mercurynews--2020-07-03--Police unions have helped shield officers from accountability. Now they’re facing unprecedented back

Police unions have helped shield officers from accountability. Now they’re facing unprecedented backlash

One San Antonio police officer repeatedly used the n-word as he arrested a Black man for trespassing at a mall .
Another told a man he could go free if he beat the officer in a fistfight .
A third allegedly tried to give a homeless man a sandwich filled with dog feces .
All of them were fired by the police chief .
And all of them were rehired after an arbitrator overturned their dismissals — in a process laid out in the contract between the city and the powerful police union .
In more than four out of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ruled on officer terminations over the last decade , those firings were overturned , according to data provided by the San Antonio police department .
“ We ’ ve seen too many cases where the arbitrator has overturned the chief ’ s decision when it ’ s as clear as day that that officer accused of misconduct should no longer be on the force , ” Ron Nirenberg , the city ’ s mayor , told CNN .
“ It ’ s egregious.
” San Antonio is hardly an exception : Around the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decisive role in shaping department policies and shielding bad cops from accountability , experts say .
Now , as protests over the police killing of George Floyd have refocused national attention on police misconduct , unions representing officers are facing a wave of new scrutiny and an unprecedented political backlash .
More than 85 % of police contracts in major cities around the country include language limiting oversight or discipline of officers , according to an analysis by Campaign Zero , a criminal justice reform advocacy group .
Often negotiated behind closed doors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by local politicians whose campaigns have been bankrolled by the same unions they ’ re dealing with .
And police unions have only grown in financial power in recent years : The total assets of 56 large city police unions jumped by almost a third between 2011 and 2017 , according to a CNN analysis of IRS tax filing data .
In the wake of Floyd ’ s death , however , the tide has started to turn , with some cities moving to reform their collective bargaining procedures and labor activists edging @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rushin , a Loyola University Chicago law professor who has studied police unions and contracts , said a national rethinking of the role of police unions could have a significant impact in holding more cops accountable .
“ This moment feels different , ” he said .
“ This could be a really important inflection point.
” In cities around the country , police officers are some of the most difficult government employees to fire thanks to favorable contract provisions negotiated by local unions .
Contracts block accountability in various ways : Some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be destroyed .
Others put limits on internal investigations , give officers advance notice for interrogations or require the city to pay if officers are held liable for misconduct in court .
Rushin , who analyzed more than 650 police union contracts around the country , found in a 2019 paper that more than two thirds of the contracts forced police departments to go through an appeals process when they wanted to fire or discipline officers , placing the final decisions in the hands of arbitrators “ selected , in part , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aggrieved officer.
” That means that even if those cities approve tough new regulations about use of force , for example , it could be hard to jettison cops who don ’ t follow the rules .
Those disciplinary procedures are negotiated in the contract bargaining process at the same time as issues like salaries , wages and benefits for officers , Rushin said .
“ Particularly in budget-strapped cities , when officials can ’ t meet the financial demands of the union , the concession they ’ re ultimately forced to make @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ They can bury the disciplinary measures in the contract , and the public may not understand what it means , even as the monetary savings make the headlines.
” Across the country , union-negotiated disciplinary procedures help keep officers with problematic records on the job .
In Minneapolis , for example , only about 1.5 % of complaints filed against officers resulted in suspensions , terminations or demotions between 2013 and 2019 , according to a CNN analysis of data from the city ’ s Office of Police Conduct Review .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ fired for high-profile fatal shootings .
In Miami , an arbitrator in 2014 ordered the police department to reinstate detective Reynaldo Goyos , who fatally shot an unarmed man in a shooting that a department review board ruled was “ unjustified.
” And in Oakland , officer Hector Jimenez won his job back in arbitration in 2011 after being fired for fatally shooting two unarmed men in separate incidents within a year , shooting one in the back .
Some research has suggested a relationship between law enforcement collective bargaining and misconduct .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ misconduct complaints against Florida sheriff ’ s deputies increased after they won the right to collectively bargain in 2003 .
Police union leaders say the discipline rules they ’ ve won in contract negotiations are important to guarantee their members due process , and that officers deserve strong protections due to the danger and unpredictability of their jobs .
“ Police officers are under attack , and I think you ’ re going to see less people sign up for the job , ” said Jeff Roorda , executive director of the St. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stymied an attempt by the local district attorney to form an independent unit to probe police misconduct .
“ What we do is defend police officers ’ due process rights , the same rights every American has.
” But other experts argue that police contracts are so favorable for officers largely because of the political power of unions and their influence among local elected officials .
“ Police unions have much more protection than other government or other public unions , ” said L. Song Richardson , dean of the law school at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In several cities , officers have elected more bombastic leaders in recent years , thrusting their unions into culture war battles and strongly opposing reforms .
In Minneapolis , union president Bob Kroll has called the protests over Floyd ’ s death a “ terrorist movement , ” maligned Floyd for having a “ violent criminal history , ” and bragged that none of the three police shootings he ’ s been involved in has bothered him .
And in Chicago , officers in May elected a new president , John Catanzara , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the history of the department , the Chicago Sun-Times reported .
Even as he took office leading the city ’ s cops , Catanzara had been stripped of his own police powers , limiting when he can carry his gun and badge .
The department is investigating him for filing a false or misleading police report against a former superintendent after Catanzara accused the superintendent of allowing protesters to block a highway in 2018 .
Catanzara has previously been reprimanded and investigated for social media posts supporting President Donald Trump , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the job .
And last month , Catanzara declared that any officer who kneeled in support of protesters while in their uniform could be kicked out of the union .
A spokeswoman for Catanzara declined an interview request from CNN , and Kroll did not respond to a request for comment .
Why fired cops get hired again Policing experts say that San Antonio ’ s union-negotiated contract is among the most favorable for a police union .
Texas law puts final decisions about officer discipline in the hands of arbitrators chosen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , in most cases , blocks the department from imposing discipline for any incident that took place more than 180 days earlier .
San Antonio ’ s contract with the San Antonio Police Officers Association goes farther , limiting past incidents arbitrators can take into account when deciding whether to uphold punishments .
Other provisions in the contract restrict interrogations of officers during internal affairs investigations and , in some cases , allow cops to avoid a suspension of up to 45 days if they forfeit accumulated vacation , bonus time or holiday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2010 that were ruled on by arbitrators , 10 were overturned , or about 42 % , according to the department ’ s data , which was first reported by the San Antonio Express-News .
In 12 other termination cases , officers resigned or retired before the case went before an arbitrator , and in 20 other cases the chief settled with officers , allowing them to come back with a reduced punishment .
Those settlements often come at the advice of the department ’ s lawyers , and some are entered into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ overturn a termination , a SAPD spokesman said .
Out of 81 police contracts analyzed by Campaign Zero , San Antonio ’ s is one of just six that contain language limiting accountability in all of the areas the group tracked .
Rushin ’ s analysis also found it to be “ one of the most deferential to law enforcement interests , ” he said .
The contract was approved by an 8-2 majority on the city council in 2016 , over objections from local activists , who said the discipline language made @ @ @ @ @ @ @ According to Texas campaign finance data , the San Antonio union ’ s political action committee has spent more than $ 2.3 million since 2010 , including more than $ 300,000 in direct contributions to political candidates .
The group had previously made donations to half of the city council members who voted for the 2016 contract , as well as the mayor who negotiated it .
William McManus , the police chief , called the contract ’ s limits on discipline frustrating .
“ To have an arbitrator undermine the chief ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for their department and their community contributes to the notion that there is no police accountability , ” he said in a statement .
But union president Mike Helle said the process defended officers from being subject to the chief ’ s “ whims.
” “ There ’ s nobody on this police department that wants a policeman that ’ s bad because it tarnishes all of us , ” Helle told CNN .
“ The only thing that we have negotiated for and we continue to hope for is that we just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cops ‘ need to be off the street ’ Over the years , San Antonio arbitrators have overturned terminations for eyebrow-raising examples of misconduct , even when none of the facts were in dispute .
In July 2018 body camera audio captured Officer Tim Garcia repeatedly using the n-word as he arrested a Black man for trespassing at a local mall .
A review board recommended Garcia be fired , and McManus moved to “ indefinitely suspend ” him from the force .
At Garcia ’ s disciplinary hearing in 2019 , McManus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ language I have ever heard used during an arrest , ” according to arbitration records .
But the arbitrator , Thomas Cipolla , disagreed with the punishment , reducing Garcia ’ s sentence to a 10-month unpaid suspension and sending him back to the force .
“ One diatribe does not automatically denote a racist , ” Cipolla wrote in the ruling .
“ I find myself coming to the conclusion that ( Garcia ) was off that day and said some awful things he should not have said and is now sorry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ still on the force , declined to comment through a police spokesman , but the union has vocally defended him , with Helle telling the Express-News last month that using the n-word was as offensive as Mayor Nirenberg using the word “ goddamn ” in a recent speech about police violence .
Other officers had their terminations overturned after bizarre behavior .
Officer Matthew Belver was fired in 2016 after a dashboard camera captured him removing an arrestee ’ s handcuffs and making him an offer : If he beat him in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The arrestee declined .
In arguing for Belver ’ s termination , the department pointed to another 2010 incident in which he allegedly challenged another arrestee to a fight and then punched him in the face .
But the police contract negotiated by the union bars the department from invoking years-old cases to justify firings , except under certain circumstances — a provision the arbitrator noted in his decision reducing the 2016 firing to a 45-day unpaid suspension .
Belver , who declined to comment , is still on the force but is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all times , a department spokesman said .
Officer Matthew Luckhurst was fired in 2016 after admitting he put dog feces between a slice of bread and left it near a homeless man .
The man didn ’ t eat it , but another officer testified that Luckhurst had later spread rumors that he force-fed the man the sandwich , according to the arbitration ruling , and the chief concluded his behavior was “ inhumane.
” The arbitrator reduced Luckhurst ’ s punishment to a five-day suspension because it took the chief more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the case .
But Luckhurst was fired again just a few weeks after his first termination for another poop-related incident : smearing a brown “ boba tea smoothie ” on the seat of the only toilet in the women ’ s locker room of a police station , according to arbitration documents .
That decision was upheld by an arbitrator last month .
Luckhurst did not respond to a request for comment .
Some officers have faced termination only to be returned to the force again and again .
One lieutenant , Lee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his more than two-decade career at the department for offenses ranging from racist statements to dating violence allegations , CNN affiliate KSAT and the Express-News reported .
Again and again , the chief settled to bring him back or an arbitrator reinstated him .
Rakun retired from the force earlier this year as part of his last disciplinary settlement , the department said .
In a text message , Rakun declined to comment on his disciplinary record but argued that the union ’ s contracts were fair and noted that “ many of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reform ’ likely have their signatures on these agreements time after time.
” In other cases , the police chief reversed his own decision to terminate officers while facing pressure from the union and the prospect of being overturned by an arbitrator .
In February 2016 Officer John Lee shot and killed Antronie Scott , an unarmed Black man , after mistaking the cell phone he was holding for a gun .
McManus initially moved to suspend Lee indefinitely .
Two weeks later the police union began voting on a “ no confidence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ day , KSAT reported , McManus changed his mind and allowed Lee to return to the force after additional training .
A department spokesman said the chief ’ s reversal was not in response to the no confidence vote but was “ made to afford ( Lee ) due process with respect to his rights under the collective bargaining agreement.
” Lee never faced criminal charges over the shooting .
Scott ’ s widow and mother sued the city and Lee , and the case is ongoing .
Lee resigned from the department @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him did not respond to a request for comment .
In court documents , Lee ’ s attorney has argued that he is protected by qualified immunity , a legal protection that is often used to block lawsuits against police officers .
The city ’ s police contract expires next year .
Gregory Hudspeth , the president of the local San Antonio NAACP branch , said that most San Antonians didn ’ t seem to pay much attention to the contract when it was negotiated four years ago — but that he and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stronger spotlight on the issue during the upcoming negotiations .
“ The bad officers need to be off the street , or we ’ re going to have an incident like the George Floyd case here , ” he said .
The current arbitration system , Hudspeth said , seems to be designed to “ wait until an officer causes someone ’ s death before they say it ’ s worth terminating him.
” As anger has grown over police use of force in recent weeks , some cities are chipping away at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In Minneapolis , chief Medaria Arradondo announced last month he was withdrawing from contract negotiations with the union .
Washington , D.C. , passed a new ordinance removing disciplinary rules from the scope of collective bargaining .
And Chicago put in place new reforms allowing anonymous complaints in a contract with police supervisors signed last week .
Dozens of elected officials around the country have also signed onto a national pledge to reject donations from the Fraternal Order of Police , a national police union affiliated with many of the largest local @ @ @ @ @ @ @ example , the mayor and all 10 members of the city council said last month they would not accept contributions from the local police union .
Some other labor groups are moving to distance themselves from police unions .
In Seattle , a county labor council voted to expel the city ’ s police union from its membership last month , saying the union wasn ’ t “ actively working to dismantle racism in their institution and society at large.
” The union responded in a statement that the decision “ should sound @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unions across our region , state and nation that they ’ re next.
” Nationally , the board of labor giant AFL-CIO called last month for the resignation of Kroll and supported the Seattle group .
But the union ’ s board said it would not cut ties with police unions it is affiliated with , arguing in a statement that “ police officers , and everyone who works for a living , have the right to collective bargaining.
” “ We believe the best way to use our influence on the issue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ police affiliates rather than isolate them , ” the board wrote .
In the wake of the backlash , some police unions are moving to propose their own reforms to the profession — a possible bid to head off more sweeping changes .
• Outside investigator to look into Black man ’ s arrest after dancing in East Bay street • Berkeley City Council defunds police department to the tune of $ 9.2 million • ‘ What I ’ ve been saying all along ’ : Officer suing SJPD for Islamophobia weighs in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ review what kind of calls get a police response The police unions of Los Angeles , San Jose and San Francisco released a national reform plan last month laying out proposals like a database of officers fired for gross misconduct , a use of force standard that emphasizes de-escalation and more broadly available data on police use of force .
“ No words can convey our collective disgust and sorrow for the murder of George Floyd , ” the unions wrote in a newspaper ad announcing the proposals .
“ We have an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ beings to express our sorrow by taking action.
” But local activists say their suggestions don ’ t go far enough .
“ They ’ re just trying to be pre-emptive before communities come up with something more restrictive to them , ” Neva Walker , executive director of a San Francisco community organizing group , said of the California unions .
“ It ’ s not about the individual officers — it ’ s about changing the whole system .
”

