1 00:00:08,245 --> 00:00:13,925 Speaker 1: School of Humans. Hi, I'm trying to reach Charon Cummings. 2 00:00:15,125 --> 00:00:18,645 Speaker 1: Let's call it. My name is Catherine Townsend, and I'm 3 00:00:18,685 --> 00:00:24,805 Speaker 1: actually working on a podcast for iHeartMedia and we're covering Well, 4 00:00:25,325 --> 00:00:32,085 Speaker 1: there you have it. Okay, we called Charon Cummings. She 5 00:00:32,285 --> 00:00:34,485 Speaker 1: was the jailer who was working the night that My 6 00:00:34,605 --> 00:00:39,005 Speaker 1: Trese went missing. Obviously, she doesn't want to talk about 7 00:00:39,005 --> 00:00:41,805 Speaker 1: My Trees these days, but at the time when My 8 00:00:41,885 --> 00:00:46,245 Speaker 1: Trees went missing, she did give several interviews. She told 9 00:00:46,285 --> 00:00:49,045 Speaker 1: the Los Angeles Times that after my Trease was released, 10 00:00:49,405 --> 00:00:54,245 Speaker 1: she was given a phone and made several calls. Cummings 11 00:00:54,285 --> 00:00:56,165 Speaker 1: told the paper that she did not listen to My 12 00:00:56,245 --> 00:01:00,045 Speaker 1: Teresa's conversations, but she said she did have discussions with 13 00:01:00,085 --> 00:01:05,485 Speaker 1: her about topics including gospel music and karma. Steve Whitmore, 14 00:01:06,045 --> 00:01:10,285 Speaker 1: the LASD Community Information Officer, talked about coming statement in 15 00:01:10,325 --> 00:01:13,965 Speaker 1: a press conference. Cummings said that she encouraged my Trees 16 00:01:14,005 --> 00:01:16,365 Speaker 1: to stay the night and told her that she could 17 00:01:16,365 --> 00:01:19,285 Speaker 1: have breakfast in the morning. Before leaving. She said that 18 00:01:19,325 --> 00:01:22,005 Speaker 1: My Trees seemed to waver for a moment and said 19 00:01:22,325 --> 00:01:27,445 Speaker 1: maybe I'll stay, But then My Trees told Cummings that 20 00:01:27,525 --> 00:01:32,165 Speaker 1: she had changed her mind. She wanted to leave, Cummings 21 00:01:32,165 --> 00:01:34,605 Speaker 1: told Eyewitness News in a two thousand and nine interview. 22 00:01:35,285 --> 00:01:37,605 Speaker 1: When I found out she didn't have a ride, I 23 00:01:37,685 --> 00:01:40,605 Speaker 1: asked her, why don't you stay? It's kind of dark 24 00:01:40,685 --> 00:01:44,245 Speaker 1: and a bit cool. You don't have a jacket. I 25 00:01:44,365 --> 00:01:46,965 Speaker 1: knew she lived out in la and didn't know the area, 26 00:01:47,725 --> 00:01:49,445 Speaker 1: but she said she didn't want to spend the night 27 00:01:49,485 --> 00:01:51,845 Speaker 1: in jail, and she was hooking up with some friends. 28 00:01:52,885 --> 00:01:55,165 Speaker 1: So my Treece walked out the side door of the 29 00:01:55,165 --> 00:01:59,725 Speaker 1: police station. One of the main criticisms that has been 30 00:01:59,805 --> 00:02:02,445 Speaker 1: leveled at the Lost Hill Sheriff's station is the fact 31 00:02:02,485 --> 00:02:05,085 Speaker 1: that the officers should have recognized that my Treece was 32 00:02:05,085 --> 00:02:08,405 Speaker 1: in a fragile mental state. My Teres's family believed that 33 00:02:08,485 --> 00:02:11,005 Speaker 1: all evidence points to the fact that she should have 34 00:02:11,005 --> 00:02:14,685 Speaker 1: been taken to a hospital, not a jail cell, But 35 00:02:15,005 --> 00:02:18,725 Speaker 1: in later depositions, the officers denied that my Terce was 36 00:02:18,765 --> 00:02:22,125 Speaker 1: behaving strangely. They said that my trees passed a field 37 00:02:22,125 --> 00:02:25,205 Speaker 1: sobriety test and that she seemed to be absolutely fine, 38 00:02:25,805 --> 00:02:27,885 Speaker 1: so their decision to release her in the middle of 39 00:02:27,925 --> 00:02:31,685 Speaker 1: the night was the right call. So is it possible 40 00:02:31,765 --> 00:02:34,165 Speaker 1: that the officers did not realize that my Teres was 41 00:02:34,205 --> 00:02:38,365 Speaker 1: having some sort of mental breakdown. I'm Catherine Townsend. This 42 00:02:38,805 --> 00:03:19,285 Speaker 1: is hell and gone. Almost everyone who encountered my Trees 43 00:03:19,325 --> 00:03:21,965 Speaker 1: in the twenty four hour period before she disappeared agreed 44 00:03:22,565 --> 00:03:26,485 Speaker 1: something was wrong with her. This included her mother, her 45 00:03:26,525 --> 00:03:31,245 Speaker 1: aunt Ronda, her former professor, and her boss. It also 46 00:03:31,285 --> 00:03:34,005 Speaker 1: included the Geoffrey staff and the diners at the restaurant 47 00:03:34,045 --> 00:03:37,165 Speaker 1: who interacted with my Trees and then later gave their 48 00:03:37,205 --> 00:03:40,845 Speaker 1: statements to police. Police officers who were put in a 49 00:03:40,885 --> 00:03:44,645 Speaker 1: position of determining someone's mental health and deciding whether to 50 00:03:44,685 --> 00:03:48,285 Speaker 1: hold someone against their will without violating their civil rights 51 00:03:48,925 --> 00:03:52,565 Speaker 1: or in a tough position, so we wanted to know 52 00:03:53,085 --> 00:03:57,965 Speaker 1: what were the police officer's options at that point. In 53 00:03:58,005 --> 00:04:01,525 Speaker 1: the state of California, arrested individuals who were considered to 54 00:04:01,565 --> 00:04:04,405 Speaker 1: be a danger to themselves or others due to signs 55 00:04:04,405 --> 00:04:08,845 Speaker 1: of mental illness can be subject to involuntary psychiatric evaluation 56 00:04:09,245 --> 00:04:12,845 Speaker 1: and commitment for up to seventy two hours. This is 57 00:04:12,885 --> 00:04:16,765 Speaker 1: called a fifty one fifty hold, and my Teresa's family 58 00:04:16,845 --> 00:04:19,525 Speaker 1: is adamant that a fifty one to fifty hold is 59 00:04:19,605 --> 00:04:24,085 Speaker 1: exactly what should have happened prior to her arrest. My 60 00:04:24,245 --> 00:04:27,845 Speaker 1: Trees did not have an official mental health diagnosis, but 61 00:04:28,205 --> 00:04:30,765 Speaker 1: based on the way that she was acting, people close 62 00:04:30,845 --> 00:04:33,965 Speaker 1: to her believed she was undiagnosed by polar and could 63 00:04:34,045 --> 00:04:37,765 Speaker 1: be experiencing some type of manic episode. Now, making an 64 00:04:37,805 --> 00:04:42,925 Speaker 1: armchair diagnosis, especially in hindsight, can be dicey. We know 65 00:04:43,045 --> 00:04:49,205 Speaker 1: that my Trees was exhibiting symptoms, including possible hallucinations because 66 00:04:49,205 --> 00:04:51,685 Speaker 1: we know that she told one of the diners that 67 00:04:51,765 --> 00:04:53,965 Speaker 1: a character on a soap opera had been talking to her. 68 00:04:54,765 --> 00:04:58,285 Speaker 1: Also delusional thinking based on a lot of the comments 69 00:04:58,285 --> 00:05:02,525 Speaker 1: that she made, and potentially hypersexuality when she offered to 70 00:05:02,565 --> 00:05:05,565 Speaker 1: settle her bill for sex if she was experienced sing 71 00:05:05,645 --> 00:05:09,165 Speaker 1: a bipolar episode. My Trese was in a very vulnerable position. 