Peace Fresno Files Civil Liberties Claim Against Fresno County

Peace Fresno Files Civil Liberties Claim Against Fresno County.

The members of Peace Fresno filed a tort claim (attached) today. The purpose of the California Tort Claim Act is to give the County of Fresno an opportunity to avoid the expense of litigation by engaging in negotiations. To that end, Peace Fresno is proposing the following agreement be reached between Peace Fresno and Fresno County. A letter containing the following proposal was delivered to the Board of Supervisors with the tort claim.

1. That the County and the Sheriff agree to comply with the California Constitution and Attorney General Lockyer's guidelines on surveillance for all community groups, including schools, churches and political organizations, and promise the Fresno County Sheriff's Department will conduct no surveillance/infiltration of such groups absent an reasonable, fact-based suspicion of criminal activity. In addition, the Fresno County Sheriff's Department agrees to revise the Memorandum of Understanding between it and the F.B.I. regarding the Joint Terrorism Task Force to reflect the FCSD's commitment to the California Constitution and the Lockyer guidelines.

2. That the Sheriff will write a letter of apology to Peace Fresno acknowledging that he had no basis for the infiltration/surveillance of Peace Fresno, that there was no reason to suspect that any Peace Fresno member was engaged in criminal or terrorist activity, and that the infiltration was unjust.

3. That the Board of Supervisors sponsor and attend, with Sheriff Pierce, a day long community forum organized and led by Peace Fresno on the Patriot Act and the current threat to our civil liberties. The forum would take place in the Board of Supervisor's room, with board members sitting at the dais, and Sheriff Pierce joining them, and the presentation would be organized by Peace Fresno. The members of the Board and the Sheriff would be invited to share the time by presenting their own speakers during a portion of the time, the amount of which is to be negotiated between the parties. The forum would be open to the public, would be videotaped, and copies of the videotape would be made available to the public and community groups at cost. The media will be invited to tape the forum and/or broadcast it live.
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4. That Peace Fresno members be given copies of all documents generated by Aaron Kilner or any other FCSD employees generated as a result of any surveillance of Peace Fresno since its formation that are in the custody and control of the FCSD, and any files maintained in the names of individual members of Peace Fresno.

5. That the Sheriff of Fresno County reveal the names of any other community organizations that have been infiltrated and/or subject to surveillance by the FCSD and/or Joint Terrorism Task Force without a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity from September 11, 2001 to the present.
"This settlement will save the taxpayers of Fresno thousands of dollars in legal fees and a possible judgment against the County; will result in greater government candor with the public; will educate the community regarding the Patriot Act and our civil liberties; and will achieve justice for the members of Peace Fresno," according to Attorney Catherine Campbell. In the words of Peace Fresno member Nicholas DeGraff, "The goal of Peace Fresno is to protect ourselves and others from the types of civil liberties violations that we were subjected to. It is our hope that the Fresno County Board of Supervisors joins us in this goal by accepting this agreement."
Peace Fresno members discovered one of its members had actually been a government agent when the Fresno Bee published an obituary on September 1, 2003, about Aaron Kilner’’s death in a motorcycle accident. In his obituary, Kilner––known to Peace Fresno as Aaron Stokes——was identified as a member of the Fresno County Sheriff’’s Department’’s "anti-terrorist team."

Contact: Nicholas J. DeGraff Catherine Campbell
Peace Fresno Civil Rights Attorney
(559) 213-2042 (559) 498-8140
ndegraff [at] hotmail.com cathsoup [at] comcast.net