{"article":{"id":130193,"heading":"Garden Grove Police Lt. Mike Handfield sends me a message about Theresa Dang","author":"Duane J. Roberts","created":"2005-06-23 07:07:29","modified":"2007-08-25 14:27:57","last_modified":"Sat, 25 Aug 2007 21:27:57","article":"\n
On Wednesday, June 15th, a couple hours before I found
out that my good friend Theresa Dang received a letter
from the Orange County District Attorney's Office
charging her with a misdemeanor offense for something
she allegedly did at the May 25th demo against
Minuteman founder Jim Gilchrist, I sent an email to
Garden Grove Police Chief Joe Polisar clarifying a
quote that was published in The Orange County Register
that same day to make him fully understand what some
of my main concerns were regarding police behavior
during the night of the protest.
In this same email, I also notified Polisar that I was
very much \"interested in obtaining copies of all
rules, procedures, policies, and protocols [the Garden
Grove Police Department] follows regarding the
handling of demonstrations and protests.\" I gave him
two choices: either he send these documents to my home
address via U.S. mail; or that I submit to him a
\"formal request\" for them under the California Public
Records Act. In other words, I was politely telling
Polisar that if he doesn't freely cough up the
documents I want, I will use state law to force his
department to release them to me.
As was expected, Polisar just brushed me off like a
fly. He didn't bother to email me back. That's fine. I
had a hunch he wouldn't be too interested in talking
with me anyways especially since I had succeeded in
getting The Orange County Register to cover the Garden
Grove City Council meeting that took place the
previous night. During public comments, several people
-- including Theresa Dang -- criticized the behavior
of the police.
But on Wednesday evening, I learned from Theresa via
telephone that she got a letter from the District
Attorney earlier that day informing her that they were
going to prosecute her on a \"petty theft\" charge. Then
on Thursday, June 16th, another person left a message
on my answering machine informing me that Garden Grove
Police had raided Dang's home in search of a
flashlight that apparently fell out of the pocket of
one of their officers on May 25th.
So what did I do? On Thursday evening, I decided to
interview Dang and write the article entitled, \"GG
Police pursue phony criminal charge against woman hit
by Minuteman supporter\". When I finished it early the
next morning, I proceeded to post it to dozens of
listservs and websites that reached tens of thousands
of people across California and throughout the United
States. I also sent this article to all my friends in
the corporate media as well.
Later that same morning, emails started coming into my
inbox from press people asking me to contact them.
Daniel Yi, a reporter for The Los Angeles Times, told
me his editors were fully committed to running
something the next day about the Garden Grove Police
raid on Dang's home. Great news, I thought! And The
Times did in fact publish an article: it appeared in
the Saturday edition. End of story? Nope. It's just
the beginning.
On Monday afternoon, I suddenly receive an email out
of the blue from a Garden Grove Police Sergeant asking
me to call him so we could meet personally and discuss
some of the matters I addressed in the message I sent
to Chief Polisar the previous week (something which I
have no intention of doing, incidently). Wow! Isn't
that remarkable? After ignoring me for days, the
Garden Grove Police Department had now decided they
wanted to talk. Wanna bet something printed in The Los
Angeles Times over the weekend spurred their newfound
interest in communicating with me?
But wait! It gets even better! On Tuesday, June 21st,
I get yet another message from the Garden Grove Police
Department. This one is very caustic, however. Lt.
Mike Handfield, the Public Information Officer, sends
an email to me basically condemning the article I
wrote about the raid on Dang's home which I posted all
over the internet last Friday. (an article which I
estimate has been read by tens of thousands of people
just in the Southern California area alone)
After careful thought, I've decided to make public the
message that Lt. Handfield sent to me not because I
agree with what he wrote, but because I'm rather
astonished by some of the things he says. The last two
paragraphs of his email are somewhat bizarre, in my
opinion. I've never seen something like this ever come
out of the mouth of a high-ranking police official
before. But I guess we all learn something new each
day, don't we?
Now if Lt. Handfield doesn't like the fact I posted
this email on the internet, too bad. The message he
sent me is not a state secret to be kept from the
general public. It's freely available to anyone who
files a California Public Records Act request with the
Garden Grove Police Department. In fact, almost
everything he writes is a matter of public record. If
you pay taxes, he is your servant. (although I know
that in reality, things don't tend to work out that
way)
And besides, it's quite clear to me that the Garden
Grove Police Department want people to begin listening
to their side of the story. O.K. I'll be fair with
them. So here is what Lt. Mike Handfield, one of their
own employees, writes about Theresa Dang. Please
understand that I have reproduced the text of his
email as I received it in my inbox without any editing
or alteration whatsoever! Make of it as you wish!