72 00:05:09,685 --> 00:05:13,325 Speaker 1: Early on, police speculated that my Tries could have died 73 00:05:13,365 --> 00:05:16,885 Speaker 1: of suicide, particularly because she appeared to be suffering some 74 00:05:16,965 --> 00:05:19,925 Speaker 1: type of mental distress, but they also said in their 75 00:05:19,925 --> 00:05:23,005 Speaker 1: depositions that she did not exhibit behavior that they believe 76 00:05:23,085 --> 00:05:25,485 Speaker 1: qualified her for a fifty to one to fifty hold. 77 00:05:25,965 --> 00:05:29,645 Speaker 1: They insisted that having made that determination, they had no 78 00:05:29,805 --> 00:05:32,885 Speaker 1: legal reason to hold her and were correct in their 79 00:05:32,885 --> 00:05:36,845 Speaker 1: decision to release her after midnight. So police have stated 80 00:05:36,845 --> 00:05:39,645 Speaker 1: both that my Trees was in such mental distress that 81 00:05:39,725 --> 00:05:41,565 Speaker 1: she could have run off a cliff and plunged to 82 00:05:41,605 --> 00:05:45,005 Speaker 1: her death, and that she seemed to be absolutely fine. 83 00:05:45,805 --> 00:05:49,885 Speaker 1: So which is it. To get answers, we have to 84 00:05:49,925 --> 00:05:52,245 Speaker 1: dive into the hard evidence that we do have from 85 00:05:52,245 --> 00:05:55,245 Speaker 1: the night that my Terse went missing, including the messages 86 00:05:55,285 --> 00:06:02,725 Speaker 1: sent between the officers and their radio communication records. First, 87 00:06:02,765 --> 00:06:06,605 Speaker 1: there's the arresting officer, Armando Lurero. He said in a 88 00:06:06,685 --> 00:06:10,085 Speaker 1: deposition that when he went to Joffrey's, he was responding 89 00:06:10,125 --> 00:06:13,205 Speaker 1: to a possible three ninety, which is the code that 90 00:06:13,205 --> 00:06:16,885 Speaker 1: would indicate a drunk person for a black female unable 91 00:06:16,925 --> 00:06:20,565 Speaker 1: to pay her bill. But the defrauding and innkeeper charge 92 00:06:20,645 --> 00:06:22,845 Speaker 1: and the small amount of pot that my Trees had 93 00:06:22,885 --> 00:06:27,165 Speaker 1: on her were misdemeanor citations, and his fellow officer on 94 00:06:27,205 --> 00:06:30,645 Speaker 1: the scene, Frank Brower, testified that my Trees passed a 95 00:06:30,645 --> 00:06:34,645 Speaker 1: field sobriety test. So if she wasn't under the influence 96 00:06:34,725 --> 00:06:37,845 Speaker 1: and he believed that she was fine, why did Lurero 97 00:06:37,965 --> 00:06:41,365 Speaker 1: make the decision to impound my Trees's car, hard book her, 98 00:06:41,525 --> 00:06:45,565 Speaker 1: and take her into custody. After Lurero and his fellow 99 00:06:45,605 --> 00:06:49,165 Speaker 1: officers were finished at Joffrey's, he transported my Trees to 100 00:06:49,165 --> 00:06:52,565 Speaker 1: the station in his cruiser. This was around eight forty 101 00:06:52,605 --> 00:06:56,965 Speaker 1: five p m. In a later deposition, Lorero said that 102 00:06:57,005 --> 00:06:58,805 Speaker 1: he believed that he arrived with my Trees at the 103 00:06:58,805 --> 00:07:05,165 Speaker 1: station at around nine fifty p m. Once they arrived, 104 00:07:05,685 --> 00:07:09,725 Speaker 1: Jaylor Charon Cummings fingerprinted my trees and took her photograph 105 00:07:10,005 --> 00:07:14,165 Speaker 1: to assist in the booking process. Lorero said he never 106 00:07:14,285 --> 00:07:18,325 Speaker 1: discussed any concerns with my Teres's mental state, either to 107 00:07:18,445 --> 00:07:21,645 Speaker 1: Charon or to his watch sergeant when he went in 108 00:07:21,685 --> 00:07:24,925 Speaker 1: to discuss the probable cause statement, basically laying out the 109 00:07:24,925 --> 00:07:29,285 Speaker 1: reasons for the arrest. He said in a deposition that 110 00:07:29,325 --> 00:07:32,445 Speaker 1: he had observed my Trees for any potential signs of 111 00:07:32,485 --> 00:07:34,685 Speaker 1: her needing to be detained for a fifty one to 112 00:07:34,685 --> 00:07:39,565 Speaker 1: fifty mental health evaluation, and apparently he determined that this 113 00:07:39,725 --> 00:07:46,245 Speaker 1: was not necessary. But an email mentioned in that deposition 114 00:07:46,525 --> 00:07:50,605 Speaker 1: could provide some clues to his motive. The email, which 115 00:07:50,645 --> 00:07:54,285 Speaker 1: Mike Kessler quoted in his Los Angeles Magazine story, was 116 00:07:54,285 --> 00:07:57,765 Speaker 1: from one of Lorero's Lost Hills colleagues. Lieutenant Scott two 117 00:07:58,725 --> 00:08:03,005 Speaker 1: Kessler wrote, quote, deputies had considered letting Richardson go with 118 00:08:03,045 --> 00:08:06,965 Speaker 1: a citation, but decided to arrest her in part because 119 00:08:07,045 --> 00:08:11,805 Speaker 1: witnesses had said she'd been acting strangely end quote. Chu 120 00:08:11,965 --> 00:08:14,845 Speaker 1: said in the email that Lorero told him that he'd 121 00:08:14,845 --> 00:08:17,085 Speaker 1: made the decision to hard book my trees at the 122 00:08:17,125 --> 00:08:20,925 Speaker 1: station because she was acting in a bizarre manner, and 123 00:08:20,965 --> 00:08:23,685 Speaker 1: he said that he wanted to quote make sure that 124 00:08:23,725 --> 00:08:29,925 Speaker 1: she was all right end quote. Now this was in 125 00:08:30,005 --> 00:08:35,085 Speaker 1: direct contradiction to Lorero's testimony, and many people also questioned 126 00:08:35,605 --> 00:08:39,565 Speaker 1: what was transmitted over the police messaging system. It later 127 00:08:39,645 --> 00:08:42,965 Speaker 1: emerged that Lorero and John McKay were assigned to take 128 00:08:43,005 --> 00:08:47,605 Speaker 1: the call, but Brower had assigned himself after seeing the details. 