IS IT TIME FOR A CIVILIAN OVERSIGHT BOARD OF THE CMPD OR COULD IT EVEN BE TIME TO DISSOLVE THE DEPARTMENT AND HAVE THE SHERIFF POLICE COSTA MESA?
The municipal government and the CMPD owe it to the citizens of this city to rid the department of bad cops.
If a cop lies, refuses to answer questions from his or her superiors, or is evasive in answering questions, he should be let go.
Bad cops ruin things for the good cops, and they are a potential danger to citizens who come into contact with them.
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COSTA MESA COPS SHOOT AND KILL A MAN IN NORTH COSTA MESA LAST NIGHT
[Link fixed]
The details are sketchy and the suspect is only described as a male.
We'll try to get more details and publish them when we do.
We're sure most citizens hope this was a justified shooting, but many have little faith in the CMPD given recent revelations.
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ARE RANK AND FILE CMPD UNION COPS GAINING ACCESS TO CONFIDENTIAL RECORDS OF POLITICIANS AND CITIZENS?
In yesterday's DP story about the P.I. arrests and related matters, HERE, which had many troubling revelations about some CMPD cops and their poor attitudes toward higher authority in the chain of command, we saw the following very disturbing paragraph about an email sent by Officer Mitch Johnson to someone he apparently trusted and was on friendly and casual terms with:
"In another email, [Officer] Johnson called then-Mayor Eric Bever an "idiot" and suggested it's "time to expose his buffoonery and paranoia" by releasing more information about an internal police investigation that cleared officers whom Bever had accused of intimidating him while he campaigned for Righeimer. Bever said he had been given "the stink eye" by officers while placing campaign signs for Righeimer in 2011."
THE ISSUE: How and why did Johnson see or get a copy or access to the CONFIDENTIAL report?
Here's the problem and why this is so disturbing: The City supposedly had the CMPD conduct a CONFIDENTIAL internal investigation of the Stink Eye incident, HERE. That word "confidential" is missing from the DP story, but that was the nature of the investigation.
In such investigations the level of confidentiality usually means that someone is only privy to the investigative report on a need to know basis. So, what was Johnson's need to know?
In fact, the investigation was so confidential that we understand even former mayor Bever has never been allowed to view the report generated in that investigation even though he has repeatedly asked to see it since it involved him. Bever's need to know is that he was involved in the incident.
In his email above, rank and file union cop Mitch Johnson seems to hint that not only did he, and perhaps other rank and file union cops, see the confidential report but that they actually had copies of the report or ready access to it and were even thinking of releasing "more information" from the report to the public and the press, apparently because Johnson, and perhaps others, believed some information in the confidential report would harm Mayor Bever, who Johnson called an "idiot."
So the questions raised are:
1 What was Mitch Johnson's need to know in seeing and perhaps having a copy of the report, or at least having free access to it?
2. Who gave Johnson access to the report?
3. Who else had access to the report?
4. Who else saw the report or had access to it?
5. Do Johnson and other rank and file union cops have access to other confidential files in the CMPD?
6. And, given the casual tone in Johnson's email, an image comes to mind unbidden of a bunch of rank and file cops sitting around a table yucking it up and passing around this and perhaps other supposedly confidential reports. Is that image valid?
7. Why can't former mayor Bever see the report?
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the cop has a right to his opinion of mayor bever. probably has the same opinion of riggy and Mensinger. he should leave the force or get eaten up inside like west. btw, it was great to see Mayor Mensinger leading the meeting yesterday. I couldn't help but smile. smiled a lot. has to hurt west so very good.
ReplyDeleteA civilian oversight board with full authority to discipline police officers and leadership up to and including dismissal from the force, seems like a great idea. No member of the board should be a police officer our related to one. Also no member of the board (five members) should be a member of any other board. Finally, they should be elected from geographic districts of the city that conform to the reqiurements of the voting rights laws
ReplyDeleteSingle, six-year terms seem like a good idea. The board should have full authority over the police department. A similar fire board would be a good idea. By the way, the boards would be able to contract with other entities to provide service.
I share the opinion of "love our mayor" that it is great to see Steve Mensinger as Mayor and also smile at how it must eat west up to see him in that position. I know it was his first full meeting to run so I will cut him slack but he should not have let foley berate the public speaker who talked about her getting money and help for her election from the police union. it was a true statement by the speaker. foley should take it and shut up just like the councilmen have had to take public comments, most of which were made up or incorrect, all these years. for foley to have such thin skin that she has to call a public speaker back up to the mic and interrogate him is a terrible start and omen. the mayor should tell her to wait for council member comments as Righeimer did. it already is intimidating to speak for the majority with the pitchfork crowd in attendance mocking you, now a councilmember from their side will berate you? bad form cm4rg, really bad form. mayor, take charge and don't allow it. and speakers, if she does start smart mouthing you, tell her to be quiet, it is "public" speakers time, not hers . hers comes next. a thin skinned foley meltdown would be nice to see though. she won't last two years this time. she is not the queen of the city.
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