Joke’s on you, Chief. Fresno’s angry anti-mask activist plays new top cop like a fool
Fresno police did Ben Martin a solid last weekend. Martin was placed under citizen’s arrest, for trespassing, and the cops “unarrested” him.
Let’s see if Fresno’s angriest real estate agent returns the favor by curtailing his antics.
Because the next time Martin and his band of anti-maskers take their protest signs and conspiracy-addled brains and plant them in front of some other perceived liberal supermarket within the city limits, the joke will be on Fresno’s finest.
With newly minted Chief Paco Balderrama serving as punchline.
During his Tuesday press conference to discuss how police are trying to accommodate Fresno’s protesters and shoppers, Balderrama was unaware of Martin’s past legal troubles and history of antisocial behavior.
“He has since been briefed,” said Fresno Police Lt. Rob Beckwith, Balderrama’s administrative officer who oversees public information.
Talk about sloppy, selective police work. The cops will run a background check on anyone they pull over for speeding, but not the ringleader responsible for a string of illegal protests that aim to disrupt businesses based on his kooky legal theories.
Tell me how that makes any sense.
Had police known about Martin’s history of harassment and threats to his ex-girlfriend and sister, the DUI reduced to wet reckless, the misdemeanor conviction for disrupting an officer, the statutory rape and burglary convictions that were settled and dismissed, would they have still let him off with a pat on the head?
“It would depend,” Beckwith said. “There have been changes with regard to probation and parole recently that would have to be taken into account. It’s difficult to say whether that would’ve changed the situation.”
According to Beckwith, Martin was placed under citizen’s arrest by the manager of Sprouts for entering the store without wearing a mask and refusing to leave when asked. But when police arrived, the department’s on-scene legal adviser determined there were insufficient grounds to arrest Martin and, in accordance with Section 849(b) of the California Penal Code, granted his release.
The COVID-19 pandemic had nothing to do with why Martin wasn’t cited and booked into Fresno County Jail, Beckwith said.
Good thing, since that alone would have burned through Fresno’s entire allotment of irony for 2021.
However, it doesn’t change the fact that Martin has, on multiple occasions, gotten away with staging illegal protests that disrupt businesses and inconvenience shoppers. He’s faced zero consequences from law enforcement.
As my former editor Jim Boren put it on Twitter, it’s hard to imagine Fresno police showing this amount of leniency to any other protester who breaks the law. Very, very hard. Forget Ben Martin. George R.R. Martin-levels of imagination would be required.
Officer ‘feels horrible’ about photo
Before continuing, let’s clear up one especially bothersome aspect about Saturday’s police response — and that’s the photo making the rounds on social media of a Fresno police officer posing with an anti-mask protester.
I asked Beckwith about the photo. He told me the officer and protester are relatives who “hadn’t seen each other in a while,” and that the widely circulated image was taken by a third party.
It was, in short, an error in judgment. Officers have been warned that their appearance in photos can be seen as political statements and erode the department’s neutrality.
“Certainly we recognize what the appearance is and we caution our officers to guard against that and be aware of how certain situations can be misconstrued,” Beckwith said.
“I can tell you this: The officer feels horrible about what happened because that isn’t our intent.”
I certainly hope not. While cops frequently get asked to pose for photos, in all manner of situations, the onus falls upon them to recognize the context. It’s one thing to take a selfie next to someone at the Veterans Day Parade, quite another at an anti-mask protest.
Anti-masker gushes over new chief
Balderrama and Martin (Ben, not George R.R.) had a sit-down Monday in which the bearded activist was “advised” he will be subject to arrest for trespassing if he continues to disregard rules set by private businesses. And that Fresno County District Attorney has agreed to prosecute those charges.
To an average, law-abiding citizen, that might be sufficient warning. But for a person with Martin’s rap sheet and history, highly unlikely. Martin was also in Washington, D.C. for the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, posting several Facebook Live videos.
For his part, Martin gushed about Balderrama during a 24-minute livestream to his followers, calling him “quite honestly one of the most humble, amazing human beings I’ve had the opportunity to counsel with.”
“We ended up making some real headway, him and I,” Martin said. “We’re excited to partner with the police department. We’re excited to make sure we keep them abreast of what we’re doing and make sure that they know the truth.”
Those don’t sound like the words of someone with the slightest morsel of remorse, understanding of reality or feeling of deterrence. Which means it’s only a matter of time before Martin and his peeps take their ignorant cause to another Fresno supermarket. (My money’s on Whole Foods since Sprouts has a restraining order against him.)
He’s playing you like a fool, Chief Balderrama.
This story was originally published January 28, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