129 00:08:48,405 --> 00:08:51,125 Speaker 1: Why did they need three officers to respond to a 130 00:08:51,165 --> 00:08:53,925 Speaker 1: call of a young woman who couldn't pay a restaurant tab. 131 00:08:56,565 --> 00:08:59,765 Speaker 1: John McKay, one of the officers on the scene, said 132 00:08:59,805 --> 00:09:02,885 Speaker 1: that at ten thirteen pm, he sent a message to 133 00:09:02,925 --> 00:09:07,565 Speaker 1: another officer that read citizens arrest. He got a message 134 00:09:07,605 --> 00:09:12,125 Speaker 1: back that read why didn't you help a sister out? 135 00:09:13,565 --> 00:09:17,085 Speaker 1: So officially, the police's line was that they never believed 136 00:09:17,125 --> 00:09:21,405 Speaker 1: that my terse was showing signs of mental instability. Remember 137 00:09:21,485 --> 00:09:25,405 Speaker 1: Kenneth the valet. He was the first person who encountered 138 00:09:25,405 --> 00:09:28,605 Speaker 1: my terse at Jeffrey's that night, and the first one 139 00:09:28,645 --> 00:09:31,925 Speaker 1: to notice that she seemed to be acting off. He 140 00:09:32,005 --> 00:09:35,565 Speaker 1: spoke to the deputies who came to Jeffrey's, and afterwards 141 00:09:35,885 --> 00:09:39,085 Speaker 1: they provided him with a written statement summarizing what he said. 142 00:09:40,085 --> 00:09:42,885 Speaker 1: But when he took a closer look, he noticed that 143 00:09:42,925 --> 00:09:45,605 Speaker 1: some of the descriptions in the statement didn't match what 144 00:09:45,685 --> 00:09:49,445 Speaker 1: he said, so he corrected those statements, crossing some of 145 00:09:49,445 --> 00:09:53,845 Speaker 1: it out and making additions in his own handwriting. The 146 00:09:53,965 --> 00:09:58,965 Speaker 1: details and the rewritten statement are jarring. For example, the 147 00:09:59,005 --> 00:10:02,125 Speaker 1: typewritten statement reads, at no time on the night of 148 00:10:02,165 --> 00:10:06,565 Speaker 1: September sixteenth, or during the early morning hours September seventeenth, 149 00:10:06,645 --> 00:10:09,285 Speaker 1: two thousand and nine, did I ever speak to any 150 00:10:09,325 --> 00:10:12,765 Speaker 1: of the LASD deputies that arrived or any other law 151 00:10:12,805 --> 00:10:18,165 Speaker 1: enforcement personnel. But Kenneth crossed that part out. He wrote, 152 00:10:19,325 --> 00:10:21,685 Speaker 1: I spoke to two of the LASD deputies who were 153 00:10:21,725 --> 00:10:25,245 Speaker 1: on the scene. I asked what happened and or what's 154 00:10:25,245 --> 00:10:30,245 Speaker 1: wrong with her? One deputy replied, she's a ding. I 155 00:10:30,325 --> 00:10:32,685 Speaker 1: told the other deputy that it seemed like she was 156 00:10:32,725 --> 00:10:40,965 Speaker 1: off her medication or had too much medication. Doctor Ronda 157 00:10:40,965 --> 00:10:45,605 Speaker 1: Hampton spent years reading and obsessing over every single minute 158 00:10:45,605 --> 00:10:50,485 Speaker 1: detail of the communications among these officers. Many times she 159 00:10:50,565 --> 00:10:53,245 Speaker 1: saw that the police made reference to my trese as 160 00:10:53,285 --> 00:10:57,325 Speaker 1: a ding and that Kenneth the valet also said he'd 161 00:10:57,325 --> 00:11:01,085 Speaker 1: overheard the police officers calling her a ding. At first, 162 00:11:01,285 --> 00:11:04,245 Speaker 1: she said, she didn't realize the significance of this information. 163 00:11:05,125 --> 00:11:07,845 Speaker 1: I'll be she thought it was short for a dingbat, 164 00:11:08,565 --> 00:11:11,725 Speaker 1: but she later learned that in law enforcement circles, it's 165 00:11:11,765 --> 00:11:14,565 Speaker 1: shorthand for someone who probably needs a fifty one to 166 00:11:14,605 --> 00:11:19,405 Speaker 1: fifty psychiatric evaluation. And she discovered that by happenstance, my 167 00:11:19,525 --> 00:11:21,325 Speaker 1: dumb ass didn't even know what a ding was. I 168 00:11:21,765 --> 00:11:23,405 Speaker 1: just thought, oh, I mean a ding that well, I 169 00:11:23,445 --> 00:11:25,525 Speaker 1: knew it meant somebody was dinghy right, Yeah, but I 170 00:11:25,525 --> 00:11:27,845 Speaker 1: didn't realize it was like an official thing that they 171 00:11:27,885 --> 00:11:30,125 Speaker 1: called people who had were fifty one to fifty from 172 00:11:30,125 --> 00:11:32,165 Speaker 1: the shriff of herm right, So me and mind her. 173 00:11:32,845 --> 00:11:36,005 Speaker 1: I'm taking a crochet class at Michael's Right. The person 174 00:11:36,005 --> 00:11:39,845 Speaker 1: who was giving the class was a sheriff, and I 175 00:11:39,885 --> 00:11:44,845 Speaker 1: don't know she sent something about either giving Croeschek houses 176 00:11:45,005 --> 00:11:47,445 Speaker 1: and it's somehow she used the word ding and while 177 00:11:47,485 --> 00:11:49,405 Speaker 1: she was telling us about this crochet thing, and I 178 00:11:49,485 --> 00:11:51,165 Speaker 1: was like Dan, I was like, why you said ding? 179 00:11:51,565 --> 00:11:53,165 Speaker 1: And then she goes, oh, that's what we call people 180 00:11:53,205 --> 00:11:54,805 Speaker 1: who need to be on a fifty one fifty. And 181 00:11:55,085 --> 00:11:58,245 Speaker 1: then we have a Dan Ward that's in the jail. Wow. Yeah, 182 00:11:58,245 --> 00:12:00,005 Speaker 1: so that's how I found that out. Wow. I'm like, 183 00:12:00,045 --> 00:12:01,805 Speaker 1: so when they said ding, they know damn well that 184 00:12:01,805 --> 00:12:03,765 Speaker 1: that's an official Well, they're not supposed to say it, 185 00:12:03,805 --> 00:12:05,445 Speaker 1: but you called some high a ding. Then you know 186 00:12:05,565 --> 00:12:07,125 Speaker 1: they asked me to be a fifty one fifty. So 187 00:12:07,205 --> 00:12:11,085 Speaker 1: who I mean, they get back to the station, they decide, 188 00:12:11,085 --> 00:12:14,685 Speaker 1: for whatever reason not to not to fifty one fifty 189 00:12:14,725 --> 00:12:16,805 Speaker 1: or her And why did they They ever tell you 190 00:12:16,845 --> 00:12:19,205 Speaker 1: why they did that. Well, what they will tell you 191 00:12:19,525 --> 00:12:22,885 Speaker 1: is that she was acting perfectly normal. So you've got 192 00:12:22,885 --> 00:12:24,925 Speaker 1: somebody at the scene who passes to feel sobriety test 193 00:12:25,205 --> 00:12:28,605 Speaker 1: who talk about she's from Mars reading people's palms, crazy 194 00:12:28,645 --> 00:12:30,485 Speaker 1: as fuck, and you call her a dank and then 195 00:12:30,485 --> 00:12:32,525 Speaker 1: you send your email to your captain say she did 196 00:12:32,605 --> 00:12:35,685 Speaker 1: see but she was perfectly fine. Make no damn sense. 197 00:12:40,845 --> 00:12:44,205 Speaker 1: Once police found out that my Trees had no outstanding warrants, 198 00:12:44,445 --> 00:12:47,965 Speaker 1: and crucially, having apparently made the determination that she was 199 00:12:48,045 --> 00:12:51,405 Speaker 1: not a fifty one to fifty risk, my Trees was released. 