A Week In The CMPD

A VERY BUSY WEEK
The past week has been an interesting one for the men and women of the Costa Mesa Police Department.  I suspect it was not the busiest week in recent weeks, but here a just a few of the events that occupied their time over the past 7 days. 

6/19/12 - 9:16 a.m. - 1860 Newport Blvd. - Robbery
Four male blacks assaulted employees of Newport Watch Jewelry & Loan and robbed them of watches and jewelry.  They escaped in a red Jeep Liberty with spare tire on the back.

6/22/12 - 12:45 p.m. - 100 Block of Walnut Street - Residential Burglary
Damian Pedersen, 22, residential burglary - grabbed purse.  Police arrested him

6/22/12 - 4:33 p.m. - 2205 Harbor Blvd. - Assault with a Deadly Weapon.
Joseph Robert Barnes, 28, attempted to stab two males.  Arrested.

6/23/12 - 2:45 a.m. - 200 block of Cabrillo - Attempted Murder
Victim, a 19 year old male, shot in upper left chest with "rat shot" by one of two men who were engaged in a car burglary.  Shooter, still at large, identified as thin blond man with a goatee.


6/23/12 - 8:00 a.m. - 600 block of Baker Street - Robbery, Burglary, Attempted Sexual Assault, False imprisonment and public intoxication.
Matthew See, 23, arrested following a report of an assault on a 79 year old female and a 69 year old man.  See had been smoking "Spice", a synthetic form of marijuana.

6/24/12 - 12:20 a.m. - Wilson Street/Placentia Avenue - Attempted Homocide
Two male Hispanics attacked a male Hispanic with a rock and knife and inflicted multiple stab wounds.  He was taken to the hospital for treatment.  Attackers still at large.  May be gang-related.

This, by no means, represents the totality of the calls the members of the CMPD received and responded to over the past seven days - only the ones that were sure to get your attention.

PLUS THE RIECKHOF SITUATION
And, of course, last week we had the very significant distraction of the court ruling in the case of CMPD motorcycle officer Allen Rieckhof.

THE NEW BUDGET MAINTAINS LOW STAFFING LEVELS
And, coincidentally, this week began with the day the Costa Mesa City Council approved the 2012/2013 Municipal Budget, which perpetuated the lower staff levels for the CMPD.

LABOR STALEMATE AFFECTS SAFETY
I fear that, with the attitude this council has about the CMPD and their obvious unwillingness to negotiate with the police association, it's going to be a very long, long summer in Costa Mesa.  Even though Chief Tom Gazsi has authorized an ongoing recruitment effort for officers at all levels in anticipation of multiple retirements over the next few months - and other possible departures for a less-hostile work environment - the City is forbidden to make job offers unless there is a 2nd pension tier for new hires approved.

HOPING...
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we don't see more of what I outlined above as the summer months pass

FIDDLING AROUND
The phrase "Nero fiddled while Rome burned" comes to mind.

The Price Of Amore'

RIECKHOF IN THE NEWS

Well, as most folks already know, Costa Mesa police officer Allen Rieckhof has been in the news over the past two days.  The courts sided with him on his claim that he wasn't given due process in the events that followed his alleged romance with a Costa Mesa woman the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009.  You can read the Daily Pilot article HERE and the Orange County Register piece - which includes links to court documents, HERE.  You can also watch the 3 minute video clip from Kcal9 News last night HERE that includes an irate rant from Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer - Rieckhof's nemesis during the 2010 campaign season.

IT'S NEWS TO ME...
I didn't know about this situation with Rieckhof back when it supposedly happened.  Like all personnel matters, this was kept quiet - appropriately so.  The processes in place to handle this kind of a situation seemed to have been followed, but the court reviewing it disagreed and found for Rieckhof.  Theoretically, that should be the end of the story.

 RIGHEIMER WANTS A SCALP
However, it's not where Righeimer is concerned.  No sir, he's not going to let these guys "get away" with anything!  Hence, his appearance on the news last night in front of City Hall late in the evening.  If memory serves me correctly, Rieckhof was the President of the Costa Mesa Police Officers Association during the election in 2010.

 HERE'S A VIEW OF THE SITUATION
An impatient commenter on this blog posted the following entry, typos and all, on my previous post:

I Don't think we're getting the entire story regarding the cop on duty thing...funny that OC Register writer Terry Sforza was the one to come out with that first...wasnt she the one who couldnt print something critical of Riggy? Now Riggy can get his pudgy face in the news to comment even though the city won't? And isnt this cop the former CMPA President who Riggy/Bever have so much disdain for, the one that towed the billboard behind his truck? So now that he beat them because, yet again, the city cannot follow due processes and according to the judge did not prove any dereliction of duty, his plight gets plastered all over the media...I'm REAL sure there was no call to the register when the city lost (tongue in cheek)...somehow, this looks like payback from Jimbo..

Now I get being upset if the city proved this stuff was ongoing during time he should be working...you don't crap where you eat...

