“Sheriff Sandra Hutchens has launched an internal investigation into the actions of an unspecified sheriff’s official who used a security camera to view the notes of two county supervisors while they conducted a public hearing on Jan. 13,” according to the Total Buzz blog.
Here is what Hutchens had to say about this on her blog, “Tuesday night I was alerted to an incident on the approximately 4-hour video where the particular camera in question was being utilized to scan the boardroom and alert our personnel to any potential security concerns. The security camera was used to zoom in on Supervisor Nguyen’s blackberry for approximately thirty seconds and paperwork on Supervisor Norby’s desk for approximately one minute. I immediately ordered an internal investigation.”
How long has Hutchens been our Sheriff – and what do we have to show for it? She has been a complete disaster!
Hutchens spent a fortune on a useless study of our County jail system. That study was conducted by ex-cops who concluded that our broke county needs to hire 500 more deputies.
Hutchens also has gone after everyone who has a concealed weapon permit. Total Buzz reported that several of her deputes cracked down on those who showed up at a Board of Supervisors meeting to talk about CCW’s. One woman said she was even followed into the bathroom!
And now one of Hutchens’ deputies got caught spying on our Supervisors. She says she didn’t tell them to, which may be true, but at the very least this episode underscores the fact that no one appears to be in charge at the O.C. Sheriff’s Department. What a mess!
In retrospect, I should have supported SAPD Chief Paul Walters for Sheriff instead of Hutchens.
UPDATE: This story has hit the AP Wire! See the graphic above.
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Whatever, what concerns me is that this unelected sheriff has the same view of us peasants as most of the political class and is in a very powerful position. An elitist, Hutchens believes only she and her fellow officers are to be trusted with a firearm for self protection of life, liberty and property. Look at the photos on her blog page boasting of the militarization and advanced capabilities of her department. One day soon the officers in these photos may be going door to door disarming us “for our own protection.”
Nick,
Good point. Scary thought…
Art, you are a good man, and a good influence to those who are willing to learn.
Sandra is quite the politician. I see her frequently around the county — doing the Carona thing — shaking hands, patting backs, mugging for the cameras. She’s has no leadership qualities, and that’s a problem that will emerge frequently.
Tony,
Thanks for the kind words my friend!
Hutchens didn’t just spontaneously tell the BOS about the tapes. She did it because the tapes had to be released under the California Public Records Act and she was doing damage control. She has said now that she will not release Public Documents (the tapes) that are under her control. This is in clear violation of the CPRA. I wonder if these tapes show that the deputies were closely examining more than just the Supervisors notes. Maybe they were just looking down womens’ blouses, which would be embarassing to the Sheriff. Or, maybe they were zooming in on each individual wearing the green OCCCWS button so they could print a picture of their face, identify the troublemaker, and start investigations into each one! There is more to this issue than simply scanning some notes. They are proof that the Sheriff ordered her deputies to violate the First and Fourth Amendment rights of citizens who were speaking out against her! This needs an independent review from the State Attorney General or a Federal investigation. This Sheriff stinks worse than Carona and she is trying to cover up the evidence.
She was in charge of the SWAT team and the deputies. Why would her man on the camera only be concerned with those two Supervisors? Why single them out unless he was told to. She thinks the BOS and the public are fools. She is making a mockery of the BOS and the county voters. So who is doing the investigation…let me guess her department? Not an outside independent party. Release the taps and let’s see why she took control of the cameras. Why does she have the tapes anyway? Shouldn’t the BOS have control of the tapes? She is hiding something.
I always thought the the top person of any organization takes the blame for anything that goes wrong. She hasn’t. And it was also learned that someone from the OCSD assigned 4 regular deputies to take over the security camera operations that day, instead of the normal SSA workers that operate that room. If she did not ask for that change, then who did? And did they do it with her knowledge?
I also learned that the deputies took over the camera operation after a briefing which I would interprete as a security issue. Now, who would be the person to order and initiate such briefing? Not hard to guess is’nt? Now that same person ordered independent investigation? Yeah right.
These two supervisors were targeted because they were critical of Ms. Hutchens policy changes regarding CCW. If the deputy was acting on his/her own, why wouldn’t they have focused in on Moorlach who has been battling a pension increase that is wholly unpopular with the deputies’ union?
No, this deputy was looking for political dirt on two supervisors that were critical of Hutchens. That kind of subterfuge can only come from her top command staff.
Because the normal people (SSO)who run the cameras were pulled off and replaced with deputies. Somebody made the change, Asst. Sheriff Mike Hillmann was in charge of the whole detail. His Incident Action Plan had to be approved by the Sheriff.
When is this person going to be reeled in? The department is completely out of control. Not only is the department a fiscal disaster it is a morally bankrupt as well.
Criminal Janet might be under investigation.
