Victims of extra-judicial executions in Sonoma County since 2000

"JCAL to plant crosses on Memorial Day for victims of law enforcement; Santa Rosa Justice Activists to Unveil “Field of Crosses” on Memorial Day Remembering Law Enforcement Related Deaths"
Justice for Andy Lopez Cruz! (d. 2013-10-22; Santa Rosa) [link]
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Activists in the Justice Coalition for Andy Lopez will commemorate Memorial Day 2014 at Andy's Memorial Park in Santa Rosa with the Justice Installation of a field of stark white crosses dedicated to the memory of those who have died in police-related fatal injuries.
The unadorned crosses to be planted in the field will symbolize the deaths of the 56 individuals who died in police-involved incidents in Sonoma County since 2000 as well as the Oct. 13, 2013 death of Andy Lopez, the recent deaths in Salinas of Osman Hernandez on May 9th and Angel Francisco Ruiz on May 21, and the death of Oscar Herrera in his mother’s arms on May 4 in Dublin and the police shooting death of Alejandro Nieto in San Francisco on March 21st. The Ruiz, Hernandez and Herrera deaths were all at the hands of police in just the past 3 weeks.
The Justice Installation, to be permanently located at the Andy Lopez Memorial Park at the corner of West Robles and Moorland Ave. in Santa Rosa, will be unveiled at 1pm Monday with silence and the solemn reading of the names of those who have recently lost their lives in police related deaths. The installation will feature a daily countdown clock ticking off the days since the vicious shooting death of Andy Lopez on the now-hallowed spot where the 13-year old bled to death after receiving 7 bullet wounds fired by Sonoma County Deputy SheriffErick Gelhaus who came upon Andy innocently carrying a toy airsoft gun. Deputy Gelhaus fatally shot Andy in a hail of gunfire in 10 seconds before the youth even had the time to face the officer.
The Andy Lopez Daily Countdown Clock will mark the number of days, as each passes, since the fatal shooting of the 13-year old Latino boy and the number of days Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch has failed to act on the wanton murder of Andy. Despite repeated calls to step aside due to conflict of interest charges lodged by area justice activists and Sonoma County attorneys, despite a mountain of forensic and eye-witness evidence pointing to the reckless and capricious behavior of Deputy Gelhaus, despite her own admission that the Sonoma County District Attorney’s office has neither the financial resources nor expertise to adjudicate the liability of Deputy Gelhaus for the shooting of Andy – the clock continues to slowly tick without an indictment.
Andy Lopez activists have continued on a weekly basis to picket, march, write letters, sign petitions, attend Sonoma County and Santa Rosa City Council meetings to demand Justice for Andy Lopez and the Criminal Indictment of Deputy Gelhaus. In the words of Andy’s Youth organizer Nicole Guerra – “Justice Delayed IS Justice Denied”.
* In Salinas - Osman Hernandez on May 9th and Angel Francisco Ruiz on May 21,
* In Dublin - Oscar Herrera, in his mother’s arms on May 4, and
* In San Francisco, police shooting death of Alejandro Nieto on March 21st.
The Ruiz, Hernandez and Herrera deaths were all at the hands of police bullets in just the past three weeks. 


SONOMA COUNTY LIST OF NAMES since 2000

1. Phillip Tony Medina -48- Died January 7, 2000 - just hours after being moved to a hospital from the Sonoma County Jail. Jail officials say Medina died of the flu, but hospital records show that by the time he was admitted Medina already had infection throughout his body and organs were beginning to fail.

2. James William Curran –51- Died March 19, 2000 - in handcuffs after Sonoma County Sheriff's deputies responded to an early morning call of a man behaving strangely. Deputies claim they handcuffed Curran in order to prevent him from hurting himself.

3. Erin Colleen McDonald -31- Died April 10, 2000 - after being shot five times by Windsor Police Officers who broke into her home after she had called them for help during a psychotic episode.

4. Todd Eugene Dieterle -37- Died May 4, 2000 - after being fired at 13 times and shot seven times by Santa Rosa Police and the Santa Rosa Junior College Police after they were told that he had robbed a convenience store with a painted plastic squirt gun.

5. Robert Francisco Camacho -35- Died May 4, 2000 - after being shot 5 times outside his home by Rohnert Park Police during an armed battle. His wife had recently sought mental health treatment for her husband but was told he could not be involuntarily committed unless he was a danger to himself or others.

6. Barry Alan Rogers –45- Died July 19, 2000 - in Sonoma County Jail (Sheriff's Dept.) after six days of in jail, apparently a suicide. Inmates interviewed said that Barry was distressed and disoriented when he was incarcerated and asked for mental health attention. Soon after he arrived in the jail, Rogers' mother died, which certainly should have alerted jail officials to put him on suicide watch, which was not done. Some jail employees admit Rogers' death was due to a "classification error."

7. Paul R. Daniel –51- Died September 28, 2000 - in Sonoma County Jail. The official story: when found on the cell floor by deputies, Daniel "became combative and had to be restrained." He was then taken to booking where he began vomiting and died soon after. Inmates tell another story -- that overwhelmingly, inmates inside think Daniel was beaten to death. Whether or not this proves to be true, the fact that the inmates think it's true makes the jail a very dangerous place for inmates and correctional officers alike. The fact that, in the face of an inconclusive autopsy Daniel's brain was sent off for further study, and that correctional officers involved are refusing to cooperate with Santa Rosa police officers investigating the death only raise the suspicion level.


2001

8. Carey Steinberg Baron -23- Died April 8, 2001 - in the Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Facility, reportedly by hanging himself with shoelaces in a bathroom. His family stated that he was doing well for the first time in his life and couldn’t think of a reason that he would kill himself.

9. Unidentified Person –Age Unknown- Died July 21, 2001 –in custody. The 2001 – 2002 Sonoma County Grand Jury Critical Incident Report referenced this death, but no trace of this person’s death could be found in local media.

10. Patrick McLoughlin -19- Died October 23, 2001 - when he turned a gun on himself after exchanging gunfire with Petaluma Police following a failed marijuana heist at a Petaluma home.