One San Antonio police officer repeatedly used the n-word as he arrested a Black man for trespassing at a mall. Another told a man he could go free if he beat the officer in a fistfight. A third allegedly tried to give a homeless man a sandwich filled with dog feces.
All of them were fired by the police chief. And all of them were rehired after an arbitrator overturned their dismissals — in a process laid out in the contract between the city and the powerful police union.
In more than four out of 10 of the cases in which arbitrators ruled on officer terminations over the last decade, those firings were overturned, according to data provided by the San Antonio police department.
“We’ve seen too many cases where the arbitrator has overturned the chief’s decision when it’s as clear as day that that officer accused of misconduct should no longer be on the force,” Ron Nirenberg, the city’s mayor, told CNN. “It’s egregious.”
San Antonio is hardly an exception: Around the country, police unions have played a decisive role in shaping department policies and shielding bad cops from accountability, experts say.
Now, as protests over the police killing of George Floyd have refocused national attention on police misconduct, unions representing officers are facing a wave of new scrutiny and an unprecedented political backlash.
More than 85% of police contracts in major cities around the country include language limiting oversight or discipline of officers, according to an analysis by Campaign Zero, a criminal justice reform advocacy group.
Often negotiated behind closed doors, contracts in some cases are approved by local politicians whose campaigns have been bankrolled by the same unions they’re dealing with.
And police unions have only grown in financial power in recent years: The total assets of 56 large city police unions jumped by almost a third between 2011 and 2017, according to a CNN analysis of IRS tax filing data.
In the wake of Floyd’s death, however, the tide has started to turn, with some cities moving to reform their collective bargaining procedures and labor activists edging away from their police colleagues.
Stephen Rushin, a Loyola University Chicago law professor who has studied police unions and contracts, said a national rethinking of the role of police unions could have a significant impact in holding more cops accountable.
“This moment feels different,” he said. “This could be a really important inflection point.”
How union contracts block accountability
In cities around the country, police officers are some of the most difficult government employees to fire thanks to favorable contract provisions negotiated by local unions.
Contracts block accountability in various ways: Some ban civilian oversight or require disciplinary records to be destroyed. Others put limits on internal investigations, give officers advance notice for interrogations or require the city to pay if officers are held liable for misconduct in court.
Rushin, who analyzed more than 650 police union contracts around the country, found in a 2019 paper that more than two thirds of the contracts forced police departments to go through an appeals process when they wanted to fire or discipline officers, placing the final decisions in the hands of arbitrators “selected, in part, by the local police union or the aggrieved officer.”
That means that even if those cities approve tough new regulations about use of force, for example, it could be hard to jettison cops who don’t follow the rules.
Those disciplinary procedures are negotiated in the contract bargaining process at the same time as issues like salaries, wages and benefits for officers, Rushin said.
“Particularly in budget-strapped cities, when officials can’t meet the financial demands of the union, the concession they’re ultimately forced to make is on discipline,” Rushin said. “They can bury the disciplinary measures in the contract, and the public may not understand what it means, even as the monetary savings make the headlines.”
Across the country, union-negotiated disciplinary procedures help keep officers with problematic records on the job. In Minneapolis, for example, only about 1.5% of complaints filed against officers resulted in suspensions, terminations or demotions between 2013 and 2019, according to a CNN analysis of data from the city’s Office of Police Conduct Review.
Officers even have been rehired after being fired for high-profile fatal shootings. In Miami, an arbitrator in 2014 ordered the police department to reinstate detective Reynaldo Goyos, who fatally shot an unarmed man in a shooting that a department review board ruled was “unjustified.” And in Oakland, officer Hector Jimenez won his job back in arbitration in 2011 after being fired for fatally shooting two unarmed men in separate incidents within a year, shooting one in the back.
Some research has suggested a relationship between law enforcement collective bargaining and misconduct. A University of Chicago study found that misconduct complaints against Florida sheriff’s deputies increased after they won the right to collectively bargain in 2003.
Police union leaders say the discipline rules they’ve won in contract negotiations are important to guarantee their members due process, and that officers deserve strong protections due to the danger and unpredictability of their jobs.
“Police officers are under attack, and I think you’re going to see less people sign up for the job,” said Jeff Roorda, executive director of the St. Louis Police Officers Association, which successfully stymied an attempt by the local district attorney to form an independent unit to probe police misconduct. “What we do is defend police officers’ due process rights, the same rights every American has.”
But other experts argue that police contracts are so favorable for officers largely because of the political power of unions and their influence among local elected officials.
“Police unions have much more protection than other government or other public unions,” said L. Song Richardson, dean of the law school at the University of California, Irvine.
In several cities, officers have elected more bombastic leaders in recent years, thrusting their unions into culture war battles and strongly opposing reforms.
In Minneapolis, union president Bob Kroll has called the protests over Floyd’s death a “terrorist movement,” maligned Floyd for having a “violent criminal history,” and bragged that none of the three police shootings he’s been involved in has bothered him.
And in Chicago, officers in May elected a new president, John Catanzara, who is one the most frequently-disciplined officers in the history of the department, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. Even as he took office leading the city’s cops, Catanzara had been stripped of his own police powers, limiting when he can carry his gun and badge. The department is investigating him for filing a false or misleading police report against a former superintendent after Catanzara accused the superintendent of allowing protesters to block a highway in 2018.
Catanzara has previously been reprimanded and investigated for social media posts supporting President Donald Trump, which violated rules about officers making political statements on the job. And last month, Catanzara declared that any officer who kneeled in support of protesters while in their uniform could be kicked out of the union.
A spokeswoman for Catanzara declined an interview request from CNN, and Kroll did not respond to a request for comment.
Why fired cops get hired again
Policing experts say that San Antonio’s union-negotiated contract is among the most favorable for a police union.
Texas law puts final decisions about officer discipline in the hands of arbitrators chosen in agreement between cities and unions and, in most cases, blocks the department from imposing discipline for any incident that took place more than 180 days earlier. San Antonio’s contract with the San Antonio Police Officers Association goes farther, limiting past incidents arbitrators can take into account when deciding whether to uphold punishments.
Other provisions in the contract restrict interrogations of officers during internal affairs investigations and, in some cases, allow cops to avoid a suspension of up to 45 days if they forfeit accumulated vacation, bonus time or holiday leave.
Of 24 officer terminations since 2010 that were ruled on by arbitrators, 10 were overturned, or about 42%, according to the department’s data, which was first reported by the San Antonio Express-News.
In 12 other termination cases, officers resigned or retired before the case went before an arbitrator, and in 20 other cases the chief settled with officers, allowing them to come back with a reduced punishment. Those settlements often come at the advice of the department’s lawyers, and some are entered into because of the likelihood an arbitrator would overturn a termination, a SAPD spokesman said.
Out of 81 police contracts analyzed by Campaign Zero, San Antonio’s is one of just six that contain language limiting accountability in all of the areas the group tracked. Rushin’s analysis also found it to be “one of the most deferential to law enforcement interests,” he said.
The contract was approved by an 8-2 majority on the city council in 2016, over objections from local activists, who said the discipline language made it a sweetheart deal for police.
According to Texas campaign finance data, the San Antonio union’s political action committee has spent more than $2.3 million since 2010, including more than $300,000 in direct contributions to political candidates. The group had previously made donations to half of the city council members who voted for the 2016 contract, as well as the mayor who negotiated it.
William McManus, the police chief, called the contract’s limits on discipline frustrating.
“To have an arbitrator undermine the chief’s authority to determine what is best for their department and their community contributes to the notion that there is no police accountability,” he said in a statement.
