It is unfortunate but the Atherton Police Department has a very well documented history of corruption and falsifying police reports especially against reporters/whistleblowers.

There is a 100% chance they will find what ever they are looking for each time.

By the way it is Not Illegal for adults to have pornography...That was a false statement.

That is so much bull, that they try and leave the house the same as when the entered. By mistake they raided my house and it was a total disaster when they left. They even broke the key off in the lock of the front door.

Simple question: What was the probation violation that warranted a search of this man's home?

What kind of call would have all of the Atherton Police Officers leave the scene in the middle of the incident?

"indeed, a call came in the middle of this incident and Atherton officers had to leave the scene" Lt. Wade said.

10 officers conducting a search in a misdemeanor under the influence probation case.

Sounds out of the ordinary.

"10 officers conducting a search in a misdemeanor under the influence probation case.

Sounds out of the ordinary."

In my experience it is VERY out of the ordinary. I conducted numerous probabtion searches when I was in law enforcement and unless I expected a house full of people, I did it with one or two other officers. I sometimes involved the probation officer, but often as not, I did not. It is not required. In my OPINION this was harassment pure and simple.

I have historically been very "pro" police and law enforcement. In the past, when I heard about alleged police abuses, my first reaction was to discount the claims because they almost always came from people with questionnable pasts.

But thanks to the Atherton police department, I now have a very different view of law enforcement and police abuse. I never thought police were capable of the things that the Atherton police have admitted to and I find the other charges against them to be believable.

As I've said in the past, I now have an entirely different perspective when I drive through Atherton, which is probably not so different than what some minorities probably feel as they drive through the town. If you would have told me that my opinion would change so radically, I never would have believed you.

I also have an entirely different perspective when I hear a news story about someone who has been caught with child pornography on their computer. In the past, I had no doubt that this must be a disgusting, vile person. But thanks to the Atherton police department, my first reaction is to wonder if this is just a dirty trick from the police. Child porn is a near-indefensible charge, yet a nefarious cop can easily load a bunch of it onto your computer from a flash drive as they are carrying your laptop to the trunk of their police car.

Thanks, Atherton police.

The entire episode sounds like a deliberate setup and the story, as written by David Boyce, certainly leaves one thinking that Mr.Bothun is an arch criminal and possibly a pedophile.
There are a lot of important details like the 10 (ten) officers needed for a man and a probation violation.
No details about the person who Mr.Bothun is primary caregiver.
A load of details missing and it sounds like a planned harrassment.
A criminal attorney should be called by Mr.Bothun to find out if he is a target of some kind. A professional outside this County seems to find the entire episode "peculiar".
I photograph my Verification Codes for comparison, since I found you make me redo them twice in the past three weeks.
AGAIN JUST NOW

Well, just Googling Mr. Bothun certainly opens a lot of information of him as an aggressive reporter and he has been in trouble with the police dept. after making allegations against a former police chief.
He is NOT popular in Atherton. That is for sure.

This story is not over.

Update:
Brian Bothun appeared in court today to answer to a probation violation the county filed as a result of the October raid. The District Attorney declined to charge.

A judge threw the violation out.

And exactly how many Atherton police officers did it take to get this totally bogus charge against Mr. Bothun to court?

I think it was 10 Officers including the K9 and Sheriffs Department.

Here's a link to our current story:

Web Link