Sincerely,
Duane J. Roberts
duaneroberts92804@yahoo.com<\/a>
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Date:\tTue, 21 Jun 2005 11:41:58 -0700
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Subject:\tTheresa Dang
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To:\tduaneroberts92804@yahoo.com<\/a>
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Mr. Roberts,
I just read one of your articles on the Teresa Dang flashlight incident
and I see that you don't let the truth interfere with telling a good
story. This has never been a personal issue to the Garden Grove Police
Department, but you continue to try to further your cause by making it
one.
Clearly, Theresa Dang did steal the officer's flashlight (on video)
which lead to the filing of charges against her. Clearly, she and
several others have lost perspective in their issue. When it comes to
these types of issues, you can be sure that we will enforce the law
equally, no matter the value of the loss. This flashlight is valued at
$100.00 not $10.00. We work and prosecute cases all the time for less
than $100.00. Most of these incidents are not captured on video like
this one.
The decision to apply for and obtain a search warrant was based upon
Ms.
Dang's lack of cooperation and the strong possibility that she would
not
allow us to search her home for the evidence if we politely asked her.
I
guess we were right based upon poor attitude when we contacted her by
telephone.
As for leaving her home a mess. We took before and after pictures of
the
residence and I am told that Ms.Dang would not receive any good
housekeeping award. Infact, I am told that the investigators left the
residence in better shape that they found it. Again, because we knew
that Ms. Dang would most likely make this type of claim, we took that
extra step and took before and after pictures to disprove her false
allegations.
Lieutenant Handfield
Public Information Officer
Garden Grove Police Department
\n<\/body><\/html>\n","contact":"duaneroberts92804@yahoo.com","link":"","address":"","phone":"","parent_id":0,"mime_type":"text\/plain","summary":"After ignoring me for days, the Garden Grove Police Department had now decided they wanted to talk. Wanna bet something printed in The Los Angeles Times over the weekend spurred their newfound interest in communicating with me?","numcomment":20,"fileurl":"\/uploads\/","filesize":null,"article_url":"\/news\/2005\/06\/130193.php"},"attachments":[],"comments":[{"id":130221,"heading":"Does _anyone_ believe this?","article":"> Clearly, Theresa Dang did steal the officer's \r\n> flashlight (on video) \r\n\r\nConsidering the, um, well, "questionable history" of police oppression of progressive organizations under this fascist Bush regime, I'll wait to see the actual film before I'll believe anyone who has a vested interest in lying to the public.\r\n","author":"Fredric L. Rice","parent_id":130193,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2005-06-23 15:52:08","modified":"2005-06-23 15:52:08","fileurl":""},{"id":130239,"heading":"Garden Grove police hunt for flashlight","article":"","author":"Is it at your house?","parent_id":130193,"mime_type":"image\/gif","created":"2005-06-23 18:20:42","modified":"2005-08-15 03:13:37","fileurl":"\/usr\/local\/www-domains\/la.indymedia.org\/public\/uploads\/2005\/06\/garden_grove_police_hunt_for_flashlight.gif","image":{"original":"\/usr\/local\/www-domains\/la.indymedia.org\/public\/uploads\/2005\/06\/garden_grove_police_hunt_for_flashlight.gif"}},{"id":130256,"heading":"You lie\/she lies","article":"Lol! You're a liar and so's she. Maybe you can arrange to share adjacent cells.\r\n\r\nShe's caught on tape stealing a flashlight and faking her injuries after "having been hit" by a car. LOL!\r\n\r\nYou hippies ARE TOTALLY DISCREDITED!!! LOL!!!!! LIARs LIARs PANTS ON FIRE. :) ","author":"VIVA LA MIGRA!","parent_id":130193,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2005-06-23 20:54:01","modified":"2005-06-23 20:54:01","fileurl":""},{"id":130262,"heading":"Re: You lie\/she lies","article":"VIVA LA MIGRA! writes:\r\n\r\n> You lie\/she lies\r\n>\r\n> Lol! You're a liar and so's she. Maybe you can arrange\r\n> to share adjacent cells.\r\n>\r\n> She's caught on tape stealing a flashlight and\r\n> faking her injuries after "having been hit" by a\r\n> car. LOL!\r\n>\r\n> You hippies ARE TOTALLY DISCREDITED!!!\r\n> LOL!!!!! LIARs LIARs PANTS ON FIRE. :)\r\n\r\nCan't you post under your own name, Lt. Handfield?\r\n","author":"Publius","parent_id":130193,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2005-06-23 21:28:29","modified":"2005-06-23 21:28:29","fileurl":""},{"id":130286,"heading":"Hey Duane... If you didn't lie or support liars...we may beleive your cause","article":"They took before and after pictures... will you go to court and claim another conspiracy...much like her injury. Or do we have to wait for those pictures too...and wait for you and others to cry conspiracy... If you all are the ones who fight for world peace and equal rights... Don't get your day job... Duane sir, your propagana is as big as your ego. One by one, you, teresa and megaphone man will lose people to your cause even if it is for good. Go back to your early 20's and see where you dropped your maturity and integrity.\r\n\r\nUnbiased OUT","author":"Unbiased_Va","parent_id":130193,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2005-06-24 04:15:28","modified":"2005-06-24 04:15:28","fileurl":""},{"id":130288,"heading":"Theresa Dang will be acquitted","article":"Even if there is a videotape of Theresa with a flashlight in her hands, the Garden Grove police have zero credibility now. They are getting thoroughly trashed in the media here. If the DA actually tries this case, the jury will laugh them right out of the courtroom. ","author":"OC resident","parent_id":130193,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2005-06-24 05:04:03","modified":"2005-06-24 05:04:03","fileurl":""},{"id":130289,"heading":"Theresa Dang will be acquitted","article":"Even if there is a videotape of Theresa with a flashlight in her hands, the Garden Grove police have zero credibility now. They are getting thoroughly trashed in the media here. If the DA actually tries this case, the jury will laugh them right out of the courtroom. ","author":"OC resident","parent_id":130193,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2005-06-24 05:05:32","modified":"2005-06-24 05:05:32","fileurl":""},{"id":130290,"heading":"Theresa Dang will be acquitted","article":"Even if there is a videotape of Theresa with a flashlight in her hands, the Garden Grove police have zero credibility now. They are getting thoroughly trashed in the media here. If the DA actually tries this case, the jury will laugh them right out of the courtroom. ","author":"OC resident","parent_id":130193,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2005-06-24 05:06:36","modified":"2005-06-24 05:06:36","fileurl":""},{"id":130308,"heading":"If you find yourself in a hole stop digging","article":"> faking her injuries\r\n\r\nIt's not aways apparent right away how severe the injuries are - see the "The LA Times prints letter critical of GGPD raid of Theresa Dang's home" thread where I go into detail on this - posting it twice would be borderline spamming..\r\n\r\n\r\n","author":"Hex","parent_id":130193,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2005-06-24 13:17:46","modified":"2005-06-24 13:17:46","fileurl":""},{"id":130330,"heading":"Laughing!","article":"> Can't you post under your own name, Lt. Handfield? \r\n\r\nLove it. }:-}\r\n","author":"Fredric L. Rice","parent_id":130193,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2005-06-24 15:59:13","modified":"2005-06-24 15:59:13","fileurl":""},{"id":130367,"heading":"injuries","article":"Talk to a emergency medical tech, and they will tell you that often after an accident, a person experiences an adrenalin rush, and is able to get up and walk away (even with a broken neck), so trained medical personal will ask people to lay back down, they will proceed to hold the person in a c spine hold, and wait for x-rays to check for hair line fractures in the spine that could develop into paralysis with further trauma. Many people have had broken necks, and not called an ambulance because they did not know, then hours later when they turn their head wrong, the cord snaps and paralyzes them. The people who use Hal's videotape to "claim" that people were "faking" have obviously NOT done their homework.","author":"1Planet1People","parent_id":130193,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2005-06-24 19:52:32","modified":"2005-06-24 19:52:32","fileurl":""},{"id":130371,"heading":"it happened to me","article":"I thought I was ok at first and didn't want to make a fuss, but it turned out I was injured worse than I thought once the swelling set in..\r\n\r\nI reviewed the video and noticed the tricky use of 1\/2 normal speed throughout to make it appear they slowly went down when in fact in realtime they practically fell\r\n\r\nHeavy narration with *no proof shown* of any car or his van being damaged\r\n\r\nHe talks much about safety and being scared but fails to bring up the *police all around* other than to claim they did nothing (which basicly counterdicts the whole point of his narration)\r\n\r\nBoth all slow-mo and lack of any actual footage of his van renders this worthless\r\n\r\nThe slow-mo with narration further shows he:\r\n\r\n1.) was supposidly "in fear for his life" yet he failed to vacate or withdraw or *ask one of the many cops standing right there for help*\r\n\r\n2.) this video trickery along with the comments that proceeded it show an aggressive confrontational attitude - a naked attempt to both cover himself and provide ammunition for his cause being with this group\r\n\r\na patsy in other words...\r\n\r\nI was going to convert it and change the framerate to restore it back to normal but I figured why bother - the cameras jumping around almost continiously anyway plus it doesn't show anything..\r\n\r\n\r\n ","author":"Hex","parent_id":130193,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2005-06-24 20:39:15","modified":"2005-06-24 20:39:15","fileurl":""},{"id":130457,"heading":"SO NEXT TIME YOU'LL DO WHAT?","article":"So next time when there is a car moving toward you, you'll do what?\r\nStand in it's way?\r\nGee won't that be fun.