By Nao Braverman
Local attorney Cathy Elliot Jones filed a $10 million claim with the City of Ojai for “egregious, wrongful and illegal actions” on the part of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department during a city Council candidates’ forum sponsored by the Ojai Valley News and Ojai Valley Chamber of Commerce last October.
The claim was processed by the city on Monday.
Jones claims she was wrongfully seized by Ojai Police Chief Bruce Norris, a Sheriff’s Department employee.
At the candidates’ forum on Oct. 16, 2006, Jones was forcibly escorted out of the Chaparral Auditorium after creating a commotion and refusing to sit down. Outside the door she was handcuffed and taken to the county jail and released shortly thereafter. She was initially cited for interfering with the meeting and resisting an officer but the charges were later dropped.
Jones’ attorney, Neal Safran, said Norris used excessive force to apprehend and detain her without any justifiable reason.
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7 comments:
Reject it...SHE did something wrong!
Yes- there is something definitely
wrong about exercising your first
amendment rights in a town where
you can eaither be sued, arrested,
slandered or otherwise victimized
for trying to participate in
the shady politics of decison
making here. Let it be known
that anyone standing in the way
of progress of vested interest does so at their own risk!
I was thinking I'd go to a public meeting, disrupt it, resist arrest, get taken to jail, then sue for 10 million dollars.
her reputation was fouled long before the public meeting.
I saw the video of her arrest and that of her interview on some program. I think both her and those in charge at the forum were all at fault. She should have kept her cool a bit more. Those in charge seeing that obviously a momentary state of confusion was at play, which happens in this type of format, could have rectified this by simply restating the question and telling Jones that her question would be dealt with in full.
But watching how it played out, I felt that something else was at play here. I couldn't put my finger on it, but something was afoot there.The arrest itself was completely off base in behavior in that forum. To have her charges dismissed only confirmed they too knew they played a pat hand too far.
need cash fast is a bit harsh but I have to admit i agree in a way. It seems to me of what I've heard of the incident that both parties were way out of line in their behavior in a public forum. It seemed personal to me. Jones seems to have a way of keeping her name in lights by causing or encouraging problems and the officer was over zellous in his arrest of her. O.K. makes for a bit of a laugh at the coffee shop reading the news. $10 Million. Who you kidding, and I suppose she's going to donate that money back to the city to fund the library, the museum, the skate park, the schools, the park and rec, the land concervancy...etc. that she would be stealing from should she get anything. Grow up Miss Jones you got your feelings hurt because you got spanked for behaving badly.
Certainly Ms Jones, as an attorney, knows the proper behavior at a public forum. Her behavior should have been a source of embarrassment to her. She owes the people of Ojai an apoology, not a bill.
Ms Jones interrupted the meeting, spoke out of turn, and refused to sit down. Her "first amendment rights" do not give her the right to bulldoze over the free speech rights of anybody else. She was behaviing more like a spoiled child than an intelligent adult. If she is truly concerned about her personal and professional reputations, she can observe the rules of appropriate social behavior and participate in activities that actually benefit this community.
Would Ms jones agree that those attendees who were offended by her behavior should sue her???? This is a frivolous lawsuit and is not worthy of a professional.
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