Copwatch Lies to Supporters?

The post on redwoodcurtaincopwatch.net says, “TWELVE PEOPLE, ARRESTED AT A LOCKDOWN PROTEST AT CALTRANS, HAVE COURT ON:MONDAY, MARCH 21ST COURTHOUSE IN EUREKA (5th and K). Please come rally with signs protesting the road widening through Richardson Grove, then show support for demonstrators in court.
RALLY ON FRONT STEPS 7:45 am COURT FOR 12 ARRESTED 8:00 am”

Yet, no one has been charged and no one has a court date.

The original incident which resulted in several arrests, occurred on February 7 at a CalTrans facility in Eureka.  Six protesters, including Jeff Musgrave locked themselves down in the lobby to call attention to their opposition to a CalTrans project slated for Richardson Grove. Several people were cited and released as a result. No one however, as of Friday afternoon has been charged and no one has a court date–much less one on Monday morning

I generally like to assume the best of people and maybe there is some explanation.  But my efforts to get one have failed.

Because I’ve met Jeff Musgrave (and like him though we aren’t in agreement over the Richardson Grove issue) I approached him through Facebook.  I asked him about the situation.  He said, “I was cited and released for 1. Trespassing and 2. Obstruction of justice. I’m not sure as to why we have yet to be charged but I would assume it is one of two things. Either the DA is looking for more evidence or trumped up charges. Or they may let this one go, because it will bring more attention to the cause from the media created from a court case involving 12 people from the same Caltrans action. I expect to be charged but I also intend to push for a jury trial. I believe that the Copwatch post is intended to promote the rally despite the fact that will… not be in court but you may want to verify that with them.”

So, I emailed Copwatch.  They sent me a short note directing me to the Richardson Grove Action Now folk–who never responded.

The way it looks to me is that Copwatch deliberately lied.  And not just lied to anyone but lied to their supporters…People that are trusting them about a lot of issues.

Anyone showing up for the protest might want to ask them about that.

________________________________

Photo of protestors taken February 7th.

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31 Comments
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Trasson
Guest
Trasson
13 years ago

so Copwatch is now on the same level as FOX NEWS .

cop lover
Guest
cop lover
13 years ago

Cop Watch = Cop Haters

cop lover
Guest
cop lover
13 years ago

Cop Watch = Cop Haters

nick bravo
Guest
nick bravo
13 years ago

Verbena is no activist! She’s as manipulative, deceptive, and self centered as the people she claims to waging war on. Remember the war on the poor potlucks on teusday? she ended those when the very people she was feeding decided they’d had enough of her self serving ways.

Ernie's Place
Guest
13 years ago

The money that people donate to their cause is in direct proportion to the drama. Some causes are just and good, these people only give activism a bad name. Don’t feed the drama with your money and it will go away.

nick bravo
Guest
nick bravo
13 years ago

Verbena is no activist! She’s as manipulative, deceptive, and self centered as the people she claims to waging war on. Remember the war on the poor potlucks on teusday? she ended those when the very people she was feeding decided they’d had enough of her self serving ways.

Random Guy
Guest
Random Guy
13 years ago

I’ve met the interior of copwatch berkeley…answered their call for a freelance illustrator to do a series of pics for them, but declined the job as they needed somebody to stick around and work with them for awhile and I was mostly mobile. They’re real people, and very true to an important cause. Find the INDIVIDUAL(S) who posted that and call them out on it, the organization and what they’re doing is anything but shady.

Ernie's Place
Guest
13 years ago

The money that people donate to their cause is in direct proportion to the drama. Some causes are just and good, these people only give activism a bad name. Don’t feed the drama with your money and it will go away.

Jeff Muskrat
Guest
13 years ago

Gosh Kym, what an interesting spin. Pretty far out there…

It really sounds like you are reaching in this article. For what and why I’m not sure but hey, I figured I would respond to your friendly Facebook requests as to be represented in my own opinion, which you failed to mention.

I know that you have your biases and I do enjoy your opinion/editorial articles, including your rants and raves about those who are simply trying to protect the Redwoods in Richardson Grove State Park. Options to allow for STAA access besides ancient root damage and tree removal in the State Park exist but are not as expensive as the Richardson Grove widening project. This issue may be much more than an environmental risk to the Ancient Redwoods. It could be viewed by the taxpayer that Caltrans is and has always been associated with the higher price tag options in regards to road projects and don’t get me started about the contractor bidding racket. Caltrans has dozens of environmentally and financially questionable projects across the State due the the recent influx of Federal highway funding.

