Democratic Candidate's Fundraiser Invaded By Cops! (8 Cars, Copter, Pepper Spray)...

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/06/dem-congressional-candidates-event-raided-by-san-diego-sheriffs.php?ref=fpblg



"The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that a fundraiser for Francine Busby, who previously ran for the deeply-Republican Fiftieth District and came close to winning in the 2006 special election and subsequent regular election, was raided by sheriffs after an unnamed neighbor made a noise complaint. Busby now calls it a "phony" noise complaint, and the article says that multiple neighbors said there was no great noise at all.

Here's the twist: The fundraiser was hosted by a lesbian couple, and shortly before the sheriffs came a particular neighbor had shouted anti-gay slurs at the assembled crowd. "It was a quiet home reception, disrupted by a vulgar person shouting obscenities from behind the bushes," Busby says.

As one neighbor told the paper: "We didn't hear anything until the sheriff came, with eight patrol cars and a helicopter."

The sheriff's department claims that somebody kicked an officer. By the time it was over, multiple people were pepper-sprayed, one of the hostesses was arrested, and the whole neighborhood got to see quite a scene."


Damn the state-sponsored domestic terrorists.



EDIT: Update - TPM talked to Busby via phone:

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/06/busby-blames-local-residents-political-agenda-sheriffs-department-officer-in-raid-on-fundraiser.php?ref=fpblg

"Busby strongly denied that anyone at the fundraiser did anything to provoke violence by the sheriffs. (For their part, the sheriffs claim that somebody kicked an officer.) And she put the blame squarely on a neighbor who heckled the crowd, then called the sheriffs to complain of loudness from Democrats.

"You could hear his voice very clearly, it was loud. But as far as the actual words, I didn't hear them," Busby explained. "I heard my name, and obviously derogatory words. Other people heard profanity, and somebody heard something about gays, as well."It should be noted that the event was hosted by a lesbian couple.

"The deputies were telling people that they were taking statements from, that the call came in about noise from a Democratic rally, or Democratic demonstration," said Busby. In fact, she said, she had last spoken at about 8:30 p.m., and the police arrived an hour later when most of the attendees had left. "It was a nuisance-noise call, because there was no noise, and the fact that it was described as a Democratic rally or demonstration indicates to me that this person was calling for his own political motives."

I asked her about a statement from one of the arresting officers, Sgt. Thomas Yancey, that Busby herself should have shown leadership in keeping the crowd in order. She obviously disagrees. "Because first of all, nothing was happening until this woman was arrested. He put her in a restraint-hold and she fell to the floor," she said. "I walked in when all the confusion started, and he was spraying pepper spray in all their faces...and frankly someone told me, 'You need to get out of here,' because it was out of control. He was not listening; there was no controlling this person. The people who asked him to stop hurting this woman were pepper-sprayed without warning, there was no talking to this man.""

They have family values, for God's sake!

Almost all of the law enforcement agencies in SD county are at or near the bottom in terms of pay and w/ a high turnover rate the ranks are constantly being filled w/ young gung-ho assholes fresh outta the Navy and Marines full of the Us v Them mentality and just itching to bust some heads.

Except in Iran the police simply break your bones with clubs instead of hitting you with pepper spray because you were of the wrong political persuasion. The bigoted neighbor? He's no different than the fanatics who follow Ayatollah Khomeinei.

The comparison is facetious, but the authoritarian tendencies are the same, except one is amplified. I'll let you guess which one is the amplified example.

...and so it makes sense to use a helicopter to respond to a noise complaint.

No, wait, actually, California does have budget problems, and helicopters usually cause MORE noise than the subject of a noise complaint.

Video cameras usually help in these situations. If not during as a deterrent, then after as a piece of evidence. If I were the hosts, I would schedule ANOTHER, LARGER fundraiser and ask everyone to bring video recording devices.

Hopefully the Iran analogy breaks down here, and the "inquiry" will be performed in good faith.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/06/san-diego-sheriffs-launch-probe-into-raid-at-democratic-candidates-fundraising-event.php?ref=fpb

"The Los Angeles Times reports that the San Diego Sheriff's Department is now undertaking a review of a raid over the weekend against a fundraiser for Francine Busby, a Democratic candidate for the 50th Congressional District.

A neighbor made a noise complaint against the event, and this neighbor is also suspected of being the same man who heckled the event with anti-gay remarks shortly before the complaint was made. Other neighbors told the local media that there was no noise problem. After the officers arrived, attendees ended up being pepper-sprayed and a hostess was arrested.

In an interview with TPM, Busby said the noise complaint was not legitimate and was based on the neighbor's political agenda, and she blamed the arresting officer for the violence that resulted.

"We cannot take action based on media accounts and will conduct a thorough inquiry to include interviews of witnesses at the fund-raising event," said Undersheriff Bill Gore -- who as it turns out will become the full sheriff effective this Friday, upon the retirement of his predecessor."

:kick: