A Mayor Sam PSA on Proper Reporting Protocols when involved in crash with a City Councilman

A Mayor Sam Public Service Announcement on the Proper Reporting Protocols, when involve in a accident with a City of Los Angeles owned vehicle. 

Congratulation again to CD 14 City Councilman Jose Huizar for this teachable moment.

These "Accident Reporting Instructions" are kept in all city vehicles, including those used by city council members and staff. 

Great looming lunch hour to all as we begin today with this Mayor Sam Public Service Announcement, in the theme of educating the general public on the proper protocols, that must be follow when involve in a accident with a City of Los Angeles vehicle. We are sure CD 14 City Council Jose Huizar, who by the way, went to Princeton, would not mind using his recent accident as a teachable moment, for our PSA. 

Lets assume you are driving eastbound on First Street near the end of Happy Hour (7:00 P.M.) on a Thursday evening, when a Toyota Highlander looms larger, and larger in your rear view mirror, until its reaches the designated ramming speed and impacts your vehicle. 

Despite the painful affects of whiplash, you exit your vehicle to exchange information with the person who just rammed and did extensive damage to your Saturn and as noted in the LA Times .......

Once the two men got out of their cars, Huizar hailed a passing ambulance and offered to pay for the damage but insisted that there was no need for police to be involved, the attorney said.Guizar said Ceja pointed out to Huizar that a government vehicle was involved. Huizar then said he would call a friend at the LAPD's Hollenbeck Division station, according to the attorney. Soon afterward, Huizar told Ceja that police had informed him that the matter could be handled without a report, Guizar said."My client said, 'No I insist. I have injuries and I insist on a police report,'" Guizar said.Ceja then called the LAPD himself, Guizar said, telling an officer at Hollenbeck that he wanted both an accident report and a sobriety test for Huizar. When officers showed up, they said they did not have the equipment to administer the test, the attorney said. Huizar sat in a police car at the accident scene until after 9 p.m. and was not tested until he was taken to a police station, Guizar said.

That's strange, number one on the Accident Reporting Instructions, states that you are to notify LAPD regarding ALL cases involving damage to a city vehicle. If the information from Mr. Ceja is true, Councilman Huizar and the unidentified Hollenbeck LAPD officer reference by the councilman, were in major violation of city policy and for what reason? To be continue .............

Outtakes from CD 14 Special Report: "Huizzy's $500,000+ Driving Misadventure"

Questions, questions, and more questions pertaining to CD 14 City Councilman Jose Huizar's potentially $500,000+ driving misadventure.

 This latest "Princeton Graduate, City Councilman Jose Huizar Congratulation" will most likely be costly to the taxpayers ........ Huizzy's political future?

Question, how fast can Huizzy's city-owned $40,000+ Highlander, go from zero to a $500,000+ claim on First Street?

Hola to all from the "Cut and Paste Barrio of Cuidad de Los Angeles", as we bring you this special report on the "Dear Charro, Princeton Graduate City Councilman Jose Huizar's" recent accident, that has resulted in a $500,000 claim against the city.

Any discerning CD 14 political observer will tell you that there are three forms of communication within the "Cut and Paste Barrio", text, telephone and a connected chismoso/chismosa. That said, lets refresh your cybermemories, via cut and pasting various media accounts, on what is fast becoming "Huizzy Highlandergate".

From KTLA Channel Five News ...........

BOYLE HEIGHTS, Calif. (KTLA) -- L.A. City Councilman Jose Huizar was given a sobriety test -- which he passed -- after being involved in a three-car crash Thursday night.
Sky5 was overhead after the crash was reported around 7 p.m. at 1st Street and Boyle Avenue, near his home in Boyle Heights.
"I can confirm that three cars were involved and the Councilmember was given a breathalyzer test, which registered a zero," Huizar spokesman Rick Coca said in a statement.
At the scene, Huizar's Toyota Highlander was parked behind a Saturn, which had major damage on the trunk.
One person at the scene complained of injuries and was examined by paramedics, but not taken to a hospital.

From "The City Maven" at KPCC ...............

The LAPD could not provide any immediate details on the vehicles, but both the Los Angeles Times and KTLA reported that a Saturn was struck from behind by a Toyota Highland hybrid, which was registered to the councilman’s office. A spokesman for Huizar could not immediately confirm whether the Toyota was a city-owned vehicle. 

Aggregating the information from the two media stories above, we can surmise that the Princeton Graduate whacked the Saturn at a high rate of speed, alcohol was not supposedly a contributing factor and for some reason, CD 14 staff were being coy on whether the Highlander was city-owned, why? As in most CD 14 political dramas, there is always sub plots to every novella. Follow along our bloggin timeline.

