mg2969
01-25-2008, 04:05 PM
Front Page of Long Beach Press telegram
http://www.presstelegram.com/ci_8071383
Lobstergate witness says `snitch' tag ended career
Defense denies retaliation against police officer as whistle-blower trial opens.
By Wendy Thomas Russell, Staff writer
Article Launched: 01/24/2008 09:51:08 PM PST
LOS ANGELES - A veteran police officer who claims he has been the victim of retaliation in the Long Beach Police Department for the last four years testified in court Thursday that he knew his career was over the first time he heard someone call him a "snitch."
Officer Craig Patterson, who helped bring to light a now-storied scandal in which members of the LBPD's Port Security Unit were conducting illegal lobster dives while on-duty, was the first witness called to testify in a whistle-blower case seeking millions of dollars in damages from the city of Long Beach.
"`Snitch' is a strong word for a police officer," said Patterson, one of three plaintiffs in the case. "There is a thin blue line, and it's not talked about openly ... This is a fraternity. It's the ultimate fraternity. And you do not betray the trust of your other officers."
Patterson's comments kicked off what is expected to be a two-week trial in the courtroom of Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Conrad Aragon. Plaintiffs' attorneys are likely to call a slew of police personnel - from the lowest to the highest ranks - in an attempt to establish an unrelenting and aggressive pattern of retaliation. At its core, the lawsuit alleges that Patterson, Officer Warren Harris and Sgt. David Gage were discriminated against after they reported that fellow officers were misusing a police boat and diving for lobsters in Long Beach Harbor.
The scandal was later dubbed "Lobstergate."
In opening statements Thursday morning, however, Long Beach's Principal Deputy City Attorney Belinda Mayes denied the existence of any retaliatory conspiracy against the plaintiffs. Although she spoke only briefly, she urged jurors to look for the "big picture" - rather than focusing exclusively on the plaintiffs' own, narrow views.
"I implore you to listen carefully to what the plaintiffs are saying - and what they don't say," Mayes said. "When the evidence starts presenting itself on the stand, you will see things that are missing, things that are misinterpreted, things that are viewed differently."
But Mayes did acknowledge that the plaintiffs had blown the whistle on undeniable misconduct.
"There was lobster-diving," she said. "It was diving for lobsters when (officers) were on duty. It was stupid. It was wrong. It was misconduct. Nothing more, nothing less."
In his own opening statement on behalf of the plaintiffs, attorney Chris Brizzolara said lobster-diving was more than misconduct - it was illegal. He argued that the plaintiffs had no choice but to report the conduct - especially considering that the Port Security Unit was put into place after 9/11 to act as a front line of defense against possible terrorist attacks.
But, he said, few people at the Police Department gave the misconduct the weight it deserved.
One officer involved in the diving was transferred to patrol, where he put a toy lobster and a sign reading "Fresh Lobster" on his desk, Brizzolara said. When the Press-Telegram ran an editorial cartoon satirizing the situation, he said, officers in numerous departments clipped the cartoon and attached it to walls, cubicles and desks.
The first time plaintiffs heard the term "Lobstergate" was at a meeting that had been called by Deputy Chief Tim Jackman to "smooth things over" in December 2004, Brizzolara said.
"During this meeting, (Jackman) referred to this entire incident as `Lobstergate,"' the attorney said. "That's the term that was coined by the Police Department ... in an attempt to minimize what actually happened here - which is that the Port of Long Beach was left unsecure by the Port Security Unit."
The statement sparked an objection from Mayes, which then was sustained by the judge for being improper.
Brizzolara contended all three plaintiffs had suffered for years at the hands of their fellow officers. He said Harris developed stress-induced hand sores and that his blood pressure once spiked to 175 over 115. Listening from the audience, Harris quickly brushed away tears from his eyes.
On the witness stand, Patterson spoke at length about his 22 years as a police officer, working numerous jobs and details with a history of outstanding performance reviews. He said he considered himself a popular officer and always assumed he would be promoted to sergeant someday.
He said he was appointed to the Port Security Unit - a coveted position - in the late fall of 2003. He worked the day shift, but he and Harris soon began noting evidence of suspicious behavior on the part of those working the night shift. The police boat's windows would be left down; lines would be left in the water. Once, he came aboard in the morning to find lobster remnants on the floor.
