President's Message
March 2008
DEPUTY GREG GARIEPY MEMORIAL HIGHWAY
June 22, 2005 does not seem that long ago, but it’s been a little over 2 ½ years since Deputy Greg Gariepy died as the result of injuries sustained in a single vehicle traffic accident while on duty.
Legislation authored by Assembly Member Paul Cook, from the 65th District was signed into law several months ago. That legislation allowed for a portion of State Highway Route 247 between State Highway Route 62 and the town limit of Yucca Valley in San Bernardino County to be named the “Deputy Greg Gariepy Memorial Highway.”
The ceremony took place at a site on State Highway Route 247 on February 29 of this year. There were many in attendance including Greg’s family and friends. We must never forget our men and women in uniform who have died in the line of duty.
SHERIFF’S LIEUTENANT EXAMINATION PROCESS
On February 6th I was informed of a change in the promotional process for Sheriff’s Lieutenant. This change had been in the works for several months after I was contacted by many Sergeants wishing to have the promotional process changed.
I first must tell you this is something SEBA has no control over as long as the promotions are being done in a fair and equitable way. There were no complaints about those issues by anyone who contacted me. What members wanted was a simplification of the process.
The Sheriff and Undersheriff were both receptive to the idea. A survey was completed by the Sheriff’s Department with overwhelming results in favor of change. A committee was formed to look at various aspects of the promotional process, and it was decided to reduce the number of steps. The first step will be the requirement of being a Sergeant for two years before the application closure date. The second step will be to submit your resume for departmental review of your knowledge, skills, and abilities in several areas determined by the department. This resume is to be completed in an analytical style with a sample format available for viewing on StarLink, under site map, go to resume.
The application process opened February 18, 2008 and closes March 10, 2008.
EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE AWARDS
The Exceptional Service Awards will be held March 26, 2008 at the Victoria Gardens Cultural Center in Rancho Cucamonga.
I was fortunate enough be a member of the Selection Committee. There will be many awards given out on that evening to a large group of deserving individuals for various actions they took during the past two years.
Seating is limited, so if you plan on attending I recommend you arrive early.
CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS
Contract negotiations are getting ready to kick off for the Specialized Peace Officer and Supervisory Units. The unit consists of our Probation Corrections Officers, Probation Supervisors, Welfare Fraud, and the Coroner Investigators.
Surveys have been returned by you and compiled by the Negotiating Team consisting of: Andy Avery, Kendall Taylor, John Hurst, Stu Osborne, William Forester and Doug Feil.
All of your negotiators have received, or are in the process of receiving, formalized negotiations training, and as I had previously promised, there will be an attorney from the Law Firm of Silver, Hadden, Silver, Wexler and Levine sitting at the negotiations table.
LOS ANGELES TIMES vs. POST
Just in case you have not heard, there is another attack from the Los Angeles Times trying to obtain law enforcement officer information. This is a direct result of a previous California Supreme Court ruling in favor of the newspaper.
The Supreme Court ruled they are entitled to some information; however there are names that can be barred from being released due to sensitive assignments.
Since the actual suit was the Los Angeles Times vs. Commission on Peace Officer’s Standards and Training, it is POST who has received the demand for information.
The Sheriff’s Department is working with County Counsel to determine what positions would be considered sensitive in nature. The question that comes to mind is: Are assignments like narcotics, intelligence, gangs, undercover operations or other similar assignments considered sensitive?
I have been in contact with our law firm and PORAC in regard to this matter. We are all working very quickly due to a short window of opportunity that was given by POST. That time frame has now been changed and a procedure is being developed which should answer many questions about this whole issue. I will keep you informed as things progress on this matter.
FRANK PRIBBLE MEMORIAL HIGHWAY
There was an article in last month’s magazine dealing with the dedication of a portion of the Interstate 10 Highway in Fontana in the memory of Deputy Frank Pribble who was killed in the line of duty on July 6, 1975. I gave out some mis-information about when things would be happening.
Legislation has not yet been passed to allow the designation of a portion of the highway as the “Frank Pribble Memorial Highway”. The legislation for this honor was just submitted and assigned the number of ACR 96. If things go well, it will be finalized in August of this year.
Two of our local legislators are carrying the Bill for us. They are Assembly Member Wilmer Amina Carter from the 62nd Assembly District and Senator Gloria Negrete McLeod from the 32nd Senate District. They have been fantastic supporters of public safety. A well deserved “Thank You” goes out to both legislators!
And as always, last but not least, ”Stay safe out there.”
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