{"article":{"id":131993,"heading":"&quot;M&quot; FOR MISDEMEANOR: HOW GARDEN GROVE POLICE MADE UP A CRIME","author":"Duane J. Roberts","created":"2005-07-10 02:48:24","modified":"2024-09-11 17:39:22","last_modified":"Thu, 12 Sep 2024 01:39:22","article":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<?xml encoding=\"UTF-8\"><html><body><p>&gt;&gt;&gt; PLEASE DISTRIBUTE WIDELY &lt;&lt;&lt;&lt; <br><br>  <br>  <br> Friday, July 8, 2005 <br><br> \"M\" FOR MISDEMEANOR: HOW GARDEN GROVE POLICE MADE UP A <br>  <br> CRIME OUT OF THIN AIR <br><br> Policeman issued criminal citation to Indymedia <br>  <br> journalist who dropped a cigarette butt <br><br> By DUANE J. ROBERTS <br>  <br> <a href=\"mailto:duaneroberts92804@yahoo.com\">duaneroberts92804@yahoo.com<\/a> <br><br> GARDEN GROVE, CA -- \"The press is not free, it cost me <br>  <br> over $300,\" remarked Scott Larson, a journalist with <br>  <br> the Independent Media Project, who was quoted in <br>  <br> a brief article entitled, \"Journalist Under Attack <br>  <br> By The Garden Grove Police Department,\" that was <br>  <br> posted anonymously to the la.indymedia.org website <br>  <br> on Wednesday, June 29, 2005. <br><br> In that article, Larson recounted a seemingly bizarre <br>  <br> incident that occurred sometime during the early <br>  <br> morning hours after the May 25th protest against <br>  <br> Minuteman founder Jim Gilchrist where a Garden Grove <br>  <br> Police officer by the name of Lawton cited him for <br>  <br> dropping a cigarette butt. According to Larson, the <br>  <br> citation issued to him was done with malicious <br>  <br> intent: it was done to punish him for videotaping <br>  <br> this same policeman whom he alleges tried to <br>  <br> \"harass and intimidate a peaceful protester\" standing <br>  <br> outside on the public sidewalk of Garden Grove Police <br>  <br> Department headquarters. <br><br> Among other things, the article mentions Larson later <br>  <br> tried to fight the citation in court, but <br>  <br> that the Commissioner handling his case acted with <br>  <br> indifference. According to Larson, the Commissioner <br>  <br> \"seemed to be preoccupied with moving people through <br>  <br> the system as quickly as possible, and did not allow <br>  <br> the opportunity for people to address the court.\" A <br>  <br> $336 fine was imposed. <br><br> During the past week, rumors have been circulating <br>  <br> around the internet about the above posting. People have <br>  <br> asked me if this is true: Did a Garden Grove policeman <br>  <br> write up a ticket to an Indymedia  journalist who dropped a <br>  <br> cigarette butt? After all, this is the same police department <br>  <br> we've all been reading about that raided the Westminister <br>  <br> home of Theresa Dang in search of a lost flashlight, isn't it? <br>  <br> Would it be such a big surprise to anybody now that they <br>  <br> actually stooped this low to harass other people whose only <br>  <br> real crime was to exercise their constitutional right to free <br>  <br> speech and assembly? <br><br> Up until now, Larson, a former Garden Grove resident, <br>  <br> didn't want me to write anything about this matter <br>  <br> until he and his loved ones were many thousands of <br>  <br> miles away from the city he used to live, work, and <br>  <br> play in. \"The Garden Grove Police Department is out of <br>  <br> control,\" Larson told me in a telephone call he made <br>  <br> from the middle of Kansas a couple of days ago. \"I <br>  <br> no longer feel safe in the State of California.\" <br><br> On the evening of Wednesday, May 25th, Scott Larson <br>  <br> was an Indymedia journalist covering the protest <br>  <br> against Minuteman founder Jim Gilchrist, who appeared <br>  <br> at the Garden Grove Woman's Civic Club that night to <br>  <br> deliver a speech before a meeting of the California <br>  <br> Coalition for Immigration Reform. Larson arrived at <br>  <br> the demonstration with a bonafide press credential <br>  <br> that was visible to anybody who saw him; and he <br>  <br> carried all kinds of photographic equipment on him, <br>  <br> including a video camera. <br><br> Larson not only shot numerous photos of the <br>  <br> protest as the evening went on, but he captured on <br>  <br> videotape spectacular images of the Garden Grove <br>  <br> Police officers in action, including a scary <br>  <br> situation where about a half dozen policeman suddenly <br>  <br> charged the crowd and tackled a male protester to <br>  <br> the ground, allegedly shoving a nightstick into his <br>  <br> mouth. (according to Larson, this protester wasn't <br>  <br> doing anything to provoke their incredibly violent <br>  <br> attack) <br><br> Shortly after Garden Grove Police on the scene decided <br>  <br> to declare the protest an \"unlawful assembly\", <br>  <br> Larson was one of about 40 protesters, concerned <br>  <br> citizens, and family members who raced to their <br>  <br> headquarters to learn more about the fate of the <br>  <br> persons who had been arrested. There he continued to <br>  <br> cover events as an Indymedia journalist, filming <br>  <br> people marching on the public sidewalk near the front <br>  <br> entrance who demanded that all the protesters <br>  <br> arrested by police that night be immediately released.  <br><br> But while many people were focusing their attention on <br>  <br> activities taking place directly in front of GGPD <br>  <br> headquarters, a young Mexican woman wearing a bandana <br>  <br> over her face began to look at a small stone memorial <br>  <br> for \"fallen peace officers\" that was off to the side, <br>  <br> just out of everybody's line of sight. As she <br>  <br> began to read the inscriptions imprinted upon it, <br>  <br> one policeman (hereafter to be known as \"Officer <br>  <br> Lawton\") began to watch her like a hawk. <br><br> At first, Officer Lawton just kept a close eye on her. <br>  <br> But he then looked around to see if he himself was <br>  <br> being watched. Believing that nobody was paying <br>  <br> attention to his actions, he began to walk toward her <br>  <br> in a stealth-like manner: he moved slowly and <br>  <br> silently, just like a hungry lion that was getting <br>  <br> ready to pounce upon his prey. The young woman was too <br>  <br> busy reading the words on the monument to take notice <br>  <br> of him coming towards her. <br><br> Although there is no evidence to suggest that Officer <br>  <br> Lawton was planning on arresting or even attacking <br>  <br> this young woman, nobody wanted to risk that <br>  <br> possibility. To the policeman's surprise, a few people <br>  <br> had in fact been watching him from the corner of their <br>  <br> eye; they suddenly sprung up from where they had been <br>  <br> seated and began to rush to her defense. Larson ran <br>  <br> over with his video camera and filmed all of his <br>  <br> movements. He and others began yelling loudly to let <br>  <br> everybody know what was going on. <br><br> This sudden burst of attention caused Officer Lawton <br>  <br> to become temporarily disoriented. He began stumbling <br>  <br> around like a drunken sailor, almost tripping over <br>  <br> himself at one point. But when he quickly came to his <br>  <br> senses, Lawton began to back away from the young <br>  <br> woman, apparently realizing how awkward it looked <br>  <br> for him to be in such close proximity to a protester whom <br>  <br> many witnesses agree was doing nothing wrong.  <br><br> With the guidance of her friends, the young woman <br>  <br> walked back to safety of the crowd. And when things <br>  <br> calmed down a bit, most people sat back down. They <br>  <br> realized that whatever Officer Lawton was planning <br>  <br> to do, it had been foiled by their vigilant response <br>  <br> to his rather questionable behavior. <br><br> After that incident, Larson felt a bit nervous. He <br>  <br> pulled a cigarette out of his pocket, lighted it up, <br>  <br> and began puffing on it. The nicotine calmed him <br>  <br> down, somewhat. But when he finished smoking, he <br>  <br> threw the butt down onto the pavement, not thinking <br>  <br> about what he had done. That's when Officer Lawton <br>  <br> sprung into action. It apparently was payback time. <br><br> Officer Lawton, who had been staring at Larson, called <br>  <br> him to the side and proceeded to write him up a ticket <br>  <br> for \"improper disposal of a cigarette.