NOTE: Stories researched and written with the help of the excellent Taylor Walker!
INMATE GETS CUSHY DETENTION THEN IS SPRUNG TO GIVE LASD CAPTAIN A FEW GOLF POINTERS
The LA Times’ Robert Faturechi has the story. (And a very good story it is.)
Here a clip:
The tiny jail on Catalina Island is hardly Alcatraz. Just ask Frank Carrillo.
The pro golfer turned jewel thief couldn’t believe his luck when he was moved out of his bleak Men’s Central Jail cell in downtown L.A. and allowed to do his time on the sunny tourist isle.
But things got even cushier when he met a Los Angeles County sheriff’s captain interested in shaving a few strokes off his golf game.
Carrillo said Capt. Jeff Donahue escorted him in a patrol Jeep to a hilltop golf course last summer. There, dressed in his yellow inmate jumpsuit, Carrillo said, he gave the captain pointers on how to improve his swing and reduce a double-digit handicap.
Word of the free lesson, however, ended up being costly for Donahue, who is under investigation for an inappropriate relationship with an inmate. The allegations were detailed in a complaint by one of Donahue’s subordinates.
Carrillo, who compared his time in jail for multiple felonies to “hitting the lotto,” thought Donahue should be emulated, not investigated.
“He was amazing to me,” said Carrillo, who believes the captain benefited from his lesson.
Looking at the bright side, said a department spokesman, abuse of prisoners by LASD personnel was down to absolute zero in this particular facility.
(Kidding. Sort of.)
BIG SENTENCES FOR KATRINA COPS
Wednesday, six-and-a-half years after Katrina, five former police officers who were involved in the shooting of six unarmed civilians (and a really egregious attempted cover-up) received sentences that range from six and 65 years in prison. This particular shooting resulted in two deaths—one of a 40-year-old mentally disabled man.
NPR has more on Wednesday’s sentencing.
NOTE: The non-profit group, ProPublica, produced a much-praised investigative series called Law and Disorder that painstakingly documented police misconduct after the hurricane—including the case of the five officers.
DEATH ROW INMATE DIES OF NATURAL CAUSES
On Tuesday, Frank Manuel Abilez became the 57th California inmate to die of natural causes on death row. Since the death penalty’s reinstatement in the 70’s, 13 of those sentenced to death have been executed–82 have died from other causes. 724(!!) people are currently on death row in California. The SF Chron has the story.
SCOTUS SAYS YES TO STRIP SEARCHES
On Monday, SCOTUS ruled in favor of strip searches at the discretion of corrections officers for anyone arrested for any offense, before they are admitted to jail. The 5-4 ruling, which is in conflict with statutes in ten states, divided the court along strict conservative/liberal lines, with justice Kennedy as the usual swing vote.
Citing examples from briefs submitted to the Supreme Court, Justice Breyer wrote for the four dissenters, that people have been subjected to “the humiliation of a visual strip-search” after being arrested for driving with a noisy muffler, for failing to use a turn signal and for riding a bicycle without an audible bell.
A nun was strip-searched, he wrote, after an arrest for trespassing during an antiwar demonstration.
Justice Kennedy made the point that “people detained for minor offenses can turn out to be the most devious and dangerous criminals.” He noted that Timothy McVeigh, later put to death for his role in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, was first arrested for driving without a license plate. “One of the terrorists involved in the Sept. 11 attacks was stopped and ticketed for speeding just two days before hijacking Flight 93,” Justice Kennedy added.
The NY Times’ Adam Liptak has more.
Well, you have to understand that golf skills are a big part of getting promoted in the LASD, along with cigar smoking and being blindly loyal. Police work? That’s for rookies and and the poor schmucks that actually believe they are doing something to make the county a better place. I think I’m getting a little cynical here, but now there are four Captains under this administration that are being investigated for questional activities. This is unprecedented. These people are supposed to be elite leaders, hand picked by the Sheriff and Undersheriff to act as Chiefs of Police in the cities they patrol. This isn’t right, and unfortunately, isn’t the end.
I came across Donahue once. He was teaching ethics for the sheriffs department..They called it deputy leadership institute. Three days of this knucklehead spewing platitudes about “doing the right thing”. I’m not joking . The guys who teach that political crap are always the worst offenders.
OK a Captain at the Island, takes a station trustee (who has almost complete station freedom) out and gets a golf lesson.
Problem, yes. Stupid move- yes
But come on people feces occuli, people do silly things sometimes. Before we get on the whole Tanaka and Sheriff bashing let us realize this is not something we should build a pile of wood and burn the Captain on the cross for.