I agree that the replacement of the regular deputies, in concert with the other highly unusual activities that the OCSD participated in during that meeting, indicates there was something much more nefarious here than individuals acting alone. I have tried to see a way that this is something other than a coordinated surveillance and intimidation operation by Hutchens’ organization, but I cannot. The fact she confiscated the tapes after the meeting and won’t release them doesn’t smell good, either.
I guess the County will have to file suit and get a subpoena before she releases them. I just hope that by then, she won’t have tampered with the tapes (if she hasn’t already).
Who would have ever imagined that we’d think of Carona’s time in office as “The good old days.”
Our new Sheriff likes the term, “I’m only following the law…” She uses it frequently. The problem is, she only follows the laws that benefit her agenda, and seems to trample the rest as she marches forward.
2nd Amendment – We know where she stands on that. Guns are for cops only in her book.
1st Amendment – The attempt to intimidate speakers at the last BOS meeting speaks volumes.
4th – A couple Supervisor now know that Their rights to privacy don’t mean much to the folks att OCSD.
Sheriff passed muster with only 3 of the 5 votes, she has mislead the BOS from the beginning about her intentions. She ordered “spying” on those who were going against her, searched and followed those who merely had buttons on thier clothes and then when the tape of her spying was requested as a public record, it was denied. She then called the BOS to let them know thier notes may become public. How much are the supervisors willing to take? How do you recall a non-elected public official? THE BOS NEEDS TO ASK FOR HER RESIGNATION PUBLICALLY.
Travis wrote:
“The next part of the story: She has now illegally denied the public record request for the video footage.”
Yet she claims that nothing could be seen on the section of the video that focused on Norby’s notes and Nguyen’s Blackberry screen. So, why won’t she release the footage? What is she trying to hide? Where is the transparency we were promised?
This Sheriff is dangerous. She has consistently acted in a way that is contrary to her pledge of transparency, responsiveness and prudence. She has unnecessarily exposed the County to costly litigation while expending funds for overtime and SWAT team services to promote her personal agenda. At least we know who won’t be Sheriff in 2010!
It’s clear to me that what we’re dealing with now is a corrupt official, drunk on power and privilege, who thinks they can get away with whatever they want, because they’re untouchable.
That’s not how it works in OC. I wonder what the State Attorney General thinks of all this.
Whaaaaat? Elected officials in OC out of control? Say it aint so! Cops doing whatever they want in OC? OMG – Shocker Alert! Next thing you know the Republicans will be calling OC home.
Still, this post and comments are coming down pretty hard on the Sheriff when it was probably a deputy or tech that moved the camera to view the docs and phone. The Deputy acting on automatic pilot in the same vein as would have been done under Corona seems to me to be a more reasonable explanation for the action and the investigation should find out for sure. Her denial of the FOIA request is more troubling.
As far as the non-deputy badges and concealed weapons go I gotta admit it was pretty fast and loose under Corona and I supported her reigning that one in. We don’t need political hacks with guns on golf courses threatening people.
Still I’m surprised at the outpouring of emotion on this subject today.
This Sheriff is a disgrace. She swore to uphold the Constitution. All of it!
Not only does she think she’s above the law she’s costing us a lot of money at a time when she should be doing what all the rest of us have to do, tighten our belts. And, the lawsuits haven’t even started yet!
Stop the drain on taxpayers now. Resign!
No. 20. That’s not how it works in OC? I’ve been here over 40 years and it has worked that way all too often. The list of electeds who evolved into a “we are special, the rules are for the peasants” attitude, and then got in trouble and were either indicted or resigned under fire is a long one at the county level. Andrew Hinshaw, Ralph Diedrich, Bob Battin,Don Roth, and of course Bob Citron and his Deputy, to name a few who were convicted. Then there are the ones who left office under fire and faded away, including Ralph Clark and Bruce Nestande. The list is longer, but I will stop there. Maybe you meant to say – “that’s not the way it should work in O.C.” Unfortunately, this county has a colorful history of political corruption, as well as being a center for white collar crime in the private sector – from charity boiler rooms to pyramid schemes to (Broadcom cases still pending). Must be something in the water around here.
why did sheriff hutchen’s deputy spy on 2 OC supervisors? Because she wants to create a police state.
The Sheriff has crossed the line. She expects us to believe this was not planned?? Unreal.
What’s next Sheriff Hutchens?
What happened to ‘Vote of No Confidence’?
She has her own agenda and it doesn’t include the majority of the good citizens of OC, just those who have been vetted. For some reason, she has devoted the majority of time and money to the CCW issue instead of the problems in this county.
Perhaps she was trying to catch a glimpse of what will be asked at the next BOS meeting. Naughty, naughty, got your hand caught in the cookie jar.
There are four thing on the tape she does not anybody to see. . .
re: anonyms :We don’t need political hacks with guns on golf courses threatening people.” Just making sure you have your facts straight. The hack on the golf course did NOT have a ccw permit.