SHAME
ON CITY of ORANGE POLICE DEPARTMENT:
Also see
I MUST SAY SHAME on the City of
Orange police dept as well. They have the entire video of what happened at the
7-eleven, and yet they have done everything they can to try to avoid blaming
the white 7-eleven clerk or the latino fellow, and have repeatedly told me, in
every conversation I have had with them (Officer Smith, Detective Maldonado,
Detective Murphy) (by the way, what makes an officer a "detective"?
Is it a promotion from cop? Do they take any classes to become detective?
Whatever the case may be, I didn't sense Maldonado using any detective skills
in investigating the 7-eleven clerk). (And when they read this, you can be sure
that any hope of them doing anything about this case is completely ZERO...but then
it's only at SLIM right now. So it’s going from slim to none, what’s new?!).
How do these police expect their good citizens
to back them in times of difficulty when they won't back us? I have a video
showing the clerk verbally abusing me...taunting, profanities, insults...; and
I have told them what happened OFF camera (the latino guy grabbed my camera,
while the white clerk tried to block me from getting it back; and then the
latino guy smashed it on the concrete), and yet all they will commit to is trying
to find the latino guy to "interview him " (says murphy). Initially
when they started conversing with me about the case they wouldn't even call the
Latino guy a "Latino". They tried to be so politically correct they
would only call him "male." How are they going to even find him to
"interview him" without some sort of description? And later Maldonado
tried to sum up the action of the Latino as having "tossed" my phone
in the bushes....as if it was some sort of gentle action. I have racked my mind
as to why they seem SO PROTECTIVE of the two assailants, and the best I can
come up with is MONEY. 7-eleven contributes city taxes to the city of Orange,
and I don't. I don't live in the City of Orange. I don't pay property taxes or
city taxes to the City of Orange, so I am meaningless to them. It's ALL ABOUT
the MONEY. How SLEAZY is that? Sell your soul for some pennies from 7-eleven
taxes. SHAME on Orange PD. You have SOLD YOUR SOUL for 7-eleven pennies. Don't
you know that a city with integrity will attract many more good people and
businesses than a city without morals or ethics? DON'T SELL your soul for
7-eleven pennies ! There's SO MUCH BETTER than that. The owner and this white
clerk of 7-eleven are SHADY characters. Why defend them? Because you must do so,
legally? NO. You know they cannot go around cursing and insulting and screaming
at customers (let alone smashing their cell phones to try to get rid of the
video evidence against them). There's plenty of ways to apply the law against
them (or him ) and his outrageous behavior. You and I both know it. And I also
know you have NO INTENTION of doing anything further in this case, and it is
SICKENING to me. And when I said I was going to stand with a "SHAME on
7-ELEVEN" sign outside the store (on the public sidewalk) Murphy scoffed
and said "You think that's going to shut them down?" HE DOESN'T GET
IT ! IT's about the principal of the matter. I also stand outside planned parenthoods with a sign advocating the
protection of unborn life ....and know that they will not close down either,
but I do it because it is the RIGHT THING TO DO! This used to be something most
people inherited in America from their parents...it's called
"character". You do something because it is THE RIGHT THING TO DO.
Police departments used to be characterized by this ethic as well. And we still
drive around as citizens under the illusion that our police still live by this
ethic. We believe that when we get stopped for speeding, they are reminding us
of how important it is to drive carefully for the sake of the lives of others
(and ourselves). And yet more and more we are coming to the grim reality that
too many cops don't actually care that much about others, if at all. And what
happened here at the 7-eleven, and the lack of an ethic of real care adds to
this growing disillusionment. I also happened to be the person who called the
police about the baby in a hot car a year ago and Officer Smith responded and
they ended up taking the lady (who was the director of a daycare center) to
court (where I testified). I don't know how close the baby was to being
seriously hurt or even killed by being in the closed hot car...I don't know how
much longer they would have left the baby in the van if we hadn't gone in to
the library and alerted them. Maybe fifteen minutes, maybe an hour...maybe
longer. They were there for a library show of some sort. Maybe I saved a baby's
life. Whatever the case may be I never even got a thanks, let alone any kind of
recognition from the City of Orange for good citizenship. It's AS IF the city
doesn't want to recognize good citizenship, but only that they must protect the
"legal rights" of less-than-good citizenship. It's shameless. It's
NOT America. Shame on Orange PD, and the City of Orange, for whom the shoe fits
(and for the silent good ones who can't do anything about it, keep the faith...but do what you can to
change the culture...or eventually you must quit...and leave...or it will ruin
your soul forever...it's that important).
Ronald Richards
(real name not used to protect
against threats by others)