Copyright Fillmore GazetteOn the morning of December 18, a week before Christmas, a woman showed up at Sharon Palmer’s Healthy Family Farms in Santa Paula, CA, wanting to purchase some goat cheese—for an upcoming holiday party, she said. What happened next was that Sharon found herself in serious trouble, though there are two versions of exactly how she got there.
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department posted its version of events via a press release, which stated in part that “a detective from the Agricultural Crimes Unit and investigators from the California Department of Food and Agriculture Milk and Dairy Food Safety Branch, Ventura County Environmental Health Department, Ventura County Weights and Measures, and Ventura County Code Enforcement [that’s five agencies] took part in an undercover operation focused on purchasing illegally produced and potentially unsafe goat cheese being produced at the location and being sold at farmers markets.”
The release said Sharon was “arrested and charged with Food and Agricultural Code Sections 35283(a)—Processing Milk or Milk Products without Pasteurization, 35283(b)—and Processing for Resale Milk or Milk Products without a License. Palmer was booked into the Ventura County Pre-Trial Detention Facility.” It also included dire warnings about raw milk–“miscarriage…swollen neck glands and blood stream infection.”
A local paper, the Ventura County Star, published a summary of the sheriff’s news release, and a reader noted the link on this blog shortly after the paper’s account came out.
What struck me was that, nowhere in any of this limited information, did we get Sharon Palmer’s version of the events. It seems the Ventura County Star didn’t even try to contact her.
I’ve tried to piece the story together, and piecing is what I’ve had to do. Sharon, who has been producing a variety of farm products for the past five years (see this profile in a local paper) has been reluctant to talk about the situation out of fear she’ll anger police and prosecutors. The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund, which has become involved on her behalf, has been reluctant to discuss it as well, until the legal parameters of what’s occurring become more clearly spelled out.
But based on the various conversations I’ve had with Sharon, along with others who have been trying to figure this case out, Sharon seems somehow to have become a target of extremely aggressive law enforcement tactics by Ventural County officials, to the extent she was thrown in jail and then prevented from selling product–essentially put at least temporarily out of business. Here is what seems to have happened, from her perspective:
Sometime early on December 18, the stranger I mentioned at the start of this post appeared at the farm, seemingly very anxious to purchase goat cheese. Knowing that her dairy’s license prohibited retail sales and limited her to selling her cheeses only at farmers markets, Sharon refused the request. When the woman persisted, talking about the upcoming holiday gathering, Sharon decided to give the woman two pounds of cheese, and refused to take payment.
The cheese she gave the woman—in fact all the cheese at the Wheeler Canyon facility—was made at her old licensed facility, a 30-acre farm in Fillmore. She had just moved to the larger farm in Santa Paula a few weeks earlier, but because she didn’t yet have a license to produce cheese there–her pasteurizer had been damaged in the move–she was relying on inventory she had previously made and frozen in the old licensed facility. While the stranger, an undercover investigator, distracted Sharon, other investigators were at a nearby farmers market operated by Sharon’s niece, and confiscated about $1,000 of her cheese.
Shortly after she gave the stranger the cheese, Sharon left her farm to run some errands. About twenty minutes down the road, she was pulled over by a Ventura County sheriff and told she was under arrest, handcuffed, and placed in the police cruiser. She was asked if officials could inspect her facility, implying that if everything was okay, she would be released. She agreed.
The cruiser returned to her farm, where a caravan of about a dozen police and other cars, including a crime unit van, were parked —representatives of the five agencies mentioned in the sheriff’s press release.
Sharon, who is a single mom, was taken out of the police cruiser, still handcuffed. When her two daughters, ages 12 and 13, and son, age 9, saw their mom, they got hysterical. The various officials taking videos didn’t care–they kept her standing in handcuffs with her children for two hours while they searched her cheesemaking facility.
The officials wanted to know where her pasteurizer was. She told them she didn’t have one at this facility yet—all her processing had been done at her old facility. She showed them her license for the old facility (police removed her handcuffs temporarily so she could retrieve the documents), and requested they call the regular CDFA dairy inspector who oversaw her facility, to corroborate her version.
A female official told Sharon it was a felony to sell raw milk, and that she was under arrest, and would have to accompany the sheriff for booking. They allowed her to call a relative to immediately come over and care for her three children, and feed the 100 goats. But they had no warrant–no paperwork of any kind that I can determine–to show Sharon.
It was now about 4 p.m. Sharon was still handcuffed, placed in the cruiser, and taken to the pre-detention facility, where she was placed in a cell. At about 4 a.m., she was released, and told to return at 8 a.m. the day after Christmas, for arraignment. When she did, there were no charges, no file, and no information, and she was told she could leave.