\" According to <br>  <br> the citation, Larson was charged with violating <br>  <br> Section 23111 of the California Vehicle Code which <br>  <br> reads: <br><br>    No person in any vehicle and <br>  <br>    no pedestrian shall throw or <br>  <br>    discharge from or upon any <br>  <br>    road or highway or adjoining <br>  <br>    area, public or private, any <br>  <br>    lighted or nonlighted cigarette, <br>  <br>    cigar, match, or any flaming <br>  <br>    or glowing substance. <br><br> But this was no ordinary ticket. Officer Lawton wrote <br>  <br> an \"M\" for misdemeanor on it. Instead of citing Larson <br>  <br> with the usual \"littering\" infraction, he charged <br>  <br> him with committing a criminal offense that was <br>  <br> punishable for up to a year in jail and a huge fine. <br><br> \"Is this police harassment?\" Larson remembered asking <br>  <br> Officer Lawton as he wrote up the citation. The rather <br>  <br> hefty policeman allegedly smiled and replied, \"Yes.\" <br><br> Officer Lawton might have had a few chuckles that <br>  <br> morning by writing up a misdemeanor criminal citation <br>  <br> against a man whose only offense was to drop a <br>  <br> cigarette butt. But the truth is, the last laugh was <br>  <br> on him and the GGPD.  <br><br> Although various provisions within the California <br>  <br> Vehicle Code can either be enforced as an infraction <br>  <br> or a misdemeanor depending on the circumstances, there <br>  <br> are statutory limits on how overzealous policemen like <br>  <br> Officer Lawton can choose to enforce these laws. <br><br> In Larson's case, he was lucky. A careful examination <br>  <br> of the California Vehicle Code shows that what Officer <br>  <br> Lawton did to him was in direct conflict of existing state <br>  <br> law. Section 40000.28 of the Vehicle Code makes it <br>  <br> explicitly clear that Section 23111 cannot be enforced <br>  <br> as misdemeanor unless the person charged with it is <br>  <br> driving or operating a motor vehicle at the time the <br>  <br> offense has been committed; on the other hand, a <br>  <br> pedestrian who violates this law can only be cited for <br>  <br> an infraction.  <br><br> Since Larson was standing on the sidewalk the moment <br>  <br> he dropped the cigarette butt, the Garden Grove Police <br>  <br> had no statutory authority to charge him with a <br>  <br> crime other than a simple infraction. Hence, <br>  <br> when they made an attempt to file this case <br>  <br> as a misdemeanor offense, they soon found out <br>  <br> that state law could offer them no justification for them <br>  <br> to do so. In essence, they slammed their heads <br>  <br> into a legal brick wall.  <br><br> And indeed, the minutes of the \"Docket Report\" for <br>  <br> Larson's case ( #GG101255IA) obtained from the <br>  <br> Orange County Superior Court on the afternoon of <br>  <br> Friday, July 1st clearly show that the GGPD had <br>  <br> no choice but to handle the citation as an <br>  <br> infraction. According to an entry made by a court <br>  <br> clerk on June 21st, they filed this case as <br>  <br> an \"INFRACTION charge of 23111 VC filed as <br>  <br> count 1. Date of violation: 05\/26\/05\". Another entry <br>  <br> posted the very next day mentioned \"Courtesy Notice <br>  <br> sent\" -- meaning that the court had sent Larson a <br>  <br> letter reminding him of the date, time, and location of <br>  <br> his pending hearing, and information about the <br>  <br> lesser charge he was now facing. <br><br> When I asked Larson if he received any letters, <br>  <br> he acknowledged that about a week before his <br>  <br> scheduled court appearance, he received one in his <br>  <br> mailbox. What did it say? It informed him that <br>  <br> the citation issued by Officer Lawton on the <br>  <br> morning of May 26th had been \"miswritten as a <br>  <br> ticket\".  <br><br> On the morning of Wednesday, June 29th, Larson <br>  <br> drove from his Garden Grove home to the <br>  <br> West Justice Center in the City of Westminster <br>  <br> and appeared before Commissioner Kenneth I. Schwartz  <br>  <br> in Dept. W2. When his name was called, he made an <br>  <br> attempt to argue his case before Commissioner <br>  <br> Schwartz; but Schwartz wanted none of that. Larson <br>  <br> told me that the Commissioner appeared to be <br>  <br> \"rushing the cases through system\" and was putting <br>  <br> pressure on everybody who came before him to enter <br>  <br> a guilty plea. After squabbling a bit with the Commissioner, <br>  <br> Larson eventually capitulated. According to minutes <br>  <br> of the \"Docket Report\", Larson plead \"GUILTY as to <br>  <br> count(s) 1.