Ketchum And Libolt Remembered

 HEROES TO BE HONORED
Tomorrow, Friday, March 10, 2017, is the 30th anniversary of the day Costa Mesa Police Officers James "Dave" Ketchum and John "Mike" Libolt died in a helicopter crash with a Newport Beach helicopter that took their lives.  This event will be recalled in a private memorial service at the Costa Mesa Police Headquarters beginning at 11:00.

INVITEES ONLY
It was my plan to attend this event and report to you about it, just as I did five years ago when a similar event was held.  You can read about that event in my entry HERE.  Please follow the links in that entry for more information about the crash.  At the time Police Chief Tom Gazsi - since retired from the CMPD and currently the Chief of the Los Angeles Port Police - was the Master of Ceremonies.  It's unclear whether Gazsi has been invited to attend the event tomorrow.  Unfortunately, I'm informed that the public is NOT welcome at this event - that it is reserved for invited retired officers and other guests - so we will have to see what kind of local media coverage is provided.

ABLE FORMED - AND THEN DUMPED
This tragic crash was a cornerstone for the subsequent creation of the ABLE Helicopter Program - a joint venture between Costa Mesa and Newport Beach in which helicopter services were shared beginning in 1996.  The City of Santa Ana was also a participant, paying a fee to the Joint Venture for Helicopter Support.  Unfortunately, in 2011 then-councilmen Gary Monahan and Jim Righeimer recommended that the ABLE Program be disbanded - and it was.  In fact, so thoroughly was the dissolution of the ABLE Program that it's nearly impossible to find a single reference to the program in the City archives.  One item is available - a report on the dissolution of the program, HERE.

A PARK NAMED IN THEIR HONOR
As most know, a municipal park has been named for Ketchum and Libolt as a permanent remembrance of their bravery and sacrifice for the residents of this city. The park, at 2150 Maple Avenue, was dedicated on November 21, 2003.

A MOMENT OF REMEMBRANCE
So, wherever you are, I hope you will join me in a moment of silence at 11:00 a.m. Friday, March 10, 2017, in remembrance of two brave Costa Mesa Police Officers - Dave Ketchum and Mike Libolt.

Chief Neth To Receive Mayor's Award Tuesday****

FIRST THE NEWPORT HARBOR HIGH SCHOOL HALL OF FAME...
As some know, former Costa Mesa Police Chief Roger Neth received word this week that he will be among several alumni to be inducted into the Newport Harbor High School Hall Of Fame later this year.  Bradley Zint wrote a nice article in the Daily Pilot about that announcement HERE.

...NOW THE MAYOR'S AWARD!
Well, Chief Neth is on a roll.  At the abbreviated City Council meeting on Tuesday, February 2, 2016, he will receive the Mayor's Award from Mayor Steve Mensinger.

HE CREATED A GREAT DEPARTMENT
Chief Neth is legendary in these parts.  As mentioned in Zint's article, he was Costa Mesa's second police chief and held that job for more than two decades beginning in 1964.  During that time he created a police department that was second to none technologically, including the creation of the A.B.L.E. helicopter program, which was the model for all municipal law enforcement helicopter programs in the country. ****  (See Below)

HOPING FOR A CROWD
While it's wonderful that Chief Roger Neth, shown below with former chiefs Dave Snowden and Tom Gazsi, will be recognized by The Mayor on Tuesday, it's too bad that this ceremony will occur at a meeting that will likely be sparsely attended due to the limited agenda - there's only one item on it.

DON'T BE LATE!
I hope you all will join Chief Neth's friends when he receives this honor.  The meeting begins at 5:45 in City Council Chambers and his award will occur promptly at the beginning of the meeting.  See you there.

****CORRECTION 
A good friend who's in the know sent me a note to correct the A.B.L.E. record, above.  My friend tells me that Chief Neth started the Costa Mesa helicopter program in 1970 and was actually a pilot in that program.  He tells me that Costa Mesa took delivery of the first helicopter a couple months after Huntington Beach acquired theirs.  He tells me that Chief Neth was instrumental in leading edge technology and put computers in the police cars decades ahead of the other agencies.  He tells me that Costa Mesa also had the leading edge communications center that other agencies throughout the nation would visit.  Although he was the father of the Costa Mesa helicopter program, he retired before the formation of A.B.L.E.

A.B.L.E.
I'm told that A.B.L.E. was a Joint Powers Agreement between the Newport Beach Police Department (Chief McDonell) and the Costa Mesa Police Department (Chief Snowden).  It was formalized in 1996 and continued to operate as an effective, efficient air support model serving three communities - Santa Ana contracted with A.B.L.E - until the short-sightedness of the Costa Mesa City Council folded it up on June 30, 2011, HERE, and HERE.  Thanks to my friend for the clarification and amplification of this issue. 