However, from what i've read, it appears the officer met with this girl he was dating during his break and lunch times, which he took all at once, instead of spread throughout his shift. One neighbor indicated once they believed he arrived at 11 and left at 3am...i'm guessing he was off duty by 11, since I dont know of any agency that allows motorcycle officers to work until 3 am.

The officer was still productive, did not shirk any calls or responsibilities and in fact is a highly decorated award winning officer who met his "girlfriend"
during his breaks and after work?
So if an officer lives in the city, and decides to go home to see wife and kids for dinner for his hour break, is that any different?

Plain and simple, the city did not prove its case and it sounds like in the process they violated his peace officers rights.

Sounds like payback and mudslinging to me...

I suspect I might hear back from him on this post, too.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?
What do you think?  Should a police officer be precluded from having a relationship and using his meal time to occasionally consummate it?  Now that the courts have found in his favor, should our local politicians be out posturing for the cameras simply because Rieckhof opposed his candidacy?  Who looks worse in this situation?

Righeimer Unleashes His Pit Bull

CHECKED YOUR MAIL LATELY?
When was the last time you received a surprise in your mail? Was it an unexpected birthday card? Your final release from military service? The deed to your house marked "Paid in Full"? Well, I've received all of those things - unexpected pleasures - in the mail over the years. What I received yesterday was NOT one of those.

SURPRISE!
Yesterday I received a letter in the mail from a law firm named Bucher& Palmer, L.L.P. in Irvine. Recognize any part of that name? Hang on, you soon might. Here's a hint: the caption of the letter said, "Re: James Righeimer". The letter was signed by Mark W. Bucher, Esq. who, as it turns out, is Righeimer's close political ally and brother-in-law.

SHUT UP OR ELSE
The gist of the two-page letter was to warn me not to write about any or all of three forbidden topics related to Mr. Righeimer, which Mr. Bucher says are "demonstrably false and defamatory". He later went on to make this statement, "Some of these same statements were made the last time Mr. Righeimer ran for office but, as you may know, publishing a false and defamatory allegation under the guise that the statement as previously made is itself actionable."

PREEMPTIVE STRIKE - FREE SPEECH QUASHED
OK, I got it. This is a preemptive strike to keep me, and probably others, from openly criticizing Righeimer before the election. Yes, the letter is directed specifically at the three forbidden topics, but, when the word gets out, it will likely cause more than a few of Righeimer's many critics to pause before they rise to speak against him on any subject. It seems that Righeimer and his lawyer are quite content to trample on the rights of free speech guaranteed to us by the First Amendment of the Constitution.

YOU'LL HAVE TO SPECULATE
I can't tell you what the three forbidden topics are because a lawyer friend suggests that by doing so I might violate the warning sent to me by Mr. Bucher. Keep in mind that I've NEVER addressed two of the three forbidden topics - heck, I didn't even know the issues existed - but wrote two years ago about the third after a long conversation with Righeimer. I understood his view and was satisfied that he answered all my questions and have not written about it since. Because I've been forbidden to write about those three topics I guess you'll just have to speculate among yourselves what they might be - I can't help you.

GENERIC THREAT
The letter, which may have been a kind of form letter, seemed to be aimed at a broader audience than just little old me. I've since learned that others have received the same or similar letter. It's my understanding that the Daily Pilot is investigating the issue and will soon have a report posted online.

"SLAPP" LAWSUIT COMING?
The letter I got may be a preamble to what is known in the legal trade a SLAPP lawsuit. That acronym stands for "Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation" - a tactic used to quash criticism. Fortunately, California has enacted a law that protects folks like you and me from that kind of expensive legal harassment - Code of Civil Procedure Section 425.16, which was enacted in 1993. According to some online resources on the subject, folks like you and me have been sued for things like simply writing a letter to the editor; circulating petitions; reporting police misconduct or speaking at a public meeting. That's why the law mentioned above was enacted.

MY OPINION OF RIGHEIMER IS WELL-DOCUMENTED
I've written many things about Jim Righeimer ever since he was appointed to the Planning Commission shortly after moving to Costa Mesa. I've written about his behavior on the Planning Commission - about his bullying tactics with applicants. All of that is well-documented.

THUG-LIKE TACTICS, DESIGNED TO INTIMIDATE
However, this incident only affirms for me why Jim Righeimer is bad for our city and unworthy of a seat on the City Council. His willingness to unleash his lawyer to intimidate individuals in our city - including public employee groups - who are openly critical of him should send a chill down the spine of every single person who stands at the speaker's podium to offer criticism, writes letters to the editor, posts comments on blogs and newspaper comment threads or the social networks like Facebook. Every Costa Mesa employee should be concerned for their future. These are the tactics of a bully and a thug - as so accurately described by police union president Allen Rieckhof recently. If this is how Righeimer acts BEFORE he's elected, just imagine how he's going to govern our city once he's seated on the dais!

ONE MORE REASON I WON'T VOTE FOR RIGHEIMER
There are many reasons why Jim Righeimer has never been elected to public office - this is one of them.