher Wicker had used excessive force when he shot and killed Arturo Fernandez on June 17,
2011 in Lake Elsinore. The jury awarded Ms. Munoz, the mother of Arturo Fernandez, $1,000,000. In each of the above cases, the Plaintiffs were represented by the Law Offices of Dale K. Galipo. Contact: Dale K. Galipo, Esq., the Law Offices of Dale K Galipo, located at 21800 Burbank Blvd., Ste. 310, Woodland Hills, CA 91367, cell phone: (626) 8079317, office phone: (818) 347-3333, email: dalekgalipo@yahoo.com.