2002

11. Luis Solario Gonzalez – 23- Died February 28, 2002 – in the back of a Sheriff’s patrol car, in what was determined by the Sheriff- Coroner to be a drug overdose while in custody.

12. Thomas John Connelly -49- Died May 8, 2002 - while in custody in the Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Facility. Connelly was found hanged in his cell with a sheet four days after he was booked at the jail. He was arrested on suspicion of public intoxication.


2003

13. Serena Roxanne Case -32- Died January 16, 2003 – of an apparent drug overdose while in custody. Case was the eighth jail inmate to die in six years, four by suicide and four by drug overdoses.

14. Keith Thompson Suite -42- Died April 8, 2003 – After being in a coma for 10 months following a heart attack suffered as he was being forcibly removed from a cell at the Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Facility.

15. Seth Micah Warde -22- Died July 10, 2003- after being pulled over by CHP officer for speeding. The officer’s report claimed that Warde shot himself in the head with a .38 caliber pistol while in his own car.

16. Anthony Zakharoff -49- Died July 27, 2003 in custody after collapsing at the Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Facility. While he was being booked at the jail, authorities said Zakharoff appeared to need medical help and then stopped breathing. He died soon after at a nearby hospital.

17. Michael William Behring-52- Died November 18, 2003 after being arrested on a warrant by Sheriff’s Deputies. Michael was awaiting booking at the county jail when a nurse recommended that he be taken to the hospital. Authorities said he admitted to ingesting methamphetamine near the time of his arrest. Cause of death was determined to be a drug overdose.


2004

18. Joseph Alan Peay -35- Died September 17, 2004 - after being shot 10 times by a Sonoma County Sheriff's Deputy (Boustany who also killed Kenneth Hugh Duncan in 2005) and a CHP officer as he placed a loaded handgun in his mouth and shot. He was intoxicated and had been fleeing from a DUI checkpoint.

19. Kenneth Hugh Duncan -62- Died November 11, 2004 - after he was shot nine times by Sonoma County Sheriff's Deputies (Deputy Boustany who also killed Joseph A. Peay in 2004, Deputy Brad James also shot Roger Wayne Anderson in 1999 ) during a standoff, in which he killed his brother-in-law during a psychotic break.

20. April Hanlon -35- Died November 25, 2004 - in front of her home after Sonoma County Sheriff's Deputies claim she shot herself with a shotgun but was also fired upon at 10 times by Deputies because they thought she was shooting at somebody else..

2005

21. Terry Lee Grinner Jr. -30- Died January 28, 2005 - when Rohnert Park Police shot him twice in the back as he attempted to flee on foot after a traffic stop.

22. Carlos Casillas Fernandez -31- Died July 16, 2005 - in his home while having a psychotic episode, after being shot by Santa Rosa Police with Taser stun guns six times, hit with a large amount of pepper spray and put in a neck restraint while getting handcuffed.

23. Donna Gean Welch -48- Died August 21, 2005 in custody. She was booked into jail that night and discovered unconscious in her cell about 48 hours later. Welch, who was homeless, had been placed in the jail's general holding cells, but on a status requiring medical staff to monitor her condition more frequently due to drug withdrawal. The last medical check was done one hour and 24 minutes before her body was discovered. Jail policy requires guards to perform routine checks on inmates every 30 minutes. Deputies said that although two more interviews with guards have to be done, records gathered by investigators indicate that Welch had been checked ``right at the 30 minute mark.''

24. James Anthony Decosta -72- Died October 1, 2005 - when he was shot 27 times and fired upon 42 times after he pointed a loaded handgun at Petaluma Police after a car chase. He was being sought on child molestation warrants.

25. Michael Tolosko Died December 7, 2005 – His mother said he died after being shot with a Taser stun gun and said Sheriff’s Deputies didn't believe her when she told them her son stopped breathing and ignored her pleas for medical aid. The official cause of death was determined to be Agitated Psychosis, a “condition” commonly associated with Taser use and subsequent death –sometimes called Excited Delirium.

26. James Richard Nace -42- Died December 10, 2005 - when a Sonoma County Sheriff's Deputy turned his own gun back on him as they attempted to arrest him for possession of marijuana.


2006

27. Moses McDowell -29- Died November 6, 2006 - he was bipolar and was suffering ethanol Withdrawal in the Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Facility.


2007

28. Haki Kuasi Gaidi Thurston -23- Died February 23, 2007 - after being shot 27 times with assault rifles by SRPD Swat team (One of these officers, Sgt. Richard Celli, also killed Richard DeSantis this year). Haki was unarmed and running AWAY from police. Sgt. Richard Celli, Sgt. Stephen Schwartz, Officer John Barr and Officer Brian Boettger.

29. Jeremiah Chass -16- Died March 12, 2007 - at his home after being shot 8 times by Sonoma County Sheriff's Deputies while suffering a mental health crisis, armed only with a pocket knife, and locked in a minivan.

30. Richard Desantis -30- Died April 9, 2007 - in front of his home after being shot twice with a handgun, a rifle and with plastic bullets by Santa Rosa Police, who were told by his wife in a clear and loud voice, that this was a mental health emergency and that her husband was unarmed. Officer Travis Menke, Sgt. Richard Celli, Officer Patricia Mann.

31. Walter L. Heller -55- Died April 22, 2007 - after suffering a brain injury as he fell to the ground in front of his home while unarmed, after being shot twice with Tasers by Petaluma Police Officers. Officers Gary Buffo, Jason Lechleiter and Dustin Rodrigues.

32. Luis Felipe Sanchez -27- Died May 4, 2007 – after being shot seven times by Sonoma County Sheriff's Deputies after they entered the home of his girlfriend and cornered him in a bathroom. Deputies Mike Frank, Greg Myers and Joe Dulworth

33. Richard Lamont Williamson Jr. -54- Died June 17, 2007 - according to the Sheriff’s Department while suffering from withdrawal in the Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Facility.

34. Ryan George -22- Died July 9, 2007 - while suffering from sickle cell anemia in the Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Facility after repeated requests by his family for treatment by his personal physician.