A Glorious Day For A Birthday Party!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, COSTA MESA POLICE DEPARTMENT...
Temperatures in the mid-80s greeted visitors Sunday, December 15, 2013 the Costa Mesa Police Department, as part of the city-wide 60th Anniversary Celebration, celebrated its 60th Birthday with a community party at Police Headquarters on Fair Drive.

 (More than 3 dozen proud retirees attended the party)

A PERFECT DAY FOR A PARTY
Several hundred visitors enjoyed the warm weather and the festivities for five hours in the middle of the day.  I stayed for about half of that time and was very impressed with the preparations.  Food and drink was available, a raffle for helicopter rides was held in exchange for toys for children and tours of the police facilities were conducted throughout the afternoon.

 (Chiefs Dave Snowden, Roger Neth and Tom Gazsi)

GAZSI AT THE CONTROLS
Police Chief Tom Gazsi kicked off the official program and introduced several former Chiefs of Police of the department who were in attendance.  Before that part of the program, though, CMPD staffer Jeanette Chervony sang the National Anthem as the color guard presented the colors for the event.

 

 (Jeanette Chervony belts out the National Anthem)

ROGER STILL HAS IT
Former Police Chief Roger Neth - the first officer hired and our second chief - gave us a fascinating history lesson about the CMPD.  We learned that, over the years, the CMPD has been an innovative and highly-regarded law enforcement agency.  Neth ticked off the many accomplishments - among them Community-Oriented Policing and the A.B.L.E. helicopter program, which was the benchmark after which all other municipal helicopter programs were modeled.  It was great to see Chief Neth again, and to hear those inspirational stories.

SNOWDEN SPEAKS
His successor, former Chief Dave Snowden - who spent more than seventeen years in that role before moving to Beverly Hills a decade ago - stepped up and expanded on some of the stories Neth told us.  He still considers himself part of the CMPD family and attends many events in our city when possible.  He rejoiced in the time he spent as our Police Chief, and bemoaned the difficult times the CMPD now faces, with the loss of A.B.L.E. and the diminished staffing levels.

STAVELEY RETURNED, TOO
Former Interim Chief Steve Staveley, a man who has led many law enforcement agencies over a more than 40 year career, was also on the stage and spoke briefly.  He was the interim Chief twice, filling in the gaps created by the departure of former Chiefs John Hensley and Chris Shawkey, neither of whom were in attendance yesterday.  Staveley held things together during some very difficult times.

THE CURRENT STATUS
Chief Gazsi spoke of the current condition of the CMPD, expressing his gratitude to the men and women of the department for their tireless efforts and spoke of the fact that they are recruiting as fast as is possible and still maintain the high standards established during the tours of the previous chiefs.  There are some members of the City Council who seem to think hiring police officers should be just like finding a gardener.  Such is the condition of the elected leadership in our city these days.

 (New recruits, eager to complete their training)

(Serving with a smile)

 (Kelly Vucinic and Valerie Sorenson keeping things rolling) 

CARS

There were many interesting displays available for the public to inspect.  There were two of our newest police cars plus the car used in the television program Adam-12.

SWAT
Members of the SWAT team were present, along with many of their weapons.  After I left they gave a demonstration of tactics for the crowd at that time.

MISSING A.B.L.E.
There was a helicopter on display on the helipad - a former CMPD Hughes 500D model that we sold to the Hawthorne Police Department when A.B.L.E. upgraded to the Eurocopters.  Former A.B.L.E. pilot Ryan Walker flew it here for the event and is shown chatting with retired CMPD Captain, current CMPD Chaplain and trustee of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, Dave Brooks.  

COPS AND DONUTS
An amusing side note - the donut truck from Sidecar Donuts on East 17th Street was at the event providing free donuts to visitors (and officers, too.)  Shown here is former councilman, current Costa Mesa Sanitary District Director and Chairman of the 60th Anniversary Celebration, Mike Scheafer, with retired legendary CMPD School Resource Officer, Jess Gilman.

CONTINUING THE TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE
The Costa Mesa Police Department has a proud, 60-year-old tradition of law enforcement innovation and excellence.  As I spoke with several of the men and women who protect and serve us today I'm convinced that Chief Gazsi and his team will continue this tradition if provided the resources.  I was very proud to be a Costa Mesan today.

