The cops led by Commander Andy Smith — hero of the Occupy LA eviction — were out in full force Tuesday to protect the Animal Services Commission, specifically president Melanie Ramsayer and vice president Ruthanne Secunda, from Daniel Guss, a animal rights advocate who has accused them of abusing their positions.
Guss may be a lot of things like a middle-aged guy with a bad back and an excess of passion for what he believes in but a threat to the physical safety of anyone, he’s not. He is at worst a gadfly who has appealed for 12 years without incident at City Council and commission meetings for responsible policies for animals and even humans, a guy who helped drive incompetent Animal Services general managers from their jobs by exposing their failings.
For months now, he has crusaded far and wide against Secunda, a gal pal of Ramsayer who just happens to best friends with a woman named Lu Parker, who just happens to be the First Lady of the City of Angels, sort of, which is why the city’s first man, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, named her to head the Animal Rights Commission.
Believing (presumably) that their lives are endangered by Dan Guss, they made sure that Commander Smith and three other armed cops were on hand Tuesday for 3 1/2 hours, stationed in the back of the near empty meeting room even before Guss arrived. The cops stood around but Smith was able to sit down and play with his cell phone the whole time proving that rank still has its privileges.
You might leap to the conclusion that the mayor and his obedient police chief are now applying their doctrine of “constitutional policing” to anyone who dares to exercise their rights as American to criticize their government. We probably should be grateful that it’s not like the old days when they just would have beaten Guss half to death and fed him to a pack of stray pit bulls to get rid of the evidence.
The kind of tactic Secunda, Ramsayer, the mayor and police chief used in this case is merely intimidation to chill Guss from denouncing Secunda for using her position to make her problems go away over her failure to comply with the city’s animal regulations she is supposed to be enforcing.
Specifically, Secunda got cited for violating the leash law (Secunda – Leash Citation.pdf) and Guss asserts tried to get the officer to back off without issuing the citation and then to get GM Brenda Barnette to make it go away.
Then, Guss says in public forums like Council and Commission meetings, that Secunda had to admit she didn’t have licenses for any of her three dogs — FOR SIX YEARS! (Secunda – Years of Past Licenses – Paid in 2011.pdf)
And then she voted to reduce or eliminate
the penalties for these very same infractions
the penalties for these very same infractions
You and I might find this amusing in a sick kind of way like most of our reactions to the venality and stupidity that goes on in our name at City Hall but Jim Bickhart, the mayoral aide assigned to dog the Animal Services Commissioners and make sure they do his bidding, found it all so boring he fell asleep on the job.
For that we should probably be grateful. A sleeping dog tells no lies and does no harm.
That is an abuse of power. Daniel Guss should use the CA Public Records Act (Govt Code 6250) to get all correspondence between parties involving requests for security from the LAPD.
Why didn’t they use General Services officers?
Ron, great job! And completely accurate I was there through the whole boring event. and after the meeting the two General Services officers came to the front to be profusely thanked by Commissioners Ramsayer and Secunda for their presence and protection!
These LAAS Commission meetings are a charade where all Commissioners vote in lockstep to carry out the bidding of the Mayor’s office without discussion or controversy. It’s all just so wonderful, except that all structure for this public safety department is being destroyed and impounds and euthanasias are rising because of mismanagement. And this Commission is the head of the Department.
When you have time, you might be interested in delving into the 187 pages of e-mails to and from Ms. Barnette at her City address (produced in response to my CPRA request), where she and another Commissioner were involved in setting up an outside group as a “charitable” arm for the Department, apparently with no City contract or MOU, according to the records provided.
The group advised on its website that it is the official fundraising arm for LA Animal Services and that any donations should go to it, not the City, because otherwise they might not get spent on the animals! Let’s talk!!
Thanks again for the chuckles–except it really isn’t funny when we consider this is how our City is being run.
Ron, great job! And completely accurate I was there through the whole boring event. and after the meeting the two General Services officers came to the front to be profusely thanked by Commissioners Ramsayer and Secunda for their presence and protection!
These LAAS Commission meetings are a charade where all Commissioners vote in lockstep to carry out the bidding of the Mayor’s office without discussion or controversy. It’s all just so wonderful, except that all structure for this public safety department is being destroyed and impounds and euthanasias are rising because of mismanagement. And this Commission is the head of the Department.
