Scientology and the Clearwater Police

we're in downtown Clearwater Florida in the very heart of what the Scientology organization considers their spiritual headquarters 25 years ago Scientology came to Clearwater under the pseudonym United churches l ron Hubbard set into motion a plan called Project Normandy a covert operation designed for the complete takeover of Clearwater it said moving to Clearwater find out who your friends are developing my find out who your enemies are destroy them and if they'll create every organization that you can this is a criminal organization they don't really care about individuals other than himself Scientology's covert operations were run by the Guardians office a branch of Scientology which has since been renamed the Office of Special Affairs FBI agents had enough evidence on the Scientologist to raid their headquarters in Los Angeles in Hollywood they took 43,000 documents many of them were actually stolen from top government agencies in Washington DC and elsewhere they infiltrated government offices and were caught on it their entire top leadership was investigated indicted tried and convicted and sent to the pokey they went to jail for this for over 20 years the Clearwater Police Department actively investigated Scientology for much of that time the investigation was led by Ray Emmons we knew that there were predicate crimes we knew that it was a continuing fraudulent enterprise stillest to this day as far as I'm concerned that's my opinion but we shopping around to the federal people to the state people and the first question always asked by a prosecutor was will they harass me will they follow me two years ago when Mike Roberto became the new city manager the investigation stopped abruptly Roberto forged a new alliance in Scientology and the city no matter what they had done in the past the one city one future took precedence over everything no matter what shortly after the Lisa McPherson Trust opened its doors in January Bob Minton and I had a meeting with Mike Roberta the city manager and we explained to him that we're in town to educate the city of Clearwater about some of the abusive and deceptive practices of Scientology Mike Roberto's reply to us was that he had just spent two years getting Scientology off the front page of the newspaper and he was not about to let us get Scientology back on the front page again and he told us in no uncertain terms that if we caused any trouble for him or for his plans for Clearwater he was going to get us out of town Roberto's embracing of Scientology brought about many changes the police department stopped all active investigation of Scientology and they stopped the training program that taught new recruits what Scientology is and does indeed today many in the Clearwater Police Department worked for Scientology on their days off they're out here on Watterson Street guarding these white lines Watterson Street is a small side street shared by both Scientology and the Lisa McPherson trust the white lines were burned on Watterson Street a week after the trust opened and just hours after this lengthy meeting between officials from the city the Clearwater Police Department and Scientology's Office of Special Affairs you can see Mike Roberto in the white shirt walking off to the right that night Scientology hired the first pair of off-duty police officers but the rules changed daily I just want a clear firm response from the police department on what the rules argue in bending over backwards to appease Scientology Roberto and the police department created new laws on the spot that even its own officers couldn't understand so I can't go across the line now no even worse than the confusion over how to manage the white lines is the byproduct of the creation of this rather unique bus on loading zone you see now a large percentage of the clear water police force work directly for Scientology and they're supposed to report to Mike Rinder the head of the Office of Special Affairs again this is the new name for the Scientology department that once broke in to the FBI and the IRS stole documents bugged offices and that to this very day continues to destroy the lives of those people who Scientology perceives to be the enemy today Scientology perceives its number-one enemy to be the Lisa McPherson trust we get calls every day from people who have been harmed by Scientology calls from people all over the country people whose families have been destroyed by Scientology women who've lost their husbands husbands who've lost their wives parents who've lost their children and the only place they have to go for help anywhere in the United States is the Lisa McPherson trust we have the trust every day come down Waterson street and see the Clearwater police officers sitting and laughing and having a great time with OSA agents the clearwater police watch as the OSA agents videotape our every move when we walk in or out of our building the OSA agent grabs his walkie-talkie and reports on our whereabouts scientology pis follow us everywhere when a visitor comes to the Lisa McPherson trust the police watch as the OSA agent grabs his camera and videotapes their license plate those plates are run and then our visitors are later harassed the Clearwater Police Department doesn't seem to have a problem with this we do the police officers are sitting down there are being indoctrinated by the scientology security officers that are sitting with them all day long do we not know that this this cult brainwashes people do we not know that these officers every day are being induced and old that the people on the Lisa McPherson trust our enemies and criminals and we're the good guys to impressionable young officers and these security officers are telling them what criminals we all are how