More on lawn signs

My lawn sign post from Wednesday drew some attention from readers. After talking with Sam Pedroza again the following day, it turns out volunteers with the Democratic Club of Claremont was putting up signs for Pedroza and Robin Haulman, both Democrats, in the yards of DCC members. But if members were not home when DCC volunteers showed up, the signs went up in their yards anyways.

Strangely enough, I got a voice message the morning after my post from Rudy Mann, who complained that someone put a lawn sign from candidate Opanyi Nasiali, a Republican, in his front yard. Mann is the husband of DCC president Zephyr Tate-Mann and an active volunteer in the club.

We've been playing phone since then, so I haven't had the chance to ask Mann if he was one of the volunteers putting up lawn signs in DCC member's yards without asking permission first. If so, it seems odd to me and a bit ironic that he's complaining about an unwanted lawn sign while his DCC was going around doing the same thing to its members.

No charges over debacle at the health care reform debate

The LA County District Attorney's Office announced last week that it will not file criminal charges against Charles Cox for his role at the August 27 health care reform debate. Citing a California Supreme Court decision on freedom of speech at public meetings, the DA's Office determined that Cox's disruptive actions did not warrant criminal charges.

"It is clear that many in the room were disturbed by the acts of Mr. Cox, but it is unlikely that ... can be proved beyond a reasonable doubt [in court]," according to a charge evaluation worksheet from the DA's Office.

Two weeks ago, the DA's Office declined to file criminal charges against organizer Rudy Mann, who was cited for battery at the debate upon the request of Cox. Cox claimed to Claremont police that he was assaulted by Mann at the meeting.

Tomorrow night, the city council will hear a full report from Claremont Police Chief Paul Cooper about the incident and the police's response. Residents have complained over the Police Department's lack of presence at the meeting and perceived unfair treatment by investigating officers.

Police Commission to review health care debate altercation

The Police Commission will hold a special session on Thursday night to examine the police response to the health care reform debate on August 27.

The staff report states that an internal investigation is underway partly because "the actual responses by police personnel to the calls for service generated by the disruptions were not dealt with in an effective and professional manner."

The report states that disciplinary action could be taken against the officer who responded to the scene. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. in the city council chambers.

In related news, charges were not filed by the District Attorney's Office against Rudy Mann, who was cited by police at the event for battery. The DA is still considering whether to file charges against Charles Cox for disrupting a public meeting.

A mess that could have been avoided

Sparks flew at Tuesday night's city council meeting with a number of residents upset over the Claremont Police Department's handling of the health care reform debate.

Members of the Democratic Club of Claremont rallied around Rudy Mann, who was cited for allegedly assaulting a disruptive participant, Charles Cox.

Andrew Winnick, a DCC member and a Human Services Commissioner, said police should have been aware of a potential threat and called their response a "major failure."

Mann also spoke out at the meeting. He said he was "denied his right to file a complaint against this person who committed this crime against me and against the public."

The police officer who did show up cited Mann for assault but refused to cite Cox for disrupting the meeting. Both men were attempting to make citizen's arrests against each other, but the officer refused to handle Mann's request.

So the officer either showed bias against Mann or simply did not understand how citizen's arrests should be handled. Either case is inexcusable.

Another speaker, Carolyn Gonzalez, President of the Mountain View Republican Club, also addressed the council. She place the blame on the organizers (the event was sponsored by the Democratic Club of Claremont), calling them "irresponsible" to host the event without any security.

She went on: “[Cox] did stand up. He did shout. He was loud and that is accurate. However what is not being said is that one of the moderators went to him and was poking him in the chest. Physically poking him. He did nothing in response to defend himself. Another gentleman came up, an older man and physically grabbed him. Again, this protester did nothing to defend himself."

I wasn't at the debate, but it seems Cox's whole goal of being there was to draw attention to his pro-life organization, Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust.

He was annoying enough to get organizers to poke, grab, push or otherwise physically confront him. Then he can file a citizen's arrest and get his name and his organization's name some media attention.

If just one police officer had been there throughout the meeting, perhaps none of this mess would have happened. The officer could have removed Cox from the meeting for being disruptive, and organizers would never have touched him.

Police Chief Paul Cooper argued that the Police Department is not a private security force, and the organizers could have hired police to be there.

But I've been to plenty of protests in Claremont, and there's always a police presence. Why have 3 cops at a rally for peace in Iraq and none at a heated health care debate?

It would have been wise to designate at least one officer to monitor the event. After all, health care debates across the country have erupted into yelling matches and even violence.

The follow-up investigation, the citizen's arrests, the accusations of bias and threats of lawsuits could have all been avoided by sending one officer to the 2-hour meeting.

Update on the Health Care Debate altercation

Claremont's town hall debate on health care reform was marred by a mix-up between one of the debate's organizers and a visitor to the event.

The Claremont Police Department has been investigating the matter and last week filed a report with the District Attorney's office. Police expect to hear back later this week from the DA's Office whether charges will be filed against one or both parties.

Outside of the debate, Charles Cox, 21, of Riverside claims that organizer Rudolph Mann pushed or otherwise assaulted him, causing him to fall to the ground and hurt his knee. (I hope he has health insurance.) See the photo above.

Cox wanted Mann arrested for the assault, while Mann wanted Cox arrested for disturbing the meeting. Nobody was actually arrested, but Mann was cited by police.

Cox is reportedly a member of the radical "Christian, pro-life activism organization" called Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust.

Click here to watch footage of Cox captured at the Town Hall debate in Alhambra.

It seems Cox, wearing the same sweaty blue shirt he was wearing at Claremont's town hall debate, likes to draw attention to himself and his cause. In the video, a man appears to punch/push Cox for his excessive chanting while speakers are trying to address the crowd.

I'll have an update on the DA Office's decision as soon as information is available.