\" Commissioner Schwartz then <br>  <br> ordered him to go forthwith to the clerk's office and <br>  <br> pay $336 worth of fines, fees, and penalty assessments. <br>  <br> He promptly paid it and left the courthouse. <br><br> When I asked Larson about what he thought about <br>  <br> all of this, he said it really doesn't matter to <br>  <br> him anymore now because he's thousands of miles <br>  <br> away from California. Although he told me he didn't <br>  <br> originally want to plead guilty nor pay all <br>  <br> that money, he decided to do whatever it took <br>  <br> to settle this matter once and for all; he <br>  <br> didn't want it to stop him and his family from <br>  <br> fleeing the state: \"Sometimes I have to realize <br>  <br> that the system does bite back.\" <br><br> -------------------------------------- <br><br> Permission granted for reproduction for the above work <br>  <br> in any non-profit publication provided that credit is <br>  <br> given to the author of this work. <br><br> -------------------------------------- <br>  <br> FOR MORE INFO ABOUT SCOTT LARSON <br>  <br> -------------------------------------- <br><br> Copy of the \"Docket Report\" for Scott Larson's case  <br>  <br> (#GG101255IA) obtained from the Orange County <br>  <br> Superior Court on the afternoon of July 1st can be <br>  <br> downloaded below from the la.indymedia.org website. <br>  <br> Please see below. <br><br> -------------------------------------- <br><br> Statutory provisions within the California Vehicle <br>  <br> Code that pertain to Scott Larson's citation and <br>  <br> regulate how Section 23111 can be enforced by law <br>  <br> enforcement agents and judicial officers: <br><br> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/pubs\/vctop\/d11\/vc23111.htm\">http:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/pubs\/vctop\/d11\/vc23111.htm<\/a> <br>  <br> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/pubs\/vctop\/d17\/vc40000_1.htm\">http:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/pubs\/vctop\/d17\/vc40000_1.htm<\/a> <br>  <br> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/pubs\/vctop\/d17\/vc40000_28.htm\">http:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/pubs\/vctop\/d17\/vc40000_28.htm<\/a> <br>  <br> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/pubs\/vctop\/d18\/vc42001_7.htm\">http:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/pubs\/vctop\/d18\/vc42001_7.htm<\/a> <br><br> -------------------------------------- <br><br> Journalist Under Attack By The Garden Grove Police <br>  <br> Department <br>  <br> 1Planet1People <br>  <br> 6\/29\/05 <br>  <br> la.indymedia.org <br><br> <a href=\"http:\/\/la.indymedia.org\/news\/2005\/06\/131121.php\">http:\/\/la.indymedia.org\/news\/2005\/06\/131121.php<\/a> <br><br> -------------------------------------- <br><br> Minutes of Tuesday, June 14th meeting of the Garden <br>  <br> Grove City Council where Scott Larson, Theresa Dang, <br>  <br> and others spoke critically of the police <br>  <br> 6\/14\/05 <br>  <br> City of Garden Grove <br><br> <a href=\"http:\/\/ch.ci.garden-grove.ca.us\/internet\/pdf\/afm\/cc\/m06142005.pdf\">http:\/\/ch.ci.garden-grove.ca.us\/internet\/pdf\/afm\/cc\/m06142005.pdf<\/a> <br><br> -------------------------------------- <br><br> To learn more about how you can help people who were <br>  <br> either arrested or criminally charged for various <br>  <br> offenses by Garden Grove Police as a consequence of <br>  <br> their participation at the May 25th protest against <br>  <br> Minuteman founder Jim Gilchrist, please go to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.may25.org\">http:\/\/www.may25.org<\/a> or email <a href=\"mailto:may25legaldefense@yahoo.com\">may25legaldefense@yahoo.com<\/a>. <br>  <br> Please consider making a financial contribution. <br><br> Also check la.indymedia.org regularly for the latest <br>  <br> news on this matter as they are covering this matter <br>  <br> very aggressively. <br><br> -------------------------------------- <br>  <br> SEE THE FOLLOWING LINKS FOR OTHER INFO <br>  <br> -------------------------------------- <br><br> Minuteman Flap Leads to Home Search <br>  <br> Daniel Yi <br>  <br> 6\/18\/05 <br>  <br> The Los Angeles Times <br><br> <a href=\"http:\/\/la.indymedia.org\/news\/2005\/06\/129652.php\">http:\/\/la.indymedia.org\/news\/2005\/06\/129652.php<\/a> <br><br> -------------------------------------- <br><br> GG