But union president Mike Helle said the process defended officers from being subject to the chief’s “whims.”
“There’s nobody on this police department that wants a policeman that’s bad because it tarnishes all of us,” Helle told CNN. “The only thing that we have negotiated for and we continue to hope for is that we just have a fair process.”
The bad cops ‘need to be off the street’
Over the years, San Antonio arbitrators have overturned terminations for eyebrow-raising examples of misconduct, even when none of the facts were in dispute.
In July 2018 body camera audio captured Officer Tim Garcia repeatedly using the n-word as he arrested a Black man for trespassing at a local mall. A review board recommended Garcia be fired, and McManus moved to “indefinitely suspend” him from the force.
At Garcia’s disciplinary hearing in 2019, McManus called his behavior “the most inappropriate language I have ever heard used during an arrest,” according to arbitration records. But the arbitrator, Thomas Cipolla, disagreed with the punishment, reducing Garcia’s sentence to a 10-month unpaid suspension and sending him back to the force.
“One diatribe does not automatically denote a racist,” Cipolla wrote in the ruling. “I find myself coming to the conclusion that (Garcia) was off that day and said some awful things he should not have said and is now sorry for them.”
Garcia, who is still on the force, declined to comment through a police spokesman, but the union has vocally defended him, with Helle telling the Express-News last month that using the n-word was as offensive as Mayor Nirenberg using the word “goddamn” in a recent speech about police violence.
“Throughout anybody’s career, they’re gonna make mistakes,” Helle told CNN, saying Garcia “couldn’t apologize more.”
Other officers had their terminations overturned after bizarre behavior. Officer Matthew Belver was fired in 2016 after a dashboard camera captured him removing an arrestee’s handcuffs and making him an offer: If he beat him in a fight, he could go free. The arrestee declined.
In arguing for Belver’s termination, the department pointed to another 2010 incident in which he allegedly challenged another arrestee to a fight and then punched him in the face. But the police contract negotiated by the union bars the department from invoking years-old cases to justify firings, except under certain circumstances — a provision the arbitrator noted in his decision reducing the 2016 firing to a 45-day unpaid suspension. Belver, who declined to comment, is still on the force but is required to ride with a partner at all times, a department spokesman said.
Officer Matthew Luckhurst was fired in 2016 after admitting he put dog feces between a slice of bread and left it near a homeless man. The man didn’t eat it, but another officer testified that Luckhurst had later spread rumors that he force-fed the man the sandwich, according to the arbitration ruling, and the chief concluded his behavior was “inhumane.”
The arbitrator reduced Luckhurst’s punishment to a five-day suspension because it took the chief more than 180 days to impose discipline in the case. But Luckhurst was fired again just a few weeks after his first termination for another poop-related incident: smearing a brown “boba tea smoothie” on the seat of the only toilet in the women’s locker room of a police station, according to arbitration documents. That decision was upheld by an arbitrator last month. Luckhurst did not respond to a request for comment.
Some officers have faced termination only to be returned to the force again and again. One lieutenant, Lee Rakun, was fired six times over his more than two-decade career at the department for offenses ranging from racist statements to dating violence allegations, CNN affiliate KSAT and the Express-News reported. Again and again, the chief settled to bring him back or an arbitrator reinstated him.
Rakun retired from the force earlier this year as part of his last disciplinary settlement, the department said. In a text message, Rakun declined to comment on his disciplinary record but argued that the union’s contracts were fair and noted that “many of these city officials clamoring for ‘police reform’ likely have their signatures on these agreements time after time.”
In other cases, the police chief reversed his own decision to terminate officers while facing pressure from the union and the prospect of being overturned by an arbitrator.
In February 2016 Officer John Lee shot and killed Antronie Scott, an unarmed Black man, after mistaking the cell phone he was holding for a gun. McManus initially moved to suspend Lee indefinitely.
Two weeks later the police union began voting on a “no confidence” motion against McManus. The same day, KSAT reported, McManus changed his mind and allowed Lee to return to the force after additional training. A department spokesman said the chief’s reversal was not in response to the no confidence vote but was “made to afford (Lee) due process with respect to his rights under the collective bargaining agreement.”
Lee never faced criminal charges over the shooting. Scott’s widow and mother sued the city and Lee, and the case is ongoing. Lee resigned from the department in February, and a lawyer representing him did not respond to a request for comment. In court documents, Lee’s attorney has argued that he is protected by qualified immunity, a legal protection that is often used to block lawsuits against police officers.
The city’s police contract expires next year. Gregory Hudspeth, the president of the local San Antonio NAACP branch, said that most San Antonians didn’t seem to pay much attention to the contract when it was negotiated four years ago — but that he and other activists were preparing to shine a stronger spotlight on the issue during the upcoming negotiations.
“The bad officers need to be off the street, or we’re going to have an incident like the George Floyd case here,” he said. The current arbitration system, Hudspeth said, seems to be designed to “wait until an officer causes someone’s death before they say it’s worth terminating him.”
What’s happening now to improve police accountability
As anger has grown over police use of force in recent weeks, some cities are chipping away at police unions’ bargaining and political powers.
In Minneapolis, chief Medaria Arradondo announced last month he was withdrawing from contract negotiations with the union. Washington, D.C., passed a new ordinance removing disciplinary rules from the scope of collective bargaining. And Chicago put in place new reforms allowing anonymous complaints in a contract with police supervisors signed last week.
Dozens of elected officials around the country have also signed onto a national pledge to reject donations from the Fraternal Order of Police, a national police union affiliated with many of the largest local police unions. In Austin, for example, the mayor and all 10 members of the city council said last month they would not accept contributions from the local police union.
Some other labor groups are moving to distance themselves from police unions. In Seattle, a county labor council voted to expel the city’s police union from its membership last month, saying the union wasn’t “actively working to dismantle racism in their institution and society at large.” The union responded in a statement that the decision “should sound the alarm to other public safety labor unions across our region, state and nation that they’re next.”
Nationally, the board of labor giant AFL-CIO called last month for the resignation of Kroll and supported the Seattle group. But the union’s board said it would not cut ties with police unions it is affiliated with, arguing in a statement that “police officers, and everyone who works for a living, have the right to collective bargaining.”
“We believe the best way to use our influence on the issue of police brutality is to engage our police affiliates rather than isolate them,” the board wrote.
In the wake of the backlash, some police unions are moving to propose their own reforms to the profession — a possible bid to head off more sweeping changes.
Related Articles Crime and Public Safety | Man shot, killed by Colorado cop was holding a marker, not a weapon
Man shot, killed by Colorado cop was holding a marker, not a weapon Crime and Public Safety | Texas sheriff’s corporal arrested on suspicion of fatal hit-and-run crash on California freeway
Texas sheriff’s corporal arrested on suspicion of fatal hit-and-run crash on California freeway Crime and Public Safety | California cop ordered to stand trial on assault charge for 2018 on-duty shooting
California cop ordered to stand trial on assault charge for 2018 on-duty shooting Crime and Public Safety | Ex-Mississippi police officers plead guilty to torturing Black men
Ex-Mississippi police officers plead guilty to torturing Black men Crime and Public Safety | Judge rules retrial of ex-Philadelphia officer in 2020 protest actions should be held outside city The police unions of Los Angeles, San Jose and San Francisco released a national reform plan last month laying out proposals like a database of officers fired for gross misconduct, a use of force standard that emphasizes de-escalation and more broadly available data on police use of force.
“No words can convey our collective disgust and sorrow for the murder of George Floyd,” the unions wrote in a newspaper ad announcing the proposals. “We have an obligation as a profession and as human beings to express our sorrow by taking action.”
But local activists say their suggestions don’t go far enough.
“They’re just trying to be pre-emptive before communities come up with something more restrictive to them,” Neva Walker, executive director of a San Francisco community organizing group, said of the California unions. “It’s not about the individual officers — it’s about changing the whole system.”
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2020 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.


