Mendocino County Today: Saturday, Aug 15, 2015

• Containing Jerusalem
• FB Teacher March
• Hugo Pinell
• Fitzgerald Found
• Ukiah Homeless Shelter
• Pot Water Regs
• Sculptor Talk
• Marx & Engels
• Yesterday's Catch
• Water Wasters
• Mom Power
• Anderson
• Proposed Slaughterhouse
• SF Rents
• Park Concert
• Bad Cops

FIREFIGHTERS CONTINUE TO GAIN GROUND against the Jerusalem Fire. Containment now estimated at 71% as of Friday night, around a burned area estimated at just over 25,000 acres. Full containment still predicted for Monday the 17th. CalFire: “Burnout of the interior islands continue to threaten fire control lines. Winds remain a contributing factor for high probabilities of spot fires due to heavy interior fuels. This weekend brings hot and dry conditions with an increase in temperature into the upper 90s with single digit relative humidity. Area closures and evacuation orders remain in effect due to the start of hunting season.”

SATURDAY MORNING UPDATE (7am): 25,146 acres burned; 78% contained; 4 residences and 13 outbuildings destroyed; and expected containment is now August 21.

FORT BRAGG'S SCHOOL BOARD gave its administrators raises amounting to 12-25% while teachers and classified employees got 2.5%. Friday morning, the teachers and classified workers demonstrated against this obvious inequity by holding a march up North Harold from Colombi's Market to the Middle school in a show of solidarity. To make the point, they should have marched downtown instead of a secret demo seen by virtually no one, but they do things differently in Fort Bragg.

HUGO PINELL is one more clay-footed hero from the late 1960s, mid-70s. He was murdered the other day in a prison yard hit. The KPFA “left” is, of course, eulogizing him as a fallen icon. The following is the description of the crime Pinell committed that put him in prison:

The testimony of the victim and other witnesses given before the grand jury disclosed that an unmarried female 22 years of age was walking home along Broadway near Polk Street in San Francisco at about 2:30 a.m. on October 12, 1964, when she was brutally attacked and severely injured by Hugo Pinell. He forced her into an automobile driven by Felix Torres and the two men then proceeded to drive her to Julio Pinell's home at 228 Laussat Street. Hugo was Julio's nephew and Torres had been staying with Julio at the Laussat Street address. The victim was taken to a bedroom by her assailants, undressed and subjected to acts of rape, copulation and sodomy by Hugo Pinell. While in the room with Hugo, she overheard a conversation in another room between Felix Torres and a third person which she could not understand as it was in a foreign language.

After two or three hours and many requests of Hugo to be taken home, the victim was led to another bedroom and there forcibly raped by Felix Torres. She was then given a blanket to wrap herself in and taken by Torres through the kitchen into a third bedroom where Hugo Pinell was in bed covered up. Torres pushed her toward the bed and Hugo stated, referring to petitioner Julio: "He wants to have his fun." She sat on the edge of the bed. Julio did not say or do anything. At this point, the victim became ill and Hugo and Torres took her through the kitchen in the nude and onto the back porch where she vomited in the garbage can. She was then brought back into the kitchen where someone put a robe over her. Hugo Pinell, who by now had gotten out of bed and put on his trousers, placed a bandage over her bleeding eye. She was then allowed to dress, given her purse and taken by Hugo Pinell and Felix Torres to the vicinity of Broadway and Van Ness Avenue where she was released. Nine dollars and fifty-five cents was missing from her purse. Just before she left the house, Julio had asked her to look in her purse.

Later in the day when a police inspector went to petitioner Julio's, Julio first denied that the victim had been at the house that morning, but when confronted by the girl, admitted that she had been there with Hugo Pinell and Felix Torres. It was subsequently determined that the two assailants had fled to Los Angeles. Julio told the officer that he had gone to bed around 11 p.m. and had not seen the girl until she was brought into his bedroom at 4 or 5 a.m. but that when he saw the girl nude, he supposed what had happened to her. He said that Hugo had sent her in and "... if she wanted to fuck with me I would fuck with her, but if she didn't want to, it is okey." Julio then referred to a conversation he had with Torres while Hugo Pinell was with the girl and before she was brought to Julio's room in which Torres related that Hugo had hit her and Julio said that this was bad. After his arrest, Torres told the police officers that while Hugo was with the girl, Torres went into Julio's room "... and told Julio what had happened, that Hugo had hit the girl, that they had a woman in the house and that he could have some, too, if he wanted some; and ... Julio was angry because he said Hugo shouldn't have hit her."

