Protests began Saturday in Paradise against Police Officer Patrick Feaster who shot Andrew Thomas as he climbed out of his overturned car after an accident, previously reported in a Daily Kos article Monday. Saturday’s protests were at the site of the shooting and the accident, which happens to be near the Paradise Police Station.
Protestors continued Monday but instead gathered near District Attorney Mike Ramsey’s office in Oroville CA, the Butte County seat. Ramsey released his DA’s Report on the Nov 26, 2015 accident and shooting last Thursday, determining the shooting was “unintentional and possibly negligent, but not criminally so.” Thomas, however, will be charged with driving under the influence and vehicular manslaughter (his 23-year-old wife Darien Ehorn died in the crash). Ramsey reports Thomas had a blood alcohol concentration of .15.
Office Feaster, in an interview with the local weekly newspaper in 2012, claimed to have a mission to catch drunk drivers due to the death of his uncle by a drunken driver in 1974. MADD has awarded him twice as the Paradise police officer with the highest rate of drunk driving arrests.
“I am always looking for DUI drivers,” said Feaster. “I watch every car in front of me for signs of drifting.”
When confronting a drunken driver, Feaster says he remains calm because it’s unfair to classify all intoxicated drivers the same way.
This is what happened when Feaster confronted Thomas on Nov 26th.
. . . he [Feaster] saw a Toyota Four-Runner speeding out of the Canteena Bar parking lot without headlights on. Feaster followed in his patrol car, as the Toyota ran a red light and turned onto Pearson Road where the driver, 26-year-old Andrew Thomas struck the median and flipped, ejecting his 23-year-old wife Darien Ehorn from the vehicle. Ehorn was killed in the crash.
Ramsey said Feaster drew his gun when Thomas “popped” out of the car, believing he would flee. As Officer Feaster moved towards Thomas, the gun discharged and struck Thomas in the neck. The shot hit Thomas in the C7 and T1 vertebrae and could lead to him being paralyzed for life.
When backup arrived on the scene, Feaster did not mention anything about having fired his weapon. According to Ramsey, Feaster notified his commanding officer about the discharge only after Thomas’ gunshot wound was found.
Saturday’s protest in Paradise brought out over 100 people, which is no small feat in this town of about 26,000 people spread out over 18 square miles of northern Sierra Nevada foothills. I came upon the protest unexpectedly and stopped to join them. The protesters varied in age range, including Thomas’ peers as well as older and younger people. They were focused on gaining attention of people driving past because this area sees little pedestrian traffic. People in Paradise walk on the roads and trails or the flumes left over from logging days that traverse miles of terrain through mixed conifer-black oak forest and manzanita chaparral. Few areas have side-walks and only three streets are predominantly business and retail.
Skyway, where Thomas left the bar parking lot before the accident, is a retail strip for a few miles as it follows the edge of a canyon, then exists the town and continues through higher mountains and Lake Almamor (near Mt Lassen). Saturday’s protest was held at the location of the accident/shooting, near the police department on Pearson, a hilly mile or two road of scattered retail and churches.
The town’s community center is nearby at an old railroad depot and this is one of few sidewalk patches. So I made a sign — “The gun did it! says Ramsey” — and began waving it at passing cars while talking to people about their reasons for joining the protest. They had organized primarily through a Facebook page but, as others saw them, people stopped and joined, which surprised me somewhat as the area has caught State of Jefferson secession fever and I expected more rah rah Ramsey. After all, Butte County is where the nuts are, and if you’ve bought walnuts or almonds you’ve probably eaten some of Butte County.
While some of the protesters I met were friends and family of the man shot and paralyzed, more than half didn’t know Thomas. Everyone disapproved of Officer Feaster’s use of his gun, and said they don’t want our community to allow this kind of police action. “I can’t believe this is happening here. We don’t want to be afraid of our police force,” people repeatedly told me.
Thomas’ family and friends released a statement last Thursday and began planning to protest the shooting.
“Our plan of action is to peacefully protest this injustice until the Butte County District Attorney files criminal charges against Officer Feaster. Or, until he is fired,”
By Monday morning the protests had shifted to Ramsey’s office in Oroville, 20 miles southwest in the adjacent Central Valley. The local TV reported on the protest, Ramsey’s response, and the protesters’ response to Ramsey. (Video won’t embed — click on the link.) They aren’t satisfied and question Ramsey’s objectivity. Ramsey has said that no charges will be filed against the Officer.
Ramsey has been threatened with recall in the past over various events, some resulting from how residents view his approach to legal marijuana cultivation under Prop 215. Or an event this year in which a county deputy sheriff kicked a seated man in the head and Ramsey determined it an acceptable “text book move” given that the seated man reportedly had a knife.
Ramsey is the longest serving DA in California, first elected as Butte County District Attorney in 1990. And he’s from here, too, fourth generation, he claims. Thus, he knows a few local people. And been re-elected every four years, sometimes without any opposition, as in 2014. In 2010, he had two opponents: Sacramento area lawyer Lance Daniels and Chico (city 20 miles west of Paradise) Lawyer Dale Rasmussen.
One of five public defenders who represents parents whose children have been removed due to alleged neglect or abuse, Rasmussen, 57, of Chico, contended that Ramsey has been in power too long. [snip]
Under his slogan "Trust Matters," Daniel asserted in campaign literature that electing him would ensure the District Attorney's office "never again becomes an instrument to promote a single individual, but rather to promote the highest standard of the administration of justice for our entire community."
To that end, he promised to make the District Attorney's Office "more open and accountable" in part through the creation of a citizen's advisory panel in order to get feedback from the public.
During the primary campaign, Daniel tried to distance himself from an organization he reportedly once directed called the "US Psi Squad," which employed a psychic technique called "remote viewing.
Accusations from Daniel supplemented Rasmussen’s contention about Ramsey’s unsuitability to continue holding the DA position 20 years after first elected.
In a recent [2010] election mailer, Daniel, 49, who established legal residency in Butte County to enter the race, charged that Ramsey, 61, has among the worst conviction rates in the state, allowing "one out of four prosecuted (to) go free.”
Ramsey won the election and ran again, unopposed, in 2014.
Ramsey — 21,650 votes - 53.72% — more than the 50 percent-plus-one-vote needed to avoid a runoff election in November.
Sacramento attorney Lance Daniel — 13,542 votes — 33.6 percent.
Chico attorney Dale Rasmussen — 12.6 percent
With an
annual salary (including benefits) of $247,323.00, Ramsey has the
fourth highest pay among all county employees. Butte County has a median wage of $44,000, with over 20 percent of the population living below the poverty level.
For most of us, Paradise does live up to (some of) all its name implies. But we don’t want this type of police officer and do want a county DA who is giving all citizens equal consideration.