35. Gregorey William Townsley -46- Died September 24, 2007 – according to the Sheriff’s Department while suffering from withdrawal in the Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Facility. Mr. Townsley was a houseless resident of Santa Rosa.


2008

36. Jesse Hamilton -24- Died January 2, 2008 - a mental health client, was shot by Santa Rosa Police who were responding to a mental health crisis call.

37. Samuel Antonio Castillo-Martinez -37- Died March 13, 2008 – in custody at the Sonoma County Honor farm. An autopsy revealed no signs of trauma or other suspicious circumstances, and Sheriff’s officials say that this 37 year old man, in otherwise perfect health, may have died from "cardiac-related natural causes”

38. Heather Smith (Billings) -31- Died March 16, 2008 – after being shot by Rohnert Park Police who were responding to a mental health crisis call.

39. Leobardo Medina Pacheco – 38 - April 21, 2008 succumbed in hospital after found hanging in Sonoma County Jail on April 18.

40. Guy James Fernandez - 42 – November 10, 2008 Taser death at the hands of Rohnert Park Public Safety. According to the Sheriff, Fernandez may have been under the influence of methamphetamine.

41. Craig Von Dohlen -37- December 6, 2008 – shot when confronting Sheriff’s deputies with a rifle

42. Nathan Vaughn -39- December 22, 2008 – Killed by Taser Sheriff’s Department. Had called day before asking to be taken into custody


2009

43. Jon Gerald Moore -44- September 18, 2009 Died in Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Facility. “No obvious signs of trauma and nothing suspicious.”


2010

44. Teresa Ellen Hagan – 44 – January 22, 2010 – Died and found hanging in a “padded sobering cell” and later on died in the hospital.

45. Albert Mike Leday, Jr -June 1, 2010- Coddingtown- shot and killed by Sheriff’s Deputy Mike Fuston after high speed chase. 3rd person killed by Fuston.

46. Michael Lee Molgard -34- September 9, 2010 apparently jumped to his death from a high railing in Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Facility.

47. Nicodemus Sullivan October 31, 2010 – Shot and killed by Sheriff’s Deputies and CHP after cops mistakenly thought he was “ramming” cop cars. 41 shots fired.

48. Brian Leonard Gittings -44- December 5, 2010 - died after he appeared to have trouble breathing at the Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Facility.


2011

49. William Jackson – 59- April 15, 2011 died after suffering “medical distress” at North County Detention Facility

50. Gary Pickard Jr. – 27- June 26, 2011 – shot twice by Sheriff’s Deputies

51. Pablo Perez Ramirez – 25- November 25, 2011 – pulled a revolver from his waistband and was killed by Sebastopol PD officer


2013

52. Richard Shreckengaust – 37- March 2, 2013 – killed by Sheriff’s Deputies in Guerneville.

53. Neils Conrad -55- April 22, 2013 – found unconscious on the floor of the dorm room bathroom at the North County Detention Facility.

54. Urbano Moreno Morales – 48- June 9, 2013 killed by Windsor Police (Sheriff) after he had killed his ex-girlfriend and charged police.

55. Christopher Eric Augustin -37- October 15, 2013- Man dies after struggle with Santa Rosa Police Department. The man appeared to suffer some kind of medical emergency after police confronted him at the apartment, police officials said. Death is being investigated by Sonoma County Sheriff’s office.

56. Andy Lopez Cruz – 13 - October 22, 2013 – Andy Lopez Cruz was shot by a Sonoma County Sheriff’s Deputy while he walking through an open field carrying a plastic replica of an AK47 in broad daylight, in Santa Rosa.

57. Wayne A. Courtright - 58 - died November 19, 2013 - shot and killed by Sonoma County Deputies in Guerneville after his wife allegedly called for help, saying Wayne was intoxicated, suicidal and threatening to kill her. Deputies arrived and surrounded the resort. Officers reported they heard gunfire inside. Wayne is alleged to have then come outside and fired at deputies, who allegedly fired back, killing him.

58. Jordon Hector - 34 - died November 22, 2013 - chase ending at the outskirts of Forestville/Windsor with Sonoma County Sheriff's Deputies, alleged suicide. A former girlfriend allegedly called 911, after Hector allegedly forced his way into her Santa Rosa apartment and threatened her. Ultimately a chase took place between Hector and deputies, which ended when Hector's vehicle was stopped by a spike strip. Hector allegedly shot himself before deputies could reach him.


2014

59. Miguel Garcia, 34 - died April 2, 2014 - standoff with Sonoma County Sheriff's Deputies, alleged suicide. Garcia was alleged to be connected to a Mexican crime organization, to have participated in 2 recent kidnappings and 1 murder.  Found by officers in a Kenwood trailer.  A 24-hour standoff ensued.  He died outside the trailer after several rounds of tear gas were deployed and officers fired at him.  His death was later called a suicide.

60. Wayne Hoffman, 48 - died April 6, 2014 - Struggle with SRPD, Brutality?
Hoffman was riding his bicycle at around 1:00 a.m. on a Sunday morning when he ran a red light.  An officer pursued him.  Hoffman crashed his bike when the officer tried to stop him.  2 more officers arrived on the scene. There was a struggle (beating?)  Then Hoffman had a medical emergency.  He was taken to a hospital where he was allegedly pronounced dead.

61. Glenn Raymond Swindell, 39, - died May 17, 2014 - In Larkfield,  standoff with Sonoma County Sheriff's Deputies,  alleged suicide. At around 9:00 p.m., Sheriff's deputies responded to a domestic disturbance.  Officers persuaded the man to release a woman and 2 children, but after an hour of negotiations, there were no more responses.  8 hours passed with no response.  In the meantime, SWAT arrived, also 30 cops, an armored truck.  Neighbors report flash bang grenades exploding throughout the night.  Finally, cops entered the home and allegedly found the man dead.

National Security Agency (NSA)

The majority of security agents are for "America and Freedom", despite maintaining complete loyalty to the mechanism of a police-state, and utilize the information gained by the National Security Agency to target "leftists", Community Liberation builders, Justice Campaign organizers, and investigative journalists.