200 00:12:53,005 --> 00:12:55,925 Speaker 1: Cummings said that jailers are trained to contact their watch 201 00:12:55,965 --> 00:12:59,565 Speaker 1: sergeant or watch commander if the detainees show signs of 202 00:12:59,605 --> 00:13:04,165 Speaker 1: mental instability, but she said that my Trice was calm, 203 00:13:04,205 --> 00:13:08,005 Speaker 1: so this didn't happen. And one of the biggest challenges 204 00:13:08,045 --> 00:13:11,285 Speaker 1: of diagnosing mental health issues is the fact that someone 205 00:13:11,365 --> 00:13:14,685 Speaker 1: experiencing an episode can seem lucid one minute and unstable 206 00:13:14,725 --> 00:13:18,045 Speaker 1: the next. And if the arresting officers did not tell 207 00:13:18,045 --> 00:13:21,605 Speaker 1: Cummings about my Terce's bizarre behavior, she may not have 208 00:13:21,645 --> 00:13:25,525 Speaker 1: known that there could be potential mental health issues. Reading 209 00:13:25,565 --> 00:13:28,125 Speaker 1: between the lines of the comments she's made in interviews, 210 00:13:28,765 --> 00:13:31,445 Speaker 1: it does seem that Cummings was nervous about letting my 211 00:13:31,485 --> 00:13:34,685 Speaker 1: Trees leave in the middle of the night, but she 212 00:13:34,805 --> 00:13:36,525 Speaker 1: seemed to think that there was nothing more that she 213 00:13:36,525 --> 00:13:40,885 Speaker 1: could do. Once again, it seems that at every turn, 214 00:13:41,485 --> 00:13:53,245 Speaker 1: My Trees slipped through the cracks. So much joint down 215 00:13:53,325 --> 00:13:56,925 Speaker 1: right now, okay, Weta Reservation put three for a thousand. 216 00:13:57,325 --> 00:14:01,885 Speaker 1: Ye all, we're back at Jeffrey's, the restaurant where My 217 00:14:01,965 --> 00:14:05,725 Speaker 1: Trees's Night began on the night she disappeared, and this 218 00:14:05,845 --> 00:14:09,605 Speaker 1: time were with reporter Cec Woods. I've got my mole, 219 00:14:10,365 --> 00:14:12,525 Speaker 1: which I still don't even know who my mole is, 220 00:14:13,285 --> 00:14:15,805 Speaker 1: but my mole, actually I don't. I have no idea, 221 00:14:15,885 --> 00:14:18,565 Speaker 1: but I do have to tell you. So he's like, 222 00:14:18,685 --> 00:14:20,445 Speaker 1: just show them that picture of you in the bikini 223 00:14:20,525 --> 00:14:28,005 Speaker 1: on Instagram. That'll man, that'll work. In twenty fourteen, Cec 224 00:14:28,205 --> 00:14:31,485 Speaker 1: started the local Malibu. She's currently editor in chief of 225 00:14:31,525 --> 00:14:35,765 Speaker 1: that publication. She also founded the magazine Malibu nine oh 226 00:14:35,805 --> 00:14:39,845 Speaker 1: two sixty five. She describes herself as an activist and reporter. 227 00:14:40,125 --> 00:14:42,005 Speaker 1: They treat me like I'm a nobody, and I really 228 00:14:42,085 --> 00:14:46,085 Speaker 1: don't care. It's okay, because guess what, I have multiple 229 00:14:46,125 --> 00:14:49,325 Speaker 1: projects going on that are all national, global, whatever you 230 00:14:49,365 --> 00:14:51,965 Speaker 1: want them to be, and they're all involving you. And 231 00:14:52,045 --> 00:14:55,125 Speaker 1: yet they think I'm just this little blondie for Malibu, 232 00:14:55,245 --> 00:14:57,765 Speaker 1: which is okay, go ahead, I'll give fuck. She's in 233 00:14:57,805 --> 00:15:01,445 Speaker 1: your face and sometimes says outrageous things, but she is 234 00:15:01,485 --> 00:15:05,405 Speaker 1: getting taken seriously and she's broken some huge stories. Yeah, 235 00:15:05,605 --> 00:15:09,845 Speaker 1: I love being underestimated. I fucking love it. And that's 236 00:15:09,885 --> 00:15:11,965 Speaker 1: what happened with the Malbury Creek State Park shootings. I 237 00:15:12,045 --> 00:15:16,045 Speaker 1: was underestimated. I was this little blonde Malibu barbie to them, 238 00:15:16,645 --> 00:15:20,005 Speaker 1: and blahbery blah blah blah whatever. I don't give fuck. 239 00:15:20,685 --> 00:15:23,325 Speaker 1: Over the years, she has developed a tight knit working 240 00:15:23,365 --> 00:15:27,045 Speaker 1: relationship with the Lost Hills Sheriff's Department. She has a 241 00:15:27,045 --> 00:15:30,125 Speaker 1: close relationship with a lot of the officers, but she's 242 00:15:30,125 --> 00:15:32,885 Speaker 1: not afraid to hold them accountable, so much so that 243 00:15:32,965 --> 00:15:35,245 Speaker 1: she says her reputation is on the line if they 244 00:15:35,285 --> 00:15:39,405 Speaker 1: ever pull any bullshit. I'm like, my reputation is tied 245 00:15:39,445 --> 00:15:43,405 Speaker 1: to you guys. Don't you ever motherfucking do this shit 246 00:15:43,445 --> 00:15:48,045 Speaker 1: on my watch? Okay, whatever they did, and I mean 247 00:15:48,125 --> 00:15:51,005 Speaker 1: that like I'm willing to lose my life over this shit. 248 00:15:51,685 --> 00:15:55,445 Speaker 1: Like my kids can take care of themselves, but you're 249 00:15:55,445 --> 00:15:58,205 Speaker 1: not doing this on my watch in my community with 250 00:15:58,325 --> 00:16:03,125 Speaker 1: me supporting you guys. Fuck that shit. I don't want 251 00:16:03,165 --> 00:16:07,885 Speaker 1: this shit happening in my community. That's like number one. 252 00:16:09,445 --> 00:16:14,005 Speaker 1: And knowing that there's a bunch of fucking rogue cops 253 00:16:14,525 --> 00:16:18,765 Speaker 1: getting away with abuse of power at my local station 254 00:16:19,805 --> 00:16:26,085 Speaker 1: like nothing makes me angrier. She's also on a first 255 00:16:26,165 --> 00:16:29,925 Speaker 1: named basis with the Sheriff of Los Angeles County, Alex Villanueva. 256 00:16:30,765 --> 00:16:33,885 Speaker 1: He's the most powerful law enforcement official in the largest 257 00:16:33,885 --> 00:16:37,725 Speaker 1: county in the country, but CEC's texts always get priority, 258 00:16:38,805 --> 00:16:41,965 Speaker 1: despite an atmosphere that can make it challenging for law 259 00:16:42,045 --> 00:16:46,285 Speaker 1: enforcement to have relationships with journalists. CEC has several sources 260 00:16:46,285 --> 00:16:50,205 Speaker 1: inside the department. During our meeting, she gets a call 261 00:16:50,285 --> 00:16:55,565 Speaker 1: from one of them. It's true, I love you. I 262 00:16:55,565 --> 00:16:57,885 Speaker 1: always say that in this job, a lot of the 263 00:16:57,885 --> 00:17:01,805 Speaker 1: most productive information comes out at happy hour, and she 264 00:17:01,965 --> 00:17:08,685 Speaker 1: clearly believes in the power of building relationships that is. 265 00:17:08,725 --> 00:17:11,125 Speaker 1: Ceci's also seen the dark side of the Sheriff's station 266 00:17:11,765 --> 00:17:15,085 Speaker 1: and exposed a lot of their dirty laundry, including in 267 00:17:15,125 --> 00:17:17,405 Speaker 1: one of the biggest cases that she's worked on so far, 268 00:17:18,245 --> 00:17:22,525 Speaker 1: the Malibu Creek State Park shootings. Cec said that crime 269 00:17:22,645 --> 00:17:26,325 Speaker 1: was never her area of expertise until true crime came 270 00:17:26,365 --> 00:17:29,725 Speaker 1: to her neighborhood. She said she was terrified when her 271 00:17:29,765 --> 00:17:34,005 Speaker 1: neighbors started talking about multiple shootings in Malibu and a 272 00:17:34,085 --> 00:17:37,325 Speaker 1: possible serial killer on the loose, one that, she says 273 00:17:37,445 --> 00:17:40,645 Speaker 1: the police were not warning the public about I exposed 274 00:17:40,845 --> 00:17:46,285 Speaker 1: the Malibu Creek State Park shootings, and that was by accident. 