From Supervisor John Moorlach’s email “Update”, what could be described as a ‘measured’ response:
The Sheriff has not refused to provide copies of the recordings from security cameras showing close-ups of two unsuspecting Supervisors as they participated in the January 13, 2009 Board meeting. I viewed a DVD, with the controversial one-and-one-half minutes, yesterday morning after receiving a copy from Undersheriff John Scott during Tuesday’s Board meeting. Two of my colleagues also accepted copies of this DVD. I also discussed the DVD at length with Assistant Sheriff Jack Anderson yesterday morning and am appreciative for the time he gave me on the matter. I declined to view the DVD of the entire meeting due to a lack of time.
It is time to stop making political hay out of what most likely was conduct that arose from the boredom of the camera operator, and not a sinister motive. Such an attitude does not move us toward the desired purpose of working together with the Sheriff to all do our jobs better for the citizens of the County.
The DVD does show close-ups for about 90 seconds of Supervisor Nguyen and Supervisor Norby. In my view, it was grossly inappropriate and wrong for the deputy to do this. The security cameras are there to provide security to all those in attendance at the Board meetings, and focusing on close-ups of the Supervisors and what lies on the dais in front of them serves no such purpose.
However, contrary to the strained hyperbole of some, Sheriff Hutchens did not authorize this activity, and was in fact appalled by it. She did the right thing–she personally called both Supervisors, and immediately ordered an internal affairs investigation, overseen by Stephen Connolly, the Executive Director of the Office of Independent Review, the civilian oversight office that my office worked so hard to create.
Now, the Board and the Sheriff have taken steps to insure that this conduct does not reoccur. The cameras may not focus on us, but are to be used only for their intended purpose. The Board will have a greater say in planning for Board room security. And the Board has clarified that the Sheriff needs to make copies of all security camera recordings available to Board members, but noting that such recordings are confidential, are not public records, and may not be turned over if doing so would violate State law.
John does a terrific job with these fairly frequent emails, explaining his own positions and offering anecdotal information that provides some insight into his office’s operation — much more informative and personal than the boilerplate PR newsletters which come out of some of his colleagues’ offices.
It is time, as has been suggested, to take this video operation out of the Sheriff’s hands, though, and outsource it to a third party (which we bet will be cheaper and can be fired when they screw up). The potential for conflict between OCSD and the Board has been proven, however unfortunately. This was an accident waiting to happen, and if the discipline wasn’t there, then the boys’ toys need to be turned over to someone else.
Travis,
And we still don’t know why Hutchens assigned someone else to shoot the video that day.
This mess is not going away just because Moorlach wants it too. He voted for Hutchens, so this is on his hands. She is failing, simply put, and he needs to hold her accountable.
But Moorlach couldn’t hold his handpicked replacement as OC Treasurer accountable either. That guy, Chriss Street, just blew another $52 million of County money on a bad investment.
What a mess!
John Moorlach is a great guy with mucho integrity. When OC becomes a state, I want him to be governor. But he has messed up on this Hutchens business.
When even a good man has problems like this, it shows why government should be reduced so much we hardly even notice it.
The Supervisors should use the perennial sheriff problems — dating back decades, at least to the brutal and secretive Brad Gates (also a big tax increaser), through Carona and Hutchens — as a great reason to privatize most or all of what the sheriffs do.
We can take care of ourselves and don’t need these busybodies with automatic pistols telling us what to do.
“It is time to stop making political hay out of what most likely was conduct that arose from the boredom of the camera operator, and not a sinister motive. Such an attitude does not move us toward the desired purpose of working together with the Sheriff to all do our jobs better for the citizens of the County.”
Simply more of the “let’s sweep it under the rug” ethic endorsed by a growing number of political, corporate and media leaders in this country.
“It is time to stop making political hay out of what most likely was conduct that arose from the boredom of the camera operator, and not a sinister motive.”
I think that this action of a single deputy has its root cause in the dispute between the Deputy Sheriff’s union and the OC Board of Supervisors over the deputies’ pension plan.
This disgruntled deputy is no doubt tuned into dissatisfaction of the union over this issue and was looking for some payback to the supes.
#5 junior I think that assumes facts not in evidence although I do give your hypothesis almost as much credence as Moorlachs theory except that Moorlach might have actually looked at the results of the investigation.
I agree with #1 Travis, the issue here that troubles me most is that the video minutes of the meetings aren’t part of the public record. How do we get that fixed if that is indeed correct, and it might be given the arcane intricacy of Roberts?