Tuesday, August 23, 2011

An Important Lesson

updated 2:39 PM, thank you for help from someone who should edit articles for a living.
 
My mother lives in Hopland, CA . Approximately 14 years ago she was held hostage, at gun point, in her home. She was terrorized, and her home was vandalized. She was left with gun-barrel bruises on her chest and graffiti on her walls. When she finally managed to get away and called 911, help came HOURS later! There was just one deputy on duty. He was at another call, in a remote part of the county, so she had to wait her turn. At the time, the staffing levels for the sheriff’s office in Mendocino County were nearly the same as the current staffing levels here in Lake County.

Does something like this have to happen HERE to get the attention of the general public? For the average citizen to realize that their own safety is at risk?.......not to mention the safety of deputies on the street with no back-up.

There is an underground special interest group, and they have a vested interest in seeing the LCSO fall apart. Most of them have rap sheets, and some already have convictions. Unlike you and I, they have plenty of time on their hands to spread misinformation—and will continue to do so. When you’re hearing talk about the latest “scandal” or “blog” about sheriff’s office employees, please think twice about whether or not it’s actually true.

If you are a citizen of this county, please keep in mind as you read this: You can be assured that our men and women of law enforcement are dedicated to this county. They steadfastly continue to do their jobs as best they can--despite mistreatment and unnecessarily-long shifts. They care about our community and the people in it. They are sworn to uphold the law (even correctional officers are sworn). Some are hoping to outlast the current sheriff---to remain here and help reconstruct a sheriff’s department that has fallen into dismal condition. They want to be proud of their department and their community. The deputies and officers want a safe community as much as you do. After all, they too are raising their children here.

Many have already left. Of those who remain, several are in the process of testing with other counties (or in other states). Every one of us should sit up and take notice that command staff is jumping ship, one-by-one. Most recently, Lt. Martin has submitted his two-weeks notice. In a matter of days, there will be just one member of command staff left to carry the entire burden. If that last commander leaves, the department will be left in the hands of the sheriff alone. Since he was never promoted to sergeant, he lacks the training and knowledge that’s necessary to supervise a patrol shift; he certainly should NOT be left to command the entire department on his own!

Just ask yourself these questions: Why are the deputies leaving? Why are correctional officers leaving? Why are members of command staff leaving? Who or what is driving them away?

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