>>11391317 (lb) As seen on video, a caravan of supporters of President Donald Trump harassed a Biden campaign bus on Interstate 35. In one clip, a white vehicle, and a black Trump flying a Trump flag made contact. There was no crash. During this incident, the black truck sideswiped the white vehicle, which was in the black truck’s lane, but the moments before were not clearly captured on camera.

In a statement, the city of Kyle said police received a report that two or more vehicles may have made contact on Friday around 4 p.m. Officers responded to the area but no vehicles stopped to share information with law enforcement.

“From videos of the event that have now surfaced on social media, it appears that the vehicle contact actually occurred within San Marcos, Texas, prior to the campaign bus arriving in Kyle,” a statement from the Kyle Police Department read. “All involved parties are being referred to the San Marcos Police Department should they desire to file any type of report with law enforcement.

A San Marcos spokesperson said police received a call from the Biden campaign bus requesting a police escort but weren’t able to catch up to the bus before it exited the city due to traffic. The police have not spoken to either driver about the collision and said they weren’t able to determine who was at fault.

According to Hays County Sheriff Gary Cutler, the Biden campaign did not notify his office that it would be passing through the county to allow law enforcement to prepare for any possible confrontations. “The planning of this was questionable,” said Cutler, a Republican running for reelection on Tuesday.

https://www.texastribune.org/2020/10/31/biden-trump-texas-bus/

Attorneys seek to pull Garcetti deeper into aide’s sexual harassment suit

Attorneys for a police officer suing the city over alleged sexual harassment by a former advisor to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti are attempting to pull the mayor deeper into the case.

In a court motion filed Friday, the attorneys are demanding Garcetti give sworn testimony about the former aide, Rick Jacobs.

They also want Garcetti to answer questions about a second alleged incident involving the mayor they say is relevant to the case, according to documents filed with the motion.

LAPD Officer Matthew Garza, a former bodyguard to Garcetti, sued the city in July, alleging that Jacobs, a longtime confidant and fundraiser for the mayor’s campaigns and causes, harassed him over a period of several years. Jacobs has denied wrongdoing.

Since then, three other men have come forward to say they were also harassed by Jacobs.

Garza says Garcetti witnessed some of the inappropriate behavior but did not stop it. The new filing from his attorney Greg Smith says the “mayor is a key percipient witness who has personal factual information” to the officer’s case.

Garcetti has denied seeing any harassing behavior and said he cut ties with Jacobs after the additional allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced last week.

Still, the controversy has become a political liability for the mayor, who worked for Joe Biden’s presidential campaign vetting possible running mates and is seen as a candidate for a top job in the administration if the former vice president is elected.

In laying out his argument to the judge for why Garcetti should be deposed, Smith attached a letter he wrote to Deputy City Attorney Douglas Lyon earlier this month. In it, Smith argued he should be allowed to ask the mayor about a 2019 incident that Smith claims is the subject of an internal affairs investigation by the LAPD.

Smith said in the letter that the investigation centers on an alleged domestic altercation of some kind involving Garcetti in 2019 and whether LAPD officers took steps to keep what happened secret at the request of the mayor. Garza was recently interviewed by LAPD investigators about the allegations, Smith said.

Smith argued in the letter that it’s relevant to Garza’s case because the allegation reflects larger behavior patterns in the mayor’s office.

In a reply contained in the court file, Lyon acknowledged the LAPD had opened an investigation into a citizen complaint. But he turned the focus back on Garza, saying the officer “breached his duties as a police officer by sharing information he obtained during an Internal Affairs investigation.”

Garcetti spokesman Alex Comisar on Saturday denied there was an altercation involving the mayor. He also said there was no cover-up.

“This is 100% false. There is not a shred of truth to it,” Comisar said.

The Times could not verify the validity of the allegations or determine whether the probe was still ongoing. The letter states the date of the alleged incident was Jan. 24, 2019. Garcetti was in Washington, D.C., that day, according to his public schedule.

more https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-10-31/garza-deposition-mayor-seek-to-compel