mercurynews--2020-07-03--Marin County has highest coronavirus infection rate in Bay Area

Marin has recorded the highest number of coronavirus cases of any Bay Area county relative to its population , according to new public health data .
That does not include cases at San Quentin State Prison , where more than a third of the inmates have tested positive for the virus .
Cases in Marin climbed by 52 on Thursday , bringing the cumulative total to 1,311 .
The county also reported that a man in his 40s diagnosed with coronavirus died this week , marking the 19th coronavirus-related death in Marin .
The man was the first person under @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a coronavirus diagnosis in the county .
According to public health data compiled Wednesday by the Bay Area News Group , Marin had 482 cumulative coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents — the highest in the region .
The data include the 918 Marin residents who have recovered from the virus .
San Mateo County had the second-highest cumulative case rate in the Bay Area , with 425 cases per 100,000 residents .
San Francisco followed with 399 cases per 100,000 residents .
Health officials said Marin also has one of the highest rates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which is playing a role in the county ’ s relatively high case rate .
Cases and deaths at San Quentin are not counted in the tally of Marin ’ s cases , according to the county ’ s public health officer , Dr. Matt Willis .
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation reported Thursday that 1,375 inmates and 114 staff members at the prison have tested positive for the virus .
The Marin County coroner and state Office of the Inspector General continue to investigate last week ’ s death @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Stitely , who was found unresponsive in his single-occupant cell .
Stitely tested positive for COVID-19 , according to the coroner ’ s office .
If COVID-19 is determined to be the cause of death , Stitely , who had been on California ’ s death row since 1992 for a rape and murder conviction , would be the first coronavirus death at the prison .
On Wednesday , a second death row inmate was found dead in his single cell .
Joseph S. Cordova , convicted of rape and murder and on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unresponsive around 4 p.m. , according to a department of corrections statement .
He showed no signs of trauma .
The coroner is investigating cause of death and COVID-19 status .
The San Quentin outbreak is alarming public health officials and putting pressure on Marin ’ s hospitals , which were treating 28 coronavirus patients on Thursday , including 12 prisoners .
According to Willis , “ about 10 individuals are transferred from the prison daily for hospitalization.
” Some of the inmates are transferred to hospitals outside the county .
“ Observing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the past month from the margins has been one of the most challenging and frustrating experiences in my public heath career , ” Willis said Wednesday in a video announcement .
The outbreak began after 120 inmates were transferred to San Quentin on June 1 from the California Institution of Men in Chino , Willis said .
The transfer was aimed at reducing the population at the Chino prison due to a coronavirus outbreak there , but the majority of the men who were transferred to San Quentin hadn ’ t recently been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The men were transferred to a unit with other San Quentin inmates before testing revealed that many of them had been infected , Willis said .
“ Marin Public Health has no authority to influence the response onsite , outside of providing advice , ” he said .
“ The small and very dedicated team of doctors and nurses at the prison are trying to keep up with rising numbers and are increasingly overwhelmed.
” The prison outbreak comes amid a surge in cases in Marin .
The county set its record @ @ @ @ @ @ @ number of coronavirus cases reported in a day .
The highest one-day increase yet was recorded June 25 , when 54 cases were recorded .
Coronavirus outbreaks in workplaces are a driving force behind the spread of the virus in Marin , officials said .
On Monday , the county allowed restaurants to resume indoor dining service , and allowed hair salons , barber shops and campgrounds to reopen .
But due to the rising number of coronavirus infections , Marin canceled its plan to reopen gyms , hotels , vacation rentals , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ businesses this week .
As health officials continued to loosen restrictions on businesses in June , the county also updated its stay-at-home order to allow residents to gather outdoors in “ social bubbles ” of up to 12 people .
With a holiday weekend approaching , Willis urged people to follow Marin ’ s public health guidelines for such gatherings , which include wearing masks and maintaining “ social distancing.
” “ Please do your part to stop preventable surges in cases from July 4 gatherings by staying in your protected smaller groups @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 6 feet apart , ” he said .

Marin has recorded the highest number of coronavirus cases of any Bay Area county relative to its population, according to new public health data.
That does not include cases at San Quentin State Prison, where more than a third of the inmates have tested positive for the virus.
Cases in Marin climbed by 52 on Thursday, bringing the cumulative total to 1,311. The county also reported that a man in his 40s diagnosed with coronavirus died this week, marking the 19th coronavirus-related death in Marin. The man was the first person under the age of 50 to die with a coronavirus diagnosis in the county.
According to public health data compiled Wednesday by the Bay Area News Group, Marin had 482 cumulative coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents — the highest in the region. The data include the 918 Marin residents who have recovered from the virus.
San Mateo County had the second-highest cumulative case rate in the Bay Area, with 425 cases per 100,000 residents. San Francisco followed with 399 cases per 100,000 residents.
Health officials said Marin also has one of the highest rates of coronavirus testing in the Bay Area, which is playing a role in the county’s relatively high case rate.
Cases and deaths at San Quentin are not counted in the tally of Marin’s cases, according to the county’s public health officer, Dr. Matt Willis. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation reported Thursday that 1,375 inmates and 114 staff members at the prison have tested positive for the virus.
The Marin County coroner and state Office of the Inspector General continue to investigate last week’s death of 71-year-old death row inmate Richard E. Stitely, who was found unresponsive in his single-occupant cell.
Stitely tested positive for COVID-19, according to the coroner’s office. If COVID-19 is determined to be the cause of death, Stitely, who had been on California’s death row since 1992 for a rape and murder conviction, would be the first coronavirus death at the prison.
On Wednesday, a second death row inmate was found dead in his single cell. Joseph S. Cordova, convicted of rape and murder and on death row since 2007, was discovered unresponsive around 4 p.m., according to a department of corrections statement. He showed no signs of trauma. The coroner is investigating cause of death and COVID-19 status.
The San Quentin outbreak is alarming public health officials and putting pressure on Marin’s hospitals, which were treating 28 coronavirus patients on Thursday, including 12 prisoners. According to Willis, “about 10 individuals are transferred from the prison daily for hospitalization.” Some of the inmates are transferred to hospitals outside the county.
“Observing this outbreak as it has accelerated over the past month from the margins has been one of the most challenging and frustrating experiences in my public heath career,” Willis said Wednesday in a video announcement.
The outbreak began after 120 inmates were transferred to San Quentin on June 1 from the California Institution of Men in Chino, Willis said. The transfer was aimed at reducing the population at the Chino prison due to a coronavirus outbreak there, but the majority of the men who were transferred to San Quentin hadn’t recently been tested for the virus, he said. The men were transferred to a unit with other San Quentin inmates before testing revealed that many of them had been infected, Willis said.
“Marin Public Health has no authority to influence the response onsite, outside of providing advice,” he said. “The small and very dedicated team of doctors and nurses at the prison are trying to keep up with rising numbers and are increasingly overwhelmed.”
The prison outbreak comes amid a surge in cases in Marin. The county set its record five times in June for the highest number of coronavirus cases reported in a day. The highest one-day increase yet was recorded June 25, when 54 cases were recorded.
Coronavirus outbreaks in workplaces are a driving force behind the spread of the virus in Marin, officials said. On Monday, the county allowed restaurants to resume indoor dining service, and allowed hair salons, barber shops and campgrounds to reopen.
But due to the rising number of coronavirus infections, Marin canceled its plan to reopen gyms, hotels, vacation rentals, nail salons, massage parlors and other businesses this week.
As health officials continued to loosen restrictions on businesses in June, the county also updated its stay-at-home order to allow residents to gather outdoors in “social bubbles” of up to 12 people.
With a holiday weekend approaching, Willis urged people to follow Marin’s public health guidelines for such gatherings, which include wearing masks and maintaining “social distancing.”
“Please do your part to stop preventable surges in cases from July 4 gatherings by staying in your protected smaller groups outside, covering you face and staying 6 feet apart,” he said.


mercurynews--2020-07-03--Bail increased to $250,000 for Santa Cruz surfer charged in child molestation case

SANTA CRUZ — A Santa Cruz County Superior Court judge raised the bail for Pleasure Point surfing mentor Lucas Klatt to $ 250,000 during his first court appearance Thursday .
Judge Rebecca Connolly also agreed to issue a criminal protective order for an unnamed juvenile related to the case .
One victim has been identified to date on the Santa Cruz District Attorney ’ s Office complaint .
Santa Cruz County Sheriff ’ s Office arrested Klatt , 39 , Monday .
He has been indicted on charges of burglary , annoying or molesting a child , stalking and using @ @ @ @ @ @ @ substances — all felonies .
Initial arrest charges also included lewd acts with a victim under the age of 15 and his bail was first set at $ 100,000 .
Asked outside of court if there is more than one victim in the case , Assistant District Attorney Steven Moore said his office is looking into the possibility of other community members coming forward with additional information .
“ In cases like this , there ’ s always ongoing investigation , ” Moore said .
Klatt , appearing by audio teleconference from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in quarantine , agreed to his public defender ’ s request to delay his arraignment to July 15 .
Several interested people involved in the local surfing community attended Thursday ’ s hearing , bringing cardboard signs urging the court to set “ no bail ” for Klatt .
Sean Chandler , a local parent and middle school surfing coach , said outside the court that he and friends in the community fear Klatt ’ s potential retaliation , should he post bail .
Doing his own research , Chandler said he believed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being involved in this kind of situation.
” • Pfc .
Vanessa Guillen bludgeoned to death on Army base , family attorney says • Police unions have helped shield officers from accountability .
Now they ’ re facing unprecedented backlash • No mask ?
In West Hollywood , that could cost you $ 300 “ I think in general , he comes off as a nice person .
He says all the right things .
He ’ s a master manipulator , ” Chandler said .
“ He provides tangible and intangible things @ @ @ @ @ @ @ may not be getting from home .
They end up looking up to him as this figure , a protector .
And then , at that point is when he has the hook into them.
” Chandler said those he has spoken with are concerned about their safety and their children ’ s safety and about him as a flight risk .
The Sheriff ’ s Office is requesting community members with additional information to call detective Sgt .
Zach West at 831-454-7645 .