Maybe you could do an opinion/editorial or maybe even an actual article on the over-expenditures, mismanagement and cronyism inherent in the State system known as Caltrans? You could even get the inside scoop from your husband instead of taking my words and twisting them into an angry rant about Copwatch when it wasn’t even Copwatch that put on the rally. Next time, do your homework and look into what Copwatch is or maybe say the words “Cop..Watch” a few times in your head and you may realize suddenly that Copwatch ONLY watches COPS to both prevent and record POLICE BRUTALITY! It’s an amazing concept and “Copwatchers” usually don’t get arrested or put themselves in that position for more than obvious reasons. They don’t put on rallies or demonstrations. How did you miss that one?

You could also check into why the court system didn’t honor the signed agreement in which we were to appear in court today. How many of you reading this out there have signed a traffic ticket or a misdemeanor which is a legal agreement to have missed work and shown up to court on a Monday morning just to find out you haven’t been charged yet? Or surprised to find out you have a bench warrant for a ticket or something that you went to court for but were put off and told to check you mail for a future hearing date? Who “lied” in this instance?

So, I hope you don’t “unfriend” me in Facebook world. I thought and also heard from a mutual friend that you were an honest and trustworthy person before I responded to you. I’m not the type to get mad and I do enjoy our exchanges. More or less, I feel sorry for you in regards to ethics between journalism and friends. Again, I suggest that if you expect anything further, I would expect you to agree to the terms and possibly question your own ethics and biases the next time you do another Op-ed about Richardson Grove.

Otherwise, who is the liar Kym?

Kym Kemp’s Facebook message to me below:

“As one of those arrested at the CalTrans building in protest of the Richardson Grove Project, are you planning to be at the rally? (If so, what message would you like to have people hear?)

Have you been charged (I understand that you haven’t but I thought I might take the lazy way and just print questions and answers plus it allows people to make up their own mind and keeps my opinion from coloring your answers)?

Do you expect to be charged? (If so, what do you think will happen?)

The post on redwoodcurtaincopwatch.net says, “TWELVE PEOPLE, ARRESTED AT A LOCKDOWN PROTEST AT CALTRANS, HAVE COURT ON:MONDAY, MARCH 21ST COURTHOUSE IN EUREKA (5th and K)” As far as I know, no one has been charged and no one has a court date. What does this mean then?”- Kym Kemp

My response:

“Greetings Kym! And sorry about the delay. Had to think about things first. I may not make it to the rally, I’ve been in a very bad headspace between world events and personal “events”. Please don’t share that part. Here it goes:And this is only my opinion, I’m not qualified to speak for the group(or myself) regarding legal matters. I was cited and released for 1. Trespassing and 2. Obstruction of justice. I’m not sure as to why we have yet to be charged but I would assume it is one of two things. Either the DA is looking for more evidence or trumped up charges. Or they may let this one go, because it will bring more attention to the cause from the media created from a court case involving 12 people from the same Caltrans action. I expect to be charged but I also intend to push for a jury trial. I believe that the Copwatch post is intended to promote the rally despite the fact that will will not be in court but you may want to verify that with them. Thanks Kym, hope this helps. I will be happy to discuss any further RG related issues as long as you represent my opinions without spin. I trust you to do that but I thought I should still mention it. Feel free to message me anytime and let me know if you have any further questions.”

Staff
Member
13 years ago
Reply to  Jeff Muskrat

Jeff, I’m confused. The exchange of Facebook messages is exactly how you printed it. What I’m not sure is how this is different from what I stated?

As to Copwatch, they have something posted on their site that they must know to be untrue. No one had a court date. I offered them a chance to respond to my questions. They didn’t.

Random Guy
Guest
Random Guy
13 years ago

I’ve met the interior of copwatch berkeley…answered their call for a freelance illustrator to do a series of pics for them, but declined the job as they needed somebody to stick around and work with them for awhile and I was mostly mobile. They’re real people, and very true to an important cause. Find the INDIVIDUAL(S) who posted that and call them out on it, the organization and what they’re doing is anything but shady.

Random Guy
Guest
Random Guy
13 years ago

“The way it looks to me is that Copwatch deliberately lied. And not just lied to anyone but lied to their supporters…People that are trusting them about a lot of issues.”

…and c’maaaan. The NCJ says school’s are closed right now. Are they lying to their supporters? Simple explanation, and maybe there are in fact several people being tried. They get a TON of emails, hateful and otherwise…don’t take it personal that they’re off the ball about this.

