Posted on 03/13/2003 3:43:49 AM PST by blondee123
Suzie Garza of Whittier sweeps up at the rebuilt 911 memorial on La Habra Boulevard . ( Staff photo by Leo Jarzomb.)
Arrest made at Memorial Police say woman accused in assault By Debbie Pfeiffer Trunnell, Staff Writer
LA HABRA -- A 19-year-old Orange County woman is free today after La Habra police arrested her for allegedly assaulting a woman who maintains a patriotic display on a fence here.
Jennifer Quintana was booked on suspicion of misdemeanor assault Tuesday after police responded to a call that she had pushed and poked two women at the scene of a memorial display for Sept. 11, 2001, victims at Whittier Boulevard and Macy Street, according to La Habra Police spokesman Cindy Knapp.
Knapp issued the statement at a press conference Wednesday.
Parts of the incident at the memorial fence which was vandalized during the weekend were filmed by television news camera operators and shown on the late news Tuesday night.
News reports Tuesday of unknown vandals on Saturday burning and ripping American flags, destroying flowers and putting up antiwar signs to replace patriotic messages on the fence were picked up and disseminated by the Drudge Report on the Internet, triggering a massive, national e-mail reaction as well as a media frenzy.
Knapp reported that when Quintana came on the scene Tuesday evening she pushed one woman out of the way, then grabbed and poked Tracey Chandler, the Whittier mother of four who has maintained the memorial following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Knapp said Quintana was cited and released Wednesday morning and her court appearance was pending.
A police press release reported that witnesses said Quintana walked through the crowd making comments about her involvement in the vandalism including flag burning over the weekend. However, Knapp said that information at the time of the press conference was insufficient to arrest her for the vandalism.
The information from Tuesday night's incident will be added to the ongoing police investigation, said Knapp.
Press statements issued by Knapp Wednesday also reviewed how the incident began Saturday when police witnessed three individuals rearranging signs on the fence. The police came back a second time on Saturday. Sunday afternoon, police were dispatched back to the fence to take a crime report. This time, they said there was substantial damage, which they believe was done early Sunday morning.
"We are hoping to tie together all events and have it to the district attorney by the end of the week,' said Knapp.
Chandler said she was more shocked by Quintana's actions at the fence than by the original destruction of the memorial.
"She walked through the crowd saying 'They can't arrest me, they won't do (expletive) to me,' said Chandler. "To do that, to walk through a crowd of angry people, well she must be one hamburger short of a Happy Meal.'
Police offered no further information about Quintana and efforts to reach her Wednesday were unsuccessful.
In another development Wednesday, Jeff Collison, owner of the property the fence is on, went to the La Habra Police Station with Chandler and David Bisset, a Whittier resident who has contributed to the memorial. Collison wanted to lodge a formal complaint against the vandals.
He said he was told by police that he couldn't file the complaint because he was not the victim.
Collison and Chandler said they will continue talking to media people who have requested interviews since the story on the damaged fence was published.
"I will talk to the people who have called me,' he said, "because I want to see the people who did this prosecuted.'
Knapp said information from Collison also would be incorporated into the ongoing investigation into the vandalism.
As the investigation continues, the fence is again taking shape, true to Chandler's promise to make it bigger and better than before.
"It's great. There are more flags than ever now,' said Dusty Rhodes of Whittier.
La Habra Mayor Juan Garcia declined to comment.
She came up just after MSNBC left so it was low key at the time
So anti-war girl came up to Tracy (the 911 fence lady ) and tells Tracy "I guess you didn't care much for my sign"(that she had hot glued over the 911 sign)
So the first words out of her mouth was to admit she was part of the bunch that did this
In talking to Tracy later on that I told her that with all the news about this I was expecting them to come back to see whats up
Got it now.
Ssssshhhhhhhh....you're messing up their demonstrated ignorance to distract from their apparent laziness.
La Habra Police......
Sounds like your typical politically correct, equal opportunity employer / government agency.
What do they mean by that? It was HIS PROPERTY that was vandalized. Doesn't that make him, in fact, the VICTIM? Who else could possibly be the VICTIM? And didn't they say in the earlier report that, in order to file vandalism charges, they'd have to have a complaint by the property owner?
Something is rotten at the La Habra P.D., and it's stinking our community up. A big BTTT!
Not quite
The police and reporters were not there just a group of about 20 local or so there when the anti-war girl showed up the policed were called about 20 min in.
It started off with anti-war girl "preaching" to the crowd, the crowd groaning and asking "why would they do this!"
Anti-war girl was more of the "loopy left" not "angry left"
Tracy (The woman that had been maintaining the 911 memorial)I walked off early on to keep from decking anti-war girl (You could tell Tracy was seeing red at that point and wanted to go for the throat but had the self control to walk it off
It became more of a street debate with one of Tracy's(911 lady)girlfriends mostly and myself sometimes
Tracy's girlfriend was keeping the crowd some what in check with her street debate with anti-war girl but there was alot of angry that got worse when anti-war girl started poking people with her finger to make a point
(At that time I think both myself and an Army reservist I had been taking to decided anti-war girl was not the sharpest knife in the drawn and would pull anti-war girl out if if needed
About that time Tracy came back after walking it off and anti-war girl pushing Tracy in the chest with her whole hand to make a point and that when the cops got called (they must have been around the corner because they and two more news crews shown up in under two min.)
With the cop an news crews there thing became more under control
Yes, it is. I remember, years ago, a "promoter of peace" who actually killed someone who didn't agree with him. Supreme irony. Kind of like being laid off from the Department of Unemployment.
I thought you had to spit in the face of radio talk show hosts or get convicted for possession of hallucinogens, to be a 1/2% candidate.
--Boot Hill
Whittier should look into hiring actual professional police officers and prosecutors.
This was La Habra PD.. Two dif citys in two dif countys (Whittier's in LA Co.. La Habra's in Orange Co.)
I totally agree with you on this, expect a civil war here between the anti-bush & the pro-bush, we won't have to worry about terrorists, we'll have to worry about these types & no police protection against them.
The true face of evil in this country is being exposed.
Saddam Hussein, the ayatollahs of Iran and the "Dear Leader" in North Korea are NOT our primary danger. The danger lies within.
We have quite a few people in this land that HATE us, hate our system, hate everything about America, and they seem willing to act on that hate.
Remember your words, I think they will come back to prove more than true & in the not to distant future! Sadly....
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.