Apparently he may be better suited to be a jail Captain for a while to learn the importance of maintaining proper relationships with inmates.
No I do not know the man, I just know we all have done something stupid at least once, maybe twice.
Did he pay the inmate? Did he get him out of jail early? Did he get him a job, or any other tangible item for the lesson? If not a little discipline and we move on.
At Shawshank they had a prisoner doing tax returns.
DLI, you are so right. This caper is beyond stupid. If a deputy did something like this at PDC he would be ROD and fired for Fraternization.
I heard about a sergeant working Court Services who was collecting straight pay for 8 hours at CS and then getting paid the same day by the State for teaching “ethics” in Sacramento, so he was double dipping. He was fired or resigned and now is a Sergeant at another department. Yep, do the right thing. Kind of like the executives shoving “Core Values” down our throats all the while they violate every principle of the concept on a daily basis.
FORE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DLI Grad: Maybe you should teach the class??!!
Left at the Ball Says: No wonder the department is in a mess with individuals like you making comments like you just made.
It’s common knowledge that it’s not necessarily what you do, but when you do it. Political atmosphere plays a huge part in what action will be taken against you, not the egregiousness of the offense. The other day I read about a federal magistrate who forwarded an off color email. I had absolutely no problem with email, but had a huge problem with living in a society that has federal magistrates as STUPID as this guy was. Has he not read the news about all the idiotic politicians fried for the same thing. So back to LASD. I don’t have a huge problem with tapping a trustees skill set, but taking the guy golphing??? Are you kidding me??? In today’s public scrutiny of our department, you are going to do something so idiotic. Has this guy been living under a Catalina boulder for the last year. Does Catalina have access to Witness LA or the Times? Please tell me this guy was an imposter posing as an LASD Captain, because an LASD Captain just can’t be that STUPID!!!!!!
AshamedtobeaDeputy, please think about the title of your log in. I know it is frustrating to see all the current issues taking place, but at the end of a day, its all about what impact you have. Look at the things you and your partners have and can accomplish, not what the execs are doing right now. Look how many deputies have sacrificed their life, and ask the families if they are ashamed. Hold your head high and be proud that your doing a job which many could never do. 10 or 20 years down the road you will be talking with your old partners having a beer telling stories about those crazy days under Baca, and joking about it.
@Just in & @ashamed…… Just in, I agree with your statement and it is great advice. I COMPLETELY understand Ashamed, but you my friend, have nothing to be ashamed of. Embarrassed, yes, I am as well. But never be ashamed of the patch you wear. As Just In said, a great number of honorable people have lost their lives and sacrificed more than the public will ever know. You keep doing your job, taking bad guys to jail and helping honest citizens in every way you can. The Cigar Club and the likes of Tanaka and Baca have shit on the badge with their unethical ideology and cut throat politics. The issues you read in WLA is just the tip of the iceberg. Baca is in denial and never presents himself in a position to answer hard ball questions by the media, he hides. He spews his bogus self-serving view points on leadership and Core Values yet allows those closest to him trample of those very words. His inner circle assures him everything is fine, all of this will blow over and everyone is happy. Just ask Baghdad Bob Whitmore, just a couple of disgruntled employees, nothing else.
You just do your job and do it as well as you can. Forget the Cigar Club and those of that mindset. The wheels have to fly off sometime. Someone in the media or BOS must hold Baca and Tanaka accountable for what they have done. Perhaps not in the few years I have left, but it will happen. LAPD survived Ramapart and came out a better organization. If ALADS and PPOA would only grow a set and do what is good for the department, their membership and not themselves, and expose to all what has been going on, then perhaps something good will come from all of this garbage. LAPD’s Protective League did it for the right reason and good came from it (ala Chief Parks). Hang in there, we all feel your pain and we are all tired of hurting.
Unethical behavior at the executive rank does not surprise me. What will actually surprised me is if anything is done about it. Captains double dippin, playing golf with trustys, hanging out with felons, failing to manage a unit and allowing rogue behavior…..what about the captain at Community College Bureau??!!! Has anyone checked into his continued failure to actually be at work?? Check his time records and see if it passes the smell test. All exectives were placed on a 5/40 work several months ago but this Captain teaches a class at Harbor College during the day. If LASD is paying him then why is the College district paying him for the same time when he should be working for LASD. And this Captain has called the sergeants and lieutenants unethical……really Captain W?!!!
I was surprised when they made a hard Captain the Commander of Avalon Station. It was always a Lieutenant running the show. Goes to show that positions are made for certain people who are in the car!!!
