Stingray device

"Trickle down surveillance: How the NSA’s covert surveillance tactics are being employed by local law enforcement"
2014-06-12 by Nathan Freed Wessler [http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2014/7/surveillance-lawenforcementnsastringray3.html]:
Nathan Freed Wessler is a staff attorney with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, where he handles cases involving both free speech and privacy issues.
---
Cell site simulators, also known as “stingrays,” are devices that trick cellphones into reporting their locations and identifying information. They do so by mimicking cellphone towers and sending out electronic cues that allow the police to enlist cellphones as tracking devices, thus revealing people’s movements with great precision. The equipment also sends intrusive electronic signals through the walls of private homes and offices, learning information about the locations and identities of phones inside. Initially the domain of the National Security Agency (NSA) and other intelligence agencies, the use of stingrays has trickled down to federal, state and local law enforcement. In one Florida case [https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security-technology-and-liberty/victory-judge-releases-information-about-police-use], a police officer explained in court that he “quite literally stood in front of every door and window” with his stingray to track the phones inside a large apartment complex.
Even when police are tracking a specific suspect, stingrays sweep up information about large numbers of bystanders who happen to be nearby; if stingrays yell out “Marco,” the mobile phones in the area reply, “Polo.” The result is that police gather the electronic serial numbers and other information about phones, as well as the direction and strength of each phone’s signal, allowing precise location tracking. Stingrays can also gather information about people’s communications, such as which phone numbers they call. Because we carry our cellphones with us virtually everywhere we go, stingrays can paint a precise picture of where we are and who we spend time with, including our location in a lover’s house, in a psychologist’s office or at a political protest. 
This sort of invasive surveillance raises serious questions about whether our tax dollars are funding violations of the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment. At a minimum, police should be required to go to a neutral judge, demonstrate probable cause and get a warrant before using stingrays, but many law enforcement agencies are not doing that. Instead, they seek permission using “pen register” and “trap and trace” statutes, which are based on a low legal standard and are designed to allow collection only of limited information about the numbers a phone dials or the numbers of incoming calls. Other agencies may not be going to a judge at all, or they may be concealing stingray use even when they do seek a court order [https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security-technology-and-liberty/doj-emails-show-feds-were-less-explicit-judges-cell].

Murky and secretive -
The use of stingrays is murky and secretive, so it’s hard to tell how widespread it is. Over the past several months, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has submitted dozens of public records requests to state and local law enforcement agencies in Florida seeking information about which agencies own and use stingrays, how they use them, whether they have policies in place to restrict stingray use and protect bystanders’ privacy, and whether they get probable cause warrants from judges. The state’s practices were brought to our attention because of a Tallahassee case in which the cops secretly used a stingray without getting a warrant, but an appellate judge revealed at oral argument that local police had used the devices not only in that case but approximately 200 other times.
When we recently sent a records request to Florida’s Sarasota Police Department, it started off responding normally. It told us it had copies of court applications and orders authorizing use of stingray equipment, and invited a local representative of the ACLU down to take a look. Hours before the appointment, though, the police department canceled it, telling us that the U.S. Marshals Service (part of the Department of Justice) claimed ownership of the records because it had previously deputized the local detective who was storing the documents in his office. Then the marshals showed up at the local police station, seized the records and spirited them away to an unknown location — a blatant violation of state open-records laws.
What started out as a routine public records request has become a fight over the proper bounds of government secrecy and the importance of judicial oversight of police surveillance tactics [https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security-technology-and-liberty/us-marshals-seize-local-cops-cell-phone-tracking-files].

Broader patterns -
The marshals’ action was extreme, but it fits into a broader pattern of secrecy surrounding stingray surveillance. In other cases around the country, the federal government has persuaded local police departments to invoke national security concerns in an attempt to prevent judges from ordering the release of basic information about stingray use. Stingray technology was originally developed for use by intelligence and military agencies; now the NSA’s surveillance tactics, and the secrecy shrouding them, have trickled down to local law enforcement with the help of the federal government.
In Tucson, Arizona, for example, the FBI has opposed a public records request to the local police by arguing that releasing information about stingrays to a journalist would violate the Arms Export Control Act. Similarly, in Tallahassee, the FBI tried to defeat an ACLU request for access to judicial records describing police use of stingrays in a local investigation by invoking counterterrorism concerns. In May, a judge rejected that argument out of hand, recognizing that information about regular criminal investigations cannot be kept secret merely because a federal agency might use similar equipment in unrelated national security investigations [https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security-technology-and-liberty/victory-judge-releases-information-about-police-use].
In other cases, police have tried to take a page from the CIA’s playbook by refusing even to confirm or deny whether they use stingrays [https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security-technology-and-liberty/local-police-florida-acting-theyre-cia-theyre-not]. Some police departments even tried to keep records secret (email pdf [https://www.aclunc.org/sites/default/files/stingrays/sacramento_email_response_to_pra_2014.pdf]) by pointing to a nondisclosure agreement they signed with the corporation that manufactures the devices or with an unnamed federal agency [http://www.wired.com/2014/03/harris-stingray-nda/]. It shouldn’t need to be said, but local cops aren’t by law allowed to sidestep public records statutes by entering into secret agreements with private corporations or outside agencies.
Despite this secrecy, we have been able to obtain significant pieces of information about stingray surveillance elsewhere: a new ACLU analysis of press reports and publicly available records reveals that at least 37 state and local law enforcement agencies in 15 states own stingray devices [https://www.aclu.org/maps/stingray-tracking-devices-whos-got-them]. From Anchorage, Alaska, to Alexandria, Virginia, local police are buying and using invasive surveillance gear in all kinds of local investigations. Other police departments are likely using stingrays in complete secret. This number also doesn’t include the many police departments that routinely borrow stingrays owned by the FBI, U.S. Marshals or state police. The Tallahassee Police Department has revealed, for example, that it has borrowed stingrays from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement more than 250 times since 2007. Numerous federal agencies own stingrays too, including the DEA, FBI, ATF, Secret Service and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Nothing to hide -
Why is the government trying so hard to hide records from the public? Law enforcement agencies contend that releasing information would hamper their ability to fight crime, but that argument doesn’t hold because we aren’t seeking confidential information about active investigations. Police shouldn’t be able to hide basic facts about what kinds of cases they use stingrays in and what protections are in place to guard against abuse. 
Government transparency is crucial because when the public and lawmakers have information about stingrays, real debate and effective privacy protections result. Take Michigan, where the Legislature recently held an oversight hearing to investigate a county sheriff’s use of stingray devices. Or Indiana and Utah, where legislatures have enacted laws that require police to get a warrant before tracking cellphones using stingrays or other means. In Minnesota, public revelation that the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office wanted to buy a stingray several years ago led to robust debate at public county government meetings and passage of a law requiring that all future purchases of stingray equipment be explicitly approved by the county board. Government transparency leads to better policy and more robust protections of our privacy rights. That’s why the government’s reflexive secrecy around its use of stingrays is corrosive and detrimental to the public trust.

