How long can our legal system allow this tantrum to last? Obviously Mr. Buckheit is used to getting his way from his former business career, titles, and money, but this is ridiculous when police officers get sued for simply doing their jobs. They've done nothing wrong, as the DA has proven, and there has been no police report falsification as had that been true people would have been prosecuted by now. I wish the Almanac would stop sensationalizing this crap.

Proud to be Blue -

Just because you say something doesn't make it true (ironically, very much like writing a police report.) Judge Spero who, unlike you, actually heard this case and listened to the arguments, believes Mr. Buckheit has a case. So do a lot of us who don't wear badges for a living.

And perhaps that's because a different judge found that Mr. Buckheit had been falsely arrested and that his police report HAD been falsified. Sorry, but many of us don't consider false arrests and falsifying reports to be the police "simply doing their job." Of course, in light of Chief Guerra's recent comment that APD reports are falsified all the time, maybe it is.

No, Mr. Buckheit's litigation isn't crap, Mr. Proud. It's a crime and it's the basis for a major civil rights law suit - which can be VERY expensive for the loser. The Town would be wise to take this lawsuit very seriously.

Two words of advice for the Atherton Town Council: Settle. Fast.

Proud:

as ex-law enforcement I understand your angst about police officers being sued for "just doing their jobs." Unfortunately, falsifying reports and false arrest don't fall into the "just doing their job" category. They are crimes. And you're right, someone should have been arrested and prosecuted by now for the falsification of the police report, but they haven't. Why? Why did it take Atherton PD 8 months to cough up the report Mr. Buckheit had every right to see? Why did a judge make a finding of factual innocence in regards to Mr. Buckheit's arrest? Why, per Chif Guerra, is the investigation into the falsified report still ongoing this long after it came to light? Could it be because the Chief is trying to stall until there is some kind of resolution in the Buckheit case that allows him to make the problem go away without firing or prosecuting a dirty cop?

Pride can be a deadly sin:
Oh I get it! You wear the guy out till he crumbles, and then pretend nothing ever happened.
Why does this remind me of the Johns case? - And just about all the other failed expectations that the town might actually want to uphold a bunch of inconvenient laws that interfere in operation of this pension factory.

Dear Proud,

Time to turn in the badge, taser & gun.

There is obviously some confusion about these issues.

Stephen Wagstaffe asked my attorney for permission to release the police report so he could investigate the police report falsification fact (not allegation; again, this was admitted to, under oath, by APD Officer Dennis). The Almanac accurately reported my refusal, and the reasons why I refused (the obvious conflict of interest).

In the Palo Alto paper last week, Chief Mike Guerra stated in fact the district attorney has been investigating this matter since February.

These two facts seem at odds and perhaps the Almanac can clear this up
through some tough questions.

I do know that my calendar now reads October, and almost the end of it. That means this so-called "investigation" has been going on for almost nine months with no result. I also know, as the victim of the falsification, I have been contacted by no investigator working for Mr. Wagstaffe as one would normally expect.

I tend to agree with Menlo Voter's intuition about why this has unfolded in this manner.

I do understand about the "blue wall of silence".

I do not understand how that "blue wall of silence" has been extended to Jim Dobbie, Jerry Carlson, Elizabeth Lewis, and Charles Marsala.

Another opportunity for investigative journalism on the part of the Almanac, perhaps...

Marsala is on his way out, humiliated and disgraced.

Carlson can't make up his mind to save his life

Lewis hates anything Kathy is for.

That leaves Dobbie who is too busy micromanaging Town employees to pay attention to things that matter.

When I was a kid, my father told me that a bully, someday, will pick on the wrong person and will get his just desserts.

I've read over the years about the Atherton police picking on John Johns, Bothan, and others. It looks like they got so full of themselves that they figured they could even pick on a very wealthy resident who was a tough business CEO, and get away with it.

It looks like the bullies have met their match.

I for one will be enjoying every minute of it.

Betting against Jon on this case would be unwise after two separate third party rulings n his favor.

The Town should settle NOW.

I just watched the 11:00 news--looks like Atherton is not the only city that has police unions using leverage to effect city council election outcomes. Read the Walnut Creek story in tomorrow's paper with a careful eye. Or the Santa Cruz city councilman story already "slam dunked". Who wants to guess how that guy voted on pension reform.
No wonder more and more residents have that odd feeling, that we are simply occupying turf that has been stealthily claimed away, and all tied up with a big blue bow.

The Buckheit case and the Johns case have two things in common.

Both Buckheit and Johns were subject to intimidation by the Police Department. The Town tried to get both cases thrown out on a technicality.

It looks like both cases are destined for the same result, a huge cash payout preceeded by excessive fees paid to attorneys.

The City Council should learn from its mistakes.

I hope the Town doesn't settle with Buckheit.

The only way the APD is going to be cleaned up is if its corrupt officers are exposed.

The Town has shown a complete inability to ferret out misconduct by itself. This means that the only way the residents will know what is really going on is if Jon Buckheit's case goes to trial.

Go Jon Go! Do us all a favor and go the distance on this one. Don't settle.

Good for the Atherton citizen standing up for his rights and pursuing the Atherton Cops after they pursued him. Atherton would be wise to settle and settle now.

There is another element here that is not being discussed, We want the Atherton Police Officer(s) arrested, charged and if found guilty, sent to prison for committing a Felony against Jon Buckheit.

This isn't just about money.

The Attorney General's office needs to investigate this. NOT Steve Wagstaffe, who will protect any San Mateo cop or prosecutor who knowingly lies to the public on their job.

Good for Buckheit for challenging the County.

Mr. Buckheit: are you aware that there's currently a lawsuit against the San Mateo DA's office for wrongfully dropping a case and the prosecutor lying to have it dropped? This has been in the press. The family who has sued intends to keep suing all the way to the California Supreme Court.

Every Atherton resident owes John Buckheit a big THANK YOU for his unyielding pursuit of justice and the truth. What happened to John could happen to anyone else if the underlying problems are not solved.

Peter is right about one thing if it can happen to Buckheit it can happen to anybody.

All of us living in Atherton are vulnerable to a small minority of cops working for Atherton who wear a very dark shade of blue. They think and act like thugs, drunk with power and ignorant of their arrogance.

Each and every one of us is vulnerable to the same smear tactics, we abused a child or we glanced at naughty photos and then we used our money to buy our way out of being held accountable.