Staff
Member
13 years ago
Reply to  Random Guy

No one has been charged. I checked. They did respond to email. They did not answer the questions though.

Random Guy
Guest
Random Guy
13 years ago
Reply to  Staff

so they’re deliberately lying? You know what their organization does, right? you know they’re not associated with the folks who relayed the message to them? You know what jeff wrote above is true about absenting court dates? Your email to them was more important than how many others they get in an hour?

Just really bizarre to me that anybody living in podunk paradise would support this project. Thanks for supporting something that’s gonna have an adverse affect on my neighborhood down the line, BY CUTTING INTO AN EXTREMELY ENDANGERED ANCIENT FOREST.

Maybe when the bulldozers come to your neck of the woods and start packing em in your area…a liquor store on every corner, roadside dumpers run wild, crime on the rise…you’ll see the light. But that’d be something your kids and their kids will have to deal with…forever after. Just another bigger freeway project right now, just like all of them that came before it. Hope your husband is well paid, unlike other Caltrans workers who’ve been royally screwed the past few years.

Ben Schill
Guest
Ben Schill
13 years ago
Reply to  Random Guy

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ…!

Jeff Muskrat
Guest
13 years ago

Gosh Kym, what an interesting spin. Pretty far out there…

It really sounds like you are reaching in this article. For what and why I’m not sure but hey, I figured I would respond to your friendly Facebook requests as to be represented in my own opinion, which you failed to mention.

I know that you have your biases and I do enjoy your opinion/editorial articles, including your rants and raves about those who are simply trying to protect the Redwoods in Richardson Grove State Park. Options to allow for STAA access besides ancient root damage and tree removal in the State Park exist but are not as expensive as the Richardson Grove widening project. This issue may be much more than an environmental risk to the Ancient Redwoods. It could be viewed by the taxpayer that Caltrans is and has always been associated with the higher price tag options in regards to road projects and don’t get me started about the contractor bidding racket. Caltrans has dozens of environmentally and financially questionable projects across the State due the the recent influx of Federal highway funding.

Maybe you could do an opinion/editorial or maybe even an actual article on the over-expenditures, mismanagement and cronyism inherent in the State system known as Caltrans? You could even get the inside scoop from your husband instead of taking my words and twisting them into an angry rant about Copwatch when it wasn’t even Copwatch that put on the rally. Next time, do your homework and look into what Copwatch is or maybe say the words “Cop..Watch” a few times in your head and you may realize suddenly that Copwatch ONLY watches COPS to both prevent and record POLICE BRUTALITY! It’s an amazing concept and “Copwatchers” usually don’t get arrested or put themselves in that position for more than obvious reasons. They don’t put on rallies or demonstrations. How did you miss that one?

You could also check into why the court system didn’t honor the signed agreement in which we were to appear in court today. How many of you reading this out there have signed a traffic ticket or a misdemeanor which is a legal agreement to have missed work and shown up to court on a Monday morning just to find out you haven’t been charged yet? Or surprised to find out you have a bench warrant for a ticket or something that you went to court for but were put off and told to check you mail for a future hearing date? Who “lied” in this instance?

So, I hope you don’t “unfriend” me in Facebook world. I thought and also heard from a mutual friend that you were an honest and trustworthy person before I responded to you. I’m not the type to get mad and I do enjoy our exchanges. More or less, I feel sorry for you in regards to ethics between journalism and friends. Again, I suggest that if you expect anything further, I would expect you to agree to the terms and possibly question your own ethics and biases the next time you do another Op-ed about Richardson Grove.

Otherwise, who is the liar Kym?

Kym Kemp’s Facebook message to me below:

“As one of those arrested at the CalTrans building in protest of the Richardson Grove Project, are you planning to be at the rally? (If so, what message would you like to have people hear?)

Have you been charged (I understand that you haven’t but I thought I might take the lazy way and just print questions and answers plus it allows people to make up their own mind and keeps my opinion from coloring your answers)?

Do you expect to be charged? (If so, what do you think will happen?)