Justice for Jared Huey!

Jared Huey's father (center) is protected by a community and labor union alliance for Human Rights!

Never Forget!

Vallejo PD illegally harassing the Twerk Mobile

The RV bus has a parking space at a storage place, but on Thursday, June 5th, it was parked in front of my crib for a day... I only had it parked there yesterday. .. not no 72 hours!

California Police Youth Charities

$2.3 Million, 84.6% percent spent only on fundraising, 6.1% on administrative costs, with -10.6% negative revenue growth.

Monitor their philanthropy at
[www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=11770#.U4-_BtQpWG-]
(screen-grabs collected 2014-06-04):







Screengrab of an archived page originally posted 2014-04-10 [https://web.archive.org/web/20140410131305/http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=11770]

"Sociology Students on Andy Lopez Case"

Justice for Andy Lopez Cruz! (d. 2013-10-22; Santa Rosa) [link]

2014-06 "Sonoma County Gazette" [www.sonomacountygazette.com]:
Jesus Vasquez, Sociology student at Sonoma State University -
Erick Gelhaus shot 13-year-old Andy Lopez in Santa Rosa, California, on October 22, 2013. Andy was shot while he carried an airsoft gun while he was walking to his friend’s house.
Gelhaus and his unnamed partner got out of the car and Gelhaus yelled a still unknown command, forcing Andy to turn around. It only took about three seconds for Gelhaus to open fire, while his unnamed partner did not shoot. Andy was shot seven times and was pronounced dead at the scene. Gelhaus violated Andy’s fourth amendment, used excessive force and had a history of reckless acts. Andy’s death could have been prevented if Gelhaus would not have used unconstitutional practices. Gelhaus and his partner approached Andy from behind and when they yelled the command forced Andy to turn around. Gelhaus has been an instructor for a number of gun-training centers.
Including the Arizona based Gunsite Academy, a business that offers weapons training to law enforcement as well as citizens of the U.S. His LinkedIn page cites that he worked for Aimpoint, a company that develops sighting technology for firearms. On his LinkedIn account he is endorsed as a firearms expert and if he had taken a few more seconds to articulate the situation he would have noticed Andy was a thirteen-year-old boy and that the gun was a toy. Instead he decided to shoot Andy and then justify it by saying he feared for his life.
---
Tara Kostan, Sociology student at Sonoma State University -
Ever since the death of 13-year-old Andy Lopez, there has been uproar in the Santa Rosa community regarding oversight of police behavior. Deputy Gelhaus shot and killed eighth grader, Andy Lopez, after mistaking his toy BB gun for an AK-47 assault rifle on October 22nd. Over the past few months, there have been various protests, rallies and marches occurring in the Santa Rosa community, organized by the Justice Coalition for Andy Lopez, which has continuously brought up the demand that our community must have formal civilian oversight for local law enforcement.
After a young boy’s life was cut short by a deputy of the Sonoma County Sherriff’s Department, there has been concern in restoring the public’s confidence in local law enforcement agencies. There is currently an existing task force, which has been appointed by district attorney, Jill Ravitch to consider civilian oversight. However in order to restore the public’s trust with the Sonoma County law enforcement, the task force must be independent of Sonoma County supervisors. The task force needs consist of concerned civilians of Sonoma County who will independently investigate police behavior and review the use of deadly force.
It is important to assess the procedures used to recruit members of an independent civilian’s review board, and also to assess how members will be trained. The concerned citizens, who are interested in becoming a part of this task force, must do this by examining successful civilian review board models of communities outside the Sonoma County area.
The capabilities of the civilian’s review board must involve having authority to call witnesses, (including members of the law enforcement to testify about what happened) and produce independent reports that make recommendations to the board of supervisors and city council surrounding the county.
Our socio-political system has failed to provide justice for Andy Lopez and his grieving family. Community action is needed in order to avoid another tragedy like this occurring in Sonoma County again.

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]
---
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.