Page One

He was the unofficial "mayor of Telegraph", with a list of friends as long as his waist- length silver hair and lanky frame. Dubbed in a Planet piece, "a good samaritan" who broke up a chain-whipping in People's Park in May, he may have tried to samaritan the wrong man Tuesday. 

The mayor will be arraigned as just another perp Friday, at Manuel Wiley County Courthouse in Oakland. According to university police spokesman Lt. Marc Decaloude, the charge is likely to be "interfering with an officer, or resisting arrest or both." 

Medheads (the usual perps at the notorious Caffe Mediterraneum) tell the story from their sidewalk tables. "A cop was bicycling by when he smelled dope and stopped to check it out. The cop took one guy's license and was backing off when the mayor approached. The mayor told the officer that the officer was outside his jurisdiction and officer unexpectedly jumped the mayor, took the big guy to the ground and cuffed him. The mayor did not resist." 

That was the composite narrative from a muddle of medheads. 

Police give a different account, through Lt. Decaloude. They say the officer had asked the mayor to stay put, and stopped him when he refused to do so. They also say he resisted and interfered with an officer on a case. Decaloude likes to point out that "we don't charge; the D.A. does that." 

Medheads recall a similar incident involving the same officer and the mayor several years ago. This case was also one of interference. Good Samaritans often interfere, otherwise they wouldn't be Samaritans. Right? 

According to a booking officer at Santa Rita County jail, the mayor is being held on $5,000 bail. The mayor is homeless and with only pocket money from odd-jobs. He was recently "evicted" from a shed a few feet from the avenue. 

I am one of the friends in the the mayor's fan club. He has been a plentiful crime news source for me for years. He has broken up enough fights on Telegraph to receive his Eagle Scout badge. 

I've been wanting to feature our friend, but he always demurs. Now that he's in the can he can't object. You see, the mayor is a little shy. He often drifts away from conversations, as he fatally drifted away from the officer. He plays good samaritan not for fame and glory, but just because he's the mayor. 

The mayor likes the avenue to be well maintained, orderly. That's why what befell him makes no sense. He supports the police. I think he was joking with the officer. If he said what Medheads heard ("you're out of your jurisdiction") that would be his wry sense of humor. I can see the smile on his face as he said it. But, this wasn't my operation, as the police say. 

Perhaps all parties were having that universal bad day that bewitches our daily encounters. 

Stay tuned for updates to this story.