My name is Jesse and I am the band director at Parkway Heights Middle School here in South City.
Thursday night, I was playing a gig at Aloft Hotel with Curt Yagi and the People Standing Behind Me. We were finishing up our second set when a group of noticeably drunk, foul-mouthed men walked up to play a game of pool next to where we were playing. We tried to make small talk with them, but they didn't seem to be very friendly. After one of them kept loudly spouting profanities, one of the other men advised his friend, "don't get us kicked out."
After we finished our last set, we packed up our equipment and left it where we had been playing and headed to the bar area to enjoy the rest of the evening. The men at the pool table stayed and continued their game. I noticed at one point in the night that a sheriff in uniform had joined the group. "Good," I thought "maybe he's telling them to behave." Nope. He must have been a friend from work. The rest of the guys in the band had gone home for the evening, so only my belongings remained by the pool table. I thought they would be safe while I was at the bar, especially with all the security cameras and an officer of the law present.
As my wife and I got up to leave, we noticed that my trumpet, my most important material possession, and my jacket had disappeared. I was so upset. To make a very long story short, I came from a very troubled childhood and that trumpet was solely responsible for me graduating high school and going to college. It is my life and, as a musician and teacher, my very livelihood! The hotel called the police on my behalf. An immediate invstigation revealed that the men at the pool table were local sheriff duputies, one who is on staff in Millbrae. I couldn't believe it. When the reporting officer got to the scene, he said that this was "an embarassment" and "not representative of his organization."
In the time before he reported to the scene, he had already contacted his colleagues who were involved in the incident. They told him that they had thrown the trumpet (a $2000 value) out of the window of their car somewhere around Taylor and Magnolia Ave. in Millbrae. No word on the jacket. I wonder who the designated driver was, because before they left the hotel, the men seemed rather inebriated. The reporting officer searched the area to no avail. Later on that night, I went looking for it myself and found it in someone's driveway about a block away from where it was reported to have been ditched. I was so relieved. The jacket (a $200 value) was never found, but I'm not too concerned about that.
That night, sheriff deputy Brandon Hatt was arrested on one count of grand theft, a charge punishable by up to three years in prison. He was soon out on a $10,000 bail. The Sheriff’s Office will most likely be reviewing this incident in relation to Hatt’s position, according to District Attorney Karen Guidotti. Not too long ago, Hatt was awarded the medal of bravery by County Sheriff Greg Munks for saving a young man from committing suicide. He was a member of the U.S. Army and had once appeared on MTV's reality show FEAR. It is a shame that he made such a downright stupid decision. Though I am thoroughly upset by this incident, I do feel sorry for the guy. It could have been anybody who enjoyed his/her adult privileges a little too much.
I wonder what is going to happen to the other deputies involved. Deputy Hatt may have been the one to do the deed, but the rest of them apparently just let it happen. Does that make them accessories? I don't wish on anybody that they lose their job and livelihood, but this behavior isn't befitting of an any officer of the law. In the meantime, I was lucky to find a store in Oakland that could rent me a professional model trumpet for the holiday season while my own horn is being held indefinitely as evidence. This is the busiest time of the year for musicians. I don't look forward to it, but I'll be seeing everybody in court on January 28.
It looks as if a lot of folks posting here are confused about jurisdictions. The DA and Sheriff are County. If you want to complain about them, you need to go to the Board of Supervisors. City Councils have nothing to do with it, unless you are talking about the Sheriff Departments performance in one of the cities that contracts with them for law enforcement services. In that case, you would start with the City Council of that City. In all this, beyond appropriate punishment to the officers involved, I hope Jesse is made whole by restoring his trumpet to him in good condition along with his jacket or an equivalent replacement and, at least, an apology from those involved and the department.
At the same time, I think all the rules and regulations we have saddled our educators with are hurting their ability to do their jobs. So I can understand how a principal may feel the need to cut corners on some of the less-essential regulations. But I recognize that my definition of "less-essential regulation" may not be the same as someone else's.
I checked that Chris was still making comments on other stories to make sure that he hadn't been "disappeared".
If you are in the business of building a local grassroots following and selling advertising spaces to "community based" businesses... well ... patch loves having engaged commenters because every one of us is proof that people actually read the stories here... costs about $400/month to advertise on a city patch. people actually click the ads sometimes too. Don't tell the scientologists though, last thing I want to see on the patch is a banner ad for Dianetics.
There would be more pressure on the Judge, DA, and County Sheriffs to give this a fair go if the courtroom was packed. I feel it certainly more likely to get swept under the rug if the courtroom was empty anyway. How about it Jesse? Will you be there? Would you like others to come?
a little support from someone over there would go a long way. I'm feeling pretty unliked right now. Sorry to the folks in this thread if I offended any of you over there. <.<
This guy still serves, even after getting caught up in a misdemeanor prostitution case. Apparently he was never charged because the arresting officer needed to tend to his ailing wife. http://www.mercurynews.com/san-mateo-county-times/ci_22382095 ok, I can't pretend to be a saint... I've had some pretty bad moments... I could only wish they had involved a hooker in a full bodied latex cat-suit like the detective in the above article. actually .. I am probably a pretty rotten guy and should be locked away in a padded room somewhere. But I'm not a servant of the public trust. If Brandon Hatt had a problem, he should have said. "My name is Brandon Hatt. I am a decorated officer! I am a hero and I saved a young boys life only 10 months ago. I have a strong sense of justice and compassion and serve my community with integrity. I am here to drink and have a good time; decompress from the horrors that I face on a daily basis. I have very much enjoyed hearing your band play! Let's be friends" instead he stole someone's property and destroyed it. I don't think he should necessarily get jail time, but he should definitely lose his job.
While the prostitute Vasquez hired was of age, every law agency in this country knows that My Redbook deals heavily in child trafficking. My Redbook's moderator is a Menlo Park resident, highly educated, and a convicted felon. He is known to many in the Menlo Park police department.
http://www.mercurynews.com/san-mateo-county-times/ci_22475683/peninsula-cop-faces-felony-stealing-horn-da-says?IADID=Search-www.mercurynews.com-www.mercurynews.com
I think it's even MORE important that we keep the scum out of our law enforcement agencies.
The evidence against Hatt is pretty severe, including Hatt admitting to the arresting officer having taken the trumpet and throwing it out a car window. If I had done what Hatt did, I would undoubtedly face jail time, as well as a potential felony. I would not have made the $10,000 bail, and my public defender would be advising me to take a plea deal. Also, Hatt was with three other law enforcement professionals at the time. Not only did these folks fail to intervene, but they participated. My cohorts would undoubtedly have been arrested at the same time as I and the car involved in the DUI impounded. Do I think he should go to jail? No ... jail is a place where criminals learn to be criminals and a culture of racism and violence is nurtured into it's customers. Jail just perpetuates this stuff. Yes it is true that there are sick people who need to be permanently removed from society for reasons of public safety, but these are not the vast majority of cases moving grindingly slow through our courts today. Hatt drank too much and had a bad night. I've done it. He should take responsibilty and move on into a carreer in private security. The not guilty plea indicates to me a lack of remorse or growth. FIRE HIM!
But if you, a gang banger or a police officer steal something and then callously throw it out the window then, yes, "scumbag" is the appropriate term. Understand that I am about as pro-police as you can get. And it's precisely because of that that I find this officer's actions so reprehensible. He makes it easier for the punk kids to say that cops are dirty. He is part of the .01% of police officers that are dirty and he needs to be fired (after due process, of course) and treated as any other criminal would be treated. And any officer that was with him and knew what he was doing should be fired too.