The Current Adds Fuel To The Fire!(Amended)*

BLOCKBUSTER ARTICLES ABOUT THE CMPD
Today in The Current, the Orange County Register's supplement that serves Costa Mesa and Newport Beach, there is a series of articles by ace reporter Eric Hartley that will add fuel to the already out-of-control controversy about staffing of the Costa Mesa Police Department and the relationship between the department and top elected officials in the city.

*IF YOU SUBSCRIBE...
The article, which is tucked safely behind the Register's damnable pay wall, can be found HERE if you're a subscriber.  If you are NOT a subscriber, get up and go find a copy of The Current right now! *NOTE:  I found another link that works better, HERE, although all the stories kind run together.  At least you'll have a way to comment on it(them).  Grrrrr!

HEADLINES SAY IT ALL

To give you a flavor for the articles let me present to you the four headlines.  The cover story includes a big photo of Police Chief Tom Gazsi.  Here are the headlines of that story and the three companion pieces which take the entirety of page 3:

• Hiring is tough beat
• "Ghost town" experiences stress, delays with historic-low staffing
• Righeimer sees police talk of shortages as union ploy
• Department struggles to attract, retain best officers

That should give you an idea of the tone of the articles.

OFFICERS LEAVING...
The "Ghost town" article begins by profiling recently-departed officer Kelly Benjamin, who took a 23% pay cut to join a smaller police agency in Los Angeles County.  Benjamin is but one of the many officers who have left the Costa Mesa Police Department over the past couple of years.  I wrote about that at length last week, HERE.   Hartley writes, "Costa Mesa officers have long taken pride in a reputation as one of the best law enforcement agencies in Orange County.  Officers were well-trained and the department was always at the forefront of new tactics and technology, be it a search and rescue team or computers in cars.  Today officers and some residents say, the department is barely holding its head above water and providing 'minimum' service to residents."  Yep, that sounds about right.  Benjamin is one of three Costa Mesa Police Officers who left for that department.  All took pay cuts, longer commutes and pay more for their PERS account.

THE MAYOR SETS THE TONE
In the "Righeimer" article Hartley begins with this paragraph: "Ask Costa Mesa Mayor Jim Righeimer about problems in the ity Police Department, and he has a ready answer. 'Pure politics.'"  And it goes downhill from there.  Righeimer is later quoted as saying, "This is all about money.  It's all about pensions.  It's all about power."  And, of course, he discusses the circumstances surrounding the whole Lackie, Dammeier, McGill & Ether law firm, investigator Chris Lanzillo and the bogus lawsuit filed by Righeimer and Mayor Pro Tem Steve Mensinger.

WHY?
In the "Department struggles" article quotes Gazsi extensively, and outlines the pure statistics of the recent staffing/attrition numbers.  He also quotes former president of the police association, Sergeant Ed Everett throughout the articles.  In this one Hartley asks Everett why there is a problem recruiting, to which he responds, "The problem is no one wants to come here."  Yikes!

He then quotes Gazsi, whom he describes as being more diplomatic, as saying, "I think it's because of the challenging political environment."  Yep.

A BLEAK FUTURE
When addressing the recent authorization by the City Council to add four more officers to the staff Hartley quotes Gazsi as saying, "That's a symbolic first step toward rebuilding the department."  Everett has the last word, though.  He says, "We're losing more people than we can bring in, unfortunately."  This morning I heard that at least five (5) more officers may be actively looking for new jobs.  The hemorrhaging continues!

GO FIND IT!
For any resident, or any other person interested in the safety and future of Costa Mesa, Eric Hartley's articles in The Current today are "must read" pieces.  I'm reluctant to give you more for fear of violating the copyright of the author.  Just get up from your chair and go find a news rack in Costa Mesa or Newport Beach and buy the darn Register for these articles!  Do it now!

Life At The CMPD

"JUST ANOTHER DAY"...
Today was just another day at the Costa Mesa Police Department.  You know, that department which, according to certain elected whiners and their sycophants here in town, is populated with conspiratorial, greedy out-of-town thugs and bullies.