SANTA CRUZ — A Santa Cruz County Superior Court judge raised the bail for Pleasure Point surfing mentor Lucas Klatt to $250,000 during his first court appearance Thursday.
Judge Rebecca Connolly also agreed to issue a criminal protective order for an unnamed juvenile related to the case. One victim has been identified to date on the Santa Cruz District Attorney’s Office complaint. Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office arrested Klatt, 39, Monday. He has been indicted on charges of burglary, annoying or molesting a child, stalking and using a child to use or sell illegal substances — all felonies. Initial arrest charges also included lewd acts with a victim under the age of 15 and his bail was first set at $100,000.
Asked outside of court if there is more than one victim in the case, Assistant District Attorney Steven Moore said his office is looking into the possibility of other community members coming forward with additional information.
“In cases like this, there’s always ongoing investigation,” Moore said.
Klatt, appearing by audio teleconference from the Santa Cruz County Jail where he remains in quarantine, agreed to his public defender’s request to delay his arraignment to July 15.
Several interested people involved in the local surfing community attended Thursday’s hearing, bringing cardboard signs urging the court to set “no bail” for Klatt. Sean Chandler, a local parent and middle school surfing coach, said outside the court that he and friends in the community fear Klatt’s potential retaliation, should he post bail. Doing his own research, Chandler said he believed Klatt had spent nearly 20 years “being involved in this kind of situation.” Related Articles Crime and Public Safety | Man shot, killed by Colorado cop was holding a marker, not a weapon
Man shot, killed by Colorado cop was holding a marker, not a weapon Crime and Public Safety | President Joe Biden and first lady plan to visit Maui next week. Follow live updates
President Joe Biden and first lady plan to visit Maui next week. Follow live updates Crime and Public Safety | Why a San Mateo County police department faces potential dissolution
Why a San Mateo County police department faces potential dissolution Crime and Public Safety | Map: Lightning fires prompt evacuation order west of Yreka
Map: Lightning fires prompt evacuation order west of Yreka Crime and Public Safety | San Francisco’s 166-year-old luxury retailer Gumps warns: This could be our last year
“I think in general, he comes off as a nice person. He says all the right things. He’s a master manipulator,” Chandler said. “He provides tangible and intangible things for these children that they may or may not be getting from home. They end up looking up to him as this figure, a protector. And then, at that point is when he has the hook into them.”
Chandler said those he has spoken with are concerned about their safety and their children’s safety and about him as a flight risk.
The Sheriff’s Office is requesting community members with additional information to call detective Sgt. Zach West at 831-454-7645.


mercurynews--2020-07-03--Arraignment delayed in Santa Cruz County carjacking, ocean crash case

SANTA CRUZ — An arraignment in the case of a Portland man who drove off West Cliff Drive into the ocean this week has been deferred by two weeks .
John Kenyanjui , appearing Thursday morning by audio teleconference before Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Rebecca Connolly , has been charged with seven felony charges , including carjacking , attempted carjacking , two counts of assault with a semiautomatic rifle , illegal discharge of a firearm and evading police .
The 56-year-old man has been appointed public defender Alyssa Thompson , who requested the continued arraignment be set for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ meantime , Kenyanjui is being held in lieu of $ 100,000 bail .
• Pfc .
Vanessa Guillen bludgeoned to death on Army base , family attorney says • Police unions have helped shield officers from accountability .
Now they ’ re facing unprecedented backlash • Bail increased to $ 250,000 for Santa Cruz surfer charged in child molestation case • No mask ?
In West Hollywood , that could cost you $ 300 According to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff ’ s Office , Kenyanjui is said to have fired off his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ then stole a driver ’ s Honda , in which he led law enforcement on a chase reaching speeds of higher than 100 mph .
Once the pursuit entered Santa Cruz City limits on Mission Street , deputies terminated the chase , with Santa Cruz police tailing the vehicle from a distance .
After Kenyanjui drove the car over the cliff and into the high-tide surf below , he emerged up the embankment at gunpoint .
Rescue swimmers spent time attempting to ensure no other passenger had been trapped inside and the vehicle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ No injuries were reported in the case .
Sheriff ’ s Office deputies are investigating whether or not Kenyanjui had any links to similar incidents in neighboring counties earlier in the day .

SANTA CRUZ — An arraignment in the case of a Portland man who drove off West Cliff Drive into the ocean this week has been deferred by two weeks.
John Kenyanjui, appearing Thursday morning by audio teleconference before Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Rebecca Connolly, has been charged with seven felony charges, including carjacking, attempted carjacking, two counts of assault with a semiautomatic rifle, illegal discharge of a firearm and evading police. The 56-year-old man has been appointed public defender Alyssa Thompson, who requested the continued arraignment be set for 10:30 a.m. July 10.
In the meantime, Kenyanjui is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail. Related Articles Crime and Public Safety | Man shot, killed by Colorado cop was holding a marker, not a weapon
Man shot, killed by Colorado cop was holding a marker, not a weapon Crime and Public Safety | President Joe Biden and first lady plan to visit Maui next week. Follow live updates
President Joe Biden and first lady plan to visit Maui next week. Follow live updates Crime and Public Safety | Why a San Mateo County police department faces potential dissolution
Why a San Mateo County police department faces potential dissolution Crime and Public Safety | Map: Lightning fires prompt evacuation order west of Yreka
Map: Lightning fires prompt evacuation order west of Yreka Crime and Public Safety | San Francisco’s 166-year-old luxury retailer Gumps warns: This could be our last year
According to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office, Kenyanjui is said to have fired off his weapon near Davenport on Tuesday afternoon and then stole a driver’s Honda, in which he led law enforcement on a chase reaching speeds of higher than 100 mph. Once the pursuit entered Santa Cruz City limits on Mission Street, deputies terminated the chase, with Santa Cruz police tailing the vehicle from a distance. After Kenyanjui drove the car over the cliff and into the high-tide surf below, he emerged up the embankment at gunpoint. Rescue swimmers spent time attempting to ensure no other passenger had been trapped inside and the vehicle was removed by a crane Wednesday.
No injuries were reported in the case. Sheriff’s Office deputies are investigating whether or not Kenyanjui had any links to similar incidents in neighboring counties earlier in the day.


mercurynews--2020-07-03--Mark Schubert threatens lawsuit after Bay Area attorney, survivors ask USA Swimming to ban him, seve

Mark Schubert threatens lawsuit after Bay Area attorney, survivors ask USA Swimming to ban him, seven others