"Report: 9 out 10 Caught in NSA Dragnet Are 'Ordinary People'; Washington Post reveals unprecedented look at how 'voyeuristic' spy agency manages private communications it collects" (2014-07-06) [link]

"Revealed: 'Collect It All' NSA Targets Those Seeking Web Privacy; 'Merely visiting privacy-related websites is enough for a user's IP address to be logged into an NSA database,' says new report" (2014-07-03) [link]

"Getting Inside; 'No Place to Hide,' by Glenn Greenwald"
2014-05-17 book review by Joel Whitney from "San Francisco Chronicle" [http://www.sfgate.com/books/article/No-Place-to-Hide-by-Glenn-Greenwald-5484817.php]:
Edward Snowden leaked his cache of secret NSA documents to journalist Glenn Greenwald last year thanks in part to a delayed New York Times story on surveillance. In mid-2004, James Risen and Eric Lichtblau had an exclusive on President George W. Bush's warrantless eavesdropping program, but the Times held it for 15 months, until after Bush's re-election. Executives at the Times were told if they ran it, they'd be helping terrorists. "Snowden had been clear from our first conversation about his rationale for distrusting" the Times and other mainstream outlets, writes Greenwald in his highly anticipated new book. " 'Hiding that story changed history,' (Snowden) said."
"No Place to Hide" is indeed a meditation on hiding. It takes its title from the late U.S. Sen. Frank Church, who investigated the intelligence community's reach in 1975. Greenwald sounds the same call to arms as Church, but against a technical capacity beyond anything imagined then, enabling the government to scoop up almost everything we say or do.
The book is a smart, impassioned indictment of what Greenwald calls "fear-driven, obsequious journalism" that uncritically amplifies whatever politicians say is needed to fight the war on terror. But the book is also an examination of the courage and savvy of a then-29-year-old cyberenthusiast who initially couldn't get Greenwald's attention.
On Dec. 1, 2012, Greenwald got a tip from "Cincinnatus," who requested a more secure connection with the journalist and former civil rights lawyer, working then at the Guardian. (Greenwald is now an editor at the news site the Intercept, published by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar's new-media venture, First Look Media.) Greenwald was interested, exchanging a few e-mails with the would-be source, but ultimately never downloaded the encryption software.
The next April, documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras told Greenwald about a source who might have documents that would provide insights into government surveillance. Samples, including a very rare FISA Court document, got Greenwald's attention. On June 1, they met the source in Hong Kong, where he was camped out in a luxury hotel. When he turned up in a hotel conference room with an unsolved Rubik's Cube, both journalists were shocked at how young he looked, given his self-assurance in e-mails and chats. This, of course, was Snowden.
The cache, too, was astonishing for the breadth of surveillance it detailed in self-congratulatory PowerPoints and memos that Snowden had meticulously organized. Snowden later told Greenwald he was Cincinnatus, and because he wouldn't download simple privacy software, the largest leak in history had almost slipped through his hands.
Snowden taught Greenwald and Poitras other security techniques over the next few days: how to stash cell phones in the freezer (they can be made into bugs); placing pillows against cracks under a hotel door to block sound; Snowden even draped a towel over his head when typing passwords on his laptop to block ceiling cameras.
What felt like overkill proved warranted when the journalists explored the explosive cache they'd been handed on the most elusive of all American intelligence agencies. Days after he arrived, Greenwald's editors at the Guardian were filing his stories on unprecedented connivance between telecoms and the National Security Agency that gave the latter access to a vast (searchable) trove of e-mails, chats and other conversations and online habits of people the world over.
The United States government was apparently attempting something akin to omniscience; it was spying on everyone on the planet (or at least those who use technology to communicate) and trying to store it all in vast canyons of servers in Bluffdale, Utah. The NSA was grabbing and stashing so much across an astounding number of code-named programs that, according to one leaked slide, they even repeatedly slowed down the Internet.
As Snowden told Greenwald, "When the richest and most powerful telecommunications providers in the country knowingly commit tens of millions of felonies, Congress passes our nation's first law providing their elite friends with retroactive immunity ... for crimes that would have merited the longest sentences in ... history," he knew he had to act.
Some of those companies' executives, like Google's Eric Schmidt, infamously said the innocent have nothing to hide (then Schmidt boycotted the CNET site for publishing details about his own life, like his salary). Privacy is no longer a "social norm," announced Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg. Across government and media, supporters of the surveillance exclaimed upon hearing the revelations that the NSA wasn't listening in to their conversations; it was overblown. California Sen. Dianne Feinstein argued there was no violation since metadata (information on whom you call, sites you visit, what time, how often) isn't the same as "content" (a transcription of that call or the e-mail itself).
But Greenwald makes the case that you can tell a very detailed story with metadata. (Indeed, former NSA and CIA Director Michael Hayden admitted last week to David Cole, "We kill people based on metadata.") Never mind that the NSA collects and saves content, too. In March, while Greenwald's book was going to press, Feinstein got a taste of snooping when she found that the CIA had spied on her.
Greenwald's eloquent defense of the core beliefs enshrined in the U.S. Constitution reads like a brief on the importance of gravity to architecture, or water to swimming; the right to privacy - and not to be searched without cause - are so fundamental it's hard to imagine they need to be defended at all, let alone against such vast encroachment.
The revelations have Americans concerned. Greenwald notes that one poll found Americans now fear their own government's surveillance more than terrorism. This is President Obama's legacy. Snowden told Greenwald that as he weighed his conscience on the view into surveillance afforded by his work for the NSA, CIA and management consulting firm Booz Allen - including watching drone attacks on distant Asian villages in real time - he "realized ... I couldn't wait for a leader to fix these things. Leadership is about acting first and serving as an example for others."
After Snowden was chased into hiding and threatened with arrest, his passport revoked, Greenwald recounts that they both have faced numerous attacks by journalists. Also, Greenwald's partner, David Miranda, was detained under Britain's terrorism laws, and there have been threats of arrest and even whispers, reported by well-meaning fellow journalists, recounting intelligence officials' overheard desire to have Snowden and Greenwald "disappear."
Obama famously entered office promising the most transparent administration in history. But in light of the Snowden disclosures, the war on whistle-blowers, the impunity in the face of vast crimes, he leaves with the opposite, the most spied-on constituency the world has ever known.