The post on redwoodcurtaincopwatch.net says, “TWELVE PEOPLE, ARRESTED AT A LOCKDOWN PROTEST AT CALTRANS, HAVE COURT ON:MONDAY, MARCH 21ST COURTHOUSE IN EUREKA (5th and K)” As far as I know, no one has been charged and no one has a court date. What does this mean then?”- Kym Kemp

My response:

“Greetings Kym! And sorry about the delay. Had to think about things first. I may not make it to the rally, I’ve been in a very bad headspace between world events and personal “events”. Please don’t share that part. Here it goes:And this is only my opinion, I’m not qualified to speak for the group(or myself) regarding legal matters. I was cited and released for 1. Trespassing and 2. Obstruction of justice. I’m not sure as to why we have yet to be charged but I would assume it is one of two things. Either the DA is looking for more evidence or trumped up charges. Or they may let this one go, because it will bring more attention to the cause from the media created from a court case involving 12 people from the same Caltrans action. I expect to be charged but I also intend to push for a jury trial. I believe that the Copwatch post is intended to promote the rally despite the fact that will will not be in court but you may want to verify that with them. Thanks Kym, hope this helps. I will be happy to discuss any further RG related issues as long as you represent my opinions without spin. I trust you to do that but I thought I should still mention it. Feel free to message me anytime and let me know if you have any further questions.”

Staff
Member
13 years ago
Reply to  Jeff Muskrat

Jeff, I’m confused. The exchange of Facebook messages is exactly how you printed it. What I’m not sure is how this is different from what I stated?

As to Copwatch, they have something posted on their site that they must know to be untrue. No one had a court date. I offered them a chance to respond to my questions. They didn’t.

Random Guy
Guest
Random Guy
13 years ago

Thanks for that Jeff…I’m becoming increasingly disenchanted with the local blog scene…it’s a social outlet more than anything for most, and some kind of ratings game for others.

Random Guy
Guest
Random Guy
13 years ago

“The way it looks to me is that Copwatch deliberately lied. And not just lied to anyone but lied to their supporters…People that are trusting them about a lot of issues.”

…and c’maaaan. The NCJ says school’s are closed right now. Are they lying to their supporters? Simple explanation, and maybe there are in fact several people being tried. They get a TON of emails, hateful and otherwise…don’t take it personal that they’re off the ball about this.

Staff
Member
13 years ago
Reply to  Random Guy

No one has been charged. I checked. They did respond to email. They did not answer the questions though.

Random Guy
Guest
Random Guy
13 years ago
Reply to  Staff

so they’re deliberately lying? You know what their organization does, right? you know they’re not associated with the folks who relayed the message to them? You know what jeff wrote above is true about absenting court dates? Your email to them was more important than how many others they get in an hour?

Just really bizarre to me that anybody living in podunk paradise would support this project. Thanks for supporting something that’s gonna have an adverse affect on my neighborhood down the line, BY CUTTING INTO AN EXTREMELY ENDANGERED ANCIENT FOREST.

Maybe when the bulldozers come to your neck of the woods and start packing em in your area…a liquor store on every corner, roadside dumpers run wild, crime on the rise…you’ll see the light. But that’d be something your kids and their kids will have to deal with…forever after. Just another bigger freeway project right now, just like all of them that came before it. Hope your husband is well paid, unlike other Caltrans workers who’ve been royally screwed the past few years.

Ben Schill
Guest
Ben Schill
13 years ago
Reply to  Random Guy

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ…!

Random Guy
Guest
Random Guy
13 years ago

Thanks for that Jeff…I’m becoming increasingly disenchanted with the local blog scene…it’s a social outlet more than anything for most, and some kind of ratings game for others.

Jim
Guest
Jim
13 years ago

It seems to me Kym did the best she could on an issue that is of concern to her and the community. Knowing how long it takes to get to Eureka, I would have been pissed to have made the trip then found nothing going on in court.

So, if there is an objection to the word “lies” what would be a better one? Cop Watch “fibs”? Cop Watch “bullshits”? Cop Watch “manipulates”?

Kim “Verbana” Starr is a drama queen as anyone without a built in bias would quickly decern. She generates controversy many times where none exists. She purposefully stirs up the community for the chance to be the center of attention. Whatever good she has done in the past is long gone. And I say all of the above from seeing her and personally witnessing her in action for many, many years.

Cop Watch has a place in our community. It has done valuable work in the past and will in the future and I support it. However, it needs a real house cleaning.

Jim
Guest
Jim
13 years ago

It seems to me Kym did the best she could on an issue that is of concern to her and the community. Knowing how long it takes to get to Eureka, I would have been pissed to have made the trip then found nothing going on in court.

So, if there is an objection to the word “lies” what would be a better one? Cop Watch “fibs”? Cop Watch “bullshits”? Cop Watch “manipulates”?

Kim “Verbana” Starr is a drama queen as anyone without a built in bias would quickly decern. She generates controversy many times where none exists. She purposefully stirs up the community for the chance to be the center of attention. Whatever good she has done in the past is long gone. And I say all of the above from seeing her and personally witnessing her in action for many, many years.

