This is my story of a disheartening experience that sheds light on the sorry state of local television “journalism” in the North State.
I sued Butte County’s forever district attorney, Mike Ramsey, his equally non-transparent protégé, Sheriff Kory Honea, and, of course, the Chico Police Department for a pattern of unlawfully concealing records that belong, not to them, but to the public. These records would allow the public finally to learn about a handful of officer-involved shootings, including multiple killings – the most powerful use of government authority.
The lawsuit became necessary, in part, because Ramsey has made no determinations about the justification of any officer-involved killing since 2020, including the fatal shootings of Michael Oxley and Valerie Cadwallader last year. His negligence on non-fatal officer shootings dates back almost a decade, to 2017. Not only is Ramsey not doing his job, but his stonewalling also provides cover for police agencies that kill and want to prevent the public from finding out how.
I sent a press release about the lawsuit to the news media. North State Public Radio, the Enterprise-Record, ChicoSol and KZFR all did stories. Fledgling KRCR TV reporter Keith Jouganatos contacted me and came to my residence and filmed an interview. This was on Friday, Dec. 26. He said it would air Dec. 30 or Dec. 31.
When that didn’t happen and Jouganatos ghosted me, I called KRCR veteran Mike Mangus, who I’ve known for many years. Mangus told me he hoped I’d win my lawsuit and said he’d ask into it. He messaged back saying he was told “there was some concern about doing the story because you work for another news outlet.”
First off, I don’t work for ChicoSol. I’m a freelance journalist, writing mainly about Butte County law enforcement issues for the past decade. And all one had to do was glance at the first page of the lawsuit to see that it was filed by me as an individual. But the facts didn’t really matter. KRCR, after interviewing me and wishing it hadn’t, was just inventing excuses to kill the story and keep its viewers from learning about illegal obstruction by the largest law enforcement agencies in Butte County.
Redding-based KRCR is owned by the Sinclair News Group, which is an unapologetically right-wing propaganda machine. Sinclair has a news service that spins out a buffet of one-sided, Fox News-type content prominent on KRCR’s website. For example, the first story KRCR published about the brutal killing in Minneapolis of Renee Good by a masked ICE thug carried this headline: “American Flag Burned During Minneapolis Protests After ICE Shoots, Kills Woman.” According to FAIR, a national media watchdog group, Sinclair capitalizes on the trust developed by local newscasters by requiring them to recite far-right talking points. In 2018, Sinclair got busted having its anchors read from an identical Trump-sounding anti-media script. A truly Orwellian video compilation of this disgrace went viral.
Still, I’m sure the reason my interview was killed had more to do with KRCR’s fealty to Mike Ramsey than anything else. After all, Ramsey spends a healthy portion of his time not doing his job but rather spinning out press releases that burnish his image and attack judges who don’t send defendants to prison for terms long enough to suit him.
In 2025, Ramsey sent out a staggering 105 press releases, or an average of two a week. This isn’t transparency. It’s tax-financed public relations, and the local media have become dependent on and beholden for all this single-sourced “news” delivered on a silver platter.
And if KRCR does Ramsey’s bidding, Action News Now’s relationship with Butte County’s 77-year-old, 40-year district attorney seems even more thickly incestuous. Action News Now, where Hayley Watts directs the news, ignored my lawsuit altogether.
One reporter for Action News Now, her journalistic education sorely lacking, was heard to proudly proclaim that she and Ramsey were “besties.” As someone who cut my journalistic teeth on the principle that members of the Fourth Estate should maintain an adversarial relationship with government, I found her mindset appalling though not particularly surprising, since everyone at Action News Now seems to be a pal with Butte’s most powerful politician.
In 2017, Desmond Phillips, a young Black man in mental crisis, was killed by two panicky young Chico PD officers, Alex Fliehr and Jeremy Gagnebin, in a barrage of 16 shots from their Glocks. The killing took place about 20 minutes after David Phillips, Desmond’s father, had called 911 for medical aid.
I won’t forget one haunting example of KRCR’s subservience to Ramsey. It was a few months after the Phillips slaying, and David Phillips had called a news conference at Chico’s Bethel AME Church. Covering the event was veteran TV reporter Jerry Olenyn, who at the time was carrying a camera for KRCR. As the news conference was closing, Olenyn asked a question in an unusually loud and aggressive manner. Olenyn’s persona was such that Lawrence Thompson, David Phillips’s cousin, began filming Olenyn with his phone. When I looked back at Olenyn, who was standing behind a camera in the sanctuary’s middle aisle, he looked irritated.