NSA event description from the "The Long Now Foundation" [http://longnow.org], Seminars & downloads [http://longnow.org/seminars]:
The NSA’s failures are public headlines. Its successes are secret.
These days America’s National Security Agency lives at the intersection of two paranoias—governmental fears of attack and citizen fears about loss of privacy. Both paranoias were exacerbated by a pair of devastating attacks—9/11 and Edward Snowden. The agency now has to evolve rapidly while managing its normal heavy traffic of threats and staying ahead of the ever-accelerating frontier of cyber capabilities.
In the emerging era of transparency, and in the thick of transition, what does the NSA look like from inside?
Threats are daily, but governance is long term. At the heart of handling that balance is Anne Neuberger, Special Assistant to NSA Director Michael Rogers and Director of the Commercial Solutions Center. (Before this assignment she was Special Advisor to the Secretary of Navy; before that, in 02007, a White House Fellow.) She is exceptionally smart, articulate, and outspoken.
"Inside the NSA," Anne Neuberger, SFJAZZ Center, Hayes Valley, San Francisco, 7pm, Wednesday August 6.  The show starts promptly at 7:30pm.

Security agencies routinely infiltrate social media to monitor and direct online discourse, engage in smear campaigns against targeted victims

"Federal government routinely hires internet trolls, shills to monitor chat rooms, disrupt article comment sections", 2013-09-17 by Jonathan Benson from "Natural News"

[https://web.archive.org/web/20140112094548/http://www.naturalnews.com/042093_internet_trolls_chat_rooms_federal_government.html].

An intelligence agency in the United Kingdom of Great Britain, known as the Government Communications Headquarters, through their Joint Threat Research Intelligence Group (JTRIG), has been systematically attempting “to control, infiltrate, manipulate, and warp online discourse”.
---
"How Covert Agents Infiltrate the Internet to Manipulate, Deceive, and Destroy Reputations", 2014-03-24 by Glenn Greenwald [https://web.archive.org/web/20140225074732/https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/02/24/jtrig-manipulation/]: By publishing these stories one by one, our NBC reporting highlighted some of the key, discrete revelations: the monitoring of YouTube and Blogger, the targeting of Anonymous with the very same DDoS attacks they accuse “hacktivists” of using, the use of “honey traps” (luring people into compromising situations using sex) and destructive viruses. But, here, I want to focus and elaborate on the overarching point revealed by all of these documents: namely, that these agencies are attempting to control, infiltrate, manipulate, and warp online discourse, and in doing so, are compromising the integrity of the internet itself.
Among the core self-identified purposes of JTRIG are two tactics: (1) to inject all sorts of false material onto the internet in order to destroy the reputation of its targets; and (2) to use social sciences and other techniques to manipulate online discourse and activism to generate outcomes it considers desirable. To see how extremist these programs are, just consider the tactics they boast of using to achieve those ends: “false flag operations” (posting material to the internet and falsely attributing it to someone else), fake victim blog posts (pretending to be a victim of the individual whose reputation they want to destroy), and posting “negative information” on various forums. [end excerpt]
The following is a list of Internet infiltration techniques:
-Infiltration Operation
-Ruse Operation
-Set Piece Operation
-False Flag Operation
-False Rescue Operation
-Disruption Operation
-Sting Operation

The following articles are written as propaganda against the victims of social media monitering and harrassment, by protraying the conservative ideology of police and security agents as the target of a "leftist" Federal government. Neither article mentions the targeting of "leftist" organizers:
* "Yes, There Are Paid Government Trolls On Social Media, Blogs, Forums And Websites"
2014-02-26 by Michael Snyder [endoftheamericandream.com/archives/yes-there-are-paid-government-trolls-on-social-media-blogs-forums-and-websites]:
* “72 Types Of Americans That Are Considered ‘Potential Terrorists’ In Official Government Documents“ [https://web.archive.org/web/20140209191545/http://thetruthwins.com/archives/72-types-of-americans-that-are-considered-potential-terrorists-in-official-government-documents].

Antoine Thomas (Fairfield)

From Antoine's sister Sharena:

"Antoine was framed by FPD along with so many others... our black and brown in Solano County go through brutal things in Solano County... and their officers,judges,public defenders, news papers have no souls... I hate them."

Hands off Jose! Justice for Andy Lopez Supporters Held At Gun Point By Santa Rosa Police Dept.

Justice for Andy Lopez Cruz! [link]
Hands off Jose! Video contains footage of various incidents of extreme human rights abuse by Santa Rosa police against specific supporters for Justice in the city of Santa Rosa.

Union Pacific Police Department

The Union Pacific Police Department is the law enforcement agency of the Union Pacific Railroad.
Union Pacific maintains a functioning police department staffed with officers given the title of Special Agent with jurisdiction over crimes against the railroad. Like most railroad police, its primary jurisdiction is unconventional, consisting of 54,116 miles (87,091 kilometers) of track in 23 western U.S. states. Railroad police are certified state law enforcement officers with investigative and arresting powers both on and off railroad property if authorized by the state they are operating within. They also have interstate authority pursuant to federal law (Title 49, United States Code, Section 28101. Under Public Law 110-53 SEC. 1526. (RAILROAD SECURITY ENHANCEMENTS)), Railroad police powers have been expanded to include railroads other than the officer's employing agency. All of the states in Union Pacific's 23 state system authorize full police authority, except for Minnesota and Wyoming, which do not grant authority to railroad police at all.
Special Agents typically investigate major incidents such as derailments, sabotage, grade crossing accidents and hazardous material accidents and minor issues such as trespassing on the railroad right of way, vandalism/graffiti, and theft of company property or customer product. In accordance with their duties, Special Agents have the ability to access the FBI's NCIC database to run suspects and vehicles for wants and warrants, as well as criminal history checks.
Special Agents often coordinate and liaise with local, state, and federal law enforcement on issues concerning the railroad and are dispatched nationally through the Response Management Communications Center (RMCC) in Omaha, Nebraska. The Union Pacific Police Department and the title "Special Agent" were models for the FBI when it was created in 1907.