dangerous we all are what terrible religious bigots we are all kinds of lies about all of us I want to show you some videotape shot by myself and others over the course of the past nine months we believe these videotapes show a clear pattern of bias against the Lisa McPherson trust on the part of the Clearwater Police Department this first piece of footage was shot on February 1st of the year 2002 German filmmakers had asked me to come along as they shot a documentary about a famous German Scientologist artist who now lives in Clearwater the day before the German filmmakers had gone to the police department and asked if it was legal for them to knock on the door and ask for an interview when chaleur the police spokesperson assured them it was as we headed back to our cars a man ran out of the house with a hammer what if I smash that [ __ ] for you Oh smash it you better go I called the cops get the [ __ ] out of here missus get the [ __ ] out of here yeah well guess what I'm on the public property too you want you want to start some shoot me how do you like that the man's name was Richard Barnard and he claimed to be an electrician doing some work inside the house Barnard struck the camera twice with a hammer and once with a screwdriver but even more unsettling than the attack from Barnard was the reaction of the Clearwater Police Department this is coming the first to arrive on the scene was officer Terrance Kelly according to recently released documents Kelly is one of the police officers who works for Scientology on his days off these are German documentary filmmakers who are here shooting a film about Scientology they've had several documentaries that have been produced already they're trying to get an interview with the person in this house here these two gentlemen and I came along just to videotape to make sure that nothing happened good afternoon Jimmy you've been up on yeah I work for the Lisa McPherson trust these fellows came into town had just asked me to come along as backup yeah he did he he he hid the camera I go now in a moment I'm going to turn off the video camera after officer Kelley expresses some concern about it continuing to run in fact officer Kelley was more concerned about my video camera than he was about the hammer attack after I turned off the camera officer Kelley told me it's a felony to record people's voices without their permission in fact he threatened to arrest me for the footage you just saw I told Kelly once again that a man attacked us with a hammer and that I had the whole incident on videotape and I could roll it back and show it to him Oh smash it you better go I called the cops his response to me was a question did you inform that gentleman with the hammer that you were recording audio if not that's a felony yeah well guess what I'm on the public property too you want you want to start some shoot me the next officer on the scene was officer holsombach who also refused to look at the videotape holsombach is one of the regulars working the white lines on Watterson Street Scientology pay is the officers $21 an hour for a total of a hundred and seventy eight dollars per day wholesome box total pay for the first eight months of the year two thousand was two thousand eight hundred and forty eight dollars it wasn't until a sergeant arrived on the scene that anyone took a look at this videotape the sergeant ordered officer Kelly to do an investigation yet officer Kelly refused to even ask this man for an ID if he had he would have discovered that on this day Richard Bernard gave the police a phony name a phony birthdate and a phony social security number it was only later discovered that Richard Bernard had skipped bail on a cocaine trafficking charge is now serving a one-year prison sentence in Key West one of the issues that's come up in Clearwater has to do with peacefully protesting there are people who want to protest Scientology's abuse and deception by picketing Scientology reacts very aggressively toward any form of criticism l ron Hubbard's policy was always attack never defend in 1967 l ron hubbard wrote that anyone who criticizes scientology is a criminal what are your crimes against not only scientology but what are your crimes against humanity i'd like to know Hubbard declared any enemy an SP or suppressive person in his fair game policy Hubbard wrote that an SP may be deprived of property or injured by any means by any Scientologist may be tricked sued or lied to or destroyed I don't think before in the history of this country has an organization struck back and critics in a fashion Scientology has how do you cope with someone trying to city you get fired or ruin your credit or follow you day and night or kill your animals this is Scientology's enemies list 47 pages and thousands of names of organizations and individuals that Scientology has labeled its enemies right near the top of this list Scientology certainly has placed the chairman of the board of the Lisa McPherson trust Bob Minton one night in July the Clearwater police watched as dozens of Scientologists surrounded Bob Minton and tried to provoke an incident I never saw such outrageous conduct in my life they call mr. Minton virtually every name that could possibly be conceived I got in his face impeded him and the police stood there and watched and did nothing the police have just stood by while these protesters have been assaulted by Scientologists the police have been absolutely unwilling to do anything to protect the protesters Scientologists are trying to provoke an incident here a shoving match is caught on camera the Scientologists in the plaid shirt has to be restrained by Scientology security personnel this footage was shot by Jeff Jacobson who works for the Lisa McPherson trust I came out to the scene shortly