OFFICER INJURED IN ARREST
Today the CMPD issued a press release about an event that caused one officer to be injured while trying to subdue an apparently drunk, out-of-control man who was "sparring" with a female acquaintance in the 200 block of Cabrillo Street.  After he charged one of the officers they both eventually subdued him using a Taser, then had to call an ambulance to transport him to Hoag Hospital, where he also attacked hospital staff.  He's in the Costa Mesa Police Department jail now.  You can read all about it HERE.

CENTER FOR THE CHRONICALLY CLUELESS
Meanwhile, over at the propaganda outlet for the current power elite in town, HERE, the obtuse, pompous, kitty-loving nurse and campaign manager who operates that repository of partisan bilge has decided that it's important for us to compare OUR police department to those in such exotic places as Juneau, Alaska; Dallas, Texas; Vail, Colorado and some place called The Town Of Lady Lake, Florida.  He doesn't seem to think it's important to compare our police department to departments in cities nearby.  Once again, he succeeds in only further demonstrating his lack of understanding of police work and his inability to effectively communicate his message.  What a sad little man he is.

DIMINISHED NUMBERS = BACKBREAKING OVERTIME
So, the men and women of the Costa Mesa Police Department continue to do their very best to provide safety for the residents and visitors of this city despite being vilified and criticized by many of those self-same sycophants mentioned above.  Because their ranks are so severely diminished - we currently have fewer than 100 officers ready and able to work the streets of Costa Mesa - they continue to put in horrendous overtime hours because two members of the City Council stubbornly refused to let Chief Tom Gazsi begin hiring officers before the issue became critical.

COP HATER FROM THE START
Mayor Jim Righeimer's hatred of the CMPD is not new - it goes back to his first negative encounter with members of the department at the bogus DUI checkpoint dust-up, when he found himself inconvenienced and marched up to officers on the scene, identified himself as "Jim Righeimer, Planning Commission" and told them, "This isn't going to happen again!" and demanded a meeting with them the next day.

REALLY, MR. MAYOR?
Oh, yes, Righeimer spouts from the dais that we have wonderful people on the CMPD and tells us he's not suing "THEM", he and his pal, Mayor Pro Tem Steve Mensinger, are suing the "ASSOCIATION".  Well, just who does he think comprise that association, for goodness sake?  How would you like to go to work every day knowing the top elected leaders in your city are suing you?

STUBBORN PARTISAN IGNORANCE...
From the very beginning he has demanded, based on his alleged extensive knowledge of law enforcement - he has a relative who's a cop in some burg in the Midwest - that the CMPD should be staffed based on HIS assessment of the need, not those proposed by consultants Management Partners nor those of former Interim Chief Steve Staveley - each of which told him that the department should be staffed at AT LEAST 136 officers, with 140 being a minimal number according to Staveley, a law enforcement leader with more than 40 years experience and one of the most highly respected leaders in the state.

SYSTEMATIC DESTRUCTION...
The destruction of the Costa Mesa Police Department is only one of the disastrous steps Righeimer and his buddies have taken in the three years since he was elected that have contributed to the decline of Costa Mesa city government.  For example, almost three years ago they forced layoff notices to be illegally delivered to more than 200 employees and young Huy Pham leaped to his death from the roof of City Hall.  That once-proud organization has lost a quarter of its staff and service levels have fallen off as a result.  The only segment of city government that has increased in staff levels is the so-called "Executive Offices" - the 5th floor bunker that seems to be populated by more Chiefs than Indians.  It's become a haven for Righeimer and Mensinger to tell a captive audience their mantra over and over again to the point where some apparently actually believe it.  It's almost as though they've experienced the Stockholm Syndrome.

THE EMPLOYEES ARE NOT THE VILLAINS...
So, as you read more stories of valor on the part of members of the CMPD or the Costa Mesa Firefighters and watch other members of the city staff keep their collective noses to the grindstone to do the best job possible for the residents of this city despite the toxic workplace created by the current council majority, pause a moment to appreciate their efforts on your behalf.  They are NOT the villains in this municipal drama.

Tell them, Mariah...