Pupils Get Ringside Seat at Council Fray

SAN BERNARDINO — When a class of fifth-grade students attended a City Council meeting to watch how city fathers wrestle with the issues, they never expected to see a wrestling match.

But that’s what happened Monday when a speaker refused to stop talking.

By the end, the mayor had bruised ribs, a councilman had broken eyeglasses, and a police officer had to use pepper spray on a 38-year-old construction worker before placing him under arrest for disturbing the peace.

San Bernardino police spokeswoman Brenda Shaw gave this account:

Larry Singleton, a City Hall gadfly “who shows up at every meeting and has something to say about every item,” refused to stop talking after he had used up his three minutes of allotted time to address the council.

Mayor Tom Minor asked the police officer in the council chambers to remove Singleton. When the officer approached Singleton, a struggle ensued.

Councilman Jerry Devlin “got up to assist the officer and, at that point, everyone kind of hit the floor. Then the mayor got up, and got involved in the melee.”

Finally, the officer used his pepper spray to subdue Singleton--but not before Singleton kicked the mayor in the ribs and broke Devlin’s eyeglasses.

All the while, the students from Roosevelt Elementary School watched wide-eyed, but maintained their composure.

“They were very mature, and were offended by Mr. Singleton’s behavior,” said Jean Andersen, the city’s director of cultural and international affairs, who was sitting with the students during a City Hall tour.

“Afterward, they asked some questions of the city attorney,” she said. “One of them asked what Mr. Singleton’s point was. And one student asked, ‘Does this happen all the time?’ And I said I’d never seen anything like this before.”

Referring to the scuffle, Minor told a KNX radio reporter that it was “not a good way to conduct public business, but I wasn’t about to let that police officer get injured.” Both Devlin and Minor are former police officers.

Neither Devlin nor Singleton, who was not jailed, could be reached for comment Tuesday.

So why was Singleton addressing the council? Among other topics, Singleton used some of his three minutes to display a black eye and complain of being beaten in his frontyard by gang members.