Former USA Swimming national team director and Olympic team coach Mark Schubert said he will file a defamation lawsuit against San Jose attorney Robert Allard after Allard in an open letter Wednesday to USA Swimming CEO Tim Hinchey demanded the organization ban Schubert and seven other individuals .
Writing on behalf of sexual abuse survivors , Allard called on Hinchey to “ immediately purge the organization of individuals who have either sexually abused or enabled the abuse of minor swimmers.
” Allard called for a ban of former U.S. Olympic team coaches Murray Stephens and Paul Bergen , longtime American @ @ @ @ @ @ @ former USA Swimming vice president Mary Jo Swalley , and three officials with Pacific Swimming , USA Swimming ’ s Northern California association – Millie Nygren , Clint Benton and Steve Morselli .
Schubert , currently the Mission Viejo Nadadores head coach , Stephens , Bergen and Leonard are members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame .
“ There is no doubt that sexual abuse within USA Swimming can be classified as an epidemic , ” Allard said .
“ For decades , the organization has chosen to treat the symptom instead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ led to the molestation of countless children .
This needs to end – immediately.
” As per its practice , USA Swimming did not respond to a request for comment from the Orange County Register Wednesday .
In the letter to Hinchey , Allard charged that Schubert “ has an established history of remaining silent and failing to take action to protect minor swimmers when presented with information about predator coaches.
” “ In his capacity as National Team Director for USA Swimming in 2010 , Schubert learned that Olympic coach Sean Hutchison @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” the letter continued .
“ Schubert unconscionably decided to withhold this information until after he was fired by USA Swimming when he tried to extort his way into replacing Hutchison at the Fullerton Aquatics Swim Club ( “ FAST ” ) .
Schubert retaliated against well-respected swim coach Dia Rianda for complaining about predatory behavior displayed by fellow coach Bill Jewell Schubert reached a confidential out-of-court settlement with Rianda , a former Golden West Swim Club employee , in November 2014 in her wrongful termination civil suit .
Rianda , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said she was fired by Schubert , Golden West ’ s head coach , in July 2012 after she continued to complain to USA Swimming officials and others about what she and other Golden West employees alleged was a pattern of inappropriate behavior by GWSC assistant coach Bill Jewell toward young female swimmers ranging from sexual comments to inappropriate touching , according to depositions , court filings , emails and other documents obtained by the Orange County Register .
In sworn depositions , police reports , memos , letters and emails obtained by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jewell ’ s fellow coaches and other swimming officials also alleged sexually inappropriate behavior by Jewell while he coached at the Fullerton Aquatics Sports Team ( FAST ) .
Jewell was suspended by USA Swimming for three years in 2013 for making sexually explicit comments to young female athletes and other individuals involved with the sport .
Jewell , who guided the careers of a series of future Olympians and U.S. national team members , accepted the ban after waiving his right to a hearing as part of a deal in which USA @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on alleged misconduct that took place while Jewell worked for Schubert at GWSC .
“ Dia and I settled and it was supposed to be confidential so maybe we ’ ll get some money back now , ” Schubert said .
“ For ( Allard ) to accuse me of not protecting athletes and knowing about abuse when I didn ’ t find out about those coaches until after the fact is false and unconscionable .
I will be filing a defamation suit.
” Allard said he was confident he would prevail should @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Sometimes the truth hurts , ” Allard said in a text Wednesday night .
“ Once Coach Schubert has a chance to sit back and reflect on what he has said and done over the years , and the damage that he has caused to so many women , I hope he spends his time seeking reconciliation as opposed to wasting his time with a baseless and frivolous lawsuit.
” The letter to Hinchey alleges Schubert didn ’ t support Kelley Davies Currin at the University of Texas .
Davies Currin told @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sexually abused between 1983 and 1986 by Rick Curl , her Maryland club coach .
The abuse , Davies Currin said , began when she was 12 and Curl was 34 .
The Texas coaches were Longhorn men ’ s coach Eddie Reese , Richard Quick , then the Texas women ’ s coach , and Schubert , who replaced Quick as the Longhorn women ’ s coach .
All three men would coach Team USA at multiple Olympic Games .
“ When Currin confided to Schubert that she had been abused by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s reaction was to dismiss her from the team after determining that she was a ‘ distraction , ’ ” Allard said .
“ Schubert was on the board of ASCA when that organization presented Curl with the ‘ Coach of the Year ’ award in 1994 , ” the letter also said .
Schubert said he did not vote for Curl in the 1994 election .
Davies Currin called for Schubert ’ s expulsion from the sport in 2013 after a Maryland court sentenced Curl , 63 , whose swimmers set 10 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prison for abusing Davies Currin between ages 13 and 17 .
Schubert said Wednesday that Davies Currin was recruited to Texas by Quick , who died in 2009 .
Schubert said Davies Currin asked him not to go to authorities about the abuse because a confidentiality clause that was part of a financial settlement she and her family had reached with Curl .
“ I was appalled but she begged me not to say anything because she didn ’ t want to jeopardize an $ 80,000 settlement with Curl , ” Schubert said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her off the team .
She quit.
” Rumors of Curl ’ s abuse continued to be widespread within the sport through the 1990s and into this century .
Yet Curl ’ s career continued to thrive .
He was named to U.S. national team staffs .
Swimmers coached by Curl won medals for four countries at the 2000 Olympic Games .
Schubert said in a sworn 2013 deposition and again in an interview with the Register in 2017 , that he first informed then USA Swimming executive director Chuck Wielgus of Curl @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2007 .
Schubert , then the national team director and concerned about Curl ’ s presence at USA Swimming training camps and at USA Swimming and USOC facilities , said he later brought up the Curl-Davies Currin situation again with Wielgus and USA Swimming assistant executive director Mike Unger .
Schubert also said he approached Wielgus and other top USA Swimming officials about Curl in January and July of 2010 .
RELATED : Mark Schubert is a legend for making U.S. swimmers champions , but did he fail when they needed him most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said he first raised the Curl-Davies Currin issue with him , Wielgus in a May 2010 deposition was asked if he had ever received “ any information about ( Curl ) having an inappropriate sexual contact with one of his swimmers ?
” “ I have never received any information about that , ” Wielgus said .
Wielgus later said nothing could be done without a victim coming forward .
Yet even when Davies Currin filed a claim against Curl with USA Swimming in the spring of 2011 , the organization refused to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ documents .
Davies Currin ’ s 2011 complaint with USA Swimming included a copy of the settlement agreement signed by Curl , she said .
A year later , Curl was spotted at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials on the competition pool deck and in the arena ’ s VIP section wearing an official credential issued by USA Swimming .
Not only did Wielgus and the federation fail to act on Schubert ’ s information , USA Swimming awarded the Curl-Burke swim club , founded and owned by Curl , $ 40,023 in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 30,425 of the funding coming after Schubert said he first told Wielgus about Curl ’ s abuse .
Curl was only banned for life by USA Swimming in September 2012 after an emergency hearing was called by the federation following a Washington Post story detailing Curl ’ s sexual abuse of Davies Currin .
World champion swimmer Ariana Kukors Smith alleged in a 2018 lawsuit that Schubert , then the U.S. national team director , was aware that U.S. Olympic and national team coach Sean Hutchison was having a sexually inappropriate relationship with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Smith said Schubert was informed that Hutchison was spotted leaving her room at a national team training camp in Italy prior to the 2009 World Championships .
Twelve-time Olympic medalist Dara Torres told the Register in 2018 that she told USA Swimming officials during the 2009 Worlds that she saw Hutchison come out of Kukors Smith ’ s hotel room during the trip .
“ I did say something because it was so wrong , ” Torres said .
“ Here ’ s this young girl , it just seemed odd .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from USA Swimming said they ’ d take care of it.
” Schubert told the Register in 2018 that he was not made aware of the incident until after the trip .
“ And then I later found out from Dara that she caught him sneaking out of ( Kukors ’ ) room at the World Championships at 3 o ’ clock in the morning and I was furious about it .
Because I was the head coach on that team , ” Schubert said .
But Kukors Smith said Schubert confronted Hutchison @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Schubert had told him that one of the swimmers had said that they saw us sneaking around to each other ’ s rooms .
Sean was the head coach of the women ’ s team at this meet , so obviously had a lot of power , and my understanding was Schubert told Sean to be careful , ” Kukors Smith said .
“ Sean passed along the message to me that we needed to be more secretive and watch our backs .
I did not want to get in trouble , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to that instance often when Sean would remind me of the need for secrecy.
” Kukors Smith , the 2009 World champion in the 200-meter individual medley , alleged that Hutchison , initially her coach at King Aquatics in Washington State , began grooming her for a sexual relationship when she was 13 , sexually assaulted her at 16 , and continued to have a sexual relationship with her and exert control over almost every aspect of her daily life until she was 24 .
The U.S. Center for SafeSport banned Hutchison from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , more than seven years after he was cleared by a USA Swimming investigation .
SafeSport found that Hutchison had engaged in sexual misconduct against Kukors Smith when she was a minor .
The SafeSport investigation also found that Hutchison molested Kukors Smith , had her perform oral sex on him and took nude photos of her when she was still a minor .
USA Swimming reached an out of court with settlement with Kukors Smith in March .
Schubert was released from the lawsuit in July 2019 .
Allard and attorneys for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Court to dismiss her suit against Schubert “ with prejudice .
”