(Kelly Vucinic, Captain Rob Sharpnack and Lt. Mark Manley)

(Captain Les Gogerty and Sergeant Phil Myers)

(Chief Tom Gazsi)

Another Parolee Arrested In Costa Mesa

YET ANOTHER PAROLED CRIMINAL ARRESTED
According to the Costa Mesa Police Department, shortly after noon on Saturday - as my wife and I were preparing to head on over to the 60th Anniversary Celebration - a 34-year old parolee named Osvaldo Castro walked into the Metro PCS store at 1175 Baker Street holding what appeared to be a semi-automatic handgun.  He approached the service counter, pointed the gun into the face of an employee and attempted to fire it.  The weapon malfunctioned and he fled the scene.

FAST WORK WITH AN ASSIST FROM "DUKE"
Quick work by the CMPD, with a big assist from the Orange County Sheriff's Department helicopter "Duke" coordinating the search Castro was located near Mission Drive and Mendoza Drive and was arrested.  A replica handgun was found nearby.

ZERO TOLERANCE
According to the press release, Castro was booked and later transported to the Orange County Jail in Santa Ana.  Here are the final words from the press release:
"Costa Mesa police embrace a zero-tolerance approach towards all acts and threatened acts of violence.  Costa Mesa Police Department works with neighboring agencies and the District Attorney's Office to hold suspects accountable to the fullest extent of the law."

KUDOS
Great job by the CMPD and the Sheriff's helicopter.  You remember what a police helicopter is, right?  We used to have THE BEST municipal law enforcement helicopter program in the country until our Mayor got peeved at the CMPD because they opposed his candidacy for office, so he spear-headed the movement to close down the A.B.L.E. program.  So, while the mayor and the rest of us were partying Saturday, the CMPD, with the help of another entity's helicopter, snatched up a parolee intent on committing a serious crime in our city and aimed him back to prison.

IGNORANT
Sometimes listening to Righeimer is kind of like watching one of those Holiday Inn Express commercials on television.  He's not a police officer, but he's related to one!  Under his short-sighted "leadership" the CMPD has been intentionally gutted and one of the most effective law enforcement tools, the A.B.L.E. program - which served our REGION, not just our city, with distinction for four decades - was cast aside like a basket of rotting fruit.

VINDICTIVE
Righeimer has vindictively forced staffing levels to fall below where they were twenty years ago and refused for more than a year to permit the Chief of Police to hire replacements for departing officers while crime is on the rise.  He ignored the staffing recommendations of his own consultants and those of then-Interim Chief Steve Staveley - a man with decades of law enforcement leadership experience who proudly served us as Interim Chief twice in recent years.

OVERTIME CRITIC - HE CAUSED IT!
Under his "leadership" the Costa Mesa Fire Department was forced to operate significantly understaffed, including at the highest leadership levels in the department, for two years.  This created mandatory overtime for most of the fire department staff, for which members were criticized by Righeimer from his bully pulpit on the council dais.  His "leadership" stalled the implementation of Interim Fire Chief Tom Arnold's plan to redeploy the available staff for a more efficient operation, which conveniently kept one of his major campaign contributors in business in the city.

SHINY OBJECTS
Righeimer crows about saving money by shuttering the A.B.L.E. program, yet spends that money on parties to distract the residents from what is really happening in our city.  Sure, we all have fun at Christmas with the Snoopy House  on the City Hall lawn.  But it costs money.  Sure, we all had a great time with the 60th Anniversary Celebration - but the City spent maybe $200,000 on it, and that doesn't even count thousands of staff hours spent on it.  (By the way, a big chunk of that money went to a company operated by his pal, Scott Baugh)  We're going to spend tens of thousands of dollars sprucing up the City Hall lobby - a completely unnecessary expense, but another "feel good" shiny object to distract us from the fact that crime is on the rise.

WHY PR?
We're spending hundreds of thousands of dollars every year now on public relations staff!  You only hire PR people when your organization needs public relations help - somebody to spin the facts to distract the public and deflect criticism.  You hire party planners to make the residents feel good.  The phrase, "Nero fiddled while Rome burned" keeps rattling around in my head.

I'D RATHER FEEL SAFE, THANK YOU
I don't know about you, but I'd much rather feel safe.  We should be putting more public safety boots on the ground instead of throwing feel good events every few months.  But then, that paragon of law enforcement knowledge, Mayor Righeimer, tells us frequently that more cops doesn't mean we'll have less crime.  I've never seen a man so willing to demonstrate such a combination of arrogance and ignorance before!

CONTEMPLATE YOUR SAFETY
So, while you're shooting off fireworks for three nights, not one, this year - it's "all about the kids", right, Steve? - contemplate your public safety and what Righeimer on the council has REALLY meant in this city over the past few years.

Costa Mesa Crime Up!