When you have time, you might be interested in delving into the 187 pages of e-mails to and from Ms. Barnette at her City address (produced in response to my CPRA request), where she and another Commissioner were involved in setting up an outside group as a “charitable” arm for the Department, apparently with no City contract or MOU, according to the records provided.
The group advised on its website that it is the official fundraising arm for LA Animal Services and that any donations should go to it, not the City, because otherwise they might not get spent on the animals! Let’s talk!!
Thanks again for the chuckles–except it really isn’t funny when we consider this is how our City is being run.
I know Dan Guss and have worked with the man for years. If he’s a physical threat to ANYONE, then I’m the King of Spain. Armed guards? And FOUR no less? Why didn’t they bring in the Michigan State Militia? Such utter nonsense AND an abuse of taxpayer money. Fire the moron who made that call.
Ron, I agree that the gangster Mayor consistently uses his power and the lapdog Beck jumps at his beckon call. Beck has no backbone or manhood that’s why the rank and file don’t like him and say he has tarnished LAPD again. Last night Beck honored gangsters in South LA. Last week Beck used LAPD headquarters to host a book signing for Connie Rice and served wine to his croonies and it wasn’t open to the public. Beck better get up off his ass and start acting like a damn Chief of Police and get some backbone. In all fairness Cmdr. Smith is a great guy. He is the LAPD press person and has attended numerous meetings at the commission. Usually there are a lot of sworn at those meetings and not because someone is speaking out. However, if Smith is given an order and has to follow those orders from lapdog Beck is it really fair to go after him? NO
Speaking of silliness, Ron, don’t you have more important things to write about? Do you know if those cops were really being paid overtime, not on regular duty? According the eyewitness who already wrote here, they were general services officers, not LAPD except Smith. I don’t know what the difference is, though. But what else could be wrong with the information you got?
This guy Guss, if he’s such a gadfly, is probably not someone you should listen to without doing some fact checking. He’s not much of a picture taker either. Everybody looks bored in his pictures.
Your credability’s at stake too, you know. We depend on you to tell us about the real problems in L.A., not the dumb stuff gadflys cook up to get there name in print.
Ron, you have been sorely misinformed. Why?
You have seen the crazies in action. The animal lovers have been harassing people, scientists, folks at UCLA for a long time.
They do have some legitimate grievances. For instance , primate testing has been canceled at UCLA because they say tests can be done on other animals and it wasn’t justifiable to continue testing on primates.
But, these people are militant and fundamentalist. They have a religious fervor to them that makes discourse impossible.
They have become a criminal element.
Why are you supporting this lawlessness?
Hey Anon at 8:14am.
Dan is an atheist, so there goes your “religious fervor” claim.
Are you Jim Bickhart? The guy who got his arse suspended for blogging from the City’s computers about Venice?
http://documents.latimes.com/venice-parking-homeless/
8:14am, since he is an atheist, there goes your religious fervor claim.
As for Jim Bickhart, are you him? Didn’t he get is arse suspended for blogging anonymously from CITY computers?
http://documents.latimes.com/venice-parking-homeless/
Regarding discourse, you should let us know which of the Commissioners attempted to have one but whose overtures were rejected.
9:04
I realize you may not be that smart. That’s ok. Im not Jim b, though.
Or it might be that you are one of the crazies. Are you a crazy animal rights supporter? Do you think violence against animal services personnel is ok?
Eagerly awaiting your reply.
I understand what Ron is doing and that is highlighting on the Mayor gets his goons to intimindate people. Fair enough but you’re barking up the wrong tree with Cmdr. Smith. If the rank and file love this guy then you know he’s on the good side. Someone mentioned a public document here. Can we file a public document to find out what the Mayor’s 10 entertainment unit staffers are doing helping AEG get business to LA Live with all their contacts. Conversations going around town that these Mayor staffers are doing more then their own city work and helping the Mayor’s friends.
9:14 a.m., is torturing animlas for unnecessary experiments ok with you?
9:16
9:14 here. No it’s not ok.
Now you answer.
Is violence against animal services personnel or against scientists justified, in your eyes?
9:14/9:20,
You’re insinuating that Dan has done that. If you’ve got proof, share it. I mean real proof. otherwise, you’re blurring the lines on the issue. The issue was police intimidation because someone accused of theft & corruption has her back up against the wall.
