The CotoBuzz Journal, Community Journalism

The CotoBuzz Journal

Community Journalism, Newsletters and Blogs Covering South Orange County, CA

The CotoBuzz Journal is a member of Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) and NAHJ

June 2007 Issue

We do not make jokes, we simply watch the LA Times, the Orange County Register and the Coto de Caza Board of directors and report the facts!

Law Enforcement – Evil, Necessary Evil, Or Noble Profession and Role Model?

CHP: Extortionists, hired hands, brusque patrolmen, provocateurs,

You wanted Mayberry RFP, we got Coto CHP

May 25, 2007

In open societies, we posit that law enforcement follows Winstren’s Law: Law Enforcement Goes Where it is Needed and Stays Where it is Wanted

So what happens in communities such as Coto de Caza where the board of directors fires the CHP, without an alternative to pro-active traffic patrol? Then when the same board is coerced into bring the CHP back after the first traffic fatality in the community, the board president calls CHP management extortionists in open board meetings. When board members were are asked if they agreed with the board president that CHP were extortions, the results were the same as the recent decision by the Orange County Board of Supervisors, when unanimously, the sups decided they did not trust Sheriff Carona was competent enough to manage the organization and voted 5-0 to plan for an oversight committee.

The May 25, 2007 issue of the OCR details an alleged encounter between the author of Behind the Gates column and a CHP agent. In the encounter, the hero of the story is the columnist, who after supposedly breaking posted speed limits, refuses to take responsibility for his actions: “I was actually coasting down a hill so I didn’t even have my foot on the gas “ and instead blames law enforcement using non-neutral terms like: “The patrolman brusquely asked me for the usual stuff” and “He asked me why was I in such a damn hurry and if I thought my Mercedes owned the road”. Apparently such encounter leads the author to a disruptive moment: “That’s when it dawned on me – police need to be part of the fabric of your community, not some hired guns without any vested interest”.

Is it any wonder that the CHP enforcement hours within Coto de Caza have been reduced significantly (60%) during 1Q2007, given that these extortionists, hired hands have been denied a yearly contract by the CZ Master Association and instead have settled for a quarterly one? Is it any wonder that other communities like Ladera Ranch are getting their share of CHP enforcement hours, or is it because Ladera Ranch leaders have made a “public spectacle”, as board members Varo/Mezger argue?

Law Enforcement Goes Where it is Needed and Stays Where it is Wanted

Let’s wipe the slate clean related to the CHP. The Varo/Mezger era is over. Hopefully, we will see new leadership emerge from this new Board in the next few weeks that can repair the damage done by Varo/Mezger. Joe Morabito

The CHP Slate Has Orange Crud All Over it!

Hi Joe:

We agree that the CHP slate needs to be cleaned. However, we argue that the slate is so full of crud, that it will take intestinal fortitude and real leadership to effect any change - The apple is rotten to its core. The OCR columnist's argument that the Sheriff is better because it has a vested interest in the community is flawed – a high ranking Sheriff’s manager in Dove Canyon is so vested that he is doing time – for starters!

Now, in addition to extortionists, quarterly CZ contract reviews, we can add provocateurs, and brusque to describe the CHP – but wait, the OCBOS just decided that the Sheriff, law enforcement agents vested in the community could not be trusted!

When the issue comes up, we invariably hear the “Coto is not a police state” argument – the real translation is that Prominent Coto Residents want Law and Order to apply to everyone else.

You have made the argument in the past, and we have agreed, that the issue is not whether the community should have the CHP or the Sheriff. The issue is not about money. The real issue

Of course, the so-called Sheriff proponents are using this simply as one more flawed argument that Coto should turn into a city, so "we can contract for services directly with the Sheriff - it is the County who contract with the Sheriff - and you know, according to the OCBOS, the Sheriff cannot be trusted!

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