There were other things, too.
"The (boat's) tachometers," Patterson said, "had been used as ashtrays for the cigars that they were smoking on the boat at night."
In early 2004, Patterson reported the abuse to superiors. Gage, a sergeant at the time, supported him. Within weeks, Patterson said, some of the officers involved - including Cpl. David Frazier - were openly referring to "snitches in our unit" at the weekly meetings.
Patterson said his popularity in the department took an immediate dive.
"I was shunned," he said. "I was left alone in squad meetings to where no one would talk to me."
He added that the silent treatment segued into other types of retaliation.
"I've had things stolen," he said. "I've had things vandalized."
He once found his beach towel smeared with feces, and someone placed chili pepper flakes in his boots, which caused his feet to sweat. He also said officers once delayed responding to a call he'd put out regarding a possible illegal diver in the port, a delay that he attributed to retaliation.
"It was just unbearable for a while," he said.
He claimed he has been denied overtime opportunities and at least three promotions, even as less experienced officers were being elevated to the positions he desired. He also said he no longer receives department-wide e-mails - which cover policy changes, announce job opportunities, and discuss threats and recent arrests, among other things.
"Nobody to this day will tell me why I'm not getting them," he said.
Patterson also recounted a conversation with Chief Anthony Batts in early 2005 - before he filed his claim against the city.
"The way that I'm being treated is wrong," he recalled telling Batts.
Batts, he said, responded by saying: "These things sometimes happen, and they have a way of working themselves out."
The chief, Patterson said, also noted that he didn't think the whistle-blowers had been "damaged."
Patterson said he told Batts that it might take a lawsuit to prove he had been damaged.
"If you need to sue me to feel like a whole man," Batts allegedly told Patterson, "go ahead. I'll support you 100 percent."
But Patterson was most emotional when speaking about Sgt. Ron Burgess, the best man at his wedding. He indicated that Burgess had tried to support him at one time - telling him "he loved me like a brother" - but even Burgess, he said, stopped speaking to him two years ago.
The trial continues today.
http://www.presstelegram.com/ci_8071383
Lobstergate witness says `snitch' tag ended career
Defense denies retaliation against police officer as whistle-blower trial opens.
By Wendy Thomas Russell, Staff writer
Article Launched: 01/24/2008 09:51:08 PM PST
LOS ANGELES - A veteran police officer who claims he has been the victim of retaliation in the Long Beach Police Department for the last four years testified in court Thursday that he knew his career was over the first time he heard someone call him a "snitch."
Officer Craig Patterson, who helped bring to light a now-storied scandal in which members of the LBPD's Port Security Unit were conducting illegal lobster dives while on-duty, was the first witness called to testify in a whistle-blower case seeking millions of dollars in damages from the city of Long Beach.
"`Snitch' is a strong word for a police officer," said Patterson, one of three plaintiffs in the case. "There is a thin blue line, and it's not talked about openly ... This is a fraternity. It's the ultimate fraternity. And you do not betray the trust of your other officers."
Patterson's comments kicked off what is expected to be a two-week trial in the courtroom of Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Conrad Aragon. Plaintiffs' attorneys are likely to call a slew of police personnel - from the lowest to the highest ranks - in an attempt to establish an unrelenting and aggressive pattern of retaliation. At its core, the lawsuit alleges that Patterson, Officer Warren Harris and Sgt. David Gage were discriminated against after they reported that fellow officers were misusing a police boat and diving for lobsters in Long Beach Harbor.
The scandal was later dubbed "Lobstergate."
In opening statements Thursday morning, however, Long Beach's Principal Deputy City Attorney Belinda Mayes denied the existence of any retaliatory conspiracy against the plaintiffs. Although she spoke only briefly, she urged jurors to look for the "big picture" - rather than focusing exclusively on the plaintiffs' own, narrow views.
"I implore you to listen carefully to what the plaintiffs are saying - and what they don't say," Mayes said. "When the evidence starts presenting itself on the stand, you will see things that are missing, things that are misinterpreted, things that are viewed differently."
