Murrieta Resident Sues Mayor of Baldwin Park

The law firm of Lively & Ackerman, of Temecula, CA, has issued a press release stating that Laura "Dottie" Dalton, a resident of Murrieta, filed a formal governmental claim against the City of Baldwin Park, its Mayor, and Police Department. Full details of the claim are found here.

The claim says that Dalton was in Baldwin Park on May 14, 2005, during a dedication ceremony for a controversial new monument. Dalton, and several others were there as part of a peaceful-protest, because, according to the claim, the monument "denounces white and other non-Latinos". A full accounting of the protest, including a reference to this bottle-throwing claim, can be found here.

The monument depicts statements, "It was better before they came", and "This land was Mexican once, was Indian always and will be again."

The claim goes on to say that the Mayor of Baldwin Park was present at the dedication, and charges the Mayor for encouraging violence against Dalton and her group:

"Mayor Lozano appeared to support racist comments made by protesters against Claimant, and endorsed discriminatory comments made by his fellow protesters. Other City Council members were also present at the protest, which eventually turned into an anti-white mob. [...] Furthermore, many of the attendees at the event were known to be here in the United States illegally. Instead of enforcing the law against their illicit presence, and thereby reducing the risk of a large mob mentality, the members of the City Council present at the event actively discouraged any enforcement of the law and actually incited protesters to attack those who were near Claimant. After inciting the crowd, members of the crowd did actually start throwing heavy objects toward Claimant. Claimant LAURA "DOTTIE" DALTON was hit by a full bottle of water that was intentionally hurled at a high velocity at the Claimant at about 1:00 pm." The medical records of Ms. Dalton indicate that she suffered a brain hemorrhage as a result of the foreseeable violence escalated by the Mayor of Baldwin Park.

The claim seeks one million dollars in compensation for medical bills, future medical expenses, and punitive damages. The claim also requests that the City of Baldwin Park eliminate the racist comments set forth in the challenged monument. The City must respond to the claim in a manner prescribed by the California Government Code.