FBI Terrorist Screening Center (TSC)

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) places operations against domestic dissent on a higher priority than law enforcement [link].

The Terrorist Screening Center (TSC) is a multi-agency center serving many public and private sector security agencies, and is a division of the National Security Branch of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The TSC maintains the U.S. government's consolidated Terrorist Watchlist, and is responsible for identifying suspected or potential terrorists.


"Inside the Terrorist Screening Center"
2007-08-30 by Dina Temple-Raston [www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14040581]:
To visit the Terrorist Screening Center, you have to make some promises. The first is not to divulge where the center is — aside from saying it is in a secure location in Northern Virginia. A reporter has never been allowed inside the center, and NPR was not allowed to record the analysts who work there, in case someone said something that was classified.
To get into the small, top-secret room where about 50 analysts from the FBI, Immigration and other agencies work, my escort has to punch a code into a small keypad and pull open a heavy steel door. He announces my presence by shouting a single word: "Uncleared."
With that signal, the flat screens in the cubicles around the room go dark. A giant, interactive map on a pull-down screen at the front of the office space switches to a nondescript picture of the center's logo. Flat screens show high-definition images of flowers and landscapes. Normally, the screen at the front of the office displays a large map of the United States sprinkled with dots, each dot representing the whereabouts of a terrorist or suspected terrorist in the continental United States. If I weren't in the room, it would look like the spy center in the movie Patriot Games.
"We pretty much are the one-stop-shop mechanism for any kind of terrorist encounter," Watch Commander Mike Ross says.
He says the terrorist-locator dots on the map in the room change color depending on how long it has been since a local law enforcement officer called in a positive encounter, or "hit." If you have ever wondered when you get pulled over in a traffic stop whether your name is being fed into a terrorist database, rest assured — it is. When the police officer puts your name and driver's license into his computer, he is linking to the TSC.
"The police officer would actually be accessing a computer database where we house the list of known or appropriately suspected terrorists," Ross says. "That hit would come back on his sheet, and it would say, 'You may have encountered a known or suspected terrorist; call the Terrorist Screening Center.' "
When the officer calls, he is connected to an analyst who often already knows the suspect is in the area. It could be a neighborhood where the suspect works or lives. If a lot of calls come in from a particular area, that could be signaling something as well — a meeting of some sort, for example, and that would be important to know. The Center's director, Leonard Boyle, says the TSC fields several hundred calls a week and then sends the information to the intelligence community.
That, of course, has been the brickbat in the fight against terrorism — the idea that one part of the intelligence community knew something another part didn't know might have contributed to the Sept. 11 attacks. One of the Sept. 11 hijackers, Ziad Samir Jarrah, was given a speeding ticket in Maryland two days before the attacks. He was going 95 mph. The theory is that if the TSC was around then, he would not have been permitted to leave with a ticket in his back pocket.
"The information walls are down to the extent they can be," Boyle says. "We have moved from a need-to-know mindset to an obligation-to-share mindset."
Share within the community, that is. Average Americans have a dearth of information about the watchlist. For example, the TSC won't say how big it actually is. Most informed unofficial estimates put the total at several hundred thousand people.
What is more certain is the number of hits the TSC gets from the list and its link with local law enforcement. In 2004, the year the TSC opened its doors, it had some 5,400 hits. This year, the FBI expects to log more than 22,000.
Those kinds of numbers worry civil liberties advocates like David Sobel, the senior counsel with the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
"The bottom-line problem is the government since 9-11 has gotten into the business of making lists of suspicious people," he says. "This has happened without much discussion of the criteria or how affected people might get some recourse and get their names off if they mistakenly have been put on such a list."
Theorectically, the names that go on the watch list are put there based on rigorous — but classified — criteria. Boyle says the TSC won't tell anyone whether they are on the list, but it has set up a redress unit to help people who say they have been mistakenly included.
"What we can do for people if they are being misidentified — we can give them information to help them avoid or minimize the inconvenience that they face," he says.
Boyle says the TSC intends to go further later this month. Specific high-ranking officials in various agencies will be given responsibility for taking care of these cases. He says that will create more accountability, help find errors, and make sure the terrorists they are tracking are really terrorists.


"Terrorist Screening Center Recognized for Information Sharing Efforts"
2009-03-11 [http://www.digitalcommunities.com/articles/Terrorist-Screening-Center-Recognized-for-Information.html]:
Yesterday, on the first day of its annual conference, the National Fusion Center Coordination Group recognized the Terrorist Screening Center (TSC), with an award for TSC's information sharing and outreach initiatives to bridge the counterterrorism efforts of federal agencies and state and local law enforcement.
TSC is a component of the FBI which maintains the U.S. government's consolidated terrorist watchlist.
"The TSC's focus on sharing information among federal, state, and local authorities has been key to the effectiveness of the terrorist watchlist as a counterterrorism tool," said TSC Deputy Director Cory Nelson, who leads the organization's fusion center outreach efforts. "We're grateful to be recognized by the National Fusion Center Conference for those efforts."
A 2007 report by the Government Accountability Office found that "TSC plays a central role in the real-time sharing of this information [collected during encounters], creating a bridge among screening agencies, the law enforcement community, and the intelligence community." The report also concluded that the consolidated terrorist watchlist had "helped combat terrorism" and "enhanced the U.S. government's counterterrorism efforts."
The TSC initiatives recognized by the "We Hear You" award include:
* Real-time notification of encounters with watchlisted individuals. TSC notifies fusion centers by telephone as soon as the TSC Call Center has confirmed an encounter with a known or suspected terrorist by a state, county, or municipal law enforcement agency in their geographic jurisdiction.
* Daily reports about encounters across the country. TSC posts unclassified versions of its daily report of encounters with known or suspected terrorists across the country on law enforcement networks, providing greater visibility on terrorist encounters than ever before.
* Tailored analytical products. TSC provides special analysis reports on encounters with known or suspected terrorists-including analysis of possible trends-to state and local law enforcement through fusion centers.
The U.S. Terrorist Screening Center (TSC was, established December 2003 by Homeland Security Presidential Directive-6. It serves as the U.S. Government's consolidation point for known and suspected terrorist watchlist information, both foreign and domestic. The consolidated watchlist contains records that are updated daily and shared with federal, state, local, territorial, tribal law enforcement and intelligence community agencies as well as international partners to ensure that individuals with links to terrorism are appropriately screened. The TSC is a multi-agency organization administered by the National security branch of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.


