Article originally published on Technorati as When Mayors Attack
The Renton Reporter recently showed how bare-knuckled investigative reporting is done in suburban Seattle. America, be grateful: the Reporter is protecting you from the kind of sick animals who change a bar’s name from “Trophies” to “Nations Pub:Liq.” Is there no decency left in this world? Thanks to the Reporter, such crimes against punctuation will not prevail. From the above-linked article:
Mayor Denis Law has taken a stand in north Renton.
You wouldn’t expect a guy like Denis Law, who founded a bunch of newspapers (including the Renton Reporter quoted herein) to swagger around like the new sheriff in Dodge City. Mayor Law, however, is a paradox inside a contradiction wrapped in a Snuggie; he apparently went from being borderline agoraphobic to Walker, Renton Ranger. Don’t let that pickle smell fool you, he’s a badass.
He’s tired of a juvenile justice system that frees young people who are not yet ready to behave themselves, often with dangerous results.
He’s tired of landlords who don’t maintain their properties and don’t bother to do thorough background checks on tenants.
And he’s tired of bars and taverns that become a magnet for patrons who seem bent on firing guns into the air or at each other, sometimes sending errant bullets into front doors.
And so are we. How sad that a child has to move to a different bedroom just to avoid bullets.
Who is “we”? Why is there no author credited? And can somebody get Mayor Law some vitamins already? Poor guy is plum tuckered out.
I agree with the mystery editor (who definitely does not work for the mayor, no sir). It is sad when children fear violence. You know what else is sad? When the police chief throws a suspect off a bridge (former Chief Garry Anderson, pictured right, Page 21, first bullet point). Maybe if the Renton Reporter ran a picture of Trophies/Nations Pub:Liq dressed as Santa, the Mayor could take a nap.
Right now, Trophies Bar and Eatery in north Renton is under a magnifying glass. It’s a high priority for enforcement agents with the Washington state Liquor Control Board.
Mayor Law’s under a bit of a magnifying glass himself. Luckily Washington State doesn’t have a Mayor Control Board.
From the Renton Reporter/Dean Radford article linked above:
Gunfire erupted outside Trophies Bar and Eatery the night of Dec. 9. A bullet struck the front door of a nearby home.
Pretty damning for something so vague. Did this happen right outside their door, or on the same block? Was the person with the gun a Trophies customer?
“We fear it’s just a matter of time before an innocent resident is going to be shot by an errant bullet,” Mayor Denis Law wrote in a Dec. 13 letter to the enforcement chief of the Washington state Liquor Control Board.
There are people who fear spiders, alien abduction, and dying alone. I once saw a lady on Maury Povich who was afraid of Jello. If I were Mayor Law, I’d probably fear the information in recently released public records becoming common knowledge among Renton’s voters, but that’s me.
Again quoting from Dean Radford’s article linked above:
Trophies certainly isn’t the root of all evil in north Renton. There are societal problems thathave dogged the neighborhood for years. [sic]
But Trophies, at least as a night club featuring young rap artists, wasn’t the right fit for a neighborhood, not so much because of the music but because of the crowd the music attracted. The rap is gone. [emphasis added]
Not the right crowd? Might that be code for anything? Radford admits the neighborhood has had issues — which may account for the single weapon discharge referenced above. Who decides when black people are and aren’t welcome in a neighborhood? Mayor Law? Dean Radford? The Jello lady from Maury?
To their credit, the managers are now trying to right the ship, as one says. Maybe a change of music will change the crowd. That’s been tried at other bars in Renton, with limited success, mostly financial.
They are moving away from being a night club to becoming a neighborhood bar that feels like a sports bar. They’ve changed the menu and the music to 80s and 90s cover bands. And they’ve changed the name: Trophies is now Nations Pub:Liq
Mayor Law is a Republican, the party that wants to let oil companies regulate themselves, while focusing on important issues like micromanaging nightclubs and keeping gays from getting married.
Still, and this is working against them, we don’t sense they understand the seriousness of the criminal activity that’s happened outside their bar and the liquor violations inside their bar. Because of that activity, they are facing possible eviction. [emphasis added]
Who is this “we”? Does one of Mr. Radford’s alternate personalities write the editorials, or does he have a mouse in his pocket? Or is he admitting that he’s the propaganda wing of Renton City Hall?
“We” don’t “sense” they understand? Nightclub owners now have to step around Dean “Sybil” Radford’s spider senses to prevent being shut down? Shall I stop asking questions and go back to quoting The Renton Reporter?
Maybe Trophies can right the ship and become a neighborly neighborhood bar before late June, when its liquor license expires. Law is already on record as asking the state to deny the license renewal, so it already has a foe with a say in the approval process.
We, of course, support local businesses and wish them well. But Nations Pub:liq is on a short leash and time is running out.
Sure, Mayor Law, Dean Radford, and the mouse in his pocket all wish them well. As Alanis Morrissette once said, I want you to know, I’m happy for you. I wish nothing but the best for you both.