Police pursue phony criminal charge against woman <br>  <br> hit by Minuteman supporter <br>  <br> Duane Roberts <br>  <br> 6\/17\/05 <br>  <br> la.indymedia.org <br><br> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.la.indymedia.org\/news\/2005\/06\/129491.php\">http:\/\/www.la.indymedia.org\/news\/2005\/06\/129491.php<\/a> <br><br> -------------------------------------- <br><br> No probe of police conduct at anti-Minuteman protest <br>  <br> Eleeza Agopian <br>  <br> 6\/15\/05 <br>  <br> The Orange County Register <br><br> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/ocr\/2005\/06\/15\/sections\/local\/local\/article_560039.php\">http:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/ocr\/2005\/06\/15\/sections\/local\/local\/article_560039.php<\/a> <br><br> -------------------------------------- <br><br> The first photo on this page is of Theresa Dang, one <br>  <br> of four persons struck by a minivan driven by Hal <br>  <br> Netkin <br>  <br> LA-IMC <br>  <br> 5\/25\/05 <br>  <br> la.indymedia.org <br><br> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.la.indymedia.org\/news\/2005\/05\/127222.php\">http:\/\/www.la.indymedia.org\/news\/2005\/05\/127222.php<\/a> <br><br> -------------------------------------- <br><br> Garden Grove Police Lt. Mike Handfield sends me a <br>  <br> message about Theresa Dang <br>  <br> Duane Roberts <br>  <br> 6\/21\/05 <br>  <br> la.indymedia.org <br><br> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.la.indymedia.org\/news\/2005\/06\/130193.php\">http:\/\/www.la.indymedia.org\/news\/2005\/06\/130193.php<\/a>  <br><br> -------------------------------------- <br>  <br> <\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","contact":"duaneroberts92804@yahoo.com","link":"","address":"","phone":"","parent_id":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","summary":"People have asked me if this is true: Did a Garden Grove policeman write up a ticket to an Indymedia  journalist who dropped a cigarette butt? After all, this is the same police department we've all been reading about that raided the Westminister home of Theresa Dang in search of a lost flashlight, isn't it? Would it be such a big surprise to anybody now that they actually stooped this low to harass other people whose only real crime was to exercise their constitutional right to free speech and assembly?","numcomment":2,"fileurl":"\/uploads\/2005\/07\/gg101255ia.jpg","filesize":"232.9 kibibytes","article_url":"\/news\/2005\/07\/131993.php","image":{"original":"\/uploads\/2005\/07\/gg101255ia.jpg","small":"\/uploads\/2005\/07\/gg101255ia.jpgthumb.jpg","medium":"\/uploads\/2005\/07\/gg101255ia.jpgmid.jpg"}},"attachments":[{"id":131994,"heading":"Downloadable PDF file of the &quot;Docket Report&quot; for Scott Larson's case (#GG101255I","article":"Downloadable PDF of the &quot;Docket Report&quot; for Scott Larson's case (#GG101255IA) obtained from the Orange County Superior Court on the afternoon of Friday, July 1st.","author":"Duane J. Roberts","parent_id":131993,"mime_type":"application\/pdf","created":"2005-07-10 02:48:24","modified":"2005-08-15 03:14:56","fileurl":"\/usr\/local\/www-domains\/la.indymedia.org\/public\/uploads\/2005\/07\/larsondocket.pdf"}],"comments":[{"id":132014,"heading":"here you go","article":"WIDELY - my browser had some trouble with the width..\r\n\r\n","author":"Hex","parent_id":131993,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","created":"2005-07-10 12:15:53","modified":"2005-08-15 03:14:56","fileurl":"\/usr\/local\/www-domains\/la.indymedia.org\/public\/uploads\/2005\/07\/gg1012x2.jpg","image":{"original":"\/usr\/local\/www-domains\/la.indymedia.org\/public\/uploads\/2005\/07\/gg1012x2.jpg"}},{"id":132018,"heading":"oh sorry man - here's the whole document","article":"This is about as good as I could get it - it's 1\/10'th the size of the PDF and legible plus fits on a webpage without stretching , might want to copy and use it..\r\n\r\n","author":"Hex","parent_id":131993,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","created":"2005-07-10 12:48:02","modified":"2005-08-15 03:14:56","fileurl":"\/usr\/local\/www-domains\/la.indymedia.org\/public\/uploads\/2005\/07\/docscale.jpg","image":{"original":"\/usr\/local\/www-domains\/la.indymedia.org\/public\/uploads\/2005\/07\/docscale.jpg"}}]}