'Out of Control' Cop Allegedly Brutalizes Guests at Dem Fundraiser

San Diego Union Tribune:

The sheriff's deputy who broke up a fund-raiser for Francine Busby looked “out of control” as he doused guests with pepper spray, pulled out a stun gun, and dropped a 60-year-old woman to the floor, witnesses said.

The San Diego County Sheriff's Department has launched an internal investigation into the incident Friday night at the home on Rubenstein Avenue in the Cardiff community of Encinitas.

Authorities were called to the home of Shari Barman and Jane Stratton after a neighbor complained about noise, and Barman was arrested in the ensuing altercation with Deputy Marshall Abbott.

“He had a raged look in his eyes and his head was bobbing from side to side,” said Kimberley Beatty, who attended the event. She said she called 911 to report that the officer “appeared to be out of control.”

Beatty spoke Monday afternoon at a news conference along with two other guests at the fund-raiser, Christine Nava and Julie Chippendale.

Chippendale also said that Abbott “looked like he was feeling out of control.”

“His eyes were darting around the room as if we may have guns,” she said. “Guests were yelling, 'What are you doing? Let her go!' ”

Busby, 58, is a Democrat seeking the 50th Congressional District seat in 2010. She said about 30 of her supporters gathered at the home to raise campaign money for next year's race against Congressman Brian Bilbray.

She said she used an amplified microphone from about 8 to 8:30 p.m. to address what she described as 30 or fewer guests; witnesses said an unidentified neighbor interrupted the speech by heckling Busby, calling her a “loser” and obscenities.

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Read Shari Barman's statement here.