Beck is the weakest Chief of Police this city has seen. He’s so afraid of his own shadow and does anything the Mayor says. The media is so gullible they just print what the Mayor gives them. We have lost good journalists like John Schwada and others who weren’t afraid. Mayor and Beck touting Summer Night Lights as success for decline in gang crime. TRUTH IS 2 homicides happened during Summer Nights last year. Tons of LAPD Officers had to be at parks in South LA because of gangsters and trouble. BUT the lame media doesn’t report those facts. Summer Nights Lights is nothing more then another free service for illegal immigrant’s children who they could careless about and poor kids have to walk home at 12 midnite while parents sleep.
“He’s so afraid of his own shadow and does anything the Mayor says”. Beck & other city managers follow the Mayor’s dictates because they want the power and huge city retirements their position buys them. But who is the real power that controls this idiot Mayor since we know there is little intelligent life in his 200+ staff. Who are the puppet masters that control the lives of 4 million people. Does anyone know.
In early September 2011, there was a soccer match at Delano Park in Van Nuys between rival gangsters. It was portrayed as “peace making”, boys having fun.
And LAPD provided “oversight”. Protection.
That area is under a “gang injunction” which prohibits gangsters from “hanging out” in public, but apparently even court mandated measures to suppress gangster life are skillfully circumvented with “programs” like Summer Lights.
Most of the mentoring, intervention programs are merely rackets to transfer our taxes to support career low-life thugs.The programs are really extortion payments for “peace”.
The gangster-racket calls the shots and is in control. As long as we pay for “peace” our corrupt leaders will boast about fictional low-crime stats and life has never been better in our world class city…
I was watching the council on channel 35 the other day and some short pushy guy got up and demanded that Eric Garcetti adopt some dogs from somewhere. Was that Dan Guss? Hey 3:29, maybe he thinks HE is the power behind everything around here, or at least he wants to be. Whoever it was has a Napoleon complex.
7:12am = Narcoleptic Jim Bickhart, who got suspended for anon blogging about Venice.
Haha, someone else posted the Times’ article about Jim BigFart getting suspended for anon blogging. That’s what kind of government lackey you get for $60k per year. A BigFart.
http://documents.latimes.com/venice-parking-homeless/
I’m with whoever said this:
“Can we file a public document to find out what the Mayor’s 10 entertainment unit staffers are doing helping AEG get business to LA Live with all their contacts..?”
To Anonymous on January 12, 2012 9:20 AM :
Who was the scientist at the meeting?
Was there a threat of violence from Mr Guss towards anyone?
If there wasn’t a direct threat (which would probably warrant an arrest), what was the perceived or implied threat?
9:20am, you can be sure that this show of force by the LAPD/General Services was meant to intimidate and suppress further exposure of corruption by Commissioner Ruthanne Secunda and the efforts by Commission President, her gal pal in the entertainment industry, to maintain the status quo.
With a dipshit mayor like Antonio Villaraigosa, you don’t have to wonder what his obsession with talent agents is.
When you’re friends with the news girl, Lu Parker, who peels off her panties for the mayor, you can apparently squander lapd resources to protect your corrupt friends.
Realy good post. maybe can you give more detailes for us to understand the subject better. Flordasaguas22
Activist NEED support by our most treasured and respected community members; to show a front of solidarity to each other and a way of life we believe in.
This extra Police Activity, Monitoring, was promted by the persons at the Animal Department. And so, what does this say about ourselves? That one person would call the Police or the Mayor, because a man spoke his passions and if those issues he raise are true, what does this say about our value for each other, not withstanding Animals. Who is the animal? The helpless man or the police? One should be afraid to drink a bottle of COKE make of glass without the police shooting the citizen of the City; then they say, he was threatening: NO, that is cheating. This symptom is a bad root in our society. The children learn from all these action, yet the same bad people want to represent the City. This is the problem.
Dan Guss is one of the most corrupt people out there, posing as a crusader for animal rights while using his Stand Foundation to solicit donations from the public allegedly for use for disadvantaged dogs, only the dogs never see the cash or the benefits. Guss’ Lexus and work-free lifestyle that allows him to chase people around who haven’t paid for the dog licenses. Furthermore, Guss is an obsessive bully who stalks people who he’s decided don’t live up to his expectations in the dog rescue world. He is bat-shit crazy. This is coming from a dog rescuer who has had the sad misfortune of dealing with Guss in the rescue world. I don’t care for Villaraigosa nor the folks this article is dissing, however, if Guss ever starting stalking me this way sure as hell I’d call the cops for protection, as he’s a self important nut bag who can justify all kinds of illegal and wrong behavior for himself while always at the ready to criticize others.