Badges? We got no badges. We don't need no stinking badges...

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Brea Cop Cleared. Now for the Lawsuit

Brea officer cleared of wrongdoing in shooting death The Orange County Register

A Brea detective involved in the shooting of a robbery suspect was cleared of wrongdoing. Of course, the family thinks the facts, a thorough investigation by the DA, was incomplete. There is no doubt that the family will be contacted by some sleazbag shyster lawyer looking to make a dime off this tragedy.

But, where was the family for this young man when he got hooked on oxycotin? Where were they when he hooked up with so-called friends to commit robberies and terrorize people? That is the real tragedy of this story. Be careful what you bring into the courtroom because this time the police did it right.
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Monday, June 27, 2011

Anaheim Gives Pass To Pervert Cop

Anaheim Gives Pass To Pervert Cop
Go figure. A former police chief in Huntington Park seems to have been given favorable treatment by city attorneys who reduced charges against him that would have placed him on the Sex Offender Registry. So, since this happened, according to Steve Greenhut, who did not provide a link to the story, all cops are bad.

It is clear that Greenhut has no love for police. Not many people do, nowadays. But, since leaving the Register, he seems to have unleashed his inner hatred for cops everywhere by singling out a few bad ones. He also thinks cops are overpaid, but that is another story.

What Greenhut fails to acknowledge is that, for every cop who gets hooked up for a criminal beef, there are ten thousand that do their job everyday, quietly and without fanfare. And, if Greenhut were to look around and pick a new target, I bet he would find just as many judges, lawyers, reporters and other professions per capita that transgress society's laws. So, why pick on law enforcement?

Friday, June 24, 2011

Freed from GPS, Parolee Invades Home and Shoots Homeowner - Allegedly

Now, of course, I am only going by the news story from Sacramento. But, it looks like that early release program isn't working so well. Seems a 20-something on GPS supervised parole was deemed a low enough risk to remove his bracelet. Not too long after, he (allegedly) commits a home invasion robbery, bungles it, shoots the neighbor while the neighbor shoots both him and his buddy.

How many more of these are going to happen because the Governor and the Legislature cannot come to terms on a budget. Forget all the Rep rhetoric about balancing the budget on the "backs of victims", etc. The fact is, all programs have taken a hit and like it or not, corrections, seen as a bloated blister on the toe of the state, is taking it's hit. But, how low can you go? Next to no supervision, GPS supervised parolees at least give the parole agents something to work with to keep track of their charges. The department needs to re-think the release of these criminals from supervision. GPS was touted as cheap and effective. If it's so cheap, why did they release this parolee? How much will the pain and suffering of the victim in this guy's latest fiasco pay in medical bills? How much will the state pay?

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

A Sad Day for a Good Man

http://blogs.sacbee.com/the_state_worker/2011/06/former-ccpoa-president-files-b.html
It's sad but true. Don Novey, the once all-powerful head of the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, has filed for bankruptcy. Don led the relatively unknown CCPOA into the limelight during California's prison building phase that brought hundreds of correctional officers into the system and into the union. He is credited with building the most influential public safety union in the state. He was later ousted by succeeding presidents although he maintained a consulting contract for a few years. Don't feel too bad for Don. Much of his assets are protected and it isn't as if he and his wife will be destitute. Still, this must be a blow for a man of his caliber. Good luck in the future, Don.
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Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Chalk One Up for the Good Guys

The latest news in Orange County is that Costa Mesa Chief of Police,Steve Stavely, resigned. He was pretty upfront about his reasons for resigning. It seems, Steve is one of the good guys in Costa Mesa who hasn't sold his soul to the devil.... or Monahan. In a very explicite letter to his troops, he outlined his reasons for leaving.

The letter, which you can find on Voice of OC's website by clicking here, tells a tale of implicit corruption and collusion by the majority of the city fathers to crush union opposition under the guise of balancing the budget.

It is clear from his letter that Stavely has been thinking about this for some time. While he does slam the 3@50 pension of public safety officers, he places the blame squarely on the shoulders of those who should be responisble. And, while we don't agree with him bout how to change the situation, we applaud his upfront attitude toward his department. It is clear he is (rightfully) proud of the department and it was not easy for him to resign.

Stavely, appears to be a man of substance and a dying breed in the political world. His ethics overtook his sense of survival and the City will be at a loss for some time. To be sure, he left the department in able hands but, how will that play out when the Costa Mesa Council again interferes with daily operations?

Unfortunately, he gives tribute to Tom "Hatchetman" Hatch. We don't see it. Hatch, in his role as City Manager, should be able to simply tell the council that what they propose is not feasible in a manner in which they would listen. He not only kow tows to the Council, but readily does their bidding. He is "one of them".

We wish Chief Stavely well. He is right. He probably will never hold another chiefs job but he will continue to impact law enforcement as teacher in mentor for some time to come. Good luck and May God Bless.

Vernon - Corrupt or Visionary?

The Original Sac Bee Story is here.
The legislature is readying to vote for the dissolution of the City of Vernon. More rightly, they are voting to disperse any city with the population of less than 195 people. It's the same thing, of course, since Vernon is the only town of that size.

Vernon, which was incorporated in 1905 for the exclusive purpose of keeping industry next to the railroad tracks, became home to the worst kinds of industry. No one wanted
slaughterhouses and rendering plants near their homes. But a few industrial visionaries saw the right way to go.

Other industries have replaced many of the slaughterhouses and there is a huge tax base there. Through the years, Vernon has been the epitomy of company town. There is virtually no sales tax base so they must rely on property and corporate income taxes which, as others have pointed out, LA's Villagarosa wants to claim for his own via his cuz, Perez. This is the
democratic push. That may seem hard for some to take, but no republican would attempt to dismantle a city in the manner in which these two have contrived.

There are laws that prevent corruption. But,corruption is in the eye of the beholder. If the city fathers want to pay their council 6k a month plus benefits, that is their doing. If they
want to pay their city manager over a million dollars in compensation because he has the expertise, then so be it. This isn't like the City of Bell, where they attempted to pull one over on the residents and take them for all they could. Industry runs Vernon and they gladly pay them what they think they are worth. That's a big difference. The Dems, led
by Perez, are trying to dismantle a city that actually works. I have felt from the start that there is no basis in law to do what they are attempting to do. If there were, what would be to stop them from dismantling any town or city on a whim, simply because they didn't like their politics?
Hopefully, if this comes to a lawsuit, the judge will see this for what it is and prevent through injunction, the wholesale rape of this small city.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Three deputies accused of breaking jail rules out of jobs

Looks like the OCSD can't stay out of it. You would think that, after the Chamberlin incident, deputies would get with the program and do their job. It seems that even cameras and electronic logbooks can't keep some of them out of trouble. To be sure, these are the exception and not the rule. But, it sure does make the department look as if it has taken a step backward.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Time to Renew

I know it has been awhile sine I have posted to this blog. Frankly, I have been trying to decide just what this blog will be and it has taken awhile to figure that out. So, here goes. In the future, expect to see commentary on issues surrounding law enforcement and Orange County Probation in particular. I may open the comment section up to unmoderated comments but the rules still apply. We don't want another incident where staff got butt hurt enough to sue, do we?