2/4/2016 – OKC, OK (by Brian Bates) — The hypocrisy train just keeps rolling-on in the wake of the Daniel Holtzclaw conviction and sentencing — with Oklahoma City Police Chief Bill Citty wasting no time posing with minority officers while making the media rounds. JohnTV however has uncovered a court document that implicates that then patrol officer Bill Citty violated the law and abused a black female while on duty and possibly referred to her as a “nigger.”
Just last week we reported on the publicity stunt of Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater after he asserted that “…men who victimize women… this is what is going to happen to you. We will lock your [pretends he’s going to say ‘ass’] up!” And, naturally, DA Prater made this assertion within minutes of the Holtzclaw sentencing and while surrounded by members of the black community and throngs of news cameras (someone needs to remind Prater this isn’t an election year for his office).
Problem is, JohnTV is all too familiar with the hypocrisy of DA Prater and we proceeded to post link after link to examples of where DA Prater has not only NOT locked up horrific abusers of women – but has often instead released them back into the community to offend again and again. This while Oklahoma ranks the highest in the nation for the incarceration of women (mostly for non-violent crimes).
Well, Oklahoma City Police Chief Bill Citty wasn’t about to let Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater steal all his “No, really, I love all the black folk too” rhetoric.
Last night Chief Citty was a guest on some radio program you’ve probably never heard of that airs over on public radio – it’s called The Living Room with Gerry Bonds. Unfortunately for Chief Citty, I happened to be stuck in traffic, station-surfing, and as a result – one of their few listeners. Seriously, go over to their Facebook page. Literally nobody comments on any of their posts or even bothers click the ‘like’ button. I could start a fan page for a cheese sandwich and it would get more public interest and interaction.
OKC Police Chief Bill Citty as a guest on The Living Room with Gerry Bonds.
Regardless, Chief Citty made the following comments within the first few minutes of his interview….
“I started out like all officers do. When you get out of recruit school you start on the street. My primary district was northeast Oklahoma City – and working with the minority community. Which, you know, not knowing where I would end up at this point in my life it was a true benefit and a blessing. Because it taught me a lot about the culture. I grew up in an all white school with all white faces and knew very little about the minority community. So, I learned a lot during those three years that I spent on the street and working with that community…”
Sounds great, doesn’t it? This young new police recruit, all doe-eyed and taking in the cultural nuances of the black community while appreciating the opportunity to serve them in a professional and morally sound manner.
Well, before you go making him the poster child for the Eastside, reflect on this never publicized tidbit. Not only did then patrol officer Bill Citty apparently learn a lot about the minority community during his three years on the streets, but the courts learned a lot about their future chief of police – and it’s not pretty.
On March 6, 1979, two Oklahoma City police officers received a dispatch in reference to the possible location of a black male named Darrell Brown that had committed a felony. According to court records, Brown, 27, had skipped out on his bill at the Habana Inn and officers were looking to arrest him.
Then patrolman Bill Citty was one of two officers who responded to the address where they thought Brown might be located – 4000 block of N.E. 19th Street.
When Citty and the other officer arrived at the address they noticed a vehicle matching the suspect’s vehicle description parked inside the garage – backed in, with the garage door open.
Citty and the other officer entered the garage and noted the tag was registered to a Darrell and Thecia Brown.
OKC Police Chief Bill Citty speaking on citizens’ rights. Photo by Paul Hellstern, The Oklahoman
Citty and the other officer then went to the front door and knocked. They were met at the doorway by Thecia Brown. When asked, Mrs. Brown told the officers that Darrell Brown was not home. Thecia also told the officers she would not allow them inside her home without a warrant. Citty and the other officer responded by telling Mrs. Brown they were calling for a wrecker to seize the Cadillac registered to both her and her husband. Mrs. Brown protested and asked to see a warrant to seize her vehicle. Citty and the other officer ignored her demands and proceeded to have another vehicle yanked from her driveway so that a tow truck could access her Cadillac.
A Oklahoma judge recounts the horrifying incident of abuse perpetrated by then patrolman Citty and another officer against this minority female….
