When I was a student at Fuller Seminary I was involved in a minor traffic accident in Pasadena CA due to the other driver running a red light. I ended up face down with several police officers on my back, resulting in permanent injury & pain. They over-reacted, bullied, used excessive force, failed to “de-escalate” , & made several significant errors of judgment & discretion. And yet despite being a college graduate with honors & having never been in “trouble” before, all the blame was aimed at me, without apology. This was at the time that a guy named Melenkian was chief. As a Christian I do believe in “turning the other cheek” but also in appropriately addressing wrongs so that they don’t happen again. I took action against them, & I am fairly certain those specific police officers will never do what they did to me to anybody else again. Nonetheless, the damage they caused to me was permanent (chronic pain for life, among other things).

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KEEPING AN EYE ON PASADENA PD: WHAT THEY SAY VERSUS WHAT THEY DO

The Briefcase and the Frame Job: How Good Citizen (barely) Survived Halford’s Trap

The Framed Seminary Student

πŸ“– The Framing of the Seminary Student

Part I: Premeditation and the Office Scheme

Hugh Halford’s Quiet Plot

In the quiet of his office, Hugh Halford sipped lukewarm coffee, a sly smile curving his lips. He reviewed the M.Div student’s civil case against the City of Pasadena and the Pasadena Police Department. The sem student—known for his composure and his dual life as a substitute teacher for LAUSD—had become a threat to the city’s legal interests. Halford, ever the strategist, recognized the opportunity to craft a frame.

“Watch this,” he muttered, tapping a pen against the desk, “one good courtroom spectacle, and the ‘Good Citizen’ will be the defendant instead of the plaintiff.”

Part II: The Hallway Confrontation

Drama Meets the Court

The M.Div student, known affectionately as Good Citizen, walked the hallway outside the courtroom, armed with his files, witness statements, and unshakable composure.

With measured intent, he grabbed his briefcase and slammed it onto the floor. The sound echoed like a gavel—controlled, symbolic, nonviolent.

“He hit me! Did you see that? He hit me!”

Part III: The Frame in Motion

Police Involvement and Miscarriage

Despite the lack of contact, police cited the student for simple battery and disturbing the peace, redirecting attention from the city’s liability.

Part IV: The Classroom Within the Courtroom

Dramatic Anger as Defense

The briefcase slam was not aggression—it was presence. A teacher’s instinct repurposed for survival in a hostile institutional hallway.

Part V: The Aftermath

Manipulation and Gossip

Halford joked about the incident with colleagues, retelling the story as strategy rather than deception.

Part VI: The Courtroom Resurgence

Truth Triumphs

Witness testimony and documentation dismantled the performance. Calm prevailed over theater.

Part VII: Legacy of the Incident

Lessons Learned and Local Legend

The briefcase slam, flashing in memory like a beacon of truth, became a symbol of controlled authority under pressure.

And Lola, faithful as ever, walked beside him—proof that integrity often outlasts accusation.