MISSING HUMCO MAN FOUND DEAD

On 08-13-2015 at 1:55 p.m. the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office received a telephone call from a citizen, regarding a deceased subject they had found off the Briceland-Whitethorn Road. Deputies arrived on scene at 2:45 p.m. about spoke to the citizens, who found the deceased subject. They reported they work as fish biologists and had discovered the deceased body in a creek about 50 yards to the west of the Whitethorn Road.

Deputies then walked down to the scene, which was about half a mile to the north of the Mendocino/Humboldt County line. The decomposing body was lying in the creek bed and it appeared that the human remains had been there for a while.

The Humboldt County Coroner’s Office responded to the scene and took possession of the body. The body was later identified through tattoos and identification located in the pants pocket as the missing person, 44 year old Scott Joseph Fitzgerald.

An autopsy is pending for exact cause of death.

(Humboldt County Sheriff's Office Press Release)

UKIAH COMMISSION OKs ZONE FOR HOMELESS SHELTERS

by Justine Frederiksen

The Ukiah Planning Commission Wednesday approved moving forward with a plan to create a zone in north Ukiah where a homeless shelter can be built by right, without a use permit.

The commission’s vote on the Homeless Shelter Overlay District is only a recommendation to the Ukiah City Council, which will next consider the proposal.

Currently in the city’s code, homeless shelters are projects that require a use permit and review by the Planning Commission. But planning staff notes that in order to have the Housing Element in the city’s General Plan certified, a district that would allow homeless shelters “by right” needs to be created.

Planning staff suggested a zone that includes the site of the former Buddy Eller Center and the St. Peter Eastern Catholic Church, both south of Brush Street, and several industrial parcels to the north on Mazzoni Street.

During a public hearing Wednesday, community members asked why the zone wasn’t considered for the south side of Ukiah, and if the “city is committed to building a homeless shelter?”

Commission Chairman Mike Whetzel said the commission was not considering a specific plan by the city to build a shelter, but rather it was a state requirement the city needed to fulfill for its housing element.

When Commissioner Laura Christensen asked for clarification on whether recommending this overlay district to the council would preclude a shelter from being built in another area of the city, such as the south end, she was told it wouldn’t, just that a project proposed elsewhere would need a use permit.

When members of the audience addressed the board, Ukiah resident Pinky Kushner said she regularly volunteers to clean up the creeks in the city, which are often used as campsites.

“What we find in the creeks is a lot of human waste,” Kushner said, adding that she hoped the city’s plans to address the issue of homelessness included making toilets and garbage cans more accessible near the creeks. “It really is unpleasant to clean up human waste.”

Resident Leslie Smyth said even if another shelter is established, if it does not admit clients who use drugs and alcohol, “the problems in the creeks will continue, because many people camping under the bridges are not allowed in the shelters because of alcohol and drug use.”

The commission then approved the recommendation for the shelter district, with Commissioner Linda Sanders casting the sole “no” vote.

NORTH COAST WATER REGULATORS ADOPT POT CULTIVATION RULES

by Mary Callahan

North Coast water quality officials adopted a pioneering new regulatory scheme Thursday that brings what was once an underground marijuana industry closer to daylight than ever before, requiring growers to register their operations and certify compliance with environmentally responsible farming methods.

The North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board voted 5-1 to approve the order — the only one of its kind in the nation — calling it a “first step” toward protecting water resources from the kind of contamination and degradation reported around the area in recent years.

But the move also suggests a new era of legitimacy for Northern California pot farmers, who, despite the legalization of medical marijuana, have continued to operate somewhat on the margins because of the plant’s illegal status under federal law.

It’s still unclear whether growers will embrace the regulations, though the program allows those most concerned about privacy to enroll through approved, nongovernmental third parties that would prevent them from having to provide sensitive, self-identifying information to the regional water quality board itself.

“Look around and ask yourself, ‘Ain’t America great?’” board member William Massey of Forestville said during Thursday’s discussion. “You are living through a big, big societal change. How many of us can think back to when people got arrested in high school for having even so much as a little bit of pot?”

The regulation is a pilot program expected to serve as a model for other regions, beginning with the neighboring Central Valley, whose board takes the matter up next month.

The new rules — which never mention medical marijuana and thus do not differentiate between those who grow for medical uses versus those who farm recreational plots — come as Californians prepare to decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana use. A vote is expected next summer. Nonmedicinal use already is legal in Washington and Colorado.