Aside from the uncertainty of what might happen to her, the biggest problem for Sharon has been that she’s been prohibited from selling anything, depriving her of essential ongoing income. She had an application in process for a license for the new facility, but apparently the CDFA has put that on hold, pending resolution of the case against her, which could take months.
The Ventura County Sheriff has handed the case over to the Ventura County District Attorney’s office, and I spoke earlier today with a senior deputy district attorney, Chris Harman, who has been assigned the case. He said he hadn’t even fully reviewed the file yet. He was candid in admitting he knows little about the controversy around raw milk, and seemed genuinely interested in hearing about SB 201, the rationale for consuming raw milk, and the safety of raw milk. I should add as well that other officials, such as from the CDFA and the Venture County Sheriff’s Office, have been very responsive to my requests for information about the status of the case.
By way of background, California’s county officials apparently have wide discretion in the areas of agriculture and public health, apart from state agencies. Local public health officers can close roads, quarantine people, and shut businesses. Sharon seems to have run seriously afoul of the county officials–if you consider the location of her pasteurizer or possible availability of raw goats milk terrible threats to the public order. How else do you explain throwing a mother of young children into jail overnight and shutting down her enterprise, depriving her and her family of all income?
In CA it is entirely legal to sell raw milk. This crazed CDFA Nazi is both ignorant of the law adn out of control.
She works under the direction of Stephen Beam PHD, the same CDFA adminstrator that passed AB 1735 ( an attempt to eliminate raw milk in CA by changing bacteria standards to match FDA standards for milk that has already been pasteurized ) by lying and missleading the legislature. He is being sued by the FTCLDF and will have his day in court this June. His actions will be exposed as FDA actions….he is a puppet of John Sheehan.
We have a very serious police state and raw milk issue here. This appears to be something that desparate food regulators are doing across America.
When hand cuffs, guns, brain washed robotic cops, our freedom and our food get mixed together it moves me very deeply. It sickens my gut.
Take deep breaths and continue forward as planned.
My video camera is at the ready.
Mark
Does anyone yet harbor the notion that these violent raids on peaceful farmers have food safety as its justification? They put in jail people for producing real food but not a man that confesses to stealing $50 billion dollars! JUCTICE FOR ALL not these days and not for us lowly serfs.
In the early 1950s the police were called peace officers and were there to protect the citizen but now they are called law enforcement and it would seem that we the citizen are now the enemy. Change has already come to America and its not good.
————————
FDA scientists complain to Obama of ‘corruption’
Jan 8, 6:22 PM EST
WASHINGTON (AP) — In an unusually blunt letter, a group of federal scientists is complaining to the Obama transition team of widespread managerial misconduct in a division of the Food and Drug Administration.
"The purpose of this letter is to inform you that the scientific review process for medical devices at the FDA has been corrupted and distorted by current FDA managers, thereby placing the American people at risk," said the letter, dated Wednesday and written on the agency’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health letterhead…"
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FDA_DISSIDENTS?SITE=FLDAY&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
http://www.opednews.com/articles/1/FOOD-SAFETY/REGULATIONS–by-Linn-Cohen-Cole-090108-947.html
Hey Mark you took a lot of flak a week or so ago for something you said, I wonder if your detractors are just as upset with this fellow also.
"The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government" Thomas Jefferson
The slow unseen creeping cancer of tyranny is very hard to detect until its almost to late!
There is rioting in the streets just 200 miles away in Oakland CA where a cop shot an unarmed kid in the back when he was already handcuffed and being held face down to the ground by two other cops. Citizen video cameras saved the day…( unfortunately not his life however ).
In a country where police do not respect or fear the people… state sanctioned murder is committed. Last month in Greece the country was almost brought down when a cop shot an unarmed teenager and he died.
The people of Oakland are trying to send a message…fear us and protect us and respect us or we will burn your police cars and police stations to the ground, we want peace officers not murdering criminals protected by lawyers using our tax dollars.
Now that is the America I know and love. People with balls behind their voices putting action where their hearts and souls bleed. This will bring justice and change.
The young man that was shot and killed in cold blood was a relative of my son Aarons wifes family. A sick senseless murderous tragedy committed by a cop in uniform.
Why is their not an immediate police apology?? Because the blue line covers its own ass….irregardless of what is right or moral. Is that what we want in our police?
They are here to serve us…. if not fire them all.
Mark
My new computer with Vista doesn’t allow me to copy URL’s from the top tool bar.
http://obamafoodorama.blogspot.com/2008/12/bill-marler-best-hope-for-rapid-change.html
Bill Marler for Under Secretary for Food Safety? Shiver me timbers!
What a travesty! This arrest is outrageous. Let’s use some discretion people. Do you really need to arrest a nonviolent female for a nonviolent crime? What about issuing a summons? Why all the drama?
