BRATTON'S ANIMAL CRUELTY TASK FORCE; A RETURN TO THE BAD OLD DAYS?

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A few days ago I sent Ed Boks a Request for Public Records for copies of the list of cats seized on October 11 from Mason's house as mandated must be provided by Penal Code 597.1. The contents of the code and a copy of my request is in an earlier post on this blog.

The impounding agency MUST provide the owner a list of seized animals as well as their location and the procedure for getting them back. The owner must be left a Declaration form which provides instructions to request a Postseizure Hearing to establish the need for impound and how the owner--Ron Mason--can get the animals back.

I have been waiting to see what Boks comes up with, because I know what Mason truly did receive as shown by the photo below. This was mailed to Mason 6 days after the bust. It is signed by Linda Ortega. Lt. Boswell's name and phone number are also at the bottom of the form.

This "Receipt for Property Taken Into Custody" does not even list 1 animal!



Click on photos for larger image

(Please excuse the horizontal format. When I rotate the image, it does not allow zooming for a closeup.)

The Receipt lists amoxi drops, Clavamox, flea powder and store receipts. It also lists a "blue folder." This folder contained all of Mason's veterinarian treatment records, which he cannot access without a court order. But it does not list even one cat!

What was the purpose of the raid? To seize used Amoxi drops?

Not only were none of the 52 evidence cats seized listed, but it does not list any of the 15 or so cages and traps Mason was using to transport the animals for spay/neutering and medical care by Cynthia Hockman, his veterinarian at the time, who is now working for Animal Services.

Mason still has not been able to get them back despite many, many calls to Lt. Boswell, whose name and phone number you can see at the bottom of this form.

Apparently LAAS, Boks, and the ACTF just decided to take and destroy the cats, and therefore didn't want to leave a paper trail for anyone to follow and locate these animals including their medical condition. Remember, as I posted earlier, the whistleblower said the Animal Services vet told the ACTF on the day of the bust that the six cats seized two days earlier were not sick. They went ahead with the bust anyhow because City TV/Animal Precinct camera crews were there. Why spoil good TV footage just because it was known the cats' lives were not in immediate danger as required by PC 597(b) before an animal can be seized? Also, we don't want to look stupid getting 30 people out at 6:00 a.m. and then finding out we had no probably cause to justify the bust.

In his Fact vs. Rumor post about the Mason bust, Ed Boks said the information that the cats did not have panleukemia came back the day after the raid, when, in fact, the Animal Services vet (Hopefully Dr. Rao) told the ACTF they were healthy on the day of the raid. Once again Boks is caught lying.

Boks and the ACTF have royally screwed up every aspect of this case. They tape everything on TV but fail to read Mason his rights and refuse to give him a list of the "rescued" cats as required by law. Wasn't this what the whole raid was about, saving the allegedly endangered and neglected animals' lives?

I have lots more to post, such as an Order to Comply dated June 20, 2006 to get "Johnny" (An orange and white tabby) looked at by a veterinarian. Johnny was the old cat shown in the video of the Mason raid walking around between the cops feet, eating out of a tipped over food bin. (Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_kJ9nGiVis)



Click for larger Image.

Below is a copy of a form signed by Johnny's treating veterinarian the day after Mason got the order. The vet found nothing was wrong with Johnny except age, so gave Mason a certificate that Johnny was sterilized to show the department. Who signed that form? Cynthia Hockman, Animal Services next-to-newest vet.



I also have the folders of cats being treated by Hockman: Garfunkel, Rocky, Casper, Hip Hop, Hilda, Scery, and, of course, Muffin.

These are only the tip of the iceberg amount of vet records compared to all the vet records confiscated by the ACTF contained in the "Blue Folder."

I also have the vet record of treatment for Burt, the cat with the surgical pin insert, including the type of surgery, dates and other medication received, including Laxatone, Amoxi, and, get this, a four month supply of Advantage. There is proof Mason was even giving his poor, neglected cats Advantage!

The sheer criminality demonstrated by Boks and the ACTF in this Mason case is something one would expect to come out of the LAPD in the 70s, not in 2007. Maybe Bratton has made things worse again? Has he lost control?
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