Members of the water quality board have stressed repeatedly, however, that their interest in the matter is strictly environmental — an effort to hold the region’s marijuana growers accountable for protecting water resources and remediating any damage that does occur.

“We are not endorsing marijuana cultivation,” board Chairman John Corbett of McKinleyville said at the start of a three-hour hearing on the new regulations.

Rather, he said, the board has decided to “take a status quo problem and take a first step” at devising a water quality program.

Worries over risks

But board member Greg Giusti of Ukiah said the program offered too little protection for growers to earn his vote.

Even with the provision to help guard privacy, he said those who complied and registered their operations would risk exposing themselves to federal enforcement.

“I am not comfortable with people thinking they are doing the right thing, and then they get slapped, they get cited,” Giusti said.

Giusti also lamented the regulations’ failure to acknowledge county caps on the number of medical marijuana plants that are permitted to be grown in each jurisdiction.

Some in the audience agreed with his concerns about legal exposure, but there was significant support for the program, as well.

Asa Schaefer, executive director of the Sonoma County Collective, urged board members to review the regulation one more time, but said he thought they were “on the right track.”

On the other hand, Sarah Schrader, Sonoma County chapter chairwoman for Americans for Safe Access, agreed with Giusti. Schrader served on the San Francisco Medical Cannabis Task Force and said her exposure to the vast amount of documentation acquired by federal authorities gave her pause.

Adjustable structure

Corbett conceded there were no guarantees. However, he said, the focus on environmental issues and privacy measures like the third-party program, developed during months of outreach and collaboration with stakeholders around Northern California, had resulted in a usable structure that could be adjusted at any time but still would address needed watershed protections in an industry that is so far unregulated.

The new program is intended to establish compliance on a host of issues critical to sensitive watersheds, including erosion control, stream and wetland buffers, irrigation runoff, waste discharge and chemical contamination.

Everyone growing cannabis on at least 2,000 square feet within the North Coast region, which runs from Marin County to the Oregon border, is required to enroll in the program by Feb. 15, registering with the water quality agency or with an approved third party in one of three regulatory tiers. Participants must register annually and pay still-undetermined annual fees.

Those who don’t register but are discovered to qualify will be notified with 30 days to enroll before enforcement actions, including financial penalties, are pursued, board personnel said.

Tier 1 is reserved for those whose cumulative operations cover less than 5,000 square feet and pose no risk of waste discharge. The regulation requires growers to certify compliance with best management practices and be prepared to submit to inspection.

Participants in Tier 2 must additionally adopt and implement a water resource protection plan enabling them to meet standard conditions, while those in the third tier are operating on sites already deemed in need of remediation. Tier 3 participants also must have a water protection plan, as well as a clean-up and restoration plan that brings their site into compliance.

Emerald Growers Association Executive Director Hezekiah Allen said the new regulations are an important move away from “war on drugs” - type raids and a step toward cooperative regulation and inspection.

“This is a first step toward a civil approach to regulating these impacts, which is exactly what we need,” he said Thursday.

Fees to be set

There remained many concerns about cost and liability, however. The program, by design, must be self-funded, officials said, so fees will have to reflect that reality.

In the meantime, the State Water Resources Board fee branch, which will set the fees, has recommended annual fees of $500 for those growing on less than a quarter-acre, $2,500 for those whose operations range from a quarter-acre to 5 acres, and $10,000 for those farming on more than 5 acres.

More discussion on the fees is to be held next month, water quality officials said.

Some growers said the fees could be prohibitive to participation. They worried, as well, about being held to pay for past environmental damage incurred independent of their growing activities.

Board members conceded the roll-out of the plan likely would be messy at times, but said they opted to use a particular regulatory tool for the program because it could so easily be adjusted to account for changing circumstances.

“It is perfect? No, it’s not,” said Geoffrey Hales, a board member from Eureka. But “you’ve got to start somewhere.”

(Courtesy, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat)

* * *

KEY PHRASE in the above report: “It’s still unclear whether growers will embrace [sic] the regulations.”

THE SILLIEST PHRASE was this one: “Look around and ask yourself, ‘Ain’t America great’?” by “board member” William Massey of Forestville.” (This is right up there with Obama’s campaign advisor David Axelrod who, during a debate with Hillary Clinton’s forgettable counterpart in 2008, said, “I love ya, man!”)

Then there’s “The program, by design, must be self-funded.” Oh yeah, that’s one big incentive to enroll, much less enforce.

