Yesterday we called out the local newspaper about their highly misleading and twice-repeated implication that there might have been a suspicious and evasive personal motive in Sgt. Gunn’s suicide. The Leader all but spelled out the relationship between Gunn and the fact that he was named as one of many BPD employees whose records were subpoenaed by the FBI as part of their ongoing civil rights investigation.
Our concern here was very simple. What the paper had done was to suggest a terrifically misleading conclusion, that Gunn was trying to avoid the consequences of his alleged crimes by doing away with himself. Unfortunately, this observation is not speculation on our part, it’s the reality. The Associated Press has even included this innuendo-laden story on their wire network, and as a result the national media has picked up on this fishy angle as well.
We’re not going to link to any of these outside stories, but one quick look at their comment sections and it’s clear to anyone that the immediate conclusion is that this suicide was simple consciousness of guilt. But nothing could be more false or unfair to Sgt. Gunn, and we have the Leader alone to blame for this. Although some Burbank apologists may find this an uncomfortable fact to grasp, escape from personal wrongdoing was not Gunn’s motive here, and we can tell you right now that the real story will soon be coming forward. It’s not going to be a pretty one, either.
What we’re seeing again is our local paper engaging in their typical ‘protect the leader’ PR mode, and it’s their third time in the last three months. Whether intentional or not, they have been consistently slanting their BPD stories to create a sanitized version of the truth that is most favorable to the Burbank city leadership.
Want proof? In July they accepted a large amount of salacious BPD personnel file material in order to pump up the city’s misleading version of the Christopher Dunn case. In September they published only a very limited list of FBI file requests, a group that just happened to include the names of three BPD employees who were suing the city for wrongdoing. And now this same newspaper publishes a version of the Gunn story that effectively absolves the higher-ups from any ultimate blame and places it squarely on Gunn himself.
A Sonoma County blogger has independently picked out some of the problems in these Leader stories. They’re on to something we think, although we disagree about the homicide angle. But what they’ve noticed is that these local news reports don’t make any sense, and leave many questions unanswered.
Incidentally, we have a list of FBI names that amounts to more than 30 BPD employees. But we’re not going to print any of them because the implication would be that they are guilty of something. And contrary to the Leader’s pathetic excuse today about why they made an exception to their own internal rule not to print the names of suicide victims, none of these individuals, including Gunn, are “public figures” under the law.
Burbank, California 
Do you have anything yet on why he chose that particular spot? Was he on duty at the time? Have you tracked down the golfers who witnesses the moment?
To all the people who read these blogs and website,
Some officers in the department placed small candles around the department as a sign of support for the officers on administrative leave and to support their families during this difficult time. These officers on administrative leave were confined to their homes and were not allowed to leave for the majority of the day, nor could they have any contact with their extended family in law enforcement. So the least some officers did was have a small candle.
However, a police sergeant removed ALL the candles without asking anybody’s permission. He said it was a “threat” to some officers to have these candles. The captain agreed with him and did not allow any candles to be displayed.
So, I tell all of you that read this, look at the supervision we have running this department. Does this sound like leadership qualities? To me, it does not.
Sergeant Gunn was a good man and highly dedicated to serving his community any day of the year and any time of the day.
Who was the Sgt and who was the Capt?
Immediately available answers for:CMC, Sir & Al Gardena,
Speculation is that the road leads to the Police Range.
Not on duty.
Glendale P.D> is handling the investigation, one eyewitness stood by for their arrival. Others heard gunshot and came to scene &/or called Burbank Police.
Sgt. YADON and Pat “The Enforcer” Lynch would be the names requested.
Sir, your posts will always be welcomed by many of us.
i certainly feel for the family of sergeant gunn but he obviously killed himself to avoid prosecution. sgt. gunn was a thug with a badge and he physically assaulted numerous suspect without cause. doesn’t anyone wonder why a man of his size (he was physically intimidating) was constantly being “challenged” by suspects. he served the public for 22 years but also abused his authority.
brad-
Before you slander someone who died of tragic circumstances, would you mind citing the sources for the claims you have made? According to this blog, Sgt. Gunn was to testify against the department, not be prosecuted. I’m sure the truth will come out soon enough.
irwin,
sgt. gunn was NOT set to testify against the department, he is being INVESTIGATED for a use of force allegation in the investigation of the Porto’s takeover robbery. read the subpoena before jumping the gun.
brad,
If someone needed to be caught, a case needed to be solved, if someone needed to be called in at 3 am, if something needed to be done right, you called Sgt. Gunn.
Let me ask you, imagine someone you really really cared about was a victim of a violent crime, would you like Sgt. Gunn to be on the case or would you prefer people like:
Dan Yadon
Darin Ryburn
McDonald
Mofford
or any other worthless officer I forgot to mention?
Be honest please
I really wish there was an investigation that would clean up the mess at the Burbank Police Department. I honestly don’t think anyone honest is even looking into it all. It is depressing as hell.
no doubt sgt gunn could solve a crime and was a qualified investigator. only problem is numerous officers have witnessed him use excessive force and threats to gain confessions. that behavior has no place in law enforcement.
As the nominee for the position of Chief of the LAPD said on television the other night “You cannot break the law to enforce the law.”
And Irwin, with all due respect, Sgt Gunn died of a tragic circumstance of HIS OWN DOING.
How can all of you honor a man who has sentenced his family to HELL?? I just don’t get it. He killed himself. And he did it in broad daylight with witnesses. As a resident of Burbank, and a father, that appalls me.