At my request, Thompson recently sent me the two-minute video he recorded after Olenyn yelled out. It shows Olenyn pointing his camera at members of the Justice for Desmond Phillips group as they talked with others. Both Olenyn and Watts from Action News Now tried to talk David Phillips and others into an on-camera interview. After Olenyn’s disrespectful outburst, no one trusted the TV reporters enough to agree to one.
Call me old-fashioned, but, as a journalist, if I’m going to treat anyone as an adversary it’s going to be the government — and not the broken father of a young man killed with reckless brutality by the state.
So, what set Olenyn off? I have a pretty good idea:
- Seven hours after Desmond Phillips was gunned down in a chaotic police response, Mike Ramsey declared that the shooting was justified – “preliminarily.” He did so without the benefit of any video of the incident and before the killers were even interviewed. Legit prosecutors don’t announce the outcomes of investigations before they even begin, nor do they shape investigations to conform to predetermined outcomes. That’s the playbook of politicians such as Kristi Noem, JD Vance and Mike Ramsey.
- Several days after the killing, Ramsey, at a community meeting, basically accused David Phillips, the grieving father and only non-police witness to his son’s killing, of lying about seeing it happen. Other than Donald Trump, I’ve never seen such public cruelty from a politician. Later, Ramsey admitted that David did see his youngest child shot dead, but being the standup guy that he is, Ramsey buried the admission on the sixth page of a seven-page, single-spaced report. TV reporters don’t tend to read that far.
- In the weeks and months after the killing, Ramsey went out of his way to raise vague suspicions about David Phillips to reporters. I know because I am one of them. Every time I called Ramsey for details about Desmond’s killing, it was a variation on: David Phillips isn’t telling the truth … David Phillips hired an attorney … David Phillips won’t talk to “investigators.” Like he was supposed to trust Ramsey and his henchmen after the DA, without evidence, had exonerated his son’s killers.
When you realize how easily Ramsey moves his TV news pawns, Olenyn’s unprofessional outburst becomes a bit more fathomable.
As does local television’s refusal to cover a lawsuit that exposes their patron’s secrecy and negligence.
Dave Waddell writes about use of force by law enforcement in Butte County.
Isn’t it time for Ramsey to retire?
This commentary is truly dreadful and reflects a lack of integrity which is beneath us all. It borders on conspiracy lunacy, more typical of the right
Helen, your comment indicates that you are a blind pro-cop/DA supporter. Your comment is jaw-dropping.
Looking at your impressive online CV, you could make a difference; however, given the facts about the dysfunctional, non-transparent, and resistant-to-change law enforcement cabal in Butte County, it appears you may have been part of the problem, not the solution. Please prove me wrong!
You need to be reminded that there have been forty, 4o, civilians killed by “peace officers” in Butte County since 1986, when you were employed by the DA, and 1987, when DA Ramsey became the DA The last civilian killed by CPD in March 2025, was a suspect who deserved his day in court…not to be struck by 27 machine gun rounds in a split second.
Ramsey has unilaterally determined every killing was justified…except for the most recent killings, where he issued NO report whatsoever…just banal comments to the media vilifying the deceased and praising the conduct of the killers. Helen, don’t you think the families, friends, and citizens deserve to know the details about these killings? Waddell is making a legal request for records from Chico and the DA through the California Public Records Act (CPRA). He is a journalist!
You may remember that my wife and I had to sue Butte County in 2024 for suppressing an internal report critical of former CPD Sergeant Scott A. Ruppel for the tactics he chose during a botched rescue of my son, which resulted in my son’s violent death. My wife and I won $92,000 from Chico taxpayers and received the report, but WHY did we have to go through the emotional and financial legal gauntlet to compel Chico and the Butte County DA to COMPLY with established California State law? Does everyone requesting records in Butte County have to get a court order in Butte County to follow state laws?
There is a lot to be said about Butte County’s dysfunctional, non-transparent, change-resistant law enforcement family: sex scandals, domestic violence, 5150 calls, officers ripping the tops of sun-bathing juveniles, abuse of force, opaque hiring practices, and more. Helen, you could be part of the solution! Please do the right thing.
