Mesa Police Aviation Unit is out of Control
Mesa Police aviation department has engaged in a pattern of harassment. They repeatedly buzz the home of the DeGroote family at odd hours of the day and night. These individuals on behalf of the City of Mesa, or with its approval or acquiescence, have collectively engaged in and have been following a pattern of conduct designed to violate This family’s civil rights, harass and intentionally inflict emotional pain and duress on the DeGroote family.
This harassment began in the first part of 2006 and has steadily increased in its intensity. These officers have followed and dive-bombed the DeGroote family on many occasions. The officers involved in this are waking the DeGroote family up in the middle of the night on a regular basis in order to threaten and intimidate them.
December 6th, 2006, David and Jocelyn DeGroote went down to the southeast location of the Superior Court and filed an Injunction Against Harassment against Officer David Dolenar, Jr. and the Mesa Police Department, case number CV2006092580. Commissioner M. Scott McCoy said he would not order the injunction at that time and had his assistant schedule a hearing.
An incident of harassment was on November 3, 2006 very early in the morning when Officers Dolenar and Traficano apparently arranged to have the DeGroote’s street blocked off. Plain clothed officers began kicking their door, yelling, but not identifying themselves. They turned off the power to the DeGroote home, and then after a while turned it back on and eventually left. Mr. DeGroote had the fingerprints lifted off the circuit breaker box for evidence. The technician concluded that some of the fingerprints were made by someone who was wearing surgical gloves.
November 14, 2006 at 15:25:05. A Mesa Police helicopter hovered over the DeGroote house to make sure the parents were not home. Officer Dolenar than pulled up to the house and waited for her arrival. The Officer watched the street for the 16-year-old daughter while helicopter reports her location on his radio. This was a very elaborate scheme just to talk to her without parental consent. This cop/pilot scared her and misled her asking her questions and telling her that her Daddy was being investigated for some crime against the police helicopter. The officer was trying to get her to recall things that she did not recall and he suggested that she was lying to him saying “come on”. Jocelyn DeGrootes parents knew nothing about this conversation prior to it happening and no effort was made ahead of time to reach either of them.
February 12, 2007 at 8:19:00. A Mesa Police Helicopter followed Jocelyn DeGroote home from picking up her brothers. The helicopter followed her really close as it was shinning its spot light on and in her car while she was trying to drive. This frightened her so much that she almost crashed and she could not breath. Jocelyn DeGroote called her mom because they would not stop, they kept the light on her for a while, she could not stop crying after this happened. Jocelyns mom called the mesa police department and was told that nothing is going on at that time, they were out on a shots fired call but that was over by then.
December 15th, 2006, David and Jocelyn Degroote went to the hearing and Officer Dolenar, Jr. appeared along with Mark D. Ishikawa for the Mesa Police Department. Commissioner McCoy would not listen to what David and/or Jocelyn DeGroote had to say. It was ordered that David and Jocelyn DeGroote give all of the evidence to Mark Ishikawa and reset the hearing for January 12th, 2007. At that time Mr. Ishikawa from the Mesa City Attorneys Office watched some of the videos yet failed to advise his clients to leave the DeGroote family alone, this was in December of last year. The DeGroote family believes Mr. Ishikawa had an ethical duty as an Attorney/member of the State Bar of Arizona and as a human being to report this on-going criminal behavior. Instead he advised that criminal charges be filed on Mr. DeGroote (even though he broke no laws) to protect the City from the liability and accountability for the actions and the violations of the DeGroote family’s rights such as turning off our power and the intentional harassment. Mr. DeGroote had a few different conversations on the phone with Mr. Ishikawa in December 2006 that were recorded. Mr. Ishikawa was told that the DeGroote family continues to be severely harassed yet he did nothing about it, even though it is a policy with the City of Mesa in these situations that they do; it is also his sworn duty as an Officer of the Court to report any knowledge of a crime that: “is being or will be committed”, immediately upon discovery to the proper authorities. Mr. Ishikawa was the defense Attorney for the City of Mesa and for one of the Tactical Flight Officers/“Watchers”, in the Injunction Against Harassment case that David DeGroote and Jocelyn DeGroote filed against the City of Mesa in 2006.
December 29th, 2006, David DeGroote filed a motion and order to dismiss without prejudice. For reasons such as, the Plaintiff’s household was very ill with the flue and the Plaintiff’s expected the court to be more helpful as they are not legal experts. It is obvious that once that was done the Officers at the Mesa Police Department that were involved in this harassment decided they needed to try and shut up the DeGroote (as stated in a death threat on youtub.com “your silence is needed”) family so they began submit charges against Mr. DeGroote and beefed up the harassment and the intimidating
January 16th, 2007, Complaint was signed against David DeGroote for one count of Endangerment one count of Criminal Nuisance and one count of Disorderly Conduct docket number 2006073087 DR NO 20063060095. He was being accused of shinning a light at a Mesa Police Helicopter. The fist court date was set for February 16th, 2007.