afterwards and caught this on tape another Scientologist gives some advice let them go to you if we respond in anger and lash back the Scientologists hope we'll get arrested that way they can prove that al ron Hubbard was right when he said that anyone who criticizes Scientology is a criminal let's go back two days earlier to a different picket this is Scientologist Dennis Clarke was going to try to provoke me looks innocent but take a look from another angle he steps on my foot and jabs me with his elbow let's look at it again slowed down Dennis Clarke checks over his shoulder to see if anyone's looking he steps on my foot and jabs me moments later he tries the same thing with a second cameraman and gets a bigger reaction excuse me hey don't you [ __ ] push me excuse me man you had your elbow right out there that was nice we have that from a second angle too excuse me hey don't you [ __ ] push excuse me man you had your elbow right out there I was bullied and and grabbed by Dennis Clark left a little scratch in my left hand or left arm two days after that I was again present this time at the press conference at the Lisa McPherson trust there was someone lurking in the parking garage so I went up there with another person following me and got up to the third floor and opened the door and who did I see but Dennis Clark lurking in the parking garage and spying on the people coming and going there dude all right today he suddenly got up and elbowed me as he went by and went down the stairwell he decided to turn around and come up and accuse me of harassing you no no no that out of my face get it out of my face now get out of my face get it out of my face excuse me yep okay Tom I feel your face get out of my face you stop harassing me you got it you got it get offa my try it one more time just who is Dennis Clark well he is the head of the CCHR the citizens Commission on Human Rights that's a Scientology front group set up to attack psychiatry this human rights leader seems to have a lengthy history of anti-social behavior in 1986 the author of this book l ron hubbard messiah or madman reports that clark came to his office when the author wasn't there Clark pointed to the author's assistant and said you'll do and punched him in the face let's take a look at a few more of Dennis Clark's greatest hits here he is shoving gum on my camera lens would you please excuse me I need to go by here you're going by there buddy slapping my camera going after Jeff are you want one and when we complain to the police this is what happens he just stuck gum in like twins he just stuck down in my limbs this is big we see it we can do something about it right now I got it on video because I'm recording right now character identified as Dennis flirty jamming the ribs with his elbow and knocked the picket sign out of my hand and then they surrounded me it was gone I record it in the police that they'd stolen my picket sign the police said that if it was hit the ground it was abandoned so what's happened to Dennis Clark well so far nothing Mike croats filed charges against Clark in the parking structure incident but mysteriously the paperwork for those charges disappeared inside the Clearwater Police Department also mysteriously shortly afterwards personal information from that police report was posted anonymously on the internet they posted my name age where I live and other personal information including former employers I think in an obvious attempt to intimidate me regarding these charges that I had been wanting pressed to this date no action has been taken against Dennis Clark or any of the Scientologists who have been involved in these incidents what's really frustrating is when the police blame us for the situation remember the Scientologists who had to be restrained hi will you please not touch the camera you push it in my face also uh-huh does the phrase let them come to you make any sense to you you remember somebody telling you that at the last ticket well I went across the street to ask the police to please tell the Scientologists not to touch us or our cameras sergeant Quinlan who's here in the center told me I saw the whole thing you were blocking the sidewalk it's your fault here's another angle will you please not touch the camera you pushed it in my face [ __ ] uh-huh use the phrase let them come to you make any sense to you do you remember somebody telling you that at the last second here I'm gesturing for the police to come over and break this up of course they don't the police have become less and less and less willing to protect us and at this point I would have to say that I really feel that the police show a prejudice against us I have one more piece of footage I'd like to show you it relates to these off-duty assignment sheets the Clearwater Police signed to work for Scientology their assignment reads quote security for Scientology members entering and exiting buses on Watterson yet here in this footage shot several blocks away from Watterson you can see the OSA agent walking his off-duty officer to Scientology's Fort Harrison hotel to monitor Bob Minton the Clearwater Police Department has become Scientology's police force this can be celebrated as the year in which the occupation of Clearwater was completed when a person gives a sign knocked out of his hands it's not abandoned property when someone swings a hammer at somebody into identity in them it's not no harm no foul when someone tries to destroy equipment by messing with the lens and cameras it's not just tit for tat do the right thing where you get a chance

Channel: Mark Bunker

Views: 246,711

Keywords: Scientology, Clearwater, L., Ron, Hubbard, Xenu, Mark, Bunker

Id: XW8eTe_Ank8

Length: 20min 50sec (1250 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 29 2006