Report to Mayor and City Council
Tuesday, November 01, 2016
Consent
SUBJECT:
Title
REVIEW THE RECALL OF COURTESY BADGES GIVEN TO CARSON ELECTED OFFICIALS(CITY COUNCIL)
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I. SUMMARY
At the October 4, 2016 meeting, Western Medical, the City's contract medical provider, disclosed that former Mayor Jim Dear had "flashed" his Los Angeles County Sheriff's (LASD) elected official's courtesy badge to obtain federally protected medical information concerning Carson city employees. Since this disclosure, staff has received numerous inquiries concerning the alleged incident.
Staff has prepared this report in response to these inquiries and it provides an update on the city's action to date. A courtesy badge is a badge that closely resembles the badges and shields that Los Angeles County deputies wear in their official capacity as sworn law enforcement officers, with the same six-point star design. Instead of identifying the person as a deputy sheriff the badge has the elected official's title such as "Mayor" or reads "City Official Los Angeles County".
Prior to 2012 the LASD issued courtesy badges to all local elected officials, even those with no law enforcement duties. Local elected officials were to use these courtesy badges in the case of emergency situations, such as after an earthquake or major disaster. Unfortunately, there have been numerous cases of the misuse of courtesy badges.
The sheriff's department records indicate that the only elected officials in the City of Carson that have not returned their badges are former mayors Jim Dear and Pete Fajardo, the former Council member that was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for agreeing to accept more than $100,000 in bribes in exchange for votes while he was a member of the City Council.
II. RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Staff has forwarded all information on the alleged incident to the Los Angeles county Sheriff for their investigation and follow-up.
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III. ALTERNATIVES
TAKE anothe...
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