Former USA Swimming national team director and Olympic team coach Mark Schubert said he will file a defamation lawsuit against San Jose attorney Robert Allard after Allard in an open letter Wednesday to USA Swimming CEO Tim Hinchey demanded the organization ban Schubert and seven other individuals.
Writing on behalf of sexual abuse survivors, Allard called on Hinchey to “immediately purge the organization of individuals who have either sexually abused or enabled the abuse of minor swimmers.”
Allard called for a ban of former U.S. Olympic team coaches Murray Stephens and Paul Bergen, longtime American Swimming Coaches Association director John Leonard, former USA Swimming vice president Mary Jo Swalley, and three officials with Pacific Swimming, USA Swimming’s Northern California association – Millie Nygren, Clint Benton and Steve Morselli.
Schubert, currently the Mission Viejo Nadadores head coach, Stephens, Bergen and Leonard are members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
“There is no doubt that sexual abuse within USA Swimming can be classified as an epidemic,” Allard said. “For decades, the organization has chosen to treat the symptom instead of fixing the root cause that has led to the molestation of countless children. This needs to end – immediately.”
As per its practice, USA Swimming did not respond to a request for comment from the Orange County Register Wednesday.
In the letter to Hinchey, Allard charged that Schubert “has an established history of remaining silent and failing to take action to protect minor swimmers when presented with information about predator coaches.”
“In his capacity as National Team Director for USA Swimming in 2010, Schubert learned that Olympic coach Sean Hutchison was sexually abusing his swimmer Ariana Kukors,” the letter continued. “Schubert unconscionably decided to withhold this information until after he was fired by USA Swimming when he tried to extort his way into replacing Hutchison at the Fullerton Aquatics Swim Club (“FAST”). Schubert retaliated against well-respected swim coach Dia Rianda for complaining about predatory behavior displayed by fellow coach Bill Jewell
Schubert reached a confidential out-of-court settlement with Rianda, a former Golden West Swim Club employee, in November 2014 in her wrongful termination civil suit.
Rianda, a former Golden West coach and administrator, said she was fired by Schubert, Golden West’s head coach, in July 2012 after she continued to complain to USA Swimming officials and others about what she and other Golden West employees alleged was a pattern of inappropriate behavior by GWSC assistant coach Bill Jewell toward young female swimmers ranging from sexual comments to inappropriate touching, according to depositions, court filings, emails and other documents obtained by the Orange County Register.
In sworn depositions, police reports, memos, letters and emails obtained by the Register, young female swimmers, Jewell’s fellow coaches and other swimming officials also alleged sexually inappropriate behavior by Jewell while he coached at the Fullerton Aquatics Sports Team (FAST).
Jewell was suspended by USA Swimming for three years in 2013 for making sexually explicit comments to young female athletes and other individuals involved with the sport. Jewell, who guided the careers of a series of future Olympians and U.S. national team members, accepted the ban after waiving his right to a hearing as part of a deal in which USA Swimming agreed not to pursue charges based on alleged misconduct that took place while Jewell worked for Schubert at GWSC.
“Dia and I settled and it was supposed to be confidential so maybe we’ll get some money back now,” Schubert said. “For (Allard) to accuse me of not protecting athletes and knowing about abuse when I didn’t find out about those coaches until after the fact is false and unconscionable. I will be filing a defamation suit.”
Allard said he was confident he would prevail should Schubert file a suit against him.
“Sometimes the truth hurts,” Allard said in a text Wednesday night. “Once Coach Schubert has a chance to sit back and reflect on what he has said and done over the years, and the damage that he has caused to so many women, I hope he spends his time seeking reconciliation as opposed to wasting his time with a baseless and frivolous lawsuit.”
The letter to Hinchey alleges Schubert didn’t support Kelley Davies Currin at the University of Texas.
Davies Currin told three Longhorn coaches that she had been sexually abused between 1983 and 1986 by Rick Curl, her Maryland club coach. The abuse, Davies Currin said, began when she was 12 and Curl was 34. The Texas coaches were Longhorn men’s coach Eddie Reese, Richard Quick, then the Texas women’s coach, and Schubert, who replaced Quick as the Longhorn women’s coach. All three men would coach Team USA at multiple Olympic Games.
“When Currin confided to Schubert that she had been abused by her coach Rick Curl, Schubert’s reaction was to dismiss her from the team after determining that she was a ‘distraction,’” Allard said.
“Schubert was on the board of ASCA when that organization presented Curl with the ‘Coach of the Year’ award in 1994,” the letter also said.
Schubert said he did not vote for Curl in the 1994 election.
Davies Currin called for Schubert’s expulsion from the sport in 2013 after a Maryland court sentenced Curl, 63, whose swimmers set 10 world records, to seven years in prison for abusing Davies Currin between ages 13 and 17.
Schubert said Wednesday that Davies Currin was recruited to Texas by Quick, who died in 2009.
Schubert said Davies Currin asked him not to go to authorities about the abuse because a confidentiality clause that was part of a financial settlement she and her family had reached with Curl.
“I was appalled but she begged me not to say anything because she didn’t want to jeopardize an $80,000 settlement with Curl,” Schubert said. “I didn’t kick her off the team. She quit.”
Rumors of Curl’s abuse continued to be widespread within the sport through the 1990s and into this century. Yet Curl’s career continued to thrive. He was named to U.S. national team staffs. Swimmers coached by Curl won medals for four countries at the 2000 Olympic Games.
Schubert said in a sworn 2013 deposition and again in an interview with the Register in 2017, that he first informed then USA Swimming executive director Chuck Wielgus of Curl’s abuse of Davies Currin in 2007. Schubert, then the national team director and concerned about Curl’s presence at USA Swimming training camps and at USA Swimming and USOC facilities, said he later brought up the Curl-Davies Currin situation again with Wielgus and USA Swimming assistant executive director Mike Unger. Schubert also said he approached Wielgus and other top USA Swimming officials about Curl in January and July of 2010.
RELATED: Mark Schubert is a legend for making U.S. swimmers champions, but did he fail when they needed him most?
More than three years after Schubert said he first raised the Curl-Davies Currin issue with him, Wielgus in a May 2010 deposition was asked if he had ever received “any information about (Curl) having an inappropriate sexual contact with one of his swimmers?”
“I have never received any information about that,” Wielgus said.
Wielgus later said nothing could be done without a victim coming forward. Yet even when Davies Currin filed a claim against Curl with USA Swimming in the spring of 2011, the organization refused to take action, according to USA Swimming documents. Davies Currin’s 2011 complaint with USA Swimming included a copy of the settlement agreement signed by Curl, she said.
A year later, Curl was spotted at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials on the competition pool deck and in the arena’s VIP section wearing an official credential issued by USA Swimming.
Not only did Wielgus and the federation fail to act on Schubert’s information, USA Swimming awarded the Curl-Burke swim club, founded and owned by Curl, $40,023 in grants between 2006 and 2012, $30,425 of the funding coming after Schubert said he first told Wielgus about Curl’s abuse.
Curl was only banned for life by USA Swimming in September 2012 after an emergency hearing was called by the federation following a Washington Post story detailing Curl’s sexual abuse of Davies Currin.
World champion swimmer Ariana Kukors Smith alleged in a 2018 lawsuit that Schubert, then the U.S. national team director, was aware that U.S. Olympic and national team coach Sean Hutchison was having a sexually inappropriate relationship with her but took no action. Kukors Smith said Schubert was informed that Hutchison was spotted leaving her room at a national team training camp in Italy prior to the 2009 World Championships.
Twelve-time Olympic medalist Dara Torres told the Register in 2018 that she told USA Swimming officials during the 2009 Worlds that she saw Hutchison come out of Kukors Smith’s hotel room during the trip.
“I did say something because it was so wrong,” Torres said. “Here’s this young girl, it just seemed odd. I said something to Mark, and somebody from USA Swimming said they’d take care of it.”
Schubert told the Register in 2018 that he was not made aware of the incident until after the trip.
“And then I later found out from Dara that she caught him sneaking out of (Kukors’) room at the World Championships at 3 o’clock in the morning and I was furious about it. Because I was the head coach on that team,” Schubert said.
But Kukors Smith said Schubert confronted Hutchison in Italy.
“Sean told me that Schubert had told him that one of the swimmers had said that they saw us sneaking around to each other’s rooms. Sean was the head coach of the women’s team at this meet, so obviously had a lot of power, and my understanding was Schubert told Sean to be careful,” Kukors Smith said. “Sean passed along the message to me that we needed to be more secretive and watch our backs. I did not want to get in trouble, so I complied. We referred back to that instance often when Sean would remind me of the need for secrecy.”
Kukors Smith, the 2009 World champion in the 200-meter individual medley, alleged that Hutchison, initially her coach at King Aquatics in Washington State, began grooming her for a sexual relationship when she was 13, sexually assaulted her at 16, and continued to have a sexual relationship with her and exert control over almost every aspect of her daily life until she was 24.
The U.S. Center for SafeSport banned Hutchison from the sport for life in October 2018, more than seven years after he was cleared by a USA Swimming investigation. SafeSport found that Hutchison had engaged in sexual misconduct against Kukors Smith when she was a minor. The SafeSport investigation also found that Hutchison molested Kukors Smith, had her perform oral sex on him and took nude photos of her when she was still a minor.
USA Swimming reached an out of court with settlement with Kukors Smith in March. Schubert was released from the lawsuit in July 2019. Allard and attorneys for Kukors Smith asked the Orange County Superior Court to dismiss her suit against Schubert “with prejudice.”


mercurynews--2020-07-03--No mask? In West Hollywood, that could cost you $300

Los Angeles County Sheriff ’ s deputies in West Hollywood announced Wednesday that they would be issuing citations for those without face coverings in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic .
A first offense could cost up to $ 300 .
The bulletin came in the wake of Governor Gavin Newsom ’ s pandemic update in which he ordered establishments like restaurants , theaters and museums to close amid the surging virus cases .
While Newsom said newly formed strike teams will target non-compliant businesses , local governments will largely be tasked with enforcing coronavirus restrictions .
“ Our last @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an Administrative Citation , but the risk to Community health is too great , ” according to the West Hollywood sheriff ’ s station .
The citations , are administrative and not criminal , said station Capt .
Edward Ramirez .
Deputies from the station have not yet issued any citations .
“ As always , we will do our best to enforce all laws without bias , using good judgment and common sense , ” Ramirez said .
When asked if other stations would do the same , a department spokeswoman said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the board .
“ West Hollywood is a contract city so their mayor can say they are going to cite , ” said Deputy Grace Medrano .
• Which Disneyland shows and attractions will remain closed when the park reopens ?
• Six Flags Discovery Kingdom ’ s Marine World Experience ’ ‘ runs smoothly ’ on first day back “ At the county level we are educating and seeking voluntary compliance.
” From early in the pandemic , law enforcement agencies have stressed they ’ ll emphasize education and compliance rather than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ West Hollywood had previously declared a local emergency in response to the coronavirus outbreak .
The West Hollywood Sheriff ’ s station patrols West Hollywood and the unincorporated communities of Franklin Canyon , Universal City and federal property in West Los Angeles .

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies in West Hollywood announced Wednesday that they would be issuing citations for those without face coverings in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. A first offense could cost up to $300.
The bulletin came in the wake of Governor Gavin Newsom’s pandemic update in which he ordered establishments like restaurants, theaters and museums to close amid the surging virus cases.
While Newsom said newly formed strike teams will target non-compliant businesses, local governments will largely be tasked with enforcing coronavirus restrictions.
“Our last option was to conduct enforcement by issuing an Administrative Citation, but the risk to Community health is too great,” according to the West Hollywood sheriff’s station.
The citations, are administrative and not criminal, said station Capt. Edward Ramirez.
Update: The fine is $250 and a fee of $50 for a total of $300 for the first offense. pic.twitter.com/o6QE3fkucu — LASD West Hollywood (@WHDLASD) July 2, 2020
Deputies from the station have not yet issued any citations.
“As always, we will do our best to enforce all laws without bias, using good judgment and common sense,” Ramirez said.
When asked if other stations would do the same, a department spokeswoman said that the decision is not made across the board.
“West Hollywood is a contract city so their mayor can say they are going to cite,” said Deputy Grace Medrano.
Related Articles Health | San Jose office building wobbles into default — again
San Jose office building wobbles into default — again Health | College students blocked from campus when COVID hit want money back. Some are getting refunds
College students blocked from campus when COVID hit want money back. Some are getting refunds Health | One controversial East Bay parklet reveals dilemmas of pandemic dining
One controversial East Bay parklet reveals dilemmas of pandemic dining Health | Long Covid cases in US adults are on the decline, but many continue to struggle with symptoms
Long Covid cases in US adults are on the decline, but many continue to struggle with symptoms Health | COVID Q&A: Can I use an expired test? Time to get boosted? How to cope with California’s sneaky summer surge “At the county level we are educating and seeking voluntary compliance.”
From early in the pandemic, law enforcement agencies have stressed they’ll emphasize education and compliance rather than citations or arrests.
The City of West Hollywood had previously declared a local emergency in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
The West Hollywood Sheriff’s station patrols West Hollywood and the unincorporated communities of Franklin Canyon, Universal City and federal property in West Los Angeles.