Cop Watch has a place in our community. It has done valuable work in the past and will in the future and I support it. However, it needs a real house cleaning.

capdiamont
Guest
13 years ago

The crowds and signs were pretty well packed up around ten. Looked liked they felt betrayed.

capdiamont
Guest
13 years ago

The crowds and signs were pretty well packed up around ten. Looked liked they felt betrayed.

Verbena
Guest
Verbena
13 years ago

http://saverichardsongrove.blogspot.com/2011/03/monday-march-21st-rally-court.html

Here is the link about the Rally and Court Date. The same info that was posted on the Redwood Curtain CopWatch site.

A person does not necessarily know whether they’re charged by the date for which the person signs an “Agreement to Appear”- until 2 days before that date. Signing that agreement (in this case, 12 of us were arrested, jailed, booked, signed it, then were released) means arrest if the person does not appear. Anyway, Jeff explained that.

The really sad and ironic thing however….is that there are real issues -as with the plan to expand the highway through Richardson Grove, intense daily/nightly police violence, and an all out war on the poor and the Earth- and somehow this blog has people talking from their recliner chairs about how CopWatch or me or whoever are MAKING THINGS UP FOR DRAMA and ATTENTION. Who has time for that?

Staff
Member
13 years ago
Reply to  Verbena

Verbena,

I did not see that post on Save Richardson Grove. I understand now why I was given an email address of saverichardsongrove by whomever answered the email at Copwatch.

My first reaction on realizing that Copwatch’s post was based off the Save Richardson Grove’s post was that I owed Copwatch an apology and that Save Richardson Grove was the originator of the problem. (And I have the same issue with their post as I have with Copwatch’s.)

But then I realized that you said that you had been arrested. You must have known you hadn’t been charged in enough time to post something on the site (at the minimum two days prior according to you). Why didn’t you? The post clearly says that “TWELVE PEOPLE, ARRESTED AT A LOCKDOWN PROTEST AT CALTRANS, HAVE COURT ON: MONDAY, MARCH 21ST …show support for demonstrators in court.” It doesn’t say will likely have court. It says “Have court.” Certainly after I contacted Copwatch, somebody should have been aware there was a problem. In fact, I expected that the post would be removed. I checked right before I wrote my post in order to make sure it was still there. If it was gone, then hey somebody had realized that the post was in error and pulled it. Fair enough. And then I wouldn’t have written about it. But the post stayed up while you must have known it was wrong.

Verbena
Guest
Verbena
13 years ago

http://saverichardsongrove.blogspot.com/2011/03/monday-march-21st-rally-court.html

Here is the link about the Rally and Court Date. The same info that was posted on the Redwood Curtain CopWatch site.

A person does not necessarily know whether they’re charged by the date for which the person signs an “Agreement to Appear”- until 2 days before that date. Signing that agreement (in this case, 12 of us were arrested, jailed, booked, signed it, then were released) means arrest if the person does not appear. Anyway, Jeff explained that.

The really sad and ironic thing however….is that there are real issues -as with the plan to expand the highway through Richardson Grove, intense daily/nightly police violence, and an all out war on the poor and the Earth- and somehow this blog has people talking from their recliner chairs about how CopWatch or me or whoever are MAKING THINGS UP FOR DRAMA and ATTENTION. Who has time for that?

Staff
Member
13 years ago
Reply to  Verbena

Verbena,

I did not see that post on Save Richardson Grove. I understand now why I was given an email address of saverichardsongrove by whomever answered the email at Copwatch.

My first reaction on realizing that Copwatch’s post was based off the Save Richardson Grove’s post was that I owed Copwatch an apology and that Save Richardson Grove was the originator of the problem. (And I have the same issue with their post as I have with Copwatch’s.)

But then I realized that you said that you had been arrested. You must have known you hadn’t been charged in enough time to post something on the site (at the minimum two days prior according to you). Why didn’t you? The post clearly says that “TWELVE PEOPLE, ARRESTED AT A LOCKDOWN PROTEST AT CALTRANS, HAVE COURT ON: MONDAY, MARCH 21ST …show support for demonstrators in court.” It doesn’t say will likely have court. It says “Have court.” Certainly after I contacted Copwatch, somebody should have been aware there was a problem. In fact, I expected that the post would be removed. I checked right before I wrote my post in order to make sure it was still there. If it was gone, then hey somebody had realized that the post was in error and pulled it. Fair enough. And then I wouldn’t have written about it. But the post stayed up while you must have known it was wrong.