These “board members” are not serious people. But they’re making up the pot rules, rules similar to the ones that work so well in keeping the wine industry from pumping the creeks dry and lowering water quality. These are all burdensome rules that nobody in their right mind would “enroll” in without a legal requirement to do so, and which are not enforced anyway whether it’s pot or grapes. The obvious upshot of this “program” will be to penalize those few well meaning pot growers who participate and encourage the outlaws to remain outlaws with no perceivable public benefit. Al Capone also thought America was great: “This American system of ours, call it Americanism, call it capitalism, call it what you will, gives each and every one of us a great opportunity if we only seize it with both hands and make the most of it.”

VIETNAM WAR VETERANS, LISTEN UP. Friday, August 21st bronze sculptor and Viet-vet Rolf Nord Kriken of the Nordhammer foundry in Kelseyville will give an informal talk on his work which is currently on display at the Corner Gallery in Ukiah. His work is stunning, in case you haven't seen it, something like unzipping a body bag at Graves Registration in Honolulu circa 1969 — where they sent the ones that were fucked up beyond all recognition.

Friday August 21st, 7pm, 201 S. State St., Ukiah 462-1400

“His bronze sculptures are integral parts of memorials honoring America's veterans, focusing on the men and women of the United States armed forces.”

(Bruce McEwen)

http://www.cornergalleryukiah.com/#!july-2015/c1zue

AVA CONTRIBUTOR DAVE YEARSLEY WRITES from Berlin where he’s participating in the famous Berlin Atonal concert/festival:

Was just in downtown Berlin in the former East Germany traipsing about through all the reconstructions and reconfigurings. Decided to pay a visit to my old buds lingering still in the Forum named after them. The capitalist winners didn’t root the pair out. Even seem to have given the guys a bit of a polish. Nice of ‘em (the capitalists, that is). The tourists kept gathering in front and then one-by-one (mostly) sallying forth to get a shot with the austere socialist bronzes of the late and lamented titans. One German guy of about sixty sidled up to me and asked who the two statues depicted.

An Aussie in Ray-Bans and white shorts turned on the hapless a-historian: “What?!! You don’t know who they are??? Marx and Engels!” he practically shouted — and with real indignation. Within minutes the same German was getting his photo taken with the dynamic duo. As for me, I eventually sidled up and did a selfie, as the crowd grew in front of me. I didn’t even see them, though I’m sure Karl and Friedrich did.

CATCH OF THE DAY, August 14, 2015

NOEL ARGUELLES, Philo. Pot cultivation, processing, possession for sale.

PEDRO ARGUELLES, Philo. Pot cultivation, processing, possession for sale.

MARIC ARRIAGA, Ukiah. Probation revocation.

WALTER BABB, Susanville/Talmage. Drunk in public.

MARIO BENAVIDES, Laytonville. Robbery, domestic battery.

ANDREW BEYER, Applegate, Oregon/Willits. DUI-drugs, misdemeanor hit&run, stolen vehicle, receiving stolen property.

JESSICA EWING, Ukiah. Possession of paraphernalia, probation revocation.

PAUL GOLYER, Ukiah. Probation revocation.

ANDREW HOLM, Ukiah. Probation revocation.

CLEVELAND JONES, Redding/Ukiah. Drunk in public.

TIMOTHY KING, Fort Bragg. Harboring/aiding wanted felon, suspended license.

WILLIAM KING, Fort Bragg. Drunk in public.

VICTOR LOPEZ, Ukiah. Parole violation.

MASON MCGEE, Ukiah. Probation revocation.

LISA ROBERTS, Las Vegas/Ukiah. Under influence of controlled substance.

ERIC WRIGHT, Redwood Valley. Petty theft, probation revocation.

TARGET THE BIGGEST WATER WASTERS

Re “California sets low-flow standards on new showerheads” — Sacramento Bee, August 12, 2015

The state’s adoption of stricter low-flow standards for showerheads is typical of the triumph of public relations over substance that prevails in California water politics.

While these standards will save some water, it will be just a fraction of the water used during the drought by the state’s biggest water wasters: agribusiness, oil companies and other corporate interests.

A new report by EcoNorthwest, an independent economic analysis firm, estimates that 300,000 acres of toxic land in the Westlands Water District and three adjacent water districts could be retired at a cost of $580 million to $1 billion.

Retiring this land and curbing the water rights associated with it would result in a savings to California of up to 455,000 acre-feet of water – for just a small fraction of the cost of Gov. Jerry Brown’s Delta tunnel plan.

