Barry Levinson
Here are a few New Year’s wishes for our City of Fullerton
That the Fullerton Downtown Core and Corridor Special Project is voting down by our City Council. After all if all 5 members voted against one town home project recently in Fullerton for not fitting into either the neighborhood nor with the Fullerton General Plan then it should be a slam dunk that the DCCSP should be voted down on the very same grounds.
- That since the OC Register has stated the our own Police Chief Dan Hughes is one of the most influential people in Orange County due to the transparency he supposedly has brought to the FPD, that he actually starts answering simple questions like the one I posed to him and the city council 4 times at city council meetings more than 6 months ago. Simply who has replaced retired Bill Wallis who headed up monitoring sex offenders in the City of Fullerton.
- A Fullerton Police Officer was accused by approximately 10 arrestees that they were going to get the faces smashed in by the police after a January 18, 2014 Kelly Thomas demonstration. We were told way back in June from Mr. Transparency, Dan Hughes that the DAR was given over to the DA’s office as evidence and yet absolutely no action has been taken against that officer nor has the DAR been released to the public. In 2015 this DAR must be released by the FPD.
- Police Chief Hughes should make it his number one priority to get the state legislature to repeal the Police Officers Bill of Rights. This very poorly designed law keeps Fullerton and all Californians in the dark as to complaints filed against officers or any disciplinary actions taken against them. This is the one thing more than any other that would truly make the FPD more transparent.
- And as it relates to the story I reported below, that when the FPD finally purchases body cameras for its officers that it must be on 100% of the time when officers are on duty. Shutting them off should be grounds for firing any Fullerton officer. Without these mandatory rules, the cameras will not do what they are suppose to do, namely provide video evidence of actions taken by both the police and the suspects.
- Finally I wish that all those people especially in high level positions that apparently think it is okay to hate or defame people that they try to get a little bit more love in their hearts and more integrity in their souls.
Happy New Year Everyone!
I report, you decide.
Barry Levinson
#1 by Sick too on January 5, 2015 - 2:58 pm
Now let’s see. Which scenario is more plausible?
That there is a conspiracy against Mr Levinson involving three city council members, the city manager, police chief and, AT&T
OR
He really is a bully who intimidated a woman by getting in her face and blocking her exit from city hall.
Those citizens who have been on the receiving end of Mr Levinson’s temper should know the answer.
#2 by Diane H on January 5, 2015 - 4:27 pm
These are the comments I read at the mid November Fullerton city council meeting, having been present at the time and place of the complaint. After seeing for myself the actions and words of those that we put our trust in, I can only say that we are at a very far distance from honesty in Fullerton and trust in our elected officials and local media is not to be had.
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“Last city council meeting I was obligated to attend my son’s Scout meeting and so was unable to be here to make a statement on Mr. Levinson’s behalf. This is my statement:
“I was present at the time in which the allegations were made against two individuals, one of them being Mr. Levinson. I was interviewed by a Fullerton police detective a few weeks ago.
Of the allegations made against Mr. Levinson, I was not able to corroborate one of them. That is, the claims made against Mr. Levinson I did not know as true or what actually happened.”
It was not until Friday, October 24, that I saw the actual complaint. I was right there. The statements made by the AT&T people I do not know as the truth. This was a non-event that was hyped to the point of fabrication, allowing everyone, including the media with a bias against these men to turn this into an platform to publicly impugn character, casting them as anti women. Nothing could be farther from the truth. This anti-women message translated over into printed campaign materials, as well as campaign phone calls.
My understanding is that the decision from the DA’s office was to not prosecute because the evidence did not support going forward. The DA decision was known before Tuesdays city council meeting, so when Mr. Chaffee, Msses. Fitzgerald and Flory proceeded to vote to have Mr. Levinson removed as Parks & Rec Chair, it made no sense.
Only when I put this in the context of a civically engaged Fullerton resident who has not kept quiet on matters, stating positions contrary to these three city council members, does this make sense. To Fullerton’s credit, we have someone that works to understand the issues and is willing to fully participate in the civic process. All things considered, I believe what went on here was an organized attempt to silence Mr. Levinson’s voice.
Honesty and integrity are very important in our city council members, they must have our trust. To that end, please start by releasing the DAR associated with the Kelly Thomas verdict protest. Claims by the protesters, threats of bodily harm from an officer in uniform, must not be swept under the rug or countered with strong FPD endorsements as Mssses. Flory and Fitzgerald did.
It’s time for the City council to begin anew, we need to be open and truthful to move past this. Please establish a citizen oversight committee of the Fullerton police dept. Make it independent of the city council and membership determined by and independent 3rd party.
Finally, there are many good men and women in the Fullerton Police Dept. I know that every time my mother’s security alarm goes off, they respond, and I have the pleasure of meeting them.
Thank you.