Ashamed, I agree with your post. The Captains actions were extremely stupid. And because of the current state of moral (lack of), and the issues with the Region II mentality, and they “the car”, and all the other B.S. the Captain should of absolutely known better than to do something this dumb.
But I also agree with all the other comments, that we cannot let this mentality bring us down.
To the public, the Deputy in the car, answering the call or hunting for the bad guy is the Department. That is all they know or want to know.
Unfortunately there are those that took advantage of this, and they have embarrassed us all.
Sirs, I truly respect your comments. I have been on for well over two decades. I have spent 22 of those years on patrol, every one of them in Region 2. I’m more productive than most and bow my head to the truly proactive Deps from all the regions that have that sick sense I was never able to fully develope. Maybe it will still come, but I don’t think so, the only thing coming my way is more gray hair. I have lost dear friends and mere acquaintances. But I look at their sacrifices differently. They didn’t die for a piece of tin on their chests or piece of cloth on their shoulders. They died for the spirit of law enforcement. They died doing what they loved for the passage right to walk the crime free beat in whatever life comes after this one. Sound corny, it’s what I believe. I still take people to jail ( weekly now, not daily like years past). The department I was once proud of didn’t hire drug users, ex-gang members, people with criminal histories, or people that can’t write a legible paragraph. It didn’t trounce the oath I took at graduation. My department was para-military, not a tyranny. Chiefs and Commanders had a say. Scandals occurred and ownership was taken. Spanish was not spoken on L-tac. Sorry Sirs, the department I signed onto is gone. I’m ashamed of this new one. The tag name stays.
@Ashamed, I think your sentiment speaks for literally thousands of OG employees who watched a once great organization lead for the most part, by great leaders who cared. Tanaka has set all of this into motion for years, placing “his people” into positions of rank and authority. And what you have now is exactly what he want’s, and no one can call him on it. No standards, no accountability, no supervision, no management. “Make everyone happy, coddle your people.”
But as someone stated in another posting, Baca is ultimately to blame. He turned his back on us years ago seeking other perceived higher political opportunities. He allowed all of this to happen, despite numerous warnings, he promoted Tanaka all the way to U/S and allowed all of the negative issues we face today to fester. Baca is completely disconnected from LASD and reality. If one were to confront Baca with specific information about wrongdoing, about mismanagement, about Tanaka and all of his 10-30 conduct, he (Baca) would deny it. If you don’t believe me, just ask Commander Olmsted or the variety of other major executives who have done the same thing with the same results.
Dear AshamedtobeaDeputy,
Thank you for your committement to a job that is not so easy. As a civilian employee I know what you mean about the hiring standard. I have watched people who have no business to wear the badge that the 99% of our good employees wear sail on through the process. Let’s just rubber stamp an okay to hire on a file.What’s embarrassing is that some of these deputies have documented problems from their previous positions as CA’s, SA’s and SO’s. How is bad behavior treated with a promotion. Look at Henry Marin. Video footage. Yet his jacket okay to hire a second time.bIt reminds me of the Bush program no one left behind.I am a long time employee who is just a cilvian,but saw the downfall of the department coming a long time ago. AshamedtobeaDeputy I feel your pain.
Conditions at Avalon Station have been a joke since Donahue became a captain. If he ever did pay attention to anything going on in the station when he was a lieutenant, instead of only thinking of himself and his career, he completely stopped paying attention once he got what he wanted for himself – his promotion. But then, paying attention has never been one of Donahue’s strong points, since his employees have to repeat themselves to him constantly. In the past year he’s made some idiotic staff additions, especially of supervisors, and due to their arrogance and lack of supervising knowledge they have completely ruined morale in this one tiny station of only a dozen deputies. What a shame. Now there are multiple internal affairs investigations, a lawsuit, deputies moved due to tension, divisiveness, cliques – all of it stupid and unnecessary if Donahue had just paid attention and taken action to squelch problems early. But he was busy politicking for himself, golfing with the trusty, drinking at the yacht club, conniving with his wife about her slip and fall incidents on the island and those lawsuits, and constantly bragging about his close relationship with Supervisor Knabe, Tanaka and the Sheriff. Now his hardest workers are transferred for now, and the jokers are left there. (You can usually find them hanging out in front of The Galleon, listening to karaoke.) Now Donahue claims to be injured, and has been moved out of his command until his retirement. Hopefully the new boss has some intelligence, recognizes clowns full of hot air when he sees them, gets rid of them, and brings back the hard workers. The citizens of Avalon deserve better than they’ve gotten lately.