With the ever changing definition of the Inland Empire some will argue that Pomona is not a true part of the IE brotherhood.... Well....hmmm....
Anyway...there is an interesting article about the cops being called on Pomona cops who got involved in a verbal shouting match (allegedly) with some community activists over the Pomona police department's use of vehicle checkpoints. The nutjobs in Pomona think it is too radical and police stateish to actually expect drivers of motor vehicles to actually possess drivers licenses.
Well, some members of the Pomona police department think that these crybabies should shut their yappers and strap on a helmet because they have seen first hand the havoc caused by unlicensed drivers.
The insanity is so great, that i am going to post the entire article here. What is amazing is that there are nearly 300 comments.
Hours after off-duty police officers engaged in a shouting match with participants at a community meeting, members of the Pomona Habla/Pomona Speaks coalition began taking steps Friday to file formal complaints against the officers.
Coalition representatives met Friday and decided to file complaints with Police Chief Joe Romero's office and the City Council in addition to seeking an independent investigation of Thursday night's incident, said coalition member Arturo Jimenez.
The coalition will also file complaints at the state level, he said.
"We are going to be filing a complaint with the state Attorney General's Office and calling for his involvement," Jimenez said, adding that various state agencies will also be contacted.
Thursday evening's actions on the part of the officers were out of line, Jimenez said.
"What happened (Thursday) was a horrible intimidation tactic," he said.
The incident took place during a community forum organized by the coalition at the Centro Promesa de Dios on West Second Street in Pomona's Arts Colony.
The event drew more than 100 people to discuss traffic checkpoints in the city. It was also a means of collecting residents' ideas that could potentially be included in a list of proposals to be presented to city leaders as a means to address checkpoints.
Members of the audience spoke mostly about negative experiences with checkpoints, but some gave their views on why they are necessary.
The conflict erupted when a woman commented that regulations requiring licenses are racist policies and that the city should develop alternative means of keeping streets safe without using checkpoints.
She went on to say that even people who have not been through a checkpoint live in stress.
At that point, someone among a group of about a dozen officers shouted: "Get a license!"
Meeting organizers said people who could not show respect for others would be asked to leave, prompting an officer to shout: "This is a community meeting!"
From there a few officers and audience members clustered together shouting at each other.
While some meeting organizers addressed the shouting group, others called on attendees to move toward the front of the stage and continue with the agenda.
Two officers - Phil Bozoich and Jorge Aleman, who were involved in the heated exchange - left the building followed by audience members who with the remaining attendees chanted, "Justicia! Justicia!" meaning justice in Spanish.
The rest of the officers left the gathering shortly after.
Police Chief Joe Romero, who on Friday was already investigating the matter, said the officers attending the meeting did so on their own time and "not in an official capacity" but their actions will be reviewed.
"Those that go into professional law enforcement know that their off-duty actions are as carefully scrutinized as their professional actions," he said.
Officers were sent out to the meeting after calls were made to police seeking their presence, Romero said.
City Manager Linda Lowry has received inquiries from City Council members about the meeting and she "has asked that I look into the entire situation," Romero said.
Among the steps Romero said he will be taking are meeting with Bozoich, who is president of the Pomona Police Officers' Association, "to assess that organization's involvement and naturally I will be meeting with command staff to best determine how to proceed with resolving this situation."
Bozoich said Friday that he had asked members of the association if they would consider attending the meeting.
His request was prompted by two recent traffic collisions. One, on Aug. 15, was a hit-and-run incident on Temple Avenue that left a 19-year-old Ontario woman on life support. The driver reportedly was unlicensed. The second incident, on Aug. 17, involved a drunken, unlicensed driver who hit a police patrol car, injuring the officer and police dog inside.
Bozoich said he saw a newspaper article about the community meeting and thought officers could attend and give their views and possibly start a dialog with the coalition.
Officers were surprised to find the meeting would be in Spanish, but he had Aleman, who is bilingual, at his side translating for him, Bozoich said.
During the meeting, Bozoich said, he and others asked Jimenez for an opportunity to speak.
"We spoke up to give our opinion of checkpoints," he said, adding they were not afforded the opportunity to address the audience.
But Jimenez said everyone had an opportunity to speak, and he told the officers all they had to do was get in line to speak.
Bozoich said people appeared angry with Aleman because he supports checkpoints.
Attending the meeting was "definitely not productive for us as an association," he said.
Romero said the matter is a priority for him and that he canceled plans to attend a training program outside of town and expected to work on the matter throughout the weekend.
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