missing cell phone Archives

Timeline backs student’s retaliation claim DA’s probe tracked missing phone all over Chico

photo by Bianca Quilantan

Madeline Hemphill points to the bush along the Esplanade where she says she was “tackled” by a Chico police officer.

by Dave Waddell

While ruling out officer involvement in a missing cell phone mystery, Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey also has disclosed details to ChicoSol that bolster a student’s claim of retaliation by Chico police.

Chico State senior Madeline Hemphill has maintained that five minutes or less elapsed between an initial confrontation with officer Steve Dyke and her arrest in front of her nearby residence. Chico Police Chief Mike O’Brien, in contrast, issued a press statement two days after the Aug. 27, 2016, incident indicating a gap of 28 minutes between the two encounters. read more

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Student now fears cops, has no phone Officer Dyke ‘traumatized’ driver with gun in 2011

by Dave Waddell

If Chico police officer Steve Dyke’s intent last summer was to get Madeline Hemphill to quit filming police with her cell phone, that mission definitely was accomplished.

One reason is practical: Hemphill no longer has her cell phone. Police claim it was lost when they arrested her in the early hours of Aug. 27, 2016, and accused her of resisting arrest. No charges, however, were ever brought against Hemphill by Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey.

In a ChicoSol exclusive, Ramsey said Friday that his 10-month investigation into what became of the phone determined that police never had it. Most likely, Ramsey said, the phone was carried around town by a “transient.” The DA promised more details this week. read more

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DA: Chico cops never had cell phone ‘Tackled’ student claimed retaliation for filming

photo by Karen LasloButte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey — photo by Karen Laslo

Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey

by Dave Waddell

Chico police never had the cell phone of a Chico State student who says the phone contained video showing excessive police force, Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey told ChicoSol late Friday.

In a telephone voice message left for ChicoSol, Ramsey said he suspects a “transient” had the phone in the days after it left student Madeline Hemphill’s possession as she was arrested last August. Hemphill was filming officer Steve Dyke as he arrested her roommate when she was suddenly ordered to jail by Dyke, “tackled” to the ground by other officers, and accused of resisting arrest. read more

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Calendario ChicoSol

Local museum exhibit revisits incarceration camp
The Valene L. Smith Museum of Anthropology exhibit “Imprisoned at Home” documents the World War II Tule Lake Incarceration Camp that was located in Siskiyou County and imprisoned many Americans.

The exhibit will be open to the public until Aug. 2. The museum is located at 400 W. First St., Chico, and is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

Chicosol members are invited to post event announcements that fit with our civic mission. Send your request to chicosolnews@gmail.com and type “calendar submission” in the subject line.