Ben Ballinger

Police Misconduct

Growing up as a child, I always thought that the police were a service-oriented organization whose purpose was to ensure the safety of civilians and maintain order in our communities.  After all, how many old-time movies showed the friendly neighborhood cop who would help old folks and children cross the street, acknowledge citizens by their first names, bring the milk into the house when they were bringing the rowdy teenage child home before they hurt themselves… etc?  Elementary school seemed to associate the police force (along with firemen, ambulance drivers, the President) with benevolence as well–probably partially the reason that a large percentage of young kids want to be a cop when they grow up.

Unfortunately, my experience growing up has hardly reinforced the idea that police are there to “protect and serve” even though that is the very motto inscribed on their cars and on placards in their stations.  Being what I would describe as a relatively good kid throughout my childhood, I rarely had any contact with police officers when I was young, but some events outside of my control changed that as I got older, and unfortunately I have yet to have what I would describe as a “good” experience with the police.

The worst experience I’ve ever had with the police, however, happened a few months ago in Belmont Shore, Long Beach.  Technically, the experience is ongoing because almost four months later I am still not done dealing with this nightmare.  Having heard through the grapevine that other people have experienced similar treatment by the LBPD, I decided to write this article series to not only call out the department (and the “justice system” of Long Beach) as a whole, but to actually name some names that were involved as I have a large problem with egotistical bullies hiding behind their badges/guns and feel that those involved need to be revealed to the public.

As this is a pretty long story, I’m going to break it into pieces to increase its readability and hopefully its search engine rank.  I’ll start off by saying that I am a young professional, who always abides the law, drinks responsibly and conducts myself in a manner that reflects well upon me and my businesses when I am out and about.  The night I was arrested for no reason, falsely imprisoned by the LBPD and then erroneously charged with a “Drunk in Public” misdemeanor was no exception.

My friend and I took a cab to Belmont Shore from Seal Beach in an effort to avoid driving drunk, which both of us strongly oppose.  Before the cab came, we each had two light beers over the course of an hour and a half beginning at 9:30 PM.  We went to Legends where we each had one beer, and then stopped by Belmont Station where we each had a final beer, for a total of four light beers throughout the night (by the time we left Belmont Station, it was 1:30 AM, so the four beers were had over the course of four hours, or about one beer an hour).  Being 6′1″ at 200 lbs, this is not a significant enough amount of alcohol to inebriate me to a level that is worthy of arrest (or honestly, AT ALL), not to mention I remember every event of the night clear as day and was definitely not drunk.

Anyway, after leaving Belmont Station, we attempted to return to Legends to meet back up with some friends and take a cab back to Seal Beach to end the (what was up to that point) fun and relaxing night.  It was too late to come back in the bar though, so we headed over to Jack in the Box to wait for our friends.  As I learned later from locals who are in the know, this was a huge mistake.  Apparently the fast food restaurant is where the Long Beach Police hang out waiting to pounce on any out-of-town male ignorant enough to come within 100 feet of them.

I emphasized male for a reason; from my experience the department is utterly sexist and has no problem ticketing, arresting or just generally harassing males for things while ignoring similar or even identical actions on the parts of females.  In fact, when they weren’t “hooking and booking” guys they were flirting with girls in a very unprofessional manner.  I don’t think it’s too much to ask that police spend their working hours doing their jobs and keep the socializing and courting efforts to their off-duty hours.

In Part 2, I discuss the events of my arrest and the horrible mistreatment I received at the hands of my arresting officers (in particular Mark Brunson and David Poss) after arriving at the Jack in the Box on 2nd St.  In Part 3 I explain my experience in jail.  In Part 4, I will give my account of the violation of my constitutional rights by the Long Beach courts, and finally in Part 5 I will give my final thoughts on the department’s behavior in the community of Belmont Shore.

If you’ve ever been mistreated by the Long Beach police, I urge you to file a complaint with the department, and name names.  This will add to a paper trail that will help in any criminal and/or civil lawsuits that take place for yourself or others.  If you ever have the misfortune of having to deal with them in the future, if you only remember to do two things let them be this:

1. Try to remember the names of the officers involved in your arrest or general mistreatment, and file a complaint about them as soon as possible.
2. Don’t say anything during the ordeal… these cops are utterly corrupt and will use every means available, legal or otherwise, to make your life miserable as long as possible.

If you have recently been mistreated by the Long Beach Police Department and are looking for someone with experience in these situations to represent you, please contact my attorney, Gabe Houston, at 714-841-3921 or visit his firm’s website at http://www.hblawyers.net.

This entry was posted Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 at 4:44 pm and is filed under Fuck My Life. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.