Dan Bacher, Sacramento

THE ERASURE OF MOTHERHOOD from feminist rhetoric has led us to this current politicization of sex talk, which doesn’t allow women to recognize their immense power vis-à-vis men. When motherhood was more at the center of culture, you had mothers who understood the fragility of boys and the boy’s need for nurturance and for confidence to overcome his weaknesses. The old-style country women–the Italian matriarchs and Jewish mothers–they all understood the fragility of men. The mothers ruled their own world and didn’t take men that seriously.  They understood how to nurture men and encourage them to be strong–whereas current feminism simply doesn’t perceive the power of women vis-a-vis men.  But when you talk like this with most men, it really resonates with them, and they say “Yes, yes! That’s it!”

— Camille Paglia

RANCHERS HAVE ONLY THEMSELVES TO BLAME

by Mark Scaramella

John Arteaga, Ukiah Daily Journal, August 14, 2015: “For another demonstration of pure-knee-jerk NIMBYism, the upwelling of opposition to the proposed slaughterhouse that was being talked about a while ago was all too typical, probably a lot of folks opposed to it have no trouble pounding down a quarter pounder, but when forced to think about one of the necessary steps in the production of that burger, no! Not in my backyard!”

“A while ago”?

An “upwelling”?

I follow the Board of Supervisors activities very closely. And it was May 18, 2010, quite "a while ago" now. In fact, at that meeting there were one or two people who could be fairly described as NIMBYs. The rest of the “opposition,” such as it was, was financial and practical, not NIMBY.

The Board of Supervisors spent an entire afternoon discussing the possibility of a slaughterhouse somewhere along Highway 101. Most of the people in the room were for the idea. Several sons of the soil, fresh off their back 40s, appeared before the Supervisors to talk up a tax-subsidized facility.

Yes, a tax-subsidized slaughterhouse.

The slaughterhouse idea has been floating around for several years, never getting very far because, of course, nobody’s willing to put up millions of dollars for, ahem, a pig in a poke.

Ranchers, miscellaneous Friends of Ranchers, and some local food advocates spoke for the idea; none of them offered to front the money. They seemed to think the Supervisors would somehow fund it, or at least fund the planning of it.

A rancher named John Ford, unlike his fellow ranchers, seemed much more reality-based. Ford rattled off some likely numbers and concluded, “I can’t see where this is economically viable.”

He’s right. It’s not. NIMBYs or no NIMBYs.

Several self-identified enviros and a vegetarian told the Board that there were various problems with the idea — the smell, the waste, the humane treatment… But those people weren’t outright against the idea, just that that there were some real potential problems wherever the facility might be built.

One Ukiah resident was for it as long as it wasn’t in his neighborhood — a genuine NIMBY. (Someone who’s against the idea entirely is not a NIMBY, but an opponent.)

Counting herself among the Friends of Ranchers, then-Fifth District Supervisor Candidate Wendy Roberts said she’d spoken to “Sea Ranchers and large cattle ranchers — Peter Bradford, Larry Mailliard, Larry Stornetta… They tell me it would make a tremendous benefit to them. No more hauling of animals out of county.” Roberts then added the facility should not be in the Ukiah area. “Our support is conditional on that,” said Roberts.

Does that make Ms. Roberts a NIMBY?

And “our support”? Is that the Royal “our,” or has Ms. Roberts formed her own Ranchers Association?

Supervisor Pinches, a cattleman, pointed out that the idea hasn’t gone much past “Gosh! Wouldn’t it be great if the County built us a slaughterhouse?!”

Bradford, Mailliard and Stornetta, individually or severally, could finance a slaughterhouse themselves. So, why don't they? Why do they even suppose the public should be involved in building one for their private cows? Aren’t they against government intrusion in general?

John Harper is chief of Mendocino County’s UC Extension/Farm Advisor Office, local fount of tax-funded advice and the occasional handout for gentleman farmers. The office also includes forestry expert Greg Giusti and the egregious grape guy, Glen McGourty. Harper functions as supervisor of the other two and as their “livestock” expert. It fell to him to come up with a slaughterhouse concept for discussion purposes, although Harper took pains several times to note that his $18 million (depending on which price per square foot number you use) figure was pure speculation since nobody knows how much livestock would be brought in for slaughter nor how much finished meat could be sold. And nobody knows how the slaughterhouse would be funded or where it would be located or how the hippies would be cooled out if it magically became more than the dream of wealthy ranchers to get themselves a big freebie.

In other words, it was discussion time at the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors.