"The U.S. Terrorist Screening Center: Connecting the Dots for Law Enforcement Agencies at All Levels"
2007-10 by Leonard C. Boyle, Director, U.S. Terrorist Screening Center, Washington, D.C.
From The Police Chief, vol. 74, no. 10, October 2007. Copyright held by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, 515 North Washington Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 USA.
[http://www.policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=display_arch&article_id=1291&issue_id=102007]:
What calls people to a career in law enforcement? The answer undoubtedly varies, but the well-known credo “to protect and serve” certainly resounds with everyone who has worn the uniform. I know that service of those noble goals sustained and motivated me when I joined the East Hartford, Connecticut, Police Department in 1975. The notion that I was protecting those who could not protect themselves gave me an identity and purpose that I carried during my career as a federal prosecutor, as commissioner of the Connecticut State Police, and now as the director of the U.S. Terrorist Screening Center, the U.S. government’s consolidation point for known and suspected terrorist watchlist information.
In 1975 the terrorist group FALN (Fuerzas Armadas de Liberacion Nacional), a Puerto Rican clandestine terrorist group that advocated complete independence for Puerto Rico, claimed credit for the bombing of the historic Fraunces Tavern in Manhattan, killing four innocent people. They did it—so they said—in the name of independence for Puerto Rico. Two decades later, Timothy McVeigh murdered 168 people in the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. He did it—so he said—because of his discontent with the U.S. government. And, of course, in 2001, al Qaeda killed nearly 3,000 of our fellow citizens in coordinated attacks against the United States. They did it—so they said—in the name of jihad.
All these criminals claimed to have acted for a greater cause, one for which they cared deeply. Perhaps that is true. But they were unconcerned with the issue of who failed to stop them—as long as no one did. They did not care whether they killed in Oklahoma or New York; it didn’t matter to them whether they violated state laws, federal laws, or both. All that concerned them was that they were successful, not who bore the blame for failing to stop them. For all these years, law enforcement agencies concerned themselves too much with laying the blame for such failures—and our enemies exploited it.
Before September 11, 2001, state and federal law enforcement officials shared information on a limited basis. Today, we all recognize the value of sharing information among federal, state, county, and municipal law enforcement agencies. Routine traffic stops are now seen as opportunities to gather intelligence or perhaps serve as the last line of defense to ensure that those who would do us harm do not fly another plane into buildings. While we may never know if we could have prevented some or all of the 9/11 hijackers from inflicting mindless destruction, the U.S. government has clearly made great strides to ensure that appropriate information is shared.
The U.S. director of national intelligence has directed that the federal intelligence community no longer operate on a “need-to-know basis” but rather on an “obligation to provide.” The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has funded dozens of state, county, and municipal intelligence fusion centers around the country. And U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director Robert Mueller has mandated that FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTFs) and Field Intelligence Groups (FIGs) share intelligence with federal and state law enforcement partners in ways never before envisioned. The U.S. Terrorist Screening Center (TSC), part of the FBI’s National Security Branch, plays a central role in funneling terrorist information to those who most need it: U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents; the Transportation Security Administration; and state, county, and municipal law enforcement officers.
The FBI lists every subject of its terrorist investigations in the Violent Gang and Terrorist Organization File (VGTOF). Even during a routine traffic stop, police officers can query the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) system and automatically check the driver’s name against the VGTOF. Should the subject’s name generate a “hit,” officers receive a message that instructs them to call the TSC to verify the driver’s identity.
The TSC call center is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week—no busy signals, no recordings. Each call is answered by a trained TSC analyst who has full electronic access to all known information about the subject. If the identity is confirmed, the TSC analyst will connect police officers (or dispatchers) to the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Operations Unit, which coordinates federal law enforcement response through the case agent or the local JTTF. Once the case agent and JTTF are notified, they will work with encountering officers to develop as much useful intelligence as possible. All these actions take place within a matter of minutes, providing officers with valuable information and guidance that allows them to determine the best course of action, which can include gathering more information or further questioning the subject.
Since the inception of the TSC we have seen state, county, and municipal officers develop intelligence of extraordinary value to ongoing terrorist investigations. Identifying passengers in a car occupied by a suspected terrorist may yield critical links to other groups or activities. Items seized during a car search or a search incident to arrest have yielded a treasure trove of intelligence used to track suspects, develop probable cause for warrants and wiretaps, or mine existing sources for more specific information.
With the development of state fusion centers nationwide—another effort to share information—the TSC is coordinating activities to maximize local knowledge of terrorist suspects, vulnerabilities, and trends. Depending on the protocols established by the constituent agencies, fusion center personnel may serve as another point of contact with the TSC and federal law enforcement agencies during an encounter with a suspected terrorist. By accessing local intelligence databases, fusion centers can serve as valuable sources of additional intelligence while at the same time coordinating actions on the street so that encountering officers are not distracted at the risk of their safety and have whatever additional resources they need.
Since starting operations in December 2003, the TSC has seen the historical pre-9/11 “stovepipes” give way to today’s active information-sharing environment. Our consolidated watchlist provides access to the type of information that may have helped Maryland state troopers identify Ziad Jarrah, the hijacker who piloted the plane that crashed into a field in rural Shanksville, Pennsylvania, following a routine traffic stop in 2001. Making the call to the TSC could mean the difference between stopping a terrorist and experiencing another catastrophic event on U.S. soil. Local law enforcement agencies are truly the last line of defense to keep hometowns and the homeland safe. We might never know what potential terrorist attacks law enforcement officers have thwarted. We can be certain, however, that successful apprehension of suspected terrorists will result from shared information that “connects the dots.”