\r\nI like people who just stand there in the way of a ton of steel coming at you.\r\nKinda like that old safety commercial, "he was right, dead right".\r\nPlease do not stand in the way of moving cars.\r\nYou might get squished.","author":"Mr. Crumpled Fender","parent_id":130193,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2005-06-25 16:47:31","modified":"2005-06-25 16:47:31","fileurl":""},{"id":130478,"heading":"SPINNING YOUR ASSES OFF","article":"I love it. Hal posts conclusive proof that you fraudsters faked the injuries and here you are spinning like crazy. You cannot escape the facts. The video betrays you. You got caught and that's the end of it. \r\n\r\nIndy Media has NO credibility whatsoever and never did. Not only are you fraudsters reckless in your fakery, you are not even schooled at trying to cover it up.\r\n\r\n","author":"Caught Lying Again","parent_id":130193,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2005-06-25 19:09:33","modified":"2005-06-25 19:09:33","fileurl":""},{"id":130573,"heading":"Mexican Pro Illegal Immigration Advocate Caught Lying","article":"You have been caught and to say the Newspapers are on you side and that is a defense is laughable.\r\n\r\nEveryone know the LA Times is a leftist Newspaper and they would not know the truth if it hit them in the face.\r\n\r\nNice Try Amigo\r\n\r\nYou are a LIAR\r\n\r\n","author":"Big Dave","parent_id":130193,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2005-06-26 17:53:50","modified":"2005-06-26 17:53:50","fileurl":""},{"id":131006,"heading":"LA Times no leftist rag.","article":"The Los Angeles Times a 'leftist" newspaper? Sir, as a committed leftist, I beg to differ. As you undoubtedly already know, the owner of the L.A. Times is Tribune Company - a large, very profitable corporation that also owns many other other newspapers and television and radio stations. It is beholden first and foremost to its investors and secondly to its adevertisers (the source of the profits - and its inverstors earnings). \r\n\r\nWhat you may not know is that the L.A. Times has been making news in media circles for its moves to 'tear down the wall' between its editorial \/news department and the advertising departiment , so that the 'news' side of the organization can better serve the advertising side of the department. \r\n\r\nThis is not to say that there are no ethical reporters, or that the editorial position of the L.A. Times is never critical of the actions or policies of the established order of governements and corporations. But it is a bit silly to ignore the obvious, empirical evidence of the newspaper's true interest (profit) in order to justify your paranoiod belief that the only reason the L.A. Times might run an article tht is critical of the Garden Grove PD in one specific incident is because it is a "leftist newspaper."","author":"Stephen Miller","parent_id":130193,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2005-06-29 17:34:52","modified":"2005-06-29 17:34:52","fileurl":""},{"id":131068,"heading":"Truth and IMC","article":">Indy Media has NO credibility whatsoever and never did. Not only are you fraudsters reckless in your fakery, you are not even schooled at trying to cover it up.\r\n\r\nThis is untrue. IMC's track record is good, considering that it's an all-volunteer, open-to-all project.\r\n\r\nIt lacks credibility, but some press people look at it to get some insight into the small wedge of society that uses Indymedia. They know how to see through the BS (I hope).","author":"johnk","parent_id":130193,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2005-06-30 05:09:51","modified":"2005-06-30 05:09:51","fileurl":""},{"id":157346,"heading":"Concerned citizen","article":"Regarding the story about Theresa dang being prosecuted for theft. I think it's a great idea. She chose to be in a position which could have turned into a violent event even if she did not want it to. Her actions caught on video tape further concern me and i dont feel she was an innocent bystander as she makes herself out to be. \r\n\r\nThe police have aresponsibility to the citizens of this state. I feel their actions are warranted and i know they will generally not pursue criminal charges unless evidence exits of the act committed. Furthermore, the DA is the one that actually files charges, the police only present the case to them. If the evidecne doesn't exist, I doubt any charges would have been filed. \r\n\r\nI would implore Ms. Dang to go to trial if she feels she was innocent of the charges, that is what the process is for. I feel her comments are an attempt to divert focus from her activities and try the case in the media. \r\n\r\nGood luck Ms. dang, I'm sure the evidence allowed access by the Freedom of information act will only convict you if brought to trial. ","author":"john smith","parent_id":130193,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2006-05-15 16:33:58","modified":"2006-05-15 16:33:58","fileurl":""},{"id":157733,"heading":"case close","article":"The case has been dropped.","author":"V","parent_id":130193,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2006-05-17 17:59:16","modified":"2006-05-17 17:59:16","fileurl":""}]}