That is a very heart-breaking story you and wife went through to seek some modicum of “justice” for your son, any financial remuneration can never compensate your family for the tragic loss of a loved one. I myself am a native California born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. I pride myself to be from a well-educated and hard-working family. I when to School at Shasta College to earn my degree in Information Technology in the early 1990’s. My father who was the Plant Superintendent for a Bell-Carter Foods, Inc relocated to Corning , CA and even helped setup the new operations at the then old Lindsey Olive processing plant in 1980’s when I was still a teenager. and worked there until my parents retired permanently in the early 1990’s. Which in during their transition to the Northern area of CA m they did suffer blatant racism due to the fact my father is a Mexican-American where many locals eveb complained to the owner a Judd and Tim Carter that a white man should be in that executive position, regardless my father started working at Bell-Carter Foods. Inc as a forklift operator in 1963 and worked his way up in the company to be promoted to Plant SuperIntendent mainly due to his hard work and innate intelligence and scary common sense. But during their time in Corning they did have issues with white racist individuals who would drive right over their lawn tearing up their lawn sprinkler system ib their trucks, even slash the tires of their car which was expensive. Even a truck load of single white unemployed males well into their late 30’s come to iur doorbtrying to sell some bogus glass cleaner just so he could spit on the glass and pretend to use the unmarked plastic spray bottle to clean it. Where I kicked his ass of our property.
Do not get me wrong the people in Corning were good people but just a few criminal types drug runners and career ex convicts who find it easier to operate due to the rural area but unfortunately that is true no matter what race or ethnic heritage you come from.
I loved my mother’s answer when someone asked what race we were from, she would answer “Human” as her way of saying we all have different walks of life and it us more important how we treat others in iur community and of course the golden rule.
I even have family members who are or have been law enforcement and or US Military service. I myself was a victim of an ambush attack of a racist neighbor or relation to a neighbor in May 2023 where I was accosted when walking home from the grocery store minding my own business where she was in a carbparked right in from of my apartment then she came out of the drvers seat then acted limevshe was going to her hatchback to get something then ran up to me as I was approaching my apartment and sprayed me in my face with a home solution of water soap and what was a chinese chilli cooking oil by the smell of it. I did sustain injuries and call 911 to the Chico police who render assistance and EMT ti Enloe ER for treatment, she fled the scene when the police arrived but later was informed that she was located and arrested and booked for the assault in Butte County jail. The case went to the Butte County District Attorney’s Office of Mike Ramsey and spoke to the prosecuting attorney assigned to the case a Mr. Mark Emmons even with the video security I had submitted that I have setup in my apartment they refused to prosecute this crazy racist woman.
I agree the State of CA abd or the FBI or Department of Justice should have already convented a grand jury to investigate and oust Mr Mike Ramsey from the Butte County DA position which most likeky not happen as obviously the damage has been done and done extensively and against the rule of law and the public trust.
With the recent sudden death of Congressman Doug LaMalfa the next person to fill the former Congressman’s office will work for real change in the Butte County Law Enforcement community.
Again my condolences to the loss. of your son!
Dear Rick, thank you for the kind words.
Racism and hate crimes should have zero tolerance, however, Butte County, and its cities, have politicians, administrations, courts, and law enforcement agencies who know they can give a WINK AND A NOD to racism and hate crimes because the geographical isolation of the county protects them from civilian oversight, media criticism, and accountability. County leaders would like the public to forget that between late 2015 and mid 2017, Chico PD killed a brown man, a black man, and a white man they thought to be unhoused. DA Ramsey justified all three killings. There are government employees in high positions and politicians who have not lifted a hand to stop the violations of civil rights. They have blood on their hands.
Hurts when blatant truth is brought to the surface. Maybe you should do some reflection in to yourself .
Dave, your tenacity and expertise on exposing the lawlessness right here in Butte county is something to be admired! Thank you.
This is not even a quarter turn from some of my experience in separate capacities.
Dave Waddell, thank you for writing this important commentary. The public needs to know about the hold Ramsey holds over local mainstream media. And the public needs to be aware that as long as Ramsey continues as our DA, local police will escape scrutiny and not be held accountable for even violent actions such as the murder of Desmond Phillips.
Thank you for continuing to expose the truth about the crimes and corruption of law enforcement, and the complicity of KRCR-TV and Action News Now.
Thank you Dave Waddell for bringing truth to light for exposing the corruption of DA MICHAEL LEE RAMSEY and his puppets which is the Media i seen the control he has on local media here and i stop interviews with them early on.