My name is Jonothan Shiloka Pearson. I am a certified farmer in the Pasadena Farmer's Market and I sell essential oils distilled from my farm. When I am not at home or at the farmer's market, I go to festivals in my bio-disel bus that I converted to a motor home. Like many Americans, I choose to enjoy my life to its fullest and travel whenever I can.
Topanga Days Festival was happening and after attending the first day, the next morning, I headed into my favorite town: Venice Beach to shop for supplies and pick up some friends. I was to return to Topanga Days for Sunday afternoon Concerts. After finishing shopping I feed my dogs and checked my emails on my computer.
Five minutes later I was surrounded by some kind of S.W.A.T. Team that demanded I come out and talk to them. I grabbed my ID and stepped out to talk to the officers. Yoshioka (#36027), Murray(35945) and Barron (#36530) who surrounded me in military fashion.
Officer Barron said, “I gave you a citation before and I warned you not to come around here.”
I replied: I was pulled over by you about three or four months ago (and he hasn't seen me since). You followed me for two miles and you gave me a fix it ticket to put my license plate in another spot and I fixed it. I didn't get any citation.
He appeared angry and insisted “you know you cannot come to Venice in a motorhome. If you have a bed or cooking inside it's illegal to park in Venice.”
“That's not true,” I said. “ I like hundreds of thousands of other Americans can travel all over America while I'm not home or while on vacation and sleep and cook-anywhere in America. But when I am in Venice, I don't need to sleep in my motor home. I have two friends close by that I can sleep over anytime I am in town.

The officers seemed perturbed that I was answering their questions with facts and was talking to them like human beings in intelligent conversation. I asked them at least three times “What do you want me to do? Do you want me to leave? They ignored my question and turned to each other and said , “He's not getting it.” I said, “Officer, I am a normal guy doing farmer's markets. I am not doing anything illegal. I am just enjoying my life visiting friends and doing shopping. I haven't done anything wrong.
Again the officers looked at each other rolling their eyes-and one said “He's just not getting it. We're going to have to arrest him.” No. I said. That's not necessary. If you want me to leave, I will leave. Again one Officer repeats “He's not getting it.”
They immediately told me I was under arrest. “Turn around and put your hands behind your back.” “That's not necessary,” I said. I will leave if you want.” They pushed me against my bus and slipped the cuffs on me as if I was a criminal (I have NO criminal record)
They stuffed me into the back of the police car. The officers smiled and told me they would tow my Bio-Diesel Bus and call animal control to take my dogs. “No!”, I pleaded. “Don't tow my motorhome!. It is not illegally parked.” “You're bus is getting towed! There is nothing you can do about it! Said Officer Barron. “We're calling animal control to take your dogs.”

“Let me move the bus. This is a wrongful arrest. I did nothing wrong!”. They ignored me. Let me call my friend to pick up my dogs. “What's his phone number?”, Barron asked. “I need my I-phone from inside to get his number.” “That's not going to happen.” he said. Finally I told them to check my wallet. It has my Press Credentials inside. I was doing a story on Venice Beach. They seemed confused about this and ignored me. In desperation I said, “This arrest is unfounded and illegal. I was not sleeping and did nothing wrong. Please call the Sheriff immediately.” “Why? This is our turf, not the Sheriff-
“What you are doing is illegal,, I said, let me go please or I demand you call the Sheriff please. What you are doing is illegal.” They laughed at me and closed the door. I was sitting in handcuffs for close to two hours. They said I would be able to bail myself out in a couple hours-but said the computer was down so they couldn't process fingerprints.
They kept me in a cell with about ten others. Some were drunks, some were artists, one person who got arrested for smoking a cigarette in a public place and one man was arrested for not having a dog tag for his dog! Then there was Me: A Farmer, Journalist..
They kept me in there until passed 4am.
When I got out I filed complaints against the officers involved and I have record of that.
It cost me over $700 to get my bio-diesel bus back which they towed to the valley (38 miles away from Venice)
I have a special family of working hunting dogs called Lakota Mastino in my family for 20 years. One of my dog had puppies so they took my two adults and puppies from me. They were given vaccinations and micro-chips without my permission. I feed and choose natural alternatives to vaccinations like raw food, garlic and Vitamin-C and I am morally, spiritually and intellectually opposed to poisons being injected into my dogs. Like many other people, I choose organic food and a biological Vetenarian, It took me two days to get my dogs back and four hours of paperwork. It cost me about $1000 to get them out. All this because I was illegally arrested by overzealous, nazi-style raid on a biodesel bus and on me a farmer.

After I picked up my dogs, four were bleeding from their asses, one seriously. When I called the vet at the pound he said stress and other factors caused this...

