Town Square

Post a New Topic

Bothun charges dismissed

Original post made on Feb 1, 2011

The probation violation charge that resulted from the search of journalist Brian Bothun's Atherton home last October was dismissed in court on Monday, Jan. 24.

Read the full story here Web Link posted Wednesday, January 26, 2011, 12:00 AM

Comments (5)

Posted by Joseph Pulitzer
a resident of another community
on Feb 1, 2011 at 1:04 pm

[Post removed due to same poster using multiple names]


Posted by Menlo Voter
a resident of Menlo Park: other
on Feb 1, 2011 at 2:41 pm

This should have never been referred to the DA's office in the first place. Any cop worth his salt knows residue doesn't constitute "usable amount." [Portion removed. Terms of use.]


Posted by Menlo Voter
a resident of Menlo Park: other
on Feb 1, 2011 at 6:57 pm

OK Editor, hows this; this was a COWARDLY act by a bunch of thugs.

This wasn't about law enforcement. This was about pay back.

If I had booked someone for possession with that quantity of dope, I would have been laughed at by any cop that was worth a damn.

Of course, we are talking about APD here, nothing more than a glorified private security force, so I guess it's par for their department.


Posted by Revenge is a dish best served cold
a resident of Atherton: other
on Feb 1, 2011 at 10:32 pm

I'm with Menlo Voter. This was a childish vendetta (in some sense literally; the Atherton sergeant who led the raid is a childhood schoolmate of Bothun's). What's more is that the chief, Guerra, allowed it to take place even in the midst of all the current bad publicity about the APD. That's really bad judgment on his part.

My favorite APD line, from this week's Almanac: "Investigator concludes police followed department's standards despite adding false charge to arrest report." That says it all, and the sad thing is, the investigator was right!


Posted by John P Johns
a resident of another community
on Feb 2, 2011 at 8:15 am

Revenge is right. Childish vendettas run rampant in the Atherton Police Department.

I have personal experience in this issue. Glenn Nielsen watched from a distance of about ten yards, with what appeared to be considerable satisfaction, as I was illegally detained by four of "Atherton's Finest" on the morning of August 29th.

Nielsen was a classmate of mine at McKinley Jr. High School in 1971 and 1972.

Nielsen was also the one whom I alerted to the fact that his boss Bob Brennan had misspent public funds attending a conference out of state without the necessary city council approval. This is the incident which precipitated the "hostile work environment" complaint against me by Chief Brennan.

As an aside, I've always wondered, since when was requiring the Police Chief to obey the law constitute illegal discrimination?


Don't miss out on the discussion!
Sign up to be notified of new comments on this topic.

Email:


Post a comment

Sorry, but further commenting on this topic has been closed.

Stay informed.

Get the day's top headlines from Almanac Online sent to your inbox in the Express newsletter.

New artisanal croissant shop debuts in Santa Clara
By The Peninsula Foodist | 3 comments | 3,775 views

Marriage Interview #17: They Renew Their Vows Every 5 Years
By Chandrama Anderson | 10 comments | 2,019 views

Tree Walk: Edible Urban Forest - July 8
By Laura Stec | 4 comments | 1,335 views