The Santa Ana City Council made the right call last week when it voted to appeal a decision by the city’s personnel board to reinstate one of the officers involved in the infamous raid of a medical marijuana dispensary in 2015. What is disappointing was how close the vote was.

“In closed session Tuesday, council members voted 4-3 to appeal the board’s reinstatement decision, with opposition from Mayor Miguel Pulido, Jose Solorio and Juan Villegas,” the Register reported.

Those three also happen to have been backed heavily by the police union in the last election and have been accused by others on the city council of owing a political debt to the union. The union has been critical of the firing of three officers for their conduct during the raid.

“When our members make a mistake they expect to be held accountable as long as it’s reasonable, consistent and done in a legal manner,” Santa Ana Police Officers Association President Gerry Serrano said in a statement. “These are the same rights any citizen is entitled to when confronted in any legal process.”

But Serrano seems to forget that most citizens don’t work for government and can be fired at-will for far less than what these officers have been accused of doing. For those who may have forgotten, a hidden security camera recorded police officers dismantling surveillance equipment, playing darts, making derogatory remarks about an amputee and stealing cookies and other snacks at Sky High Holistic, a marijuana dispensary operating without a city permit.

The officer at the center of the personnel board’s decision, Brandon Matthew Sontag, had charges of petty theft and vandalism filed against him by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office in March of last year. Those charges carrier a maximum penalty of up to 18 months in jail and a $2,000 fine. The other two officers, Nicole Lynn Quijas and Jorge Arroyo, who face charges of petty theft, will also have their cases heard by the personnel board in the coming months.

Sontag, Arroyo and Quijas are accused of breaking the law in a profession tasked with upholding it. Beyond that, they exhibited conduct unbecoming of our guardians. Reinstating them does a disservice to the public and to other officers who do their job within the lines of the law.

The Santa Ana City Council made the right call last week when it voted to appeal a decision by the city’s personnel board to reinstate one of the officers involved in the infamous raid of a medical marijuana dispensary in 2015. What is disappointing was how close the vote was.
“In closed session Tuesday, council members voted 4-3 to appeal the board’s reinstatement decision, with opposition from Mayor Miguel Pulido, Jose Solorio and Juan Villegas,” the Register reported.
Those three also happen to have been backed heavily by the police union in the last election and have been accused by others on the city council of owing a political debt to the union. The union has been critical of the firing of three officers for their conduct during the raid.
“When our members make a mistake they expect to be held accountable as long as it’s reasonable, consistent and done in a legal manner,” Santa Ana Police Officers Association President Gerry Serrano said in a statement. “These are the same rights any citizen is entitled to when confronted in any legal process.”
But Serrano seems to forget that most citizens don’t work for government and can be fired at-will for far less than what these officers have been accused of doing. For those who may have forgotten, a hidden security camera recorded police officers dismantling surveillance equipment, playing darts, making derogatory remarks about an amputee and stealing cookies and other snacks at Sky High Holistic, a marijuana dispensary operating without a city permit.
The officer at the center of the personnel board’s decision, Brandon Matthew Sontag, had charges of petty theft and vandalism filed against him by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office in March of last year. Those charges carrier a maximum penalty of up to 18 months in jail and a $2,000 fine. The other two officers, Nicole Lynn Quijas and Jorge Arroyo, who face charges of petty theft, will also have their cases heard by the personnel board in the coming months.
Sontag, Arroyo and Quijas are accused of breaking the law in a profession tasked with upholding it. Beyond that, they exhibited conduct unbecoming of our guardians. Reinstating them does a disservice to the public and to other officers who do their job within the lines of the law.

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