Ace reporter Radford detailed a stunning list of violations at Trophies, with everything from over-service to an NSF check to inadequate lighting. They’ve had the kind of disorderly conduct that got them a verbal warning, even. Such shenanigans have never been seen in Renton before or since. Except for that time in December 2011, when someone popped off a dozen rounds in front of a place called Casian’s, shooting two of their customers multiple times.
When they sent a SWAT team to Casian’s Trophies to run all their patrons for warrants (#NotKidding) they found one employee with a warrant and arrested him. The Renton Reporter doesn’t say whether the warrant was for a traffic ticket, late child support, or a grisly rape-homicide. They did show a black man in handcuffs though, so we can all rest easy.
Good job, Mayor Law, staying up late making sure that nightclubs in Renton monitor their employees very, very carefully. Every Renton employee from Police Chief Kevin Milosevich right on down passes the white glove test, don’t they? Heck, Trophies had one guy with a warrant. We can’t realistically expect police officers to live up to the same ethical standards as nightclub bouncers, can we?
What was in that public records request that was in the works when Trophies showed up on radar, anyway?
From Jeremy, King of Public Document Requests (my comments/clarifications in brackets):
According to Officer [Ryan] Rutledge [lead detective in the Mr. Fuddlesticks investigation], all acts detailed [below] occurred. There is no debate. Some were documented as internal investigations. Others were well publicized. But they all occurred.
The acts include theft (by a police officer), throwing a suspect off a bridge (by the [former] Chief of Police), sex on duty (frequently, by many), drunk off duty and aggressively engaging outside police agencies, pursuits ([of] a police officer), incompetent K9 Officer, stalking/spying on girlfriends (by [married] police officers), and drunk officers falsely reporting murders.
[Other than that, nothing major, just those few things. And the massive illegal document destruction. But nothing else. Mostly.]
1) Penny Bartley [jail manager] has no experience, training, education, or authority in enforcing any laws at all.
2) Penny Bartley and Commander Katie McClincy have a seemingly extra-close relationship.
3) The Jail Inmate Customer Satisfaction Survey was a stupid idea. [D'OH!]
4) Officers played a football game while on duty.
5) A Detective and King County Deputy Prosecutor (names redacted) engaged in sex in the back of a patrol car or in a personal vehicle. That detective is now the Chief of Police in Black Diamond [Rutledge is apparently incorrect here; he is referring to Chief Greg Wilson of Mountlake Terrace, not Chief Jamey Kiblinger of Black Diamond.]
6) “Miss Z” is City Attorney Zanetta Fontes, where her hugs are not known to be a “man hug” or a “man-woman hug”.
7) Off duty Renton Officer Darren Johnson argued with outside agencies while in a drunken stupor off duty [and piloted a boat while drunk].
7) Retired Chief of Police, Garry Anderson, threw a person off a bridge after a pursuit.
8) Accreditation stickers went missing, a highly publicized incident.
9) Renton Police Sergeant (name redacted) and a former officer had sex on-duty with a worker from IHOP, while in uniform in a double tag team fray. [Summers and Weisz?]
10) Former Officer Weisz sped by then-Sergeant McClincy on his motorbike and didn’t stop when chased.
11) During a search warrant, Officer James Gould “stole some shit from the suspect”
12) Another officer slept with two co-workers, made sure they both found out and spread the rumor to the rest of the department. One is described by Rutledge as having a “pair of tig ol’ bitties” and the other described as “my little brother naked”. Rutledge says the descriptions are consistent with the physical characteristics of two officers (names redacted).
13) Former Officer Weisz was disciplined with days off and sent a post card from Hawaii thanking the administration for the free vacation. [If you're wondering where he gets his balls, click the "borderline agoraphobic" link in the third paragraph of this article.]
14) The Traffic unit is known for being constantly unavailable for traffic collisions and always going to Seattle for equipment or in a meeting when they hear the call.
15) Working in the traffic unit means working for the “Acid Queen”. The “Acid Queen” was involved in “another well publicized incident, involving Traffic Sergeant (name redacted, but later shown to be Christy Mathews)”. The incident was “getting bent over a Harley wearing chaps by a butt pirate.”
16) Renton Police Officer Scott Phipps had a K9 named Rico that was not expected to find suspects or even find his ass among holes in the ground.
17) Sergeant Summers and then former Officer Weisz got blasted, called 911, and falsely reported a murder.
18) Detective Tanya Gardanar was involved in a dating relationship with a man who became the focus of the investigation of a decades old cold case homicide [As I understand it, Gardanar was the investigating detective, and told the suspect that he was the suspect while investigating him].
19) [Married] Deputy Chief Tim Troxel used department resources to stalk and conduct police surveillance of his girlfriend. Sergeant Todd Frazier was utilized in this act. [The woman in question, the City Manager, was his boss; she is also believed to have been involved with other Renton officers concurrently.]
20) Having sex with someone in Crime Prevention can get you promoted. Cyndie Parks apparently was involved with having sex on her shift, in a patrol vehicle, and a collision was involved.