Los Angeles Councilman Bill Rosendahl has brought a special squad of 21 LAPD officers into Venice, CA for the express purpose of vigorously enforcing LAMC 85.02 which forbids “living” or sleeping in a vehicle parked on the street.
Now that most of the Homeless Living in their cars and moterhomes have lost their Moterhomes and Cars to this Scam... They now are forced to sleep on the sidewalk (not illegal)
Having neutralized their targets, they are now targeting other groups of people to harass by intimidation and by impounding vehicles, Family Pets, or giving unwarranted parking tickets.
I suspect these include Farmers, Raw foodists, Artists, Musicians, or any alternative or creative types.

Venice Beach LAPD: Their Not Getting It!
Venice Beach is Home to Artists, Creativity and Multi-Dimensional Beings
Please help write a story for the local news, complain to Police about this, and help keep Venice Beach Free and Creative.
Feel free to comment or share my story or write
Councilman Bill Rosendahl's OR Charlie Beck Chief of Police's email and tell him what you think about this horrible example of unfounded overzealous police action.
"Councilman Rosendahl" <councilman.rosendahl@lacity.org>

Charlie Beck Chief of Police
213-486-0150
contact.lapdonline@gmail.com

MY EMAIL IS
Jonothan Shiloka Pearson
jonothanshiloka@msn.com

I was one of the first in California to have a bio diesel Bus and first to have a smart car too!

This is clearly an example of an overzealous municipality and police department infringing on our rights. This man was parked, in a legal parking spot, in his vehicle at 1pm in the AFTERNOON, not camping, sleeping or living in his vehicle. He had not stayed the night there. If the vehicle had been a fancy $500,000 motorhome, with a rich daddy driving it who had pulled over to make lunch while on the road, would the same treatment and arrest have occurred? I doubt it!

I work in the real estate field and am on the road often. It is common for me to pull over to the side of the road and talk on the phone, use my laptop, eat my lunch or occasionally take a quick nap,,,might I be the next person arrested?? If I am in my new Lexus is it OK? If I am in a rusty old vehicle do I have less rights? Does one who drives a motorhome have less rights that those driving vans or cars?

This is a slippery slope of rights infringements instituted by the "elite" against the powerless. What the makers of these laws seem to have forgotten is that what makes this country so great is the rights of ALL of its citizens.

This arrest has cost this man approximately $2000 so far. In addition, he lost almost 2 full days of his life being incarcerated, reclaiming his vehicle and his dogs. Is this really the way we, as a society, wish to be governed?

I encourage you to share this information with others and to take action. Write your councilman to rescind this unfair, biased and probably illegal law. Personally I hope that Mr. Pearson gets good legal representation and sues the daylights out of the city for what was done to him and his dogs....and who pays for all of this?? of course, we do. We paid to have the law passed, we paid to hire the 21 enforcers, we paid to incarcerate this man and now we will probably pay to make him whole again after this gross infringement of his rights.

Who is going to be next? You...me???

The shadow government must be happy that those wanna be elitists mall / beach cops have a limit on the iq entrance exams now.It makes for easy tyranny as the enforcers of the control freaks do not have the "where with all " or the brains to use for discernment between a criminal and a honest human being . I have known mr Shiloka for well over a decade , and altough he is a free thinker a farmer , a dog breeder,a trustworthy friend one thing he is NOT is a criminal.In fact the only criminals i see here is the police officers and their handlers for not properly trainig their officers in the first place.
Hang in Jonothan the truth will prevail

These cops were placed in Venice to remove any funky looking van, RV, or converted school bus. Because Venice Beach is fast becoming just another gentrified beach town.

The local city councilman Bill Rosendahl is siding with NIMBYs and haters who want to drive the funk out of Venice. Only super clean want-a-be funky people that support a fascist police state allowed! Another pretend progressive. OK to support equal rights for LGBT people as long as they have enough money and are not homeless - ey Bill?

G-d bless you for sharing your story and making it through this terrible ordeal. Unfortunately, it's probably going to get worse before it gets better in Cali and all over the country.
The gov't want's mindless consumer zombies to keep buying and the rest of us to get used to a militarized Police State that they have been working on imposing for a long time. People aren't just being arrested and jailed, some are doing 6 month federal prison sentences for b.s. charges and judges are given a free hand to do what they want until they die, retire, or are impeached [very rare & hard to accomplish]. While in prison or in a jail, the gov't and certain corporations are making a mint off of their inmates in at least 4, possibly 5 or more continuous income streams.
They will continue seizing, arresting and imprisoning citizens in this country until stopped. It's going to take a lot of people with a well heard voice to shake up and wake up Congress and the rest of Washington.
The fact that you expressed your self the way you did probably saved you from being locked up longer.
Be strong and keep fighting them and spread your love wherever you go. You sound like you are involved with a lot of good things. Keep pushing good ideas and energy forward and don't let these closed-minded gov't puppets get you down.

With Blessings for success in all your good endeavors,
Rabbi Mordechai Avrohom Carr
aka rappin rabbi, mincha mc sage...
facebook: next sage
isrealonmymind@yahoo.com

This is terrible...I think there is some real crime for the LAPD to go after. Sorry you and your puppies had to go through this.