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Unofficial Mayor of Telegraph Released from Jail Saturday

by Ted Friedman
Monday September 26, 2011 - 11:34:00 AM

The unofficial mayor of Telegraph, who was busted last week for interfering with a cop outside Caffe Mediterraneum was back on the ave late Saturday after the Alameda County district attorney refused to charge him with resisting arrest. 

The charge could have carried a sentence of six months to a year in jail; the whole beef stemmed from a question of university police jurisdiction. 

Don't call the mayor mayor, though, as I did in my last piece on him, and he doesn't like the "good samaritan" moniker, either. 

Good samaritan was what I have called him ever since he broke up a chain whipping in People's Park in May and for countless other rumbles he prevented. 

So I asked him, if he wasn't mayor of Teley or a good samaritan, how should I refer to him. "Just call me Ray," he said, looking and sounding like Gary Cooper. "No one elected me mayor," he pointed out, and "all them Samaritans weren't so good." 

As usual, his tip (he's been one of my most reliable tipsters on Teley crime) panned out. According to Wiki, in biblical accounts of Samaria (northern Israel, then) "northern Israel was a sinful kingdom and was divinely punished for its idolatry and iniquity by being destroyed by the Assyrians in 720 BC." 

Ray has told me he would like to study for the ministry and has always known more about the Bible than me--which is not hard. 

I had reported Sep. 22 that something he said to a university cop had led to the cop's jumping Ray from behind and driving him to the walk where he was arrested and handcuffed. That account was based on the eyewitness of several medheads at tables outside the Med. 

But the key event in the brouhaha was never pinned down--what words were exchanged between Ray and the policeman? All eyewitnesses heard was, 

Ray telling the cop "officer, you're out of your jurisdiction." 

Ray gives this account: "the officer was hassling a friend of mine for drugs, and I told him he was out his jurisdiction; he told me that I was too close; and then he shoved me in the chest. He didn't have to shove me that way. Why did he have to shove me? he said I was being detained, and when I slipped off my backpack to leave it with a friend and walked away a little, he jumped me from behind, dropping me to the ground. On the walk, I was resisting his force; he was driving his knee into my back." 

An eyewitness said he heard the officer say, "stop resisting." 

After the incident and when at least four other officers had arrived, a witness reported that the arresting officer walked at least two blocks away from the scene.The witness reported that the officer seemed upset. 

A source at UCPD said that although UCPD does not have jurisdiction except on university property an officer is permitted to investigate crimes in progress witnessed by them even if not on university property. 

Ray, who is usually right, is only right up to a point. The officer was out of his jurisdiction, as Ray pointed out, but not beyond his authority. 

"Were you joking with him," I asked. Ray clenched his jaw. "I was very serious," he replied. 

Ray then told how he had been involved in an incident with the same officer two years ago, charged with resisting arrest, represented himself in court and won his case. 

This time he plans to sue the university, he said, noting that he has a previously broken rib that was re-injured as the arresting officer drove his knee into Ray's back. Ray uses his back in heavy lifting on the odd jobs he takes to support himself. He is homeless, and had recently to vacate a shed near the avenue. 

"They took an x-ray of my ribs at Santa Rita, (county jail) but I don't have the results," he said 

"I don't want no pro bono attorney; I want a lawyer who wants "to make some money,"he said. 

The UCPD arresting officer could not be reached for comment. 

 


 

Ted Friedman covers South side crime for the Planet. He's berkboy@twitter.com.