
Activist Predicts His Own Death, Says the Cops Killed Him - slantedview
http://fresnopeoplesmedia.com/2016/01/2829/
======
dang
It's at minimum a sad and awful story, but HN is not the place to sift through
the evidence about it, and that's the only thing that will shed any light on
what happened.

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Chris2048
Where is the place to sift through the evidence?

~~~
dang
I don't know. Reddit? Or maybe not.

If you've read the HN guidelines, it should be obvious that it's off topic
here.

~~~
Chris2048
I have, and it's not obvious.

> Please don't submit comments complaining that a submission is inappropriate
> for the site. If you think a story is spam or off-topic, flag it by clicking
> on its "flag" link.

~~~
dang
Since you've read the site guidelines, you know that HN is for stories that
gratify _intellectual_ curiosity. The curiosity in this case is of another,
more intense nature. And you also know that purely sensational stories are
deprecated.

It's true that the moderation comments that I post are off-topic, but they're
the only way we know of to really disseminate knowledge of how the guidelines
work in practice, and there's a clear demand for that information by users. So
the judgment call is that their benefit is greater than their cost, even
though the cost is nontrivial.

~~~
Chris2048
Fair enough wrt moderation comments being of value; however, I don't see
enough evidence that this story is sensational.

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madaxe_again
Quick summary: guy writes lots of stuff online about improbable sounding
police harassment, sounds paranoid. As you read more however it becomes more
coherent as a whole, and you get a pretty clear image of apparently severe and
persistent abuses - the footage he provided is occasionally damning - for
instance, I can't come up with any explanation for the thermal imager outside
his home if he was apparently unknown to the police.

Guy turns up stabbed in his burning home.

For now, the end.

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supercanuck
At the very least, I hope it is investigated at the federal level just so I
don't have to be so jaded.

~~~
letitleak
Given that those are the enablers, it would take pretty blue hats for me..

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soganess
I can't provide any further evidence toward the legitimacy of this fellows
claim, but I can add some (very colored)context.

I'm from Fresno, California. I went to Fresno State and my amassed collection
of anecdotal experiences(never directly, the police have always been kind to
me) of the police in Fresno is more Kafkaesque then anything I have ever seen
or heard of from within the U.S., by miles. I could just start listing stuff
about police "gangs", and cover ups, police hits and just the gruesome stuff,
but I don't think that is fair, its just talk. I just want to highlight that
there is so much of it(talk, I mean) in Fresno. Almost everyone has got a
story, everyone has heard something, and the way people react when an officer
walks in, its just different.

I don't know if its a result of long standing racism in the valley, a result
the painfully serious gang problem
([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresno_Bulldogs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresno_Bulldogs)),
the sheer amount of money spent on the police in Fresno, a result of police
state feel of enforcement ([http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/02/04/fresno-
california-a...](http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/02/04/fresno-california-
americas-drunkest-city.html), I'd like to color that by noting Fresno its not
the drunkest by consumption, but by DUI), I just don't know. But its there,
people feel it.

A book has been written that touches on the subject in some seriously telling
ways: [http://www.amazon.com/In-Fathers-Name-Mark-
Arax/dp/067101002...](http://www.amazon.com/In-Fathers-Name-Mark-
Arax/dp/0671010026)

But for me, a person who has never had a real run in with the law. I will
share an interaction I had with a retired Fresno officer at a rather nice bar
in town. I was minding my own business waiting for food, when the former
office sat down next to me in one of the few open spot available. After some
unconformable silence, he said hi and we talked for a bit about nothing at
all; what we did, how we liked Fresno,the most banal conversation you can
imagine. Nevertheless, it was clear we were getting along, his food arrived
before mine. Eventually, after another moment of silence, we ended up speaking
about a recent police shooting in a parking lot, about how dangerous it was to
be a cop in Fresno, the gangs, etc etc. Again just conversation for its own
sake. Now, I don't know if it was because we had been drinking or the fact
that we were friendly, but I asked him something like, "I don't know how to
ask this, but is there any truth to what they say about the police force,
about Dyer. People say a lot, and just don't
know?"([http://fresnopeoplesmedia.com/2015/04/fresno-chief-of-
police...](http://fresnopeoplesmedia.com/2015/04/fresno-chief-of-police-
accused-of-murdersuicide-cover-up/)).

And honestly, I expected him to say that there wasn't, and that some cops are
of course corrupt, but that is just the way things are. You know a canned
response. What he said, I'll never forget, in paraphrase, "In Fresno, more
than anywhere else... well lets just say the police officers here don't ever
have your best interest in mind." He then smiles, shook my hand and went on
his way.

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enoch_r
This guy sounds like a paranoid schizophrenic. Read it yourself (more at the
link) and reach your own conclusions, but:

> I was followed to the Save Mart Shopping center at Blackstone and Clinton by
> what I believe to be Fresno Sheriff personnel. As I was at the meat counter,
> a fast walking person talking on a cell phone came into the store and
> abruptly stopped at the main opening of the grocery store. He did a complete
> 360 as if he was searching for someone. I noticed him right away because of
> his behavior. He didn’t appear to be a typical shopper. As we made eye
> contact, he appeared startled that I had noticed him. I was at the meat
> counter which is near the entrance of the store. As I left the store with my
> groceries I couldn’t find him anywhere. But, as I made my way to the parking
> lot and started to unlock my trunk, he came out of the store, still talking
> on the phone. He walked past me without making eye contact and entered a
> late model green Chevy or GMC Step-Side truck with custom chrome rims. As I
> entered my car and pulled out, I drove slowly past the rear of his vehicle
> in an attempt to read his license plate. However I couldn’t remember the
> license plate number, because, as I left the store I was interrupted by a
> phone call. About two blocks away from the store I received a call from a
> person who sarcastically said my full name, then proceeded to ask me
> questions about a boat repair. The Number was: [...]. I’ve never had a
> customer address me by my first and last name before, especially someone I
> hadn’t talked to before. I’m confident this number and caller is connected
> to this SaveMart incident. I believe this person and others is related to
> something more complicated and devious than simple harassment. This type of
> “close proximity” tracking can only mean one thing. I believe this person
> and others are tacking and monitoring my minute by minute incremental
> movements so they can direct another party to illegally enter my residence
> for the purpose of gaining “intel” or planting evidence.

> Eli Rodriguez is the Fresno Sheriff personnel who was going to set me up on
> the Jet Ski emission scam. He dropped of a 2 stroke Evinrude motor on at my
> shop on 3-02-2015. His plan was to drop off the motor, then at a later time
> enter my property with the assistance of George and Maxine Ramirez my
> neighbors who were placed there by Fresno Law Enforcement personnel, plant
> evidence, then pick up the engine at a later time and lie and say I was
> trying to sell him fake emission stickers, then he would falsely arrest me.
> I knew something was amiss on these “emission stickers” because I was
> receiving a ridiculous amount of calls on them.

~~~
krick
Maybe that's the point: whatever can happen to a guy, he might be able to
talk, even reach the news that won't cover anything up, and then everybody
will just dismiss it like: "This guy sounds like a paranoid schizophrenic.
We're The Free country after all." And it will be concluded that he stabbed
himself and set his house on fire. Well, you know how these conspiracy
theorists are, crazy people!

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ccarter84
Agreed a little schizo sounding but needs to be investigated. I found this on
the second page a half hour ago....where is it now?