There are some serious Fourth Amendment issues with a warrantless search in these circumstances. A handcuffed prisoner in the back of a police car without access to counsel is not really VOLUNTARILY giving consent.
Where does the funding for the The Ventura County Sheriffs Department Agricultural Crimes Unit come from? Is this unit funded by agribusiness grant money?
I am sure that there are more honorable assignments in the Sheriff’s Department available to the Detective in this case. Besides, making risky undercover buys of this "controlled substance" to wit: Goat Cheese, is bound to lead to an early retirement from Post Traumatic Stress.
Robert Monahan
Sharon Palmer (Ross) was arrested a few years ago as she was trying to enter the U.S. at the San Ysidro border crossing with three Mexican nationals in the trunk of her car!!
She had fled to Mexico after scamming an elderly widow out of her $1 million dollar home.
And this was AFTER she had already served a state prison sentences for swindling an elderly home-owner out of nearly $750,000 in a similar scam.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/-home-base-mortgage-brokers/story.aspx?guid=%7B2CB52BD7-A473-46F6-92C7-105AE333FD67%7D
http://articles.latimes.com/2000/jul/19/business/fi-55157
What are your thoughts regarding raw dairy? Do you view this issue as akin to financial crimes or transporting illegal aliens?
I noticed via a google search that you have posted the same reply elsewhere under the name John Slow:
http://wholefoodusa.wordpress.com/2008/12/21/healthy-family-farm-dairy-busted-owner-jailed/
John Slow // December 30, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Ha ha ha . . . . oh say it aint so! Well at least Sharon has moved on to milking cows instead of milking unsuspecting elderly widows out of their life savings through mortgage scams!!
Sharon Palmer (Ross) was arrested a few years ago as she was trying to enter the U.S. at the San Ysidro border crossing with three Mexican nationals in the trunk of her car!!
She had fled to Mexico after scamming an elderly widow out of her $1 million dollar home.
And this was AFTER she had already served a state prison sentences for swindling an elderly home-owner out of nearly $750,000 in a similar scam.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/-home-base-mortgage-brokers/story.aspx?guid=%7B2CB52BD7-A473-46F6-92C7-105AE333FD67%7D
http://articles.latimes.com/2000/jul/19/business/fi-55157
So Joe/John, since these issues have no bearing on the current issues and since you don’t seem to know the difference between a goat and a cow…What is your motivation? Do you work for the government or a public relations firm for big dairy in the battle of hearts and minds?
Robert Monahan
http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/dec/21/probe-results-in-arrest-for-sales-of-raw-dairy/
None of them show even the slightest inkling of knowledge about the raw dairy issue, or the rights of farmers. Seems to be just some weird cut-and-paste character assassination. I hate comment-spammers.
I sure hope FTC does a far better job defending Sharon than they have with others – and a MUCH better job than they have on fighting NAIS against the USDA in court. Otherwise, we’d better start taking up a collection now. Their "team" of attorneys seems to be only Mr. Cox, and he seems to be not doing much in SEVERAL states these days…. Missing deadlines and important dates is the FTC specialty.
Sue
My father, who was a sport fisherman, had a small cabin in Rosarito, Mexico. At that time, there were no legal problems involving me,I took my children and lived modestly while trying to rebuild my life. I worked with 2 churches that helped sick and homeless moms and children. I befriended a family that had illness in their family and needed to get medical help. I did drive family members to the U.S., but I was not charged because the authorities knew of the church and the circumstances.I have no regrets in helping this family.
This incident, however, resulted in my arrest for my husband’s mortgage company problems. They could not find him, so the authorities held me for 9 months in county jail, without a court hearing, until they found him. I was not an owner of this company, not on the bank accounts, not on the corporation, and never met the victims.
I settled for time served to be reunited with my children, which resulted in a felony. I didn’t have to pay restitution to victims–common in fraud cases–because my husband ran the business. He served 5 years.
The loss of my family and resulting helplessness convinced me to join with my oldest daughter and my mother to develop a more natural and pure business…Farming. My Mom and daughter purchased a farm in Fillmore.
The day we moved our entire family in, we realized there was no water on the farm. Having no farm experience, we were unaware of the necessity for well tests,and we took the real estate broker’s word that everything was okay. The broker and associates saw us coming–three women with no farm experience and not familiar with the area. We lost the farm and my daughter and mom have a lawsuit against them. This is where "Joe Slow" and the badmouthing come in.
To the person who states I owe them $1,400, please call me…if I made a mistake in billing or failed to pay someone, I am sorry.
I believe in what I do. I will continue to support my community with healthy foods and always try to do my best. These negative comments about my past issues have truly saddened me because the real issue is about our controlling government and poor commercial food choices. Small family farms need the public’s support. I am sorry you had to endure the negative unrelated issues.