Encinitas, Ca Political fundraiser goes bad

[Fuzz]

http://www.10news.com/news/19887253/detail.html


CARDIFF-BY-THE-SEA, Calif. -- A woman arrested on charges of battery on a sheriff's deputy and resisting an officer at a fundraiser for Democratic congressional candidate Francine Busby in Cardiff-By-The-Sea said Sunday the incident might be politically motivated, provoked by a heckler who was outside the home.

Shari Barman, 60, called the sheriff deputy’s actions "unprofessional behavior." The deputy, acting on a noise complaint, arrested Barman on allegations she hit him when he responded to the house. Barman, who is well-known in local tennis circles and is the partner of Acura Classic co-founder Jane Stratton, was booked into the Vista Detention Facility and released Saturday morning. In a e-mail statement, Barman denied hitting the deputy, who has been with the department for two years.

The event in the home she shares with Stratton was to raise funds for Busby, who has twice unsuccessfully run for the 50th Congressional District seat currently held by Brian Bilbray and plans to try again next year.

Barman said as many as 50 people attended the event, which included a speech by Busby, and was breaking up when the deputy arrived.

Barman said she gave the deputy her name but refused his request for her date of birth. He then grabbed her arm and threw her to the ground, she said. When Stratton told the deputy to be careful with Barman's arm, the deputy threw Stratton to the ground, Barman said.

While Busby was speaking earlier, a male neighbor heckler shouted at her, so the initial noise complaint might be politically motivated, Barman said.

Busby plans to meet with sheriff's officials Monday to determine who made the noise complaint, The Union-Tribune reported Sunday.

Sgt. Thomas Yancey told the newspaper a man called around 9:30 p.m. to say someone was talking on a loudspeaker, and the crowd was yelling and cheering, keeping him awake. Barman said Busby used a loudspeaker, but her talk was over long before the complaint was made.

A woman who attended the event and lives in the neighborhood said the only noise from the gathering came from the heckler. She agreed with Barman's assessment that the incident was politically motivated.

"We had two louder parties last weekend in the neighborhood," said the woman, who asked to remain anonymous. She said she left before the deputy arrived and was shocked to find eight to 10 patrol cars and a helicopter outside. "It was an extreme over-reaction to what was going on," she said.

Yancey told the newspaper that a crowd surrounded the deputy and a female ride-along was kicked.

Barman is scheduled to appear in court by Aug. 11 on two misdemeanor counts

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Its amazing to see the different headlines and how they have changed over the last day or so.

[VChopefull]

It will be intresting to see what happens with this one....Hope everything turns out ok for the Deputy

[Mabbottusmc]

Don't believe everything you read in the media!

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Mabbottusmc

Don't believe everything you read in the media!

Better yet..... Dont believe ANYTHING you read in the media. They have spun this so many ways its ridiculous. I loved watched how the UT kept changing the headline. Started out something like host arrested at political party and ended up with Sheriff RAIDS fundraiser.

Just more horrible reporting in SD

[willowdared]

The civilian was a Pert Clinician, and she was assaulted.

http://weblog.signonsandiego.com/web...es/034603.html

Check out some comments.

There was a follow-up column that did a good job explaining the law, and Republican leadership are bagging on Busby's lack of leadership.

[willowdared]

Union-Tribune Editorial
Absurd claims
Busby fundraising ploy not very convincing

2:00 a.m. July 2, 2009

Not since Hillary Clinton famously blamed her husband's political troubles on a vast right-wing conspiracy has a politician uttered such preposterous claims as those made by perennial congressional candidate Francine Busby of Cardiff.

Last week the Sheriff's Department, responding to a noise complaint, broke up a boisterous fundraiser for Busby at a private home in Cardiff. The sponsor of the event, Shari Barman, was booked on suspicion of obstructing a peace officer and battery on a peace officer.

It was not Barman's first run-in with the law. In 1977 she was charged with assault on a police officer at San Francisco International Airport. The San Francisco Chronicle account of the incident said airport security officer Bernard Sullivan “was jumped from behind by Barman” after he was summoned to break up an altercation involving a motorist, tennis pro Rosemary Casals and Barman.

At the Cardiff fundraiser, sheriff's Deputy Marshall Abbott used pepper spray to subdue Barman after she declined to cooperate with him, and other guests objected to her arrest. Some of the guests also were targets of the pepper spray. The Sheriff's Department is conducting an internal probe to determine whether the deputy acted appropriately.

For Busby, however, this unfortunate incident was in reality an act of “hateful intimidation” by the “right wing” intent on denying her her rightful seat in Congress. What's more, Busby claims the civil rights of guests attending her fundraiser were violated by the Sheriff's Department, which responded with ample reinforcements after Deputy Abbott called for backup. Within minutes the scene was clogged with extra deputies, a police dog, a firetruck and a helicopter with searchlight circling overhead.