DHS Office for State and Local Law Enforcement

"The Office for State and Local Law Enforcement" [http://www.dhs.gov/office-state-and-local-law-enforcement-oslle]: On the recommendation of the 9/11 Commission, Congress created the Office for State and Local Law Enforcement (OSLLE) in 2007 for two key purposes:
1. Lead the coordination of DHS-wide policies related to state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement’s role in preventing, preparing for, protecting against, and responding to natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disaster within the United States; and
2. Serve as the primary liaison between DHS and non-Federal law enforcement agencies across the country.


Responsibilities -
* Serve as the primary Department liaison to state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement;
* Advise the Secretary on the issues, concerns, and recommendations of state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement;
* Keep the law enforcement community up-to-date on Department-wide activities and initiatives such as “If You See Something, Say Something™”, the Blue Campaign (to end Human Trafficking), Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Initiative (NSI), and the Department’s efforts in Countering Violent Extremism;
* Identify and respond to law enforcement challenges that affect homeland security;
* Coordinate with the Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) to ensure the timely coordination and distribution of intelligence and strategic information to state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement; and
* Work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to ensure that law enforcement and terrorism-focused grants to state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies are appropriately focused on terrorism prevention activities.

Automated License Plate Readers

"Cops Must Swear Silence to Access Vehicle Tracking System"
2014-05-01 by Kim Zetter [http://www.wired.com/2014/05/license-plate-tracking/]:
It’s no secret that police departments around the country are deploying automated license plate readers to build massive databases to identify the location of vehicles. But one company behind this Orwellian tracking system is determined to stay out of the news.
How determined? Vigilant Solutions, founded in 2009, claims to have the nation’s largest repository of license-plate images with nearly 2 billion records stored in its National Vehicle Location Service (NVLS) [https://web.archive.org/web/20140516151654/http://vigilantsolutions.com/products/license-plate-recognition]. Despite the enormous implications of the database for the public, any law enforcement agency that signs up for the service is sworn to a vow of silence by the company’s terms of service.
Vigilant is clear about the reason for the secrecy: it’s to prevent customers from “cooperating” with media and calling attention to its database.
That database is used by law enforcement and others to track stolen cars or vehicles used in crimes, as well as to locate illegal immigrants, kidnapping victims and others — though the vast majority of license plates stored belong to ordinary drivers who aren’t suspected of a crime.
The agreement law enforcement signs, which was uncovered by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, reads in part [http://www.wired.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/LEARN_Hosted_Server_User_Agreement.pdf]:
[begin excerpt] You shall not create, publish, distribute, or permit any written, electronically transmitted or other form of publicity material that makes reference to LEARN or this Agreement without first submitting the material to LEARN-NVLS and receiving written consent from LEARN-NVLS. This prohibition is specifically intended to prohibit users from cooperating with any media outlet to bring attention to LEARN or LEARN-NVLS. Breach this provision may result in LEARN-NVLS immediately termination of this Agreement upon notice to you [sic].(Footnote 1) [end excerpt]
LEARN stands for Law Enforcement Archival and Reporting Network and is Vigilant’s online portal where license plate data and images are aggregated and analyzed for law enforcement to access [https://web.archive.org/web/20140207171629/https://learn-nvls.com/learn/].
“LEARN provides agencies with an easy way to manage users and vehicle hotlists, query historical license plate reader (LPR) data and used [sic] advanced analytics for enhanced investigations,” the company’s web site says [https://web.archive.org/web/20140516151654/http://vigilantsolutions.com/products/license-plate-recognition].
Vigilant’s prohibition against talking about its system recalls a similar, even more restrictive prohibition, by the Harris Corporation, whose non-disclosure agreement with law enforcement agencies prohibits them from disclosing to the media or even other government bodies their use of a cell-phone spy tool that Harris makes, known as a stingray [https://web.archive.org/web/20140411120307/http://www.wired.com/2014/03/harris-stingray-nda/].
The Harris prohibition has resulted in law enforcement agencies using the stingrays without obtaining a court warrant, because the agencies have interpreted the contract to mean they cannot even tell a judge about their intent to use the devices.
But it appears that Vigilant’s prohibition is just an attempt to control the company’s image and prevent anyone from talking about its database other than Vigilant. A Vigilant official was quoted in a recent Washington Post story about license plate databases [http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/homeland-security-is-seeking-a-national-license-plate-tracking-system/2014/02/18/56474ae8-9816-11e3-9616-d367fa6ea99b_story.html].
In the story, the Post reported on a proposal by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to contract with a private company to produce and manage a national license-plate tracking system containing data collected from every license plate scanned by plate readers around the country.
The database would aggregate license plate data captured by readers owned by law ­enforcement agencies, border-crossing cameras and toll booths, as well as by commercial repo-men, who are one of the primary creators and users of license plate images. The latter use vehicles equipped with license plate recognition systems to trawl through streets and parking lots to grab images of plates and cars.
Civil liberties groups criticized the proposal, however, since it would allow authorities to conduct bulk surveillance against millions of drivers and track their location and movement.
DHS subsequently withdrew the proposal [http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/dhs-cancels-national-license-plate-tracking-plan/2014/02/19/a4c3ef2e-99b4-11e3-b931-0204122c514b_story.html].
Despite DHS’s change in plans, however, license plate databases like Vigilant’s continue to exist and thrive. Though Vigilant would prefer you not talk about it.

(Footnote 1) May 2, 2014 6:15 pm: Since this story published, Vigilant has posted a new terms of service that eliminates the original wording about the reason for prohibiting law enforcement from talking about its database. Instead of saying the restriction is “specifically intended to prohibit users from cooperating with any media outlet to bring attention” to the database, the new agreement reads [http://www.wired.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/LEARN_Hosted_Server_User_Agreement-2.pdf], “This restriction is specifically intended to protect the user’s interests in divulging information that may result in counter measures from the criminal elements, and this is also to protect Vigilant’s competitive interests and ensure consistency with other media messaging.”

(Car detector control room. Image: Vigilant Solutions)

(Image: Vigilant Solutions)