275 00:17:46,925 --> 00:17:50,205 Speaker 1: I was just in public safety reporting doing my thing, 276 00:17:51,125 --> 00:17:54,645 Speaker 1: and then all of a sudden, this shooting happens, and 277 00:17:55,005 --> 00:17:59,365 Speaker 1: I'm like, Wow, what the fuck? There's a murder happening. 278 00:18:00,085 --> 00:18:02,845 Speaker 1: And I don't even know how to deal with the 279 00:18:02,925 --> 00:18:06,805 Speaker 1: murder because murder's not my wheelhouse. But I don't do 280 00:18:06,845 --> 00:18:10,765 Speaker 1: that shit. It was just instinctual, like people just started 281 00:18:10,805 --> 00:18:14,285 Speaker 1: emailing me and sending me information. I'm like, Okay, I 282 00:18:14,285 --> 00:18:15,605 Speaker 1: guess I have to write about this. How am I 283 00:18:15,645 --> 00:18:17,205 Speaker 1: going to write about this? I had to sit down 284 00:18:17,205 --> 00:18:19,245 Speaker 1: and think about how I'm going to write about murder, 285 00:18:19,925 --> 00:18:22,365 Speaker 1: and so I sat down and I kind of figured 286 00:18:22,405 --> 00:18:24,005 Speaker 1: it out. And in the beginning I was a real 287 00:18:24,125 --> 00:18:26,365 Speaker 1: smart ass, and I kind of want to go back 288 00:18:26,365 --> 00:18:28,725 Speaker 1: to being smart ass. I have to tell you, because 289 00:18:28,765 --> 00:18:31,565 Speaker 1: you know what, I like smartass. Alex would say, tell 290 00:18:31,605 --> 00:18:34,885 Speaker 1: Ussy to write an article. I need a laugh, okay, 291 00:18:34,965 --> 00:18:37,165 Speaker 1: because I would just make fun of the homicide. I 292 00:18:37,165 --> 00:18:43,365 Speaker 1: would make fun of everybody. When thirty two year old 293 00:18:43,405 --> 00:18:46,405 Speaker 1: father of two Tristan Boudette was found shot to death 294 00:18:46,445 --> 00:18:50,125 Speaker 1: in his tent on June twenty second, twenty eighteen, the 295 00:18:50,205 --> 00:18:56,045 Speaker 1: case made international headlines. Then in October twenty eighteen, a 296 00:18:56,125 --> 00:18:59,245 Speaker 1: drifter named Anthony Rauda was arrested for a parole violation. 297 00:19:00,165 --> 00:19:03,845 Speaker 1: According to the local Malibu he was arrested for possession 298 00:19:03,885 --> 00:19:06,765 Speaker 1: of a weapon authority says can assistant with and or 299 00:19:06,805 --> 00:19:11,565 Speaker 1: a matching the murder weapon that killed Tristan Bodett. But 300 00:19:11,645 --> 00:19:14,685 Speaker 1: Ceci says she doesn't believe that Rauda is responsible for 301 00:19:14,725 --> 00:19:17,885 Speaker 1: all of the shootings, and she says that there's been 302 00:19:17,925 --> 00:19:21,085 Speaker 1: a law enforcement cover up dating back to twenty sixteen. 303 00:19:22,525 --> 00:19:25,365 Speaker 1: She reported in the paper that several shootings took place 304 00:19:25,405 --> 00:19:29,125 Speaker 1: before a Bodett was shot, and that quote the shootings 305 00:19:29,125 --> 00:19:32,565 Speaker 1: were purposely hidden from the public by state parks officials 306 00:19:32,685 --> 00:19:35,245 Speaker 1: and the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, under the direction of 307 00:19:35,285 --> 00:19:38,045 Speaker 1: former Sheriff MacDonnell, who was complicit in the cover up 308 00:19:38,245 --> 00:19:43,005 Speaker 1: end quote. Eventually, Rauda was charged with Bodet's murder and 309 00:19:43,125 --> 00:19:45,805 Speaker 1: with ten other counts of attempted murder and five counts 310 00:19:45,805 --> 00:19:49,725 Speaker 1: of burglary. But cec continues to question every piece of 311 00:19:49,725 --> 00:19:53,205 Speaker 1: information that's released by the Sheriff's department. She says that 312 00:19:53,245 --> 00:19:55,805 Speaker 1: her sources tell her there's no ballistics match to the 313 00:19:55,805 --> 00:19:59,565 Speaker 1: alleged murder weapon. She says that there continues to be 314 00:19:59,645 --> 00:20:03,405 Speaker 1: unexplained gunfire in Malibu Creek State Park and that she 315 00:20:03,565 --> 00:20:09,525 Speaker 1: believes a killer may still be out there. Cecy found 316 00:20:09,525 --> 00:20:12,085 Speaker 1: out about my Teresa's case after one of her readers 317 00:20:12,125 --> 00:20:15,325 Speaker 1: saw Ronda and Chip's documentary and forwarded it to Cec. 318 00:20:16,365 --> 00:20:19,645 Speaker 1: Then she met Ronda, and working together, they started to 319 00:20:19,645 --> 00:20:23,765 Speaker 1: dig deeper into my Teresa's case. After all of the 320 00:20:23,805 --> 00:20:28,365 Speaker 1: investigating that I've done and the hundreds of thousands of 321 00:20:28,445 --> 00:20:33,005 Speaker 1: man hours that I've logged in with Ronda at four o'clock, 322 00:20:33,045 --> 00:20:35,165 Speaker 1: three o'clock in the morning, five o'clock in the morning, 323 00:20:35,285 --> 00:20:38,725 Speaker 1: like we get up and we call each other. It 324 00:20:38,765 --> 00:20:41,925 Speaker 1: doesn't matter what time it is, Like that's the reality. 325 00:20:42,405 --> 00:20:46,045 Speaker 1: Her and I are like on the same speed. She 326 00:20:46,205 --> 00:20:50,525 Speaker 1: is a cyberstalker in extraordinary and what she does is 327 00:20:50,565 --> 00:20:53,165 Speaker 1: she just goes and digs shit and she sends it 328 00:20:53,245 --> 00:20:54,525 Speaker 1: right to me, and I'm like, Okay, what do you 329 00:20:54,525 --> 00:20:56,245 Speaker 1: want to do with it? Do we write about it? 330 00:20:56,645 --> 00:21:00,445 Speaker 1: Do we sit on it? What do we do? And 331 00:21:00,685 --> 00:21:07,365 Speaker 1: So what I believe happened was that as we sit 332 00:21:07,485 --> 00:21:09,445 Speaker 1: at Draffrey's right now, and as I talk to the 333 00:21:09,485 --> 00:21:11,845 Speaker 1: owner of Draffrees not too long ago, probably about a 334 00:21:11,885 --> 00:21:21,245 Speaker 1: week ago, they felt that she was in the best 335 00:21:21,285 --> 00:21:27,605 Speaker 1: hands for public safety. When the cops came, they should 336 00:21:27,605 --> 00:21:30,645 Speaker 1: have called the MET team, which is the mental evaluation team. 337 00:21:30,685 --> 00:21:35,405 Speaker 1: They did not. The police have admitted that mistakes were 338 00:21:35,405 --> 00:21:38,085 Speaker 1: made on the night that my Terse went missing, but 339 00:21:38,165 --> 00:21:41,965 Speaker 1: through their investigation, CC and Ronda began to believe that 340 00:21:42,125 --> 00:21:44,885 Speaker 1: something much more sinister than just a miscall and a 341 00:21:44,885 --> 00:21:49,085 Speaker 1: mental health evaluation went on at the station. CC has 342 00:21:49,085 --> 00:21:52,605 Speaker 1: written several expose as on alleged law enforcement cover ups. 343 00:21:53,325 --> 00:21:56,285 Speaker 1: Earlier this year, CC broke the story of a young 344 00:21:56,325 --> 00:22:00,445 Speaker 1: woman who was sexually assaulted at a Malibu condominium in 345 00:22:00,485 --> 00:22:04,205 Speaker 1: the early morning hours of February eighth. A transient walked 346 00:22:04,205 --> 00:22:07,845 Speaker 1: in an unlocked door and allegedly fondled the victim, but 347 00:22:07,885 --> 00:22:11,765 Speaker 1: when the incident was reported to police, officers reportedly took 348 00:22:11,845 --> 00:22:15,085 Speaker 1: forty five minutes to arrive at the scene and basically 349 00:22:15,125 --> 00:22:17,885 Speaker 1: concluded that the alleged victim may have had too much 350 00:22:17,925 --> 00:22:22,045 Speaker 1: to drink. CECI heard about the story, she helped the 351 00:22:22,125 --> 00:22:25,765 Speaker 1: victim track down surveillance footage which clearly showed a man 352 00:22:26,005 --> 00:22:30,165 Speaker 1: entering her home. A few days later, thirty four year 353 00:22:30,165 --> 00:22:33,565 Speaker 1: old Matthew Fairchild was arrested and charged with intent to 354 00:22:33,565 --> 00:22:37,205 Speaker 1: commit a sex crime. According to the Malibu Times quote, 355 00:22:37,805 --> 00:22:41,045 Speaker 1: the matter was festering until a Malibu tabloid publisher, CEC 356 00:22:41,165 --> 00:22:44,605 Speaker 1: Woods reportedly sent the photos and a complaint to Sheriff 357 00:22:44,645 --> 00:22:47,765 Speaker 1: Alex Villanueva, who has been known to frequently consult with 358 00:22:47,805 --> 00:22:52,885 Speaker 1: Woods on Malibu issues end quote. After CEC's article came out, 359 00:22:53,125 --> 00:22:56,845 Speaker 1: the Times received complaints from residents who were outraged that 360 00:22:56,925 --> 00:23:00,125 Speaker 1: police did not immediately warn them of potential danger or 361 00:23:00,365 --> 00:23:04,685 Speaker 1: try to track down the suspect, and then Lost Hills 362 00:23:04,685 --> 00:23:08,685 Speaker 1: Captain Matthew Vanderhork was demoted and relieved a duty when 363 00:23:09,165 --> 00:23:13,405 Speaker 1: this sexual predator happened. When I got the captain because 364 00:23:13,405 --> 00:23:18,045 Speaker 1: he fucked up, I literally texted the captain and I said, 365 00:23:18,085 --> 00:23:20,805 Speaker 1: I want to know who those motherfucking deputies are. I 366 00:23:20,845 --> 00:23:23,125 Speaker 1: want to come into your station. I want to look 367 00:23:23,165 --> 00:23:25,805 Speaker 1: them in the motherfucking face, and I want to let 368 00:23:25,805 --> 00:23:27,925 Speaker 1: them fucking know you will never do this in my 369 00:23:27,965 --> 00:23:33,885 Speaker 1: community again. And I am not kidding. I was so angry. 370 00:23:33,925 --> 00:23:37,165 Speaker 1: I was ready to take the bar alloh yank it 371 00:23:37,285 --> 00:23:40,445 Speaker 1: and throw it against the wall when the community member 372 00:23:40,485 --> 00:23:44,365 Speaker 1: came to me and told me what had happened. CEC 373 00:23:44,525 --> 00:23:47,525 Speaker 1: has also written an expose about former Lost Hills Captain 374 00:23:47,645 --> 00:23:52,605 Speaker 1: Tom Martin. Martin was accused of sexual assault and the 375 00:23:52,645 --> 00:23:56,085 Speaker 1: alleged victim says that the incident took place just months 376 00:23:56,125 --> 00:23:59,925 Speaker 1: before my trees ended up at Lost Hill Station. In 377 00:23:59,965 --> 00:24:03,485 Speaker 1: no way does CEC's experience prove that something more sinister 378 00:24:03,565 --> 00:24:06,365 Speaker 1: happened to my trees at the Lost Hill Station, but 379 00:24:06,445 --> 00:24:09,085 Speaker 1: it does paint a compelling picture of the Sheriff's department 380 00:24:09,085 --> 00:24:12,965 Speaker 1: at the time. Basically, CC labels the era at the 381 00:24:13,005 --> 00:24:18,125 Speaker 1: Lost Hill Station before Sheriff Llanueva took office the wild West, 382 00:24:19,285 --> 00:24:24,045 Speaker 1: and she describes the environment there zero oversight, populated with 383 00:24:24,645 --> 00:24:27,325 Speaker 1: rogue cops. She talked about this when we talked on 384 00:24:27,365 --> 00:24:30,005 Speaker 1: the phone with her a few weeks before in person meeting. 385 00:24:30,805 --> 00:24:34,245 Speaker 1: It's a station that has been known for a rogue 386 00:24:34,485 --> 00:24:39,085 Speaker 1: pop behavior, and I am very happy to report that 387 00:24:39,125 --> 00:24:43,885 Speaker 1: since we had a change in captain, which I was 388 00:24:44,405 --> 00:24:50,485 Speaker 1: instrumental in exposing some of the things this captain was 389 00:24:50,525 --> 00:24:55,805 Speaker 1: not taken care of, which allows these cops to get 390 00:24:55,805 --> 00:24:59,765 Speaker 1: in that rogue cops way, and you know, if you 391 00:24:59,765 --> 00:25:02,845 Speaker 1: don't have the right leadership, they're just gonna see what 392 00:25:02,925 --> 00:25:06,485 Speaker 1: they want. Now they know that they especially now after 393 00:25:06,525 --> 00:25:10,125 Speaker 1: this whole George Floyd and the civil uprising, but even 394 00:25:10,165 --> 00:25:17,205 Speaker 1: before this happened, being able to expose this behavior on 395 00:25:17,245 --> 00:25:22,245 Speaker 1: social media and the relationships that I've been able to 396 00:25:23,485 --> 00:25:28,325 Speaker 1: nurture with a sheriff's department and with the sheriff has 397 00:25:28,485 --> 00:25:34,125 Speaker 1: really made a serious difference in our community and at 398 00:25:34,125 --> 00:25:39,925 Speaker 1: the station. Now, some of this may sound like a 399 00:25:39,965 --> 00:25:44,325 Speaker 1: movie plot, but the LASD has been involved in scandals 400 00:25:44,645 --> 00:25:47,685 Speaker 1: to make the movie LA Confidential look like a documentary. 401 00:25:48,645 --> 00:25:53,645 Speaker 1: In twenty thirteen, following a massive investigation, federal officials and 402 00:25:53,685 --> 00:25:58,325 Speaker 1: dieted eighteen current and former LASD deputies, lieutenants, and sergeants. 