But Mayes did acknowledge that the plaintiffs had blown the whistle on undeniable misconduct.
"There was lobster-diving," she said. "It was diving for lobsters when (officers) were on duty. It was stupid. It was wrong. It was misconduct. Nothing more, nothing less."
In his own opening statement on behalf of the plaintiffs, attorney Chris Brizzolara said lobster-diving was more than misconduct - it was illegal. He argued that the plaintiffs had no choice but to report the conduct - especially considering that the Port Security Unit was put into place after 9/11 to act as a front line of defense against possible terrorist attacks.
But, he said, few people at the Police Department gave the misconduct the weight it deserved.
One officer involved in the diving was transferred to patrol, where he put a toy lobster and a sign reading "Fresh Lobster" on his desk, Brizzolara said. When the Press-Telegram ran an editorial cartoon satirizing the situation, he said, officers in numerous departments clipped the cartoon and attached it to walls, cubicles and desks.
The first time plaintiffs heard the term "Lobstergate" was at a meeting that had been called by Deputy Chief Tim Jackman to "smooth things over" in December 2004, Brizzolara said.
"During this meeting, (Jackman) referred to this entire incident as `Lobstergate,"' the attorney said. "That's the term that was coined by the Police Department ... in an attempt to minimize what actually happened here - which is that the Port of Long Beach was left unsecure by the Port Security Unit."
The statement sparked an objection from Mayes, which then was sustained by the judge for being improper.
Brizzolara contended all three plaintiffs had suffered for years at the hands of their fellow officers. He said Harris developed stress-induced hand sores and that his blood pressure once spiked to 175 over 115. Listening from the audience, Harris quickly brushed away tears from his eyes.
On the witness stand, Patterson spoke at length about his 22 years as a police officer, working numerous jobs and details with a history of outstanding performance reviews. He said he considered himself a popular officer and always assumed he would be promoted to sergeant someday.
He said he was appointed to the Port Security Unit - a coveted position - in the late fall of 2003. He worked the day shift, but he and Harris soon began noting evidence of suspicious behavior on the part of those working the night shift. The police boat's windows would be left down; lines would be left in the water. Once, he came aboard in the morning to find lobster remnants on the floor.
There were other things, too.
"The (boat's) tachometers," Patterson said, "had been used as ashtrays for the cigars that they were smoking on the boat at night."
In early 2004, Patterson reported the abuse to superiors. Gage, a sergeant at the time, supported him. Within weeks, Patterson said, some of the officers involved - including Cpl. David Frazier - were openly referring to "snitches in our unit" at the weekly meetings.
Patterson said his popularity in the department took an immediate dive.
"I was shunned," he said. "I was left alone in squad meetings to where no one would talk to me."
He added that the silent treatment segued into other types of retaliation.
"I've had things stolen," he said. "I've had things vandalized."
He once found his beach towel smeared with feces, and someone placed chili pepper flakes in his boots, which caused his feet to sweat. He also said officers once delayed responding to a call he'd put out regarding a possible illegal diver in the port, a delay that he attributed to retaliation.
"It was just unbearable for a while," he said.
He claimed he has been denied overtime opportunities and at least three promotions, even as less experienced officers were being elevated to the positions he desired. He also said he no longer receives department-wide e-mails - which cover policy changes, announce job opportunities, and discuss threats and recent arrests, among other things.
"Nobody to this day will tell me why I'm not getting them," he said.
Patterson also recounted a conversation with Chief Anthony Batts in early 2005 - before he filed his claim against the city.
"The way that I'm being treated is wrong," he recalled telling Batts.
Batts, he said, responded by saying: "These things sometimes happen, and they have a way of working themselves out."
The chief, Patterson said, also noted that he didn't think the whistle-blowers had been "damaged."
Patterson said he told Batts that it might take a lawsuit to prove he had been damaged.
"If you need to sue me to feel like a whole man," Batts allegedly told Patterson, "go ahead. I'll support you 100 percent."
But Patterson was most emotional when speaking about Sgt. Ron Burgess, the best man at his wedding. He indicated that Burgess had tried to support him at one time - telling him "he loved me like a brother" - but even Burgess, he said, stopped speaking to him two years ago.
The trial continues today.