I, Dennis O’Brien, hereby declare:
My name is Dennis O’Brien. I am a resident of Mendocino County, at least 18 years of age, and a citizen of the United States.
On April 16, 2012, at approximately 3:30 p.m., I parked in the parking lot at the Ukiah Crossroads Shopping Center, located near the corner of State Street and Empire Road in Ukiah, California. As I walked toward Raley’s Supermarket, I saw a woman on the sidewalk with a clipboard in her hand. She was standing near a large stone pillar, on the opposite side from the entrance to Raley’s. She was not in any way interfering with foot traffic. If anyone tried to enter the store using the space she was occupying, they would have run into the stone pillar.
As I approached, the woman asked me if I would like to sign some ballot petitions. I said I would. She had at least three petitions to get ballot measures on the ballot. I signed two of them. Before I could get to the next one, Detective Whitaker (sp?) appeared. He was wearing a shirt with a sheriff’s office logo on the left breast, and a sheriff’s office badge on his belt. He stated that the woman seeking signatures for the ballot measures must leave. The woman stated what she was doing and said she was just exercising her free speech rights. Detective Whitaker stated that she was on private property, and that the store manager had requested that she leave.
I then stated that the Supreme Court had held that a shopping center was the equivalent of a town square, and that it could be used for gathering signatures for political purposes. Detective Whitaker replied that he was enforcing California law, and that the owner of a business had the right to ask anyone to leave the place of business.
I then asked him to identify himself. He stated he was Detective Whitaker (I cannot remember the first name) and confirmed he was a member of the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Department. I asked if he was on duty, and he said yes. I asked him if he was aware of the First Amendment, and he said yes. I asked him if he knew that the First Amendment applied to the states. He said that didn’t affect his enforcement of private property laws.
When I stated that I believed Sheriff Allman would disagree, Detective Whitaker replied that Sheriff Allman could not tell him how to enforce the law. I replied that Sheriff Allman could tell him if he was making a mistake. Detective Whitaker then stated that if we did not stop, he would have to arrest us for trespassing on private property. The woman left immediately. I walked into the store. I was not able to review or sign the additional ballot petitions that the woman had with her.
I hereby declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed this 16th day of April, 2012, in Ukiah, California.
Dennis O’Brien
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After shopping, I went to the Mendocino County Sherriff’s Office on Low Gap Road in Ukiah. The Sheriff was not available, so I spoke with his assistant. She advised me on how to file a formal complaint with Detective Whitaker’s supervisor.
Conversation with Captain Van Patten, April 18, 2012
Captain Van Patten called after I had dropped off my complaint at his office. He was very understanding and courteous. He acknowledged that people are allowed to engage in free speech, including petitioning for signatures for ballot measures, in front of stores at shopping centers. He stated that he would counsel Detective Whitaker and make sure that all officers were informed of the law and policy. He explained that Detective Whitaker has been “off the street” for four years and might have lost a bit of sophistication when it came to enforcing property rights.
The Captain then explained the complaint process. A form was available online for filing a formal complaint against an officer. In addition to the above actions, the complaint would be submitted to a Professional Standards Bureau, the equivalent of an internal affairs board. However, any action taken by the board, such as a reprimand, would not be public. Such personnel matters are generally private under state and federal law, and are specifically protected by the Officer’s Rights (?) law. Similarly, the Department would not issue any sort of statement about what is permitted when it comes to free speech and petitioning, as they are forbidden from giving legal advice.
I told Captain Van Patten that, although he had restored my confidence, he had not restored the confidence of the public. I asked if he knew any way to contact the individual or group that was circulating the petitions to tell them what he told me, but he did not. I then said I would file a formal complaint and ask that he and the Professional Standards Bureau try to find a way to get information to the public about the Departments policy on free speech and petitioning. He was again understanding and courteous, and we left it at that.
I do not believe that the sidewalk at the shopping center is owned by Raley’s, but rather by the owners of the center. I believe that the manager of Raley’s made a politically motivated decision to discourage participation in the political process. The woman collecting the signatures told me she had made a courtesy visit to inform Raley’s management of her activities. One of the ballot measures was for increasing taxes on people and businesses making over $250,000 per year. A few years ago, I witnessed petitioners at both entrances to Raley’s seeking signatures in support of the rezoning of the Masonite property. They were never challenged or told to leave, in spite of being there all day for several days. It appears that Raley’s management is fine with petitions that will bring more shoppers to the area, but not those that will hurt its bottom line.
When this issue came up a few years ago at the Ukiah Wal-Mart, the court upheld the right of people to engage in political speech in front of a store in a shopping center. “Accommodating free speech is one of the costs of doing business” in a politically active community, the court announced.
Thus I was shocked when an on-duty senior officer of the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office violated the civil rights of two people who were engaged in the most protected form of free speech – the political dialogue that precedes any candidate or initiative qualifying for a ballot. For him to do so at the request of a disgruntled business owner is identical to the police misconduct that occurred during the Civil Rights movement, when store owners called the police to have non-whites removed from their stores. Such an abuse of power discourages participation in the political process and destroys public confidence in those who are sworn to protect us.
I request that Sherriff Allman order refresher training for his entire force on the rights of free speech under both state and federal law. I also request that County Counsel issue a statement confirming the rights of free speech and petitioning, with outreach to the public and signature-gathering groups.
Thank you very much for your attention to these matters. Please address these concerns so that the people of Mendocino County can be confident in their right to engage in political discussion and confident that the Sherriff’s Department will enforce the law, not the personal preferences of the powerful.
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