The ranchers agreed with Harper that there's a market for their chopped up cows and pigs in the Sacramento Valley and among San Francisco's Whole Foods types that a Mendo-based slaughterhouse might efficiently serve. Presently, Mendo's small animal exports are trucked to Eureka or Sonoma County to be converted to hamburger and lamb chops.

Supervisor Pinches suggested that a producers cooperative might be a good way to get things going.

It would. And there's the rub.

Mendocino County’s wealthiest ranchers are all for having Mendocino County spend hundreds of thousands of dollars and many staff hours to discuss imaginary slaughterhouses but they don't want a co-op and, of course, they don't want to put up their own money.

Two local ranchers, Jim Lawson of Willits and retired Undersheriff Beryl Murray of Redwood Valley, seemed entirely carried away with the prospect of free money. They told the Board “You [the Board of Supervisors] can build it on my ranch if you want to.”

The presumption being that the County would build the slaughterhouse, apparently.

The idea has languished ever since, occasionally mentioned as a great idea, then going back into hibernation. There has been a teensy bit of consideration for a mobile slaughterhouse which would obviously be more appropriately sized for Mendocino County, but nobody has pursued it. Perhaps because of little complications like finding a USDA inspector to stamp the finished meat or cumbersome requirements to keep different meats separate during processing.

So before we rush to blame the lack of a slaughterhouse in Mendocino County on a bunch of unnamed “NIMBYs,” let’s first have the people who stand to benefit from a slaughterhouse develop a financially viable proposal that’s good enough for the ranchers to invest in themselves.

(from "The San Francisco Rent Explosion Part III")

JACK MACK & THE HEART ATTACK HORNS

Ukiah, CA. - On Sunday, August 23rd in Todd Grove Park at 6:00pm Fowler Auto & Truck Center, The City of Ukiah, KWNE-FM and MAX 93.5 are proud to present the final concert of the 24th annual Sundays in the Park concert series with America’s Baddest Wall of Soul Band Jack Mack & The Heart Attack.

Jack Mack & The Heart Attack Horns are LA based and the #1 critically acclaimed American Rock ‘n’ Soul band, known the world over as “The Hardest Working Band in Soul Business.” The band is comprised of lead vocalist Mark Campbell, guitarist Andrew Kastner and Saxman Bill Bergman who work alongside The Heart Attack Horns and Rhythm Section featuring Les Lovitt (Eagles), Terry Landry (Luis Miguel), Roy Weigand (The Who), John Menzano (James Ingram), Mike Finnigan (Jimmy Hendrix, Bonnie Raitt), Kevin Cloud (Dolly Parton) and Les Falconer (Keb Mo).

CHP ISSUES RESPONSE FOLLOWING ARRESTS

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California Highway Patrol (CHP) Commissioner Joe Farrow and Doug Villars, president of the California Association of Highway Patrolmen, today made the following remarks following the announcement by the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department that one former and two current CHP employees were arrested in connection with the 2012 murder of Turlock resident Korey Kaufmann:

“I am deeply saddened by today’s announcement. The allegations themselves are extremely disturbing to a professional law enforcement organization and are a deep blow to the soul of the law enforcement profession itself,” Commissioner Farrow said. “The entire Department and I are appalled at the mere thought that one former and two current employees played any role in this incident. What our Department has learned of the allegations regarding their involvement has truly hurt the men and women of this organization.

“We very much appreciate the efforts of all of those who have worked tirelessly to investigate this case,” Farrow said. “I have questions, and I know the public and the media will have questions as well. While our desire is to be as forthcoming and transparent as possible, we also do not want to say or do anything to jeopardize justice for Korey’s family, to whom I offer my deepest and most sincere condolences.”

Villars also expressed his condolences to the family and said, “These charges are devastating and are not reflective of the values of the hard-working men and women we represent in the highway patrol.”

As soon as the CHP was made aware of the investigation and its employees’ potential involvement, the CHP took immediate action. Walter Wells, III, is no longer employed by the CHP. Officers Scott McFarlane and Eduardo Quintanar are on administrative leave and have had their peace officer powers revoked pending the results of the department’s internal investigation.

The CHP will continue to fully cooperate with the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department on this investigation and the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office as it prosecutes this case.

“What I can assure you is this: the CHP has a long history as a professional and respected law enforcement organization. Every day, our 11,000 employees strive to be the Department the public expects and deserves,” Farrow continued. “Each and every one of them – those who wear the uniform and those who do not - have my full support as they go about their daily duty to keep California safe.”

Background:

http://www.kcra.com/news/local-news/news-modesto/3-chp-officers-modesto-attorney-arrested-in-2012-turlock-killing/34725300