Literary journal holds launch party Califragile.org provides poetry relevant to the "modern world"
Sergeant in assault case logged massive overtime District attorney: Chokehold incident caught on body camera
by Dave Waddell
Scott Ruppel, a former police sergeant involved in two fatal shootings and facing an assault charge for an alleged on-duty choking incident, worked many thousands of hours of overtime during his nearly 20 years at Chico PD.
One year, Ruppel logged more than 700 overtime hours, becoming not only the highest-compensated employee in the city’s largest department but among the top five employees in total compensation in all of Chico municipal government.
Saturday Peace Vigil targets gun violence After Parkland school shooting, vigil participants protest NRA
photo by Karen Laslo
Members of the Feb. 17 Chico Peace Vigil held every Saturday downtown hold protest signs in the wake of the latest mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Fla. Former student Nikolas Cruz used a semiautomatic rifle to kill 17 people on Feb. 14.
Rushing’s parents file claim in cop shooting Desmond Phillips’ family sues city in federal court
photo courtesy of Rushing family
Tyler Rushing
by Dave Waddell
The parents of Tyler Rushing, who died after being shot by a private security guard and a Chico police sergeant last summer, have filed a claim against the city for damages in excess of $25,000.
The claim, received by the city Jan. 17, was obtained by ChicoSol through a state Public Records Act request. As of last week, the city had not responded to the claim, said Dani Rogers, deputy city clerk.
Chico PD sergeants to wear body cameras Activist wants to see community oversight of videos
photo by Dave Waddell
Sherri Quammen holds a protest sign calling for justice for three victims of shootings by Chico police officers.
by Dave Waddell
Police Chief Mike O’Brien — lauding the use of body-worn cameras by his patrol officers — says cameras will also soon be attached to the blue uniforms of Chico PD’s 13 sergeants.
As first reported here by ChicoSol, Chico Police Department patrol officers began sporting the body cameras last April, a couple of weeks after two policemen shot and killed Desmond Phillips, a young black man in mental crisis.
DA sues DWR over Oroville Dam crisis Ramsey's office seeks damages over Feather River pollution
photo by Karen Laslo
Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey
by Dave Waddell
Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey announced today that he has filed a civil lawsuit against the state Department of Water Resources (DWR) over last year’s Oroville Dam calamity that forced the evacuation of 180,000 residents downstream.
Ramsey’s complaint against DWR was filed in Butte County Superior Court. It seeks damages of between $34 billion and $51 billion, or $10 for each of the between 3.4 billion and 5.1 billion pounds of material that the suit says were discharged into the Feather River during the crisis.