From our Mayor Sam Exclusive ................

Mayor Sam has obtain this email that invites various city council staffers to a Happy Hour Birthday Party for CD 14 City Council Jose Huizar Staffer Erick Martell ( started at 5:30 P.M.), yesterday evening at the The Edison. It is very conceivable that Councilman Huizar would of attended this Birthday Party for one of his longer serving staffers, then upon leaving, make his way eastbound on First Street, homeward bound, where he was later involved in a three car accident near First and Boyle. We should note again that Councilman Huizar was not supposedly under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident, according to his spokesperson Rick Coca

LA Times David Zahniser picks up the details from his exclusive report on the $500,000 Claim, which broke in Saturday's print edition ...........

A former Huntington Park police officer has filed a $500,000 legal claim against the city of Los Angeles, saying he suffered "serious multiple physical injuries" after his car was hit from behind by a city-owned SUV driven by City Councilman Jose Huizar.David Ceja, 49, said his 2002 Saturn was struck by Huizar's 2008 Toyota Highlander on 1st Street in Boyle Heights in October. Humberto Guizar, Ceja's attorney, said that in the minutes after the accident, Huizar repeatedly asked that the matter be handled without alerting the Los Angeles Police Department.Once officers showed up, they waited at least two and a half hours to give Huizar a blood-alcohol test, Guizar said. Huizar, 44, was detained that night and blew a zero on his breathalyzer test, according to police and the councilman's office.

David Ceja describing the specifics of the accident via his attorney Humberto Guizar .............

According to Guizar, the crash occurred at around 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 25 near the 101 Freeway onramp. Once the two men got out of their cars, Huizar hailed a passing ambulance and offered to pay for the damage but insisted that there was no need for police to be involved, the attorney said.Guizar said Ceja pointed out to Huizar that a government vehicle was involved. Huizar then said he would call a friend at the LAPD's Hollenbeck Division station, according to the attorney. Soon afterward, Huizar told Ceja that police had informed him that the matter could be handled without a report, Guizar said."My client said, 'No I insist. I have injuries and I insist on a police report,'" Guizar said.Ceja then called the LAPD himself, Guizar said, telling an officer at Hollenbeck that he wanted both an accident report and a sobriety test for Huizar. When officers showed up, they said they did not have the equipment to administer the test, the attorney said. Huizar sat in a police car at the accident scene until after 9 p.m. and was not tested until he was taken to a police station, Guizar said.

Holy CLARTSgate! Where do we start with the questions? Lets try by following a timeline.

** First, did Councilman Huizar attend the Happy Hour Birthday Party for staffer Erick Martell prior to driving home?

** Second, if Councilman Huizar attended the party, did he have a drink or drinks before leaving?

** Third, if Councilman Huizar did have a drink or drinks, why did his "supposed designated driver" staffer George Esparza (who's name is on email invite), not drive him home? Maybe the councilman should keep Michael "MEAT" Trujillo on standby, considering his past driving chores for Mayor Antonio Villar?

** Fourth, why did Councilman Huizar not want to follow city protocols for accidents in city-owned vehicles, that all employees must follow? ** Did Huizar's city-owned Highlander carry an accident report package in its glove compartment? 

** Fifth, why did Councilman Huizar not want LAPD (or especially Hollenbeck officers) notify of the accident (maybe this past episode may still influence Hollenbeck officer's opinion of the CD 14 rep)? 

** Sixth, why was Councilman Huizar allowed to sit for two-plus hours before being given a sobriety test? When responding officers realized that they did not have the proper equipment, how come they did not make the less than a mile drive to the station promptly?

** Seventh, why was CD 14 staff coy in disclosing whether the vehicle that Councilman Huizar was driving, was city-owned?

** Eighth, will the Hollenbeck Community Police Advisory Board (CPAB) question Hollenbeck and top LAPD brass on whether Councilman Huizar was given special treatment? Considering all the new liquor licenses that the Princeton Graduate has approved in recent years and the subsequent number of DUIs associated with them, the handling of the Huizar accident merits review by an outside, objective entity (LAPD Inspector General?).

** Ninth, will the City Attorney and LAPD review the reporting protocols for elected officials involved in accidents with city-owned vehicles?

** Lastly, if Councilman Huizar is found to have attempted to cover up an episode of nefarious behavior involving this likely costly crash, will CD 14 voters hold him accountable in 2015?

Your thoughts ..............
Scott Johnson in CD 14