January 31st, 2007, while investigating the harassment that was being done to himself and his family, David DeGroote was arrested by Sergeant Thompson for the Endangerment charge that was sent by summons and complaint. Docket number 2007008155 DR NO 20063060095 (same as 01/16/07 complaint). February 12th, 2007, State files Motion To Dismiss case number CC2007022121000 stating that is was a duplicate docket. March 1st, 2007, Case number CC2007022121000 was dismissed. February 16th, 2007, Complaint was signed against David DeGroote for one count of Criminal Trespass in the third degree. The charge was for the date and time he was attested on January 31st, 2007
February 1st, 2007, Officer Dolenar Jr. filed an Injunction Against Harassment against David DeGroote. Case number CC2007022121000 in the North Mesa Justice Court. David DeGroote requested a hearing and it was set for March 1st, 2007.
February 16th, 2007, David DeGroote filed a Motion to dismiss Officer Dolenar’s Injunction Against Harassment. March 5th, 2007 Officer Dolenar filed a motion to have the Injunction reinstated. It was denied on March 7th, 2007. March 8th Officer Dolenar filed another Injunction Against Harassment in the North Mesa Justice Court, case number CC2007045342. The court set a hearing for it on March 21st, 2007. Officer Dolenar was given the Injunction. Even though he did not prove any thing.
March 8th, 2007, The DeGroote family mailed out requests for help along with DVD’s containing footage of the constant harassment to Attorney General Terry Goddard, United States Attorney Daniel G. Knauss, and the FAA. Terry Goddard’s office sent them a letter telling them that there was nothing they could do and that we should contact the County Attorney’s Office and the Governor’s office. Terry Goddard then forwarded the information to the Governor’s office. Mrs. DeGroote contacted the Governor’s office and was told that they could not do anything about it and that they should have all of the neighbors help by contacting the Police Department. No response was given form Daniel G. Knauss.
April 10th, 2007 David DeGroote filed a notice of claim against the City of Mesa and the Mesa Police Department, no response received
April 19th, 2007 Jocelyn DeGroote’s friend called her to tell her that a death threat was put on You-Tube.com about David DeGroote. Some of the statements were “Degroote is a moron, I am so stupid that I think the Mesa Police Helicopter is stalking me” another statement included “You clearly have mental health issues” there also was a song playing that said, “your silence is need, I am waiting here with a loaded gun”. David DeGroote filed a complaint with You Tube.
This threat was reported in-person at the Mesa Police Department on Robson in Mesa by the DeGroote family who asked to file a criminal report and were told that this was what they were doing with the Internal Affairs Officers. When the report was supposedly completed, the DeGroote’s asked for the case number and to be kept in the loop because they are victims. The DeGroote’s were told that they were being interviewed for an internal investigation and no criminal report will be submitted and there family will not be kept in the loop about any of it and they refused to give the DeGroote family a case number and refused to submit the criminal report. We have a tape recording of this entire event. Since then we received a letter stating that they have completed the investigation and the officers that put the threat up on youtube.com have been “Exonerated”.
May 1st, 2007 Terry DeGroote, Avery DeGroote and Keaton DeGroote filed a notice of claim against the City of Mesa and the Mesa Police Department, no response received.
May 1st, 2007 Jocelyn DeGroote filed a notice of claim against the City of Mesa and the Mesa Police Department, no response received.
We are afraid for our lives and the Mesa Police has refused to take a report or do an investigation of this threat on our lives. This is “Intentional Discrimination” and “Dereliction of Duty" If it were not an officer(s)/detectives(s) who had committed this crime, felony charges would be made by now against them. This is GROSS and INTENTIONAL NEGLIGENCE as it is designed to hide the identity of a very dangerous felon(s) and to cover-up and hinder the investigation of and prosecution of a violent offender who has made death threats against our family. When my children are involved this is unacceptable and inexcusable
As victims of a crime of this magnitude, whom are being refused the help and protection they are entitled to by the Mesa Police Department, it is becoming clearer that the likelihood of this threat actually being created at the City of Mesa’s expense, and on the City’s computers, with the knowledge of a group or department with-in the City of Mesa, or the Mesa Police Department, is very likely. It will identify from whom and where this threat originated and what the login information used was, and from whom it came. They are confident that this discovery along with the videos they have will ultimately prove to be one of the single most significant and organized cases of police abuse ever documented. There is no justification or rational that can exonerate anyone from this behavior.
These are only a few of the examples of the abuse of power by certain individuals in the Mesa Police Department and The City of Mesa which have systematically terrorized and intimidated the DeGroote family and caused the, physical and emotional harm and stress. They are a wonderful family, but since this began, there lives have been in turmoil. They do not know why they have decided to harass their family, but they want it to stop.
