I don’t know if anybody would be able to tell us – how many lawsuits is the city of Chico involved in right now? That information is not available on the Butte County Court Case Index, and if you want an answer from staff you have to submit a formal request for information and wait until the cows come home (and yeah, I mean that literally) to get an answer.
I actually did submit a request regarding the negative figure I found for the “city recreation fund” but nine days later I’m still sitting on my three legged stool waiting for Bossy to get me an answer.
But a reader sent me a tip regarding a recently filed lawsuit naming the city of Chico, three specific Chico PD officers, and id’d other involved police officers as “Does 1-50” Here’s what I found online.
https://dockets.justia.com/docket/california/caedce/2:2023at00526/429158
The names are included but you have to “log in” to read the complaint. This is public information but see how hard they make for you to read it. I got a copy of the complaint from my reader. Apparently, officers pulled over a car that did not match the description of the car they were looking for and, according to the filed complaint, proceeded to go beyond reason in their treatment of three minors. One girl’s arm was literally twisted until she cried. A minor boy was removed from the car – I can imagine how scared he was that he would receive the same treatment as the girl he was with.
This reminded me of the story we all read about a college student who was attacked by Chico PD in 2016 after they’d seen her video taping the arrest of another person. This video, which I found on youtube, is really disturbing. I’ll tell you what really disturbs me – the officer involved, Steve Dyke, has been involved in numerous questionable actions, and he’s still a member of Chico PD. Google his name, it’s shocking that a man like that is still carrying a gun.
Similar behavior to that you see in the video above was described in the report in the filing for the recent lawsuit. The girl involved was a minor, a teenager who made the mistake of going out without her mother after dark. Her arm was twisted until she cried, and much like what you see in the video above, the officers showed no mercy or pity. If you have teenagers, think about that next time they want to go anywhere in Chico without you.
If you have a child that’s considering enrolling at Chico State, I’d try to convince them to look at other colleges. I recommend University of Nevada, Reno, my kid had a great experience there, and they have a much better reputation than Chico State. Check out this link.
As the reader who sent me the information observes, “The city manager and chief will try to hush this up…probably a quick settlement at taxpayer expense the public will never hear about.” Yes, that’s true, they won’t talk about it publicly, they’ll hide behind “privacy”. And they’ll roll over and we’ll pay.
This is public information, you’re paying for it. This is your city, own it.
Chico Taxpayers Association 