LOS ANGELES (CN) — In court on Thursday, Diana Miernik recounted a painful episode in her life, when she tried to visit Lunada Bay and was harassed by members of what Newsweek once called "America's most notorious surf gang."
The first time she hiked down the steep and rocky trail to the beach, she recalled from the witness stand, some men told her that she wasn't supposed to be there. One said: "Watch out, you're gonna cut your pretty little face on the rocks." Another rushed up to her, screaming at the top of his lungs: "Whore!"
"I was absolutely terrified," Miernik said. "No one had ever spoken to me like that, anywhere."
Miernik and Cory Spencer, an ex-cop, are suing the so-called Lunada Bay Boys, a collection of local surfers, and Palos Verdes Estates, the tony seaside city which owns the beach at Lunada Bay.
The plaintiffs say the wealthy city of Palos Verdes Estates has tolerated the Bay Boys' localism for decades, since it keeps away non-locals.
Spencer and Miernik say that the Bay Boys' longtime practice of harassing and intimidating outsiders trying to visit the treasured cove celebrated for its big waves amounts to "development," because it serves to deter people from visiting, and therefore violates the California Coastal Act.
During Miernik's first encounter with the Bay Boys, there were a group of about 10 people hanging out at the "rock fort," a sort of shack made of wood, rocks and concrete, which plays a central role in the lawsuit, since has been cited by the plaintiffs as an example of illegal, unpermitted developments.
By chance, one of the people in the rock fort was a Palos Verdes Estates police officer.
The officer asked Miernik if she wanted to file a police report. She said she did, and left the beach to go to the station. She did not get to surf that day. Once they got to the top of the bluffs, overlooking the picturesque beach, she was told that while she was free to file a report, there was little the cops could actually do.
"They tried to dissuade me," Miernik said. "'Everyone in the area is very wealthy.' I was shaken up that this man had harassed me, and nothing was being done about it."
Spencer testified on Tuesday. On Thursday, Miernik took the stand, telling the court that she visited Lunada Bay about five times in early 2016 as she had recently learned to surf and wanted to try her riding big waves.
Her fourth visit to Lunada was even worse. A photograph of her had just appeared in the Los Angeles Times. Two men — Alan Johnston and Brant Blakeman — approached her in the rock fort. Blakeman was filming her with a camcorder. Both were drinking beer. Blakeman, Miernik said, shook up the can and opened it, deliberately spraying her.
"They were cheering," Miernik told the court. "They were saying, 'Woo hoo! You’re famous. You did it.'"
Short snippets of the shaky camcorder footage were played for the court; whooping could be heard.
She added: "Johnston said that he actually touched himself while looking at the LA Times… [he was] suggesting that he masturbated to me. I wasn’t sure if they were going to rape me. He was mimicking sounds of an orgasm."
Later, Johnston started changing, right in front of her, briefly exposing himself.
"I got out of there," Miernik said. "I contacted the police. Everything — it’s really hard for me to talk about it. It caused me so much stress and trauma."
During cross examination, Johnston's attorney, Harry Safarian, asked if Miernek was sure that Johnston was trying to expose himself to her, which she confirmed.
"When most surfers change, they change in front of towels," Safarian said.
"He deliberately exposed his front genital area to me," Miernik said.
"Why were you looking in the direction of a man changing on the beach?" Safarian asked.
"Why would he change in front of me?" Miernik retorted, beginning to sound angry. She later explained: "He’s moaning. He’s grunting. He’s acting like an animal. I didn't want to look at him."
Of the 12 Bay Boys who were original named as defendants, all but Alan Johnston have settled.
Miernik also testified that she did return to Lunada Bay a fifth time. It was then that she met Charlie Ferrara — a second generation Bay Boy.
"I remember the conversation very clearly," Miernik said. "At first he seemed apologetic. He said I seemed really cool, and it was unfortunate what happened, because I approached him the wrong way."
As the conversation wore on, she said, Ferrara began to explain the Bay Boys' tactics, as well as their reasoning.
"He said, if they did let people come, it would become like a bunch of other spots," Miernik said. "It would become like Malibu. Everyone would start coming and it wouldn’t be the way it is. He said the group that surfs there was already big enough."
Miernik said she looked out at the ocean. There was only one surfer in the water. Big, bountiful waves were rising and crashing. She said to Ferrara: "Look at that wave. Isn’t it unfortunate that it’s not being ridden?"
Ferrara answered: "Yeah. But that’s the way it is."
The three separate visits to Lunada Bay left her shaken, gave her nightmares.
"I did not return," she said. "But someday I will."
The civil bench trial is expected to last another week or two. On Friday morning, former Palos Verdes Estates Police Chief Timm Browne is scheduled to take the stand. He tried to crack down on the Bay Boys, but, as plaintiffs said in opening statements, he was met with resistance by the most of the city.
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