originally published at www.watchsonomacounty.com
Petaluma crusader wants an honest town
BY LORI A. CARTER
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
John Hanania is on a crusade.
Yet another crusade, his critics say.
The Petaluma resident has been hounding city leaders for two years about what he calls a double standard in the Police Department’s enforcement of illegally tinted vehicle windows.
At the same time regular motorists are cited for the traffic infraction, several Police Department employees flout the law, driving their personal vehicles with after-market darkened front windows, he said.
“It’s not right,” he said recently just outside the department’s fenced parking lot, where several vehicles sported dimmed front windows in violation of the state’s vehicle code.
Hanania can point out multiple violations on city employees’ personal vehicles: lack of a front license plate, covered plates, missing mud flaps and more.
“Why is it that they allow this stuff to continue without tickets when they give the public citations?” he said. “I don’t like abuse of power.”
For the past few months, Hanania has engaged in a written back-and-forth with interim police Chief Danny Fish about his complaints. He has spoken at City Council meetings, called the city manager and met with police on several occasions. He has met with city council members dozens of times over the years.
Capt. Dave Sears said last week that his department has given its employees a deadline to fix their vehicles. No one has been cited.
“It’s a minor infraction. Our people who had those vehicles not in compliance, we asked them to take care of it,” he said. “Most of them have gotten it fixed. Some need some time.”
Sears said officers often give citizens a warning for violating the statute, which says the front driver’s and passenger windows cannot be covered by any film. Nine motorists were cited for the violation in March and April.
This battle isn’t the first for Hanania. His quarrels with the way the city does business go back at least 16 years, through more than half a dozen city managers and police chiefs.
In 1994, he fought a traffic ticket he got for what police said was an illegal left turn. He won in court and it sparked Hanania’s indignation.
In 1997 and 1998, he stood up against a proposal to install surveillance cameras in downtown’s Putnam Plaza, arguing the move was unfair to teenagers. The city increased police patrols but declined to put up cameras.
In 2003, he led a crusade against junked cars, recreational vehicles, boats and trailers being left on city streets past the three-day limit. The City Council voted twice to tighten enforcement of such eyesores.
Hanania also has been the target of police action. Disagreements with a neighbor led to vehicles owned by both families being towed, although Hanania maintains his were towed improperly.
Hanania filed a small claims lawsuit against the city on May 3, demanding the towing fees be returned. He parks several vehicles in the cul-de-sac where he lives and tries to move the vehicles around before they are ticketed, he said.
Some city employees say privately that his latest complaints are an effort to pressure the city to refund the towing fees. Hanania has filed a series of Public Records Act requests seeking police records on citations, among other things.
“I have a great deal of respect for a lot of the police,” he said. “But what they are doing isn’t right.”
One city councilman has come under Hanania’s fire. He said the front windows of Mike Harris’ car have been modified. Harris said he doesn’t know if they are illegally tinted.
“I have no idea,” he said. “I’m not a car guy. If they are, I’ll have them checked and have them fixed.
“I’ve spoken to John probably 50 times in the last seven years I’ve been on the council. John is a good guy and I enjoy my discussions with him,” Harris said. He declined to comment further because of the recent claim against the city. The small claims suit is scheduled for a hearing next month.
Tags: copwatch, corruption, PPD