403 00:25:59,045 --> 00:26:03,045 Speaker 1: The charges included corruption, obstruction of justice, and fabrication of 404 00:26:03,085 --> 00:26:06,845 Speaker 1: police reports. According to the se of Independent Review report, 405 00:26:07,405 --> 00:26:12,885 Speaker 1: allegations against LASD officers included rape, kidnapping, and smuggling heroin 406 00:26:12,965 --> 00:26:20,005 Speaker 1: into a jail cell. This rogue cop situation is what 407 00:26:20,045 --> 00:26:23,125 Speaker 1: she thinks happened to my trees. I mean, obviously, people 408 00:26:23,205 --> 00:26:26,565 Speaker 1: at the restaurant were telling them, you know, she's acting strange, 409 00:26:26,725 --> 00:26:29,205 Speaker 1: and they knew that she might have mental health issues, 410 00:26:29,765 --> 00:26:32,805 Speaker 1: but yet then later they said she didn't, which was 411 00:26:32,885 --> 00:26:37,685 Speaker 1: it was very strange. Now that was I mean, for 412 00:26:37,805 --> 00:26:45,725 Speaker 1: lack of a better word, absolute nonsense. And well, here's 413 00:26:45,765 --> 00:26:48,925 Speaker 1: the thing. The thing is is if you are not 414 00:26:49,605 --> 00:26:55,525 Speaker 1: well versed in mental health issues, especially like bipolar or 415 00:26:55,645 --> 00:26:58,685 Speaker 1: any of those issues, and if you don't really recognize 416 00:26:58,685 --> 00:27:01,005 Speaker 1: it and you're not trained, then you know what, you 417 00:27:01,085 --> 00:27:04,645 Speaker 1: might make those mistakes, which is another reason why you know, 418 00:27:04,805 --> 00:27:07,765 Speaker 1: the shirt depart and has the mental health evaluation team. 419 00:27:08,685 --> 00:27:15,365 Speaker 1: And so again I'm going to go back to the 420 00:27:15,485 --> 00:27:23,845 Speaker 1: roade cop thing, and that was especially rampant at that time. 421 00:27:24,005 --> 00:27:26,645 Speaker 1: I mean, they just did whatever they wanted, and it 422 00:27:26,725 --> 00:27:30,645 Speaker 1: was clear by the radio call and how they responded 423 00:27:30,645 --> 00:27:35,925 Speaker 1: to it and talking about doing a FEN search over 424 00:27:35,965 --> 00:27:39,165 Speaker 1: the radio. It's like, you know, what kind of behavior 425 00:27:39,245 --> 00:27:42,365 Speaker 1: is that there was a female jailer already on duty 426 00:27:42,405 --> 00:27:45,325 Speaker 1: at the station, so why would they need to refer 427 00:27:45,445 --> 00:27:49,965 Speaker 1: to searching my trees? C C believed that these communications 428 00:27:50,085 --> 00:27:54,445 Speaker 1: could have been some type of sinister shorthand they said that, hey, 429 00:27:54,845 --> 00:27:57,285 Speaker 1: you know, time to do a FEN search. We should 430 00:27:57,285 --> 00:27:59,965 Speaker 1: do a FEN search. So they talked about doing a 431 00:28:00,045 --> 00:28:06,445 Speaker 1: FEN search on my trees, and to me, that's just 432 00:28:06,605 --> 00:28:09,765 Speaker 1: alerting the troops. Hey, we've got a really good looking 433 00:28:09,845 --> 00:28:12,805 Speaker 1: woman coming and you know, might be time for a 434 00:28:12,885 --> 00:28:16,725 Speaker 1: FEN search. And you know, I mean, who says that? Really? 435 00:28:16,965 --> 00:28:23,205 Speaker 1: Who says that over the radio? Ceci isn't the only 436 00:28:23,245 --> 00:28:27,125 Speaker 1: reporter who has made this observation about Lost Hills. Scott 437 00:28:27,205 --> 00:28:30,525 Speaker 1: Johnson wrote about the Lost Hills station being under investigation 438 00:28:31,125 --> 00:28:35,085 Speaker 1: in a twenty sixteen article in The Hollywood Reporter. Johnson 439 00:28:35,165 --> 00:28:38,285 Speaker 1: quoted a source who said that the station was dis 440 00:28:38,365 --> 00:28:42,125 Speaker 1: like the departed. The story quotes a woman who claims 441 00:28:42,165 --> 00:28:44,485 Speaker 1: that certain deputies would do favors for her and her 442 00:28:44,525 --> 00:28:48,085 Speaker 1: ex husband, a former American gladiator star, but after a 443 00:28:48,085 --> 00:28:52,285 Speaker 1: bitter split. She said that the deputies maintained improper personal 444 00:28:52,325 --> 00:28:55,765 Speaker 1: relationships with her ex husband and that they refused to 445 00:28:55,805 --> 00:29:00,565 Speaker 1: look into charges of alleged child abuse and rape. According 446 00:29:00,565 --> 00:29:04,485 Speaker 1: to The Hollywood Reporter, the La County Sheriff's departments internal 447 00:29:04,485 --> 00:29:08,125 Speaker 1: affairs investigators were taking a serious look at the allegations, 448 00:29:08,805 --> 00:29:12,605 Speaker 1: which was quote raising new questions about a police station 449 00:29:12,845 --> 00:29:16,605 Speaker 1: that has been embroiled in controversy numerous times in recent years. 450 00:29:16,925 --> 00:29:21,205 Speaker 1: End quote. One source told the Hollywood Reporter, you can't 451 00:29:21,205 --> 00:29:24,205 Speaker 1: throw a stone without hitting a rat. There there's rats 452 00:29:24,205 --> 00:29:28,645 Speaker 1: on every side, criminals, cops, everyone, and they're all riting 453 00:29:28,685 --> 00:29:33,125 Speaker 1: on each other. We've mentioned Mel Gibson, who was arrested 454 00:29:33,125 --> 00:29:36,005 Speaker 1: in two thousand and six on drunk driving charges getting 455 00:29:36,005 --> 00:29:38,325 Speaker 1: a ride back to his car, as an example of 456 00:29:38,365 --> 00:29:43,165 Speaker 1: celebrity favoritism, but he's also evidence of something else, police 457 00:29:43,205 --> 00:29:47,885 Speaker 1: cover up. Mel went on an anti Semitic rant against 458 00:29:47,925 --> 00:29:52,685 Speaker 1: the arresting officer, who was Jewish. Then LASD managers buried 459 00:29:52,685 --> 00:29:55,885 Speaker 1: the deputy's report, which led to accusations that they were 460 00:29:55,885 --> 00:29:59,725 Speaker 1: giving the actor preferential treatment. The report was leaked to 461 00:29:59,725 --> 00:30:04,125 Speaker 1: TMZ and the deputy was fired. After his attorney claimed 462 00:30:04,165 --> 00:30:07,445 Speaker 1: that the LASD fired him and retaliation for leaking the information, 463 00:30:08,005 --> 00:30:12,765 Speaker 1: he was reinstated. We've tried calling the police department for comment. 464 00:30:13,605 --> 00:30:26,125 Speaker 1: They've denied our multiple requests. After they got to the station, 465 00:30:26,765 --> 00:30:29,085 Speaker 1: my rise was put into a holding cell with a 466 00:30:29,085 --> 00:30:32,965 Speaker 1: woman named Chermaine Henderson. Our producer Gabby was able to 467 00:30:32,965 --> 00:30:35,845 Speaker 1: speak to her on the phone. What happened? I remember 468 00:30:35,885 --> 00:30:39,205 Speaker 1: how I've ended up in jaimed, but I ended up 469 00:30:39,325 --> 00:30:41,445 Speaker 1: in the red sit and going to jail, but they 470 00:30:41,565 --> 00:30:47,245 Speaker 1: released me. Oh h second, and I remember walking and 471 00:30:47,285 --> 00:30:53,245 Speaker 1: I remember walking down that heal wow wow great. Chermaine 472 00:30:53,285 --> 00:30:56,765 Speaker 1: had been deposed from my Teres's parents civil suit, and 473 00:30:56,805 --> 00:31:00,325 Speaker 1: according to Chermaine's deposition, my Terse was talking to her 474 00:31:00,605 --> 00:31:02,725 Speaker 1: and for the most part, she seemed to be in 475 00:31:02,725 --> 00:31:05,925 Speaker 1: a good mood, chatting in a friendly and animated fashion, 476 00:31:06,285 --> 00:31:09,685 Speaker 1: as she had with the diners at Jeoffrey's. According to 477 00:31:09,725 --> 00:31:12,885 Speaker 1: the deposition, my Trees asked Ermaine if she wanted to 478 00:31:12,885 --> 00:31:16,485 Speaker 1: get high, and at one point was so disruptive that 479 00:31:16,605 --> 00:31:19,885 Speaker 1: Chermaine asked to be moved to another cell. But when 480 00:31:19,925 --> 00:31:23,885 Speaker 1: we spoke to Chermaine, what she told us contradicts her deposition. 