mercurynews--2020-07-04--Trump to give fiery speech at Rushmore amid virus, protests

KEYSTONE , S.D .
( AP ) — President Donald Trump planned a fiery Mount Rushmore speech Friday night including denunciations of protesters he says are trying to “ tear down ” the nation ’ s history .
He ’ s adding the condemnation of those who pull down statues to a big fireworks show and his more traditional July Fourth praise of America ’ s past and values .
Hours before the event , protesters blocked a road leading to the monument .
Authorities worked to move the demonstrators , mostly Native Americans protesting that South Dakota ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people against treaty agreements .
About 15 protesters were arrested after missing a police-imposed deadline to leave .
The president has spoken forcefully against other protesters in Washington , D.C. , and other cities who have tried to topple Confederate monuments and statues honoring those who have benefited from slavery , planned to target “ the left wing mob and those practicing cancel culture , ” said a person familiar with his remarks and describing them only on condition of anonymity .
The president was to preside over a fireworks display at an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as coronavirus cases spike across the country .
Trump was expecting a South Dakota show of support , with the state Republican Party selling T-shirts that feature Trump on the memorial alongside George Washington , Thomas Jefferson , Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln .
But concern about the coronavirus risk and wildfire danger from the fireworks , along with the Native American groups ’ protests were also present .
Republican Gov .
Kristi Noem , a Trump ally , has said social distancing won ’ t be required during the event and masks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to provide masks to anyone who wanted them and planned to screen attendees for symptoms of COVID-19 .
Noem and Sen. John Thune , R-S.D.
, were among the crowd meeting the president and first lady Melania Trump at Ellsworth Air Force Base .
Noem wasn ’ t wearing a mask ; Thune removed his face covering as he waited to greet the president .
The Republican mayor of the largest city near the monument , Rapid City , said he would be watching for an increase in cases after the event , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attendees were unlikely to disqualify themselves “ because they developed a cough the day of or the day before , ” Mayor Steve Allender said .
The small town of Keystone , which lies a couple of miles from the monument , was buzzing with people Friday hoping to catch a glimpse of the fireworks and the president .
Many wore pro-Trump T-shirts and hats .
Few wore masks .
“ This is going to rank up in the top Fourth of Julys that I talk about , ” said Mike Stewhr , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mike Harris of Rapid City , who said he was a Republican , wore a mask and waved an anti-Trump flag .
He also was sporting a handgun on each hip .
He said he was worried the event would spark a COVID-19 outbreak .
“ I think it ’ s a bad example being set by our president and our governor , ” Harris said .
Robin Pladsen , director of the Keystone Chamber of Commerce , handed out face masks and hand sanitizer from a tent .
She said the tourist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they had taken out to survive the economic downtown but acknowledged the health risk for the town .
Leaders of several Native American tribes in the region also raised concerns that the event could lead to virus outbreaks among their members , who they say are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 because of an underfunded health care system and chronic health conditions .
“ The president is putting our tribal members at risk to stage a photo op at one of our most sacred sites , ” said Harold Frazier , chairman of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ American groups used Trump ’ s visit to protest the Mount Rushmore memorial itself , pointing out that the Black Hills were taken from the Lakota people .
More than 100 protesters , many Lakota , lined the road leading from Keystone to the monument holding signs and playing Lakota music in 95-degree heat .
Some held their fists in the air as cars loaded with event attendees passed by .
Others held signs that read “ Protect SoDak ’ s First People , ” “ You Are On Stolen Land ” and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ president needs to open his eyes .
We ’ re people , too , and it was our land first , ” said Hehakaho Waste , a spiritual elder with the Oglala Sioux tribe .
Several people who once oversaw fire danger at the national memorial have said setting off fireworks over the forest was a bad idea that could lead to a large wildfire .
Fireworks were called off after 2009 because a mountain pine beetle infestation increased the fire risks .
Noem pushed to get the fireworks resumed soon after she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s help .
The president brushed aside fire concerns earlier this year , saying , “ What can burn ?
It ’ s stone.
” Trump made no mention of the fire danger Thursday .
“ They used to do it many years ago , and for some reason they were unable or unallowed to do it , ” he said .
“ They just weren ’ t allowed to do it , and I opened it up and we ’ re going to have a tremendous July 3 and then we ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fourth of July in Washington , D.C. ” Trump has presided over a several large-crowd events — in Tulsa , Oklahoma , and at an Arizona megachurch — even as health officials warn against large gatherings and recommend face masks and social distancing .
He plans a July Fourth celebration on the National Mall in Washington despite health concerns from D.C. ’ s mayor .
Trump and Melania Trump plan to host events from the White House South Lawn and from the Ellipse .
Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in Washington and Todd @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to this report .

By STEPHEN GROVES and DARLENE SUPERVILLE
MOUNT RUSHMORE NATIONAL MEMORIAL, S.D. (AP) — At the foot of Mount Rushmore on the eve of Independence Day, President Donald Trump made a direct appeal to disaffected white voters four months before Election Day, accusing protesters who have pushed for racial justice of engaging in a “merciless campaign to wipe out our history.”
The president dug further into American divisions Friday, offering a discordant tone to an electorate battered by a pandemic and wounded by racial injustice following the high-profile killings of Black people. He zeroed in on the desecration by some protesters of monuments and statues across the country that honor those who have benefited from slavery, including some past presidents.
“This movement is openly attacking the legacies of every person on Mount Rushmore,” Trump said. He lamented “cancel culture” and charged that some on the political left hope to “defame our heroes, erase our values and indoctrinate our children.” He said Americans should speak proudly of their heritage and shouldn’t have to apologize for its history.
“We will not be terrorized, we will not be demeaned, and we will not be intimidated by bad, evil people,” Trump added. “It will not happen.”
The speech and fireworks at Mount Rushmore came against the backdrop of a pandemic that has killed over 125,000 Americans. The president flew across the nation to gather a big crowd of supporters, most of them maskless and all of them flouting public health guidelines that recommend not gathering in large groups.
The discord was heightened as the Trump campaign confirmed during the president’s speech that Kimberly Guilfoyle, a top fundraiser for the campaign and the girlfriend of Trump’s eldest son Donald Trump Jr., had tested positive for the coronavirus while in South Dakota. Both Guilfoyle and Trump Jr., who serves as a top surrogate for the president, are isolating themselves and have canceled public events, according to Sergio Gor, chief of staff to the Trump campaign’s finance committee.
During the speech, the president announced he was signing an executive order to establish the National Garden of American Heroes, a vast outdoor park that will feature the statues of the “greatest Americans to ever live.”
Amid the campaign headwinds, the president has sharpened his focus on his most ardent base of supporters as concern grows inside his campaign that his poll numbers in the battleground states that will decide the 2020 election are slipping.
Trump in recent weeks has increasingly lashed out at “left-wing mobs,” used a racist epithet to refer to the coronavirus and visited the nation’s southern border to spotlight progress on his 2016 campaign promise to build a U.S.-Mexico border wall.
The event, while not a campaign rally, had the feel of one as the friendly crowd greeted Trump with chants of “Four more years!” and cheered enthusiastically as he and first lady Melania Trump took the stage.
“They think the American people are weak and soft and submissive,” Trump said. “But no, the American people are strong and proud, and they will not allow our country and all of its values, history and culture to be taken from them.”
Republican Gov. Kristi Noem echoed Trump’s attacks against his opponents who “are trying to wipe away the lessons of history.”
“Make no mistake: This is being done deliberately to discredit America’s founding principles by discrediting the individuals who formed them,” she said.
The small town of Keystone, which lies a couple of miles from the monument, was buzzing with people Friday hoping to catch a glimpse of the fireworks and the president. Many wore pro-Trump T-shirts and hats. Few wore masks.
“This is going to rank up in the top Fourth of Julys that I talk about,” said Mike Stewhr, who brought his family from Nebraska.
Mike Harris of Rapid City, who said he was a Republican, wore a mask and waved an anti-Trump flag. He also was sporting a handgun on each hip. He said he was worried the event would spark a COVID-19 outbreak.
“I think it’s a bad example being set by our president and our governor,” Harris said.
Leaders of several Native American tribes in the region raised concerns that the event could lead to virus outbreaks among their members, who they say are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 because of an underfunded health care system and chronic health conditions.
“The president is putting our tribal members at risk to stage a photo op at one of our most sacred sites,” said Harold Frazier, chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe.
Some Native American groups used Trump’s visit to protest the Mount Rushmore memorial itself, pointing out that the Black Hills were taken from the Lakota people.
More than 100 protesters, many Lakota, lined the road leading from Keystone to the monument holding signs and playing Lakota music in 95-degree heat. Some held their fists in the air as cars loaded with event attendees passed by. Others held signs that read “Protect SoDak’s First People,” “You Are On Stolen Land” and “Dismantle White Supremacy.”
“The president needs to open his eyes. We’re people, too, and it was our land first,” said Hehakaho Waste, a spiritual elder with the Oglala Sioux tribe.
About 15 protesters were arrested after blocking a road and missing a police-imposed deadline to leave.
Several people who once oversaw fire danger at the national memorial had said setting off fireworks over the forest was a bad idea that could lead to a large wildfire. Fireworks were called off after 2009 because a mountain pine beetle infestation increased the fire risks.
Noem pushed to get the fireworks resumed soon after she was elected, and enlisted Trump’s help. The president brushed aside fire concerns earlier this year, saying: “What can burn? It’s stone.”
Trump has presided over a several large-crowd events — in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and at an Arizona megachurch — even as health officials warn against large gatherings and recommend face masks and social distancing. He plans a July Fourth celebration on the National Mall in Washington despite health concerns from D.C.’s mayor. Trump and Melania Trump plan to host events from the White House South Lawn and from the Ellipse.
___
Associated Press writers Jill Colvin and Aamer Madhani in Washington and Todd Richmond in Madison, Wis., contributed to this report.