Malibu Man Continues Salvos in Allegations of Anti-Semitic Behavior by Sheriff’s Deputies

• Father Also Challenges Curfew Arrest of His Teenage Son

BY ANNE SOBLE

A Malibu man who alleges he was the target of anti-Semitic behavior by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies at the Lost Hills Station two weeks ago when he attempted to file official complaints concerning his 15-year-old son’s arrest for a curfew violation in Calabasas continues to lob charges against the law enforcement agency.
Ed Meyer has filed and served a notice of claim against the county, “seeking $2,000,000 in damages from the defendants for deprivation of the plaintiff’s civil rights, and other tortuous behavior [on the part] of the defendants.”
Meyer, a local TV producer, told the Malibu Surfside News that there was “ongoing anti-Semitic behavior” by deputies at Lost Hills when he sought information and paperwork to file complaints against the arresting officers at the public counter at the Lost Hills station.
The five-year Malibu resident alleges that a uniformed 911 operator made what Meyer interpreted to be “[an] attempt to mimic the Nazi Sieg Heil,” the German salute associated with the Hitler regime, while speaking to him.
Meyer also alleges that this 911 operator, a second operator, and the watch commander on duty, appeared to be affecting Yiddish accents when they responded to his inquiries and requests.
He further states that the people at the counter refused to give him the name of the plainclothes officer who took part in his son Hunter’s arrest, against whom he wanted to file a complaint, along with filing against a female deputy who was previously identified.
At first Meyer only had a dark and hazy photo of this individual. He now has produced a slightly better image of the man that also shows the youth standing in what Meyer says is a “busy and active roadway.”
In a second photo that he has provided to authorities, Meyer says this man is visible “as he was threatening [Meyer] with arrest from the passenger door of the sheriff’s vehicle for taking photos” of his son’s arrest.
Meyer said he plans to forward his charges to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and is filing another notice of claim against the sheriff’s department for “unlawful search and seizure” performed upon the son.
Captain Tom Martin, the commander of the Lost Hills Station, has assigned Lieutenant Rich Erickson to investigate Meyer’s allegations for the agency.
In written responses to Erickson, Meyer indicates that his son was attending a football game at Calabasas High School and then went out to eat at a shopping center with friends. Meyer was slated to pick the boy up between 10 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., but he said that as a Malibu resident, he was “unaware of any [10 p.m.] curfew in Calabasas” and was running about 20 minutes late and didn’t know that was a problem.
That notwithstanding, the local father asserts, “Upon my researching the curfew statute, it specifically does not apply to children coming from ‘events.’ Further, the appearance ticket shows a misdemeanor, which requires specific ‘intent.’ My belief therefore, is that legally, the appearance ticket is ‘moot.’”
Meyer has provided The News with transcripts of his and his son’s written statements to Erickson on the incidents, in which there are allegations of repeated use of four-letter words by the female deputy.
There also appears to be confusion on the part of the deputy with the use of the Commonwealth and European format for expressing calendar dates, which is day-month-year rather than month-day-year, by the youth, who was primarily educated in Canada before coming to California.
Meyer says the date format should not have confused the deputy because the teenager had given her his high school ID card, which clearly contains his name and date of birth in the American format.
Meyer is adamant that he does not intend to let the behavior, as he describes it, go unchecked. The Malibu man says he intends to pursue his charges as far as the legal system will take them.
Lost Hills’ Capt. Martin has indicated that the matter remains under official investigation by the sheriff’s department.