481 00:31:24,925 --> 00:31:27,445 Speaker 1: She also says that my Trees seemed to be behaving 482 00:31:27,485 --> 00:31:30,885 Speaker 1: normally while they were in the cell together, and Chermaine 483 00:31:30,885 --> 00:31:32,925 Speaker 1: denies the fact that she said she wanted to be 484 00:31:33,005 --> 00:31:36,725 Speaker 1: moved to avoid my Trees. But I remember, I remember she. 485 00:31:36,965 --> 00:31:39,965 Speaker 1: I remember she had that that good curly hair, I 486 00:31:40,005 --> 00:31:41,845 Speaker 1: remember it, and she was so talkative. She was no 487 00:31:42,085 --> 00:31:47,285 Speaker 1: slender girl, but I remember her like it was yesterday, 488 00:31:47,845 --> 00:31:50,565 Speaker 1: and she was perfectly normal. She was perfectly normal, sweetheart. 489 00:31:51,085 --> 00:31:53,525 Speaker 1: And I did not actually get moved to another spell 490 00:31:53,565 --> 00:31:58,165 Speaker 1: and nothing. Obviously, it's been ten years since this all happened, 491 00:31:58,885 --> 00:32:02,365 Speaker 1: and witness memory is always something to be taken into account. 492 00:32:02,845 --> 00:32:05,245 Speaker 1: But Chermaine is emphatic when she says that my Trees 493 00:32:05,405 --> 00:32:09,005 Speaker 1: was behaving pretty normally. We had a good conversation and 494 00:32:09,045 --> 00:32:12,965 Speaker 1: she didn't. I didn't get no bad or nothing, no, no, nothing, 495 00:32:13,045 --> 00:32:16,245 Speaker 1: nothing like, nothing bad from her, nothing like. And she 496 00:32:16,325 --> 00:32:18,845 Speaker 1: was she was she was cool. And then it's like 497 00:32:18,845 --> 00:32:20,405 Speaker 1: when I seen that shit on the news, it was 498 00:32:20,445 --> 00:32:22,165 Speaker 1: like and then it was like I was trying to 499 00:32:22,245 --> 00:32:25,125 Speaker 1: contact like but it was it was very hard to 500 00:32:25,125 --> 00:32:27,445 Speaker 1: get in contact with people like that, say like I 501 00:32:27,565 --> 00:32:29,645 Speaker 1: was there with her, like, you know, let them know 502 00:32:29,685 --> 00:32:31,805 Speaker 1: that she was okay, like her last moments like like 503 00:32:31,925 --> 00:32:33,405 Speaker 1: and she was in a self she was all right. 504 00:32:34,285 --> 00:32:36,205 Speaker 1: She said that she's been hoping to talk to more 505 00:32:36,245 --> 00:32:39,685 Speaker 1: people about the investigation, so somebody following up with me, 506 00:32:40,045 --> 00:32:42,125 Speaker 1: and I've been wanting I really wanted to speak for 507 00:32:42,205 --> 00:32:46,205 Speaker 1: someone about that night because she was normal. It was nothing, 508 00:32:46,245 --> 00:32:50,125 Speaker 1: she she was okay, she was okay. It was nothing wrong. 509 00:32:50,165 --> 00:32:53,245 Speaker 1: Where we was going to fell together, and she was 510 00:32:53,325 --> 00:32:55,605 Speaker 1: she was she was very like, she was very like 511 00:32:55,845 --> 00:32:58,765 Speaker 1: like you know, like very polite, like you know, she 512 00:32:58,885 --> 00:33:02,805 Speaker 1: was very talkative. She wasn't like isolating herself for nothing. 513 00:33:02,845 --> 00:33:06,125 Speaker 1: She was like, Okay, so are you saying that they 514 00:33:06,165 --> 00:33:10,325 Speaker 1: also released you in the middle of the night. Yes, 515 00:33:10,405 --> 00:33:12,765 Speaker 1: I got reased in the middle night too awesome. No, 516 00:33:13,365 --> 00:33:15,725 Speaker 1: it's no one for you to get nowhere. And I 517 00:33:15,805 --> 00:33:19,085 Speaker 1: had to I had to walk, I was, I was 518 00:33:19,125 --> 00:33:21,565 Speaker 1: in my lap and it's like, it's like it was 519 00:33:21,885 --> 00:33:23,805 Speaker 1: it was no way to get a no vicin on nothing. 520 00:33:23,925 --> 00:33:27,205 Speaker 1: It was so it was so like like assholes, like 521 00:33:28,245 --> 00:33:30,005 Speaker 1: and it's like as far as as being a woman, 522 00:33:30,165 --> 00:33:32,245 Speaker 1: you know, like and they released us at that time 523 00:33:32,285 --> 00:33:38,565 Speaker 1: of night, It's like, you know, it wasn't okay. What 524 00:33:38,765 --> 00:33:41,725 Speaker 1: would clarify a lot of the discussion over my Teresa's 525 00:33:41,765 --> 00:33:44,565 Speaker 1: behavior is if there was evidence that we could look 526 00:33:44,645 --> 00:33:49,405 Speaker 1: back on. And the thing is there is there's video 527 00:33:49,525 --> 00:33:53,285 Speaker 1: of my terse in herself two hours on four different 528 00:33:53,365 --> 00:33:57,445 Speaker 1: cameras eight hours total, that the LASD has refused to 529 00:33:57,565 --> 00:34:02,725 Speaker 1: release for ten years, despite lawsuits and endless complaints by 530 00:34:02,805 --> 00:34:07,605 Speaker 1: Ronda and my Teresa's family, And the question remains, why 531 00:34:07,725 --> 00:34:15,285 Speaker 1: won't they release the tape next time on Helen Gone? 532 00:34:15,485 --> 00:34:17,285 Speaker 1: And then that's when they start out, well there's no video. 533 00:34:18,005 --> 00:34:21,165 Speaker 1: It's like, really, that makes no sense. I was sitting 534 00:34:21,245 --> 00:34:24,005 Speaker 1: right next to Captain Martin, Well, I'm sure if I'm 535 00:34:24,045 --> 00:34:25,765 Speaker 1: going to ask him that question, you don't have any 536 00:34:26,125 --> 00:34:29,125 Speaker 1: video of my treats in jail, and he turned be read, 537 00:34:29,365 --> 00:34:31,325 Speaker 1: I mean really be read, and just said, well, I 538 00:34:31,405 --> 00:34:34,405 Speaker 1: do have this tape in my desk. My community needs this. 539 00:34:35,085 --> 00:34:38,485 Speaker 1: You need to set it right. Come out here, tell 540 00:34:38,565 --> 00:34:43,045 Speaker 1: the people you are reopening the investigation. Do the right thing. 541 00:34:45,725 --> 00:34:50,725 Speaker 1: I'm Katherine Townsend and this is Helen Gone. Helen Gone 542 00:34:50,845 --> 00:34:54,005 Speaker 1: is a production of School of Humans and iHeartRadio. It's 543 00:34:54,045 --> 00:34:57,525 Speaker 1: written and narrated by me, Catherine Townsend. Our producers are 544 00:34:57,565 --> 00:35:01,525 Speaker 1: Gabby Watts, Taylor Church and James Morrison. Music is by 545 00:35:01,565 --> 00:35:05,965 Speaker 1: Ben Sale. Mix is by Tunewelders. Our executive users are 546 00:35:06,005 --> 00:35:10,805 Speaker 1: Brandon Barr, Elsie Crowley and Brian Lavin. Special thanks to 547 00:35:10,925 --> 00:35:14,405 Speaker 1: Chip Craft for use of footage from his documentary Loss Compassion, 548 00:35:32,045 --> 00:35:38,445 Speaker 1: School of Humans. School of Humans