The remedy for this monstrous injustice is, of course, a generous contribution to Busby's election campaign. “Your contribution will show that you aren't afraid to stand with me,” Busby declared in a solicitation aimed at raising no less than $200,000. Geez, if you don't send a fat check right away, you are “afraid” to stand up to the Sheriff's Department's unconstitutional efforts to keep the peace.

One has to give Busby credit for creatively turning an embarrassing fracas into a fundraising ploy. But apart from a handful of inveterate cop-bashers, we doubt voters will buy her claims any more than they bought Hillary Clinton's right-wing conspiracy.

[willowdared]

When cops arrive at your party, cooperate
By Michael Stetz
Union-Tribune Columnist

2:00 a.m. July 1, 2009

I'm a party guy. I even plan to throw a little party this Fourth of July weekend. Who knows? It might get a bit loud. Twice, I've had cops come to my Point Loma house telling me to to keep it down.

I'm pretty proud of that, given my age and my normal bedtime, which is, on nonparty nights, around 9:17 p.m.

I've learned a bit from throwing parties, particularly when it comes to dealing with cops. It goes something like this: When the police officer comes to my house and says to keep it quiet, I say:

“Yes, sir.”

If I've had a couple of beers and the cop looks like he has a sense of humor, I go, “You got it, Hutch.”

Look, I don't know what exactly happened at last Friday's fundraising party for congressional candidate Francine Busby in Cardiff. (Me, the party guy, not invited.)

Sheriff's Deputy Marshall Abbott pepper sprayed a bunch of middle-aged Democrats. Shari Barman, 60, who threw the event, was arrested. Another woman, Pam Morgan, 62, was cited.

(Whew! Our streets are safe now.)

Barman was asked to give her date of birth and she wouldn't. She tried to walk away, but the deputy grabbed her.

When her friends tried to help, they claim the deputy went all Rambo on them.

The Sheriff's Department is investigating. I feel for whoever's got that job because this is a wild one. Barman said that somebody had shouted insults from nearby bushes earlier, insulting gays. She lives with her partner, Jane Stratton.

Busby believes that the noise complaint came from that neighbor, that it was bogus and that it was politically motivated.

(And the deputy is a part of a vast right-wing conspiracy, maybe?)

I can see how this sort of thing can get out of control. It's happened before — minus the political intrigue.

In 2002, a 60-year-old La Jolla woman and a San Diego cop tangled at her party. The police said she was uncooperative; witnesses said the police were overly aggressive.

As with this most recent blowup, a noise complaint prompted the visit, which led to the arrest of Mary Beth Jernigan. Pepper spray was also used to control the crowd. Like the Barman case, all sorts of back-up came roaring in.

I reached Jernigan, who still sounded angry about it. She didn't do anything that was out-of-hand, she said. She had consumed just one glass of wine. She had asked the cops for their badge numbers, which led to the confrontation.

Nothing came of the charges, and she never followed up with a lawsuit.

“Bottom line, I don't have the time or energy.”

I'm not just siding with cops and deputies when it comes to these clashes, believe me. I know how some cops can be quick to use force. And I know how difficult it is for a citizen to win against a cop who gets out of hand.

All I know is that most of these complaints end without nearly such fireworks. In San Diego County, the Sheriff's Department received 6,326 noise complaints and 6,639 party complaints in the last 12 months. How many of them made the news?

So when something goes bad, I have to wonder why. One problem: People may not be familiar with the law. Actually, I wasn't.

Once a deputy shows up, he's supposed to get certain information — name, date of birth, etc. — and warn the host that if deputies return, he or she could be cited.

If a complaining neighbor signs an arrest complaint, the deputy is required to go to the house and cite the person throwing the party. The court deals with the mess later.

Nobody would tell me if someone signed a complaint against Barman. Since the case is under investigation, they've clammed up.

If that is the case, though, the person being cited can't walk away, said Capt. Mark Elvin of the Sheriff's Department training division.

You're being detained, Elvin said. It'd be like driving your car away after being pulled over.

And the deputy isn't going to go anywhere until he gets the information he needs for the complaint.

If you think your neighbor is filing a false report, you can file against him, as well.

It's always dicey when a cop approaches a party. A crowd is present. In most cases, people have been drinking.

Deputies receive a lot of training in conflict resolution, Elvin said, including a technique called “verbal judo.”

So much for that.

I, the party guy, figure a lot of parties will be happening this holiday weekend. Call it a crazy hunch.

So I'm offering my own tried and true advice in hopes of avoiding a repeat of the great Cardiff controversy:

If you see a cop on your porch who says to ease it on the volume, you say: “Yes sir.” If he wants your date of birth, I say give him your date of birth. It's not the end of the world.

Then go inside and put on some Barry White.

[Fuzz]

Busby is such a tool. She got what she wanted though.....now she can get media attention. Help, help.....I'm the victim of a vast right wing conspiracy that sent one lone deputy to a party call. Tool, tool, tool.

[Looker]

From what I understand, there was a full on lynching committed on the deputy by partygoers. Some of them should be thankful they walked out of the party without a broken bone, under their own power, and not in handcuffs.