O.C. REGISTER REPORTS COSTA MESA CRIME UP
In an article by Eric Hartley in the Orange County Register, HERE (if you subscribe), we are advised that the crime statistics released by the FBI on June 3rd indicate that Costa Mesa had huge increases in property crime during the 2012 year.  Hartley indicates that members of the Costa Mesa Police Department think the double-digit increase may be linked to the state prison "realignment" program.

PROPERTY CRIME UP 15%!
According to the article, property crime - burglary, larceny/theft, vehicle theft and arson - saw increases for the 2012 year of 15%.

NEWPORT BEACH DOWN 3%
By contrast, Hartley reports that Newport Beach property crime decreased more than 3% during the same period, and violent crimes remained level with the previous year.  I'll leave it to you to glean the other relevant data from Hartley's article.

NO SURPRISE TO ME...
Actually, rising crime in our city comes as no surprise to me.  We'd heard about those numbers and reported on them before.  The previous and current city councils gutted the Costa Mesa Police Department, including the dissolution of the A.B.L.E. AirBorne Law Enforcement Program - the 40-year-old prototype for all municipal airborne law enforcement programs throughout the country.  Despite the best advice from their own consultants paid to assess the CMPD operations and input from then-interim Police Chief Steve Staveley - a man with more than four decades of law enforcement leadership under his belt and renowned in law enforcement leadership circles throughout Southern California - the councils chose to arbitrarily reduce the authorized staffing levels by more than 20%.

OVERTIME USED TO KEEP US SAFE
Those cuts resulted in significant hours of overtime by the CMPD to keep our streets safe, for which the council strongly criticized them.

GAZSI AND TEAM NIBBLING AWAY AT IT...
Finally, under the leadership of new chief Tom Gazsi and some very hard work by members of the command staff and their troops on the ground, the CMPD has begun to nibble away at the staffing deficiencies, but is still very far from the previous high water mark of 164 sworn officers and even the recommended staffing levels by the consultants and Staveley of 136 - 144.

POTHOLES OR CRIME FIGHTING?
With a new budget staring us in the face - there's a budget study session scheduled for Tuesday, June 11th - it will be interesting to see if the current city council takes these new FBI numbers into account as they prepare to finalize spending priorities for the next twelve months.  Don't be surprised if they vote for filling potholes instead of fighting crime.

The Final Nail In The A.B.L.E. Coffin

FOUR DECADES OF PUBLIC SAFETY SUPPORT IS GONE

The Daily Pilot reports last night, HERE, that the final nail has been hammered into the coffin of the AirBorne Law Enforcement (A.B.L.E.) joint helicopter effort between Costa Mesa and Newport Beach.  After more than forty years - when then-police chief Roger Neth had the wisdom and foresight to launch the original Costa Mesa helicopter program - through the establishment of the A.B.L.E. program in 1997, the city has had a helicopter unit protecting the residents since 1971.  Now the assets have been disbursed, the staff scattered to the winds and the program that was once the model municipal helicopter law enforcement program in the country - the one others emulated - is officially no more.

A FABRICATED CRISIS

It's been nearly two years since a short-sighted Costa Mesa City Council, citing a fabricated fiscal crisis, unilaterally decided to shut down this exemplary program.  I wrote about it at the time, HERE and HERE, and a year later HERE.

THE SPIRIT LIVES
A.B.L.E is gone, but its spirit lives on in the form of the brave, skilled men who once flew the skies of the Newport-Mesa and beyond to keep us safe.  That spirit was clearly on display last week when several former members of A.B.L.E volunteered to fly Newport Beach resident Peter Adderton's donated private helicopter in support of the massive search effort for two lost Costa Mesa hikers in Trabuco Canyon.

 RIGHEIMER IS RESPONSIBLE
As stated in the Daily Pilot article, it may be impossible to accurately quantify the contribution to our safety A.B.L.E produced, but EVERY law enforcement leader in the state joins us in mourning its loss to the communities it served.  With crime up in Costa Mesa more than 15%, you can lay the loss of that program - a "force multiplier" in law enforcement parlance - directly at the feet of vindictive  now-Mayor Jim Righeimer, who allowed his personal political ambitions and his vendetta against members of the Costa Mesa Police Department to cloud his judgment and lead the charge to disband A.B.L.E as part of a broader evisceration of the Costa Mesa Police Department.  As crime continues to rise in our city, please feel free to contact him directly and let him know how you feel.

MARIAH SAYS IT BEST...

Finally, let me ask Mariah Carey to, once again, express how I feel about those brave flyers and the crews that kept A.B.L.E. in the air all those years.  To those brave souls who patrolled our skies, aided in the capture of criminals, fought fires and rescued individuals, thank you all for your service to this community.  Miss Carey...