Internet Hackers Issue Threat, Demand Former Seal Beach Chief Resign Current Post in Fullerton

An Internet hacking group has threatened to shutdown the Fullerton Police Department’s website unless Mike Sellers, the former Seal Beach Police Chief and current head of the Fullerton Police Department resigns following the death of a schizophrenic homeless man after his arrest in Fullerton.

The threat was issued via Youtube by a group purporting to be the worldwide hacking group “Anonymous.”

As of early Tuesday, the group had no apparent impact upon the department’s website. The group had threatened to dismantle the website, starting at noon on Monday.

The group, known as ``Anonymous,'' has not affected the city's web-related services, Fullerton police Sgt. Andrew Goodrich said.

``We're taking it seriously, it's a credible threat,'' Goodrich said.

Officials declined to comment at length about the threat, which they believe was motivated by the death of Kelly Thomas, who struggled with six officers who were responding to vehicle break-ins at the Metrolink station parking lot July 5. Thomas died five days later.

“We demand the resignation of the Chief of Police in Fullerton,” the would- be hackers said in a video release on Sunday.

Sellers spent much of his career in Los Alamitos and Seal Beach. In Los Alamitos, he achieved the rank of captain, and in Seal Beach, he served as Chief from 1997 to 2005.

In the video threat, the cyber group also demanded the prosecution of officers involved in the incident and a $5 million payment to Thomas’ survivors.

City News Service contributed to this report.