“…there is deposition evidence in the record that supports a finding of incredible oppressiveness on the part of the officers punctuated with an attitude that plaintiff was subhuman. For instance, when Mrs. Brown tried to find out what was going on and why her right of privacy had been disregarded, she was told to “shut up.” She continued to press for an explanation while standing behind the Toyota between the two officers. Finally one grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her. The other grabbed the other arm and forced her toward the squad car. She refused to get in and while being crammed in by the policemen her brother came up. ‘Back that nigger off,’ barked one of the officers. Finally, after being forced into the police car Mrs. Brown expressed concern for her three little children in the house. “I asked him [the officer],” she testified, “that [sic] I would speak to one of my family members to make some arrangements for my children, and one of the officers said he will call the animal shelter to call them up.”
Then they took the mother away.
In the jail she was strip searched, abused and insulted before being released many hours later.”
An appellant judge, speaking on behalf of the majority, had this to say about then patrolman Bill Citty and the officer with him….
“…the stipulated facts suggest only an audacious and unrestrained intrusion onto the Browns’ private domain far beyond the permissible front door inquiry. Crushed were the fundamental rights of a single protesting citizen beneath the grinding boot heel of uniformed government agents with all the cold callousness of an imperial executioner.”
The appeals court ruled that Citty and the other officer did not have a search warrant (and most likely could not have been granted one) and therefore no authority to seize Mrs. Brown’s vehicle. The court also ruled that Mrs. Brown had every right to protest and resist the wrongful seizure of her property which resulted in her arrest.
The majority judge went on to say this of then patrolman Citty and the other officer,
” …[they] were either incompetently ignorant of their legal authority or who knew that what they were doing was illegal and acted with outrageous maliciousness.”
And how was then patrolman Citty disciplined for his actions against a minority female on the city’s Eastside whom he pretends to value so much now? Naturally, he was rewarded for his abuse and was eventually made Chief of Police.
They say Daniel Hotlzclaw “picked on the wrong minority female who wasn’t afraid to stand up for herself.” Well, it seems Oklahoma City Police Chief Bill Citty has had his own encounters with strong minority women on the Eastside – an encounter I’m certain he wishes we hadn’t uncovered.
With this in mind, its a bit comical to re-read a Jan. 2015 article in the Oklahoman, featuring Police Chief Bill Citty, participating in a forum highlighting citizens’ rights during interactions with police.
As a side note: JohnTV is aware of yet another instance where Oklahoma City Police Chief Bill Citty is apparently of the opinion that the rule of law does not apply to him or his immediate family.
A few years ago, while Chief Citty’s step-daughter was attending an expensive local private school, she was caught with a fake state of Oklahoma Driver’s License. When confronted she quickly ratted out where she got it – a schoolmate’s parent(s) who lived in a mansion in Gaillardia.
For whatever reason (and most likely against police policy), Chief Citty let it be known to his step-daughter that police were heading over to the Gaillardia mansion to execute a search warrant. Chief Citty’s step-daughter then promptly sent a text message warning the family of the impending search. A phone with the incriminating message was located by officers searching the home.
First, possession of a fake state driver’s license has been a serious crime (in the eyes of the law) for some time now – felony in many cases. More importantly, tipping off the occupance of a residence that police are on their way with a search warrant is not only blatant obstruction of justice but puts the safety of those officers at serious risk.
Chief Citty knows this because he has had officers not only fired for such an offense, but has even had them criminally charged.
A recent example was the firing and prosecution of former Oklahoma City Police Sgt. Maria Christina Cervantes after she sent a text to a confidential informant, tipping him off to search warrant.
Cervantes, a highly respected female police officer, was forced to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obstructing an officer in the performance of his official duties. She was given a permanent criminal record.
I knew Cervantes personally, as she often patrolled S. Robinson Ave.
While she and I did not get along, I told her I respected her no nonsense attitude and her ability to handle herself with the criminal element on the streets.
As for – “whatever happened to” – Chief Citty’s little criminal snitch stepdaughter who endangered investigating officers? Yeah, nothing.