There’s a passive-aggressive cop thing called “ticket stacking,” discussed here by some Renton cops. Instead of giving you a warning or one ticket for something minor, they look for as many violations as possible and write you a stack of tickets. One Renton officer reportedly bragged to co-workers about piling on tickets until he could make the motorist cry. What motorists don’t usually know is that the best thing to do is go to court. Judges usually see that for what it is.
But of course Mayor Law wouldn’t drive people out of business to deflect attention from his own grievous misconduct just because they’re black. That might make them cry. Besides, a judge would likely see that for exactly what it is.
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When Mayors Attack
Article originally published on Technorati as When Mayors Attack
The Renton Reporter recently showed how bare-knuckled investigative reporting is done in suburban Seattle. America, be grateful: the Reporter is protecting you from the kind of sick animals who change a bar’s name from “Trophies” to “Nations Pub:Liq.” Is there no decency left in this world? Thanks to the Reporter, such crimes against punctuation will not prevail. From the above-linked article:
You wouldn’t expect a guy like Denis Law, who founded a bunch of newspapers (including the Renton Reporter quoted herein) to swagger around like the new sheriff in Dodge City. Mayor Law, however, is a paradox inside a contradiction wrapped in a Snuggie; he apparently went from being borderline agoraphobic to Walker, Renton Ranger. Don’t let that pickle smell fool you, he’s a badass.
Who is “we”? Why is there no author credited? And can somebody get Mayor Law some vitamins already? Poor guy is plum tuckered out.
I agree with the mystery editor (who definitely does not work for the mayor, no sir). It is sad when children fear violence. You know what else is sad? When the police chief throws a suspect off a bridge (former Chief Garry Anderson, pictured right, Page 21, first bullet point). Maybe if the Renton Reporter ran a picture of Trophies/Nations Pub:Liq dressed as Santa, the Mayor could take a nap.
Mayor Law’s under a bit of a magnifying glass himself. Luckily Washington State doesn’t have a Mayor Control Board.
From the Renton Reporter/Dean Radford article linked above:
Pretty damning for something so vague. Did this happen right outside their door, or on the same block? Was the person with the gun a Trophies customer?
There are people who fear spiders, alien abduction, and dying alone. I once saw a lady on Maury Povich who was afraid of Jello. If I were Mayor Law, I’d probably fear the information in recently released public records becoming common knowledge among Renton’s voters, but that’s me.
Again quoting from Dean Radford’s article linked above:
Not the right crowd? Might that be code for anything? Radford admits the neighborhood has had issues — which may account for the single weapon discharge referenced above. Who decides when black people are and aren’t welcome in a neighborhood? Mayor Law? Dean Radford? The Jello lady from Maury?
Mayor Law is a Republican, the party that wants to let oil companies regulate themselves, while focusing on important issues like micromanaging nightclubs and keeping gays from getting married.
Who is this “we”? Does one of Mr. Radford’s alternate personalities write the editorials, or does he have a mouse in his pocket? Or is he admitting that he’s the propaganda wing of Renton City Hall?
“We” don’t “sense” they understand? Nightclub owners now have to step around Dean “Sybil” Radford’s spider senses to prevent being shut down? Shall I stop asking questions and go back to quoting The Renton Reporter?
Sure, Mayor Law, Dean Radford, and the mouse in his pocket all wish them well. As Alanis Morrissette once said, I want you to know, I’m happy for you. I wish nothing but the best for you both.
Ace reporter Radford detailed a stunning list of violations at Trophies, with everything from over-service to an NSF check to inadequate lighting. They’ve had the kind of disorderly conduct that got them a verbal warning, even. Such shenanigans have never been seen in Renton before or since. Except for that time in December 2011, when someone popped off a dozen rounds in front of a place called Casian’s, shooting two of their customers multiple times.
When they sent a SWAT team to
Casian’sTrophies to run all their patrons for warrants (#NotKidding) they found one employee with a warrant and arrested him. The Renton Reporter doesn’t say whether the warrant was for a traffic ticket, late child support, or a grisly rape-homicide. They did show a black man in handcuffs though, so we can all rest easy.Good job, Mayor Law, staying up late making sure that nightclubs in Renton monitor their employees very, very carefully. Every Renton employee from Police Chief Kevin Milosevich right on down passes the white glove test, don’t they? Heck, Trophies had one guy with a warrant. We can’t realistically expect police officers to live up to the same ethical standards as nightclub bouncers, can we?
What was in that public records request that was in the works when Trophies showed up on radar, anyway?
From Jeremy, King of Public Document Requests (my comments/clarifications in brackets):
There’s a passive-aggressive cop thing called “ticket stacking,” discussed here by some Renton cops. Instead of giving you a warning or one ticket for something minor, they look for as many violations as possible and write you a stack of tickets. One Renton officer reportedly bragged to co-workers about piling on tickets until he could make the motorist cry. What motorists don’t usually know is that the best thing to do is go to court. Judges usually see that for what it is.
But of course Mayor Law wouldn’t drive people out of business to deflect attention from his own grievous misconduct just because they’re black. That might make them cry. Besides, a judge would likely see that for exactly what it is.
For more information on how much Renton officers respect black folks (in case the above video isn’t clear enough), click here.
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