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At first I thought this guy was just looking to get some free advertising, but then . . . "The explosives stolen from the bunker were eventually found and a group of local teens were charged with the theft." So, the police there ARE out to get this guy or, at best they are incompetent.
Radio personality sues local law enforcement
Host of 'Media Bypass' accuses Fresno officers of violating his rights during a weapons search.
By Matthew Kreamer, The Fresno Bee
A radio talk show host filed a federal lawsuit against various local law enforcement organizations and officers Tuesday claiming he was a victim of retaliation.
Mike Golden says officers from the Fresno Police Department, Fresno County Sheriff's Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms violated his First, Fourth and 14th Amendment rights when they took him into custody and ransacked his home last year.
The officers were searching for automatic weapons and grenades thought to be in Golden's possession. Golden claims the search centered on explosives and other material stolen from a remote police bomb squad bunker days earlier.
Golden says the search caused more than $14,000 in damage to his home and was an act of retaliation after he was critical of Fresno County Sheriff Richard Pierce and District Attorney Ed Hunt.
"If I hadn't ticked off Ed Hunt and Richard Pierce on the radio about a month before, this would never have happened," Golden said. "This was just a ploy to shut me up, quiet me down and intimidate me. It didn't work."
Hunt, who is not mentioned in the lawsuit, denied that claim. "How am I gonna retaliate with the guy? I've never even seen him," Hunt said. "I don't know what the hell he's talking about."
Sheriff's Lt. Robert Hagler, who is named in the suit, said Tuesday he hadn't yet seen it and couldn't respond.
The lawsuit doesn't request specific damages, but Golden said claims totaling about $500 million have already been rejected by the county.
"I don't know how much this will eventually be when it's all said and done, but it would be a great dream to get my sense of security back," Golden said.
"Of course that can't happen."
In an interview Tuesday, Golden singled out sheriff's detective John Avila, who is named in the lawsuit.
"I intend to take John Avila's house and level it and make a monument of me standing on the chest of a Fresno County sheriff's officer," Golden said, "something the children of Fresno can be proud of."
Avila couldn't be reached to comment.
Golden is host of a weekly radio show, "Media Bypass," on KDNO in Delano and KMAK in Orange Cove.
The explosives stolen from the bunker were eventually found and a group of local teens were charged with the theft.
The reporter can be reached at mkreamer@fresnobee.com or 441-6208.
Copyright ©2000, The Fresno Bee
At first I thought this guy was just looking to get some free advertising, but then . . . "The explosives stolen from the bunker were eventually found and a group of local teens were charged with the theft." So, the police there ARE out to get this guy or, at best they are incompetent.
Radio personality sues local law enforcement
Host of 'Media Bypass' accuses Fresno officers of violating his rights during a weapons search.
By Matthew Kreamer, The Fresno Bee
A radio talk show host filed a federal lawsuit against various local law enforcement organizations and officers Tuesday claiming he was a victim of retaliation.
Mike Golden says officers from the Fresno Police Department, Fresno County Sheriff's Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms violated his First, Fourth and 14th Amendment rights when they took him into custody and ransacked his home last year.
The officers were searching for automatic weapons and grenades thought to be in Golden's possession. Golden claims the search centered on explosives and other material stolen from a remote police bomb squad bunker days earlier.
Golden says the search caused more than $14,000 in damage to his home and was an act of retaliation after he was critical of Fresno County Sheriff Richard Pierce and District Attorney Ed Hunt.
"If I hadn't ticked off Ed Hunt and Richard Pierce on the radio about a month before, this would never have happened," Golden said. "This was just a ploy to shut me up, quiet me down and intimidate me. It didn't work."
Hunt, who is not mentioned in the lawsuit, denied that claim. "How am I gonna retaliate with the guy? I've never even seen him," Hunt said. "I don't know what the hell he's talking about."
Sheriff's Lt. Robert Hagler, who is named in the suit, said Tuesday he hadn't yet seen it and couldn't respond.
The lawsuit doesn't request specific damages, but Golden said claims totaling about $500 million have already been rejected by the county.
"I don't know how much this will eventually be when it's all said and done, but it would be a great dream to get my sense of security back," Golden said.
"Of course that can't happen."
In an interview Tuesday, Golden singled out sheriff's detective John Avila, who is named in the lawsuit.
"I intend to take John Avila's house and level it and make a monument of me standing on the chest of a Fresno County sheriff's officer," Golden said, "something the children of Fresno can be proud of."
Avila couldn't be reached to comment.
Golden is host of a weekly radio show, "Media Bypass," on KDNO in Delano and KMAK in Orange Cove.
The explosives stolen from the bunker were eventually found and a group of local teens were charged with the theft.
The reporter can be reached at mkreamer@fresnobee.com or 441-6208.
Copyright ©2000, The Fresno Bee