June
27, 2014
The
Modesto Bee
By
Rosalio Ahumada
A civil
grand jury Friday released a report that found that it’s OK for the Stanislaus
County Sheriff’s Department to use its helicopter in community events, such as
efforts to help at-risk youths or charitable organizations.
The grand
jury, however, noted that county policies do not allow for the sheriff’s
helicopter to be used for such non-law enforcement purposes. The grand jurors
recommended that a policy be created with a procedure on how to gain approval
before the helicopter is used for something other than a public safety
response.
Complaints
about the helicopter usage came from a resident who alleged a helicopter ride
was used as an auction item to benefit a local hospice organization. Concerns
about the helicopter appeared in several articles in a local newspaper,
according to the grand jury’s report.
A Stanislaus
County sheriff’s helicopter took part in the Make Dreams Real event
May 15, 2013, at Saddle Creek Resort in Copperopolis, Calaveras County,
which raised money to send schoolchildren to sixth-grade camp and other outdoor
education programs, according to a Modesto Bee news story published a year ago.
The
helicopter’s use for a golf ball drop over the course was intended to benefit
the charity organization, designed to help Stanislaus County children.
No specific
event was mentioned in the grand jury’s report. As part of their inquiry,
jurors reviewed the sheriff’s helicopter flight records from July 2008 through
August 2013 to identify activities that might not be considered a law
enforcement purpose.
The county
CEO’s policy indicates that the sheriff’s helicopter shall be used only for law
enforcement or emergency-related purposes, or for other county government
purposes with prior approval from the county’s chief executive officer or a
designee.
The
sheriff’s policies list several proper uses for the helicopter, which include
assisting other public safety agencies, assisting sheriff’s personnel on the
ground, capturing suspects or inmates who present a danger, finding a missing
person, conducting vehicle pursuits and rescuing a stranded person in a remote
area.
The grand
jury found that neither policy has specific language or procedure that allows
usage of sheriff’s vehicles in non-law enforcement activities, no matter how
charitable or beneficial. Yet sheriff’s vehicles, particularly helicopters,
have been used in community events numerous times in the past several years.
Participating
in activities to support at-risk youth and charitable groups provides a
positive impression of the Sheriff’s Department and other law enforcement in
the county, according to the report. The grand jury also said the department is
especially supportive of activities that focus on the positive role of law
enforcement, as opposed to the more apparent conflict that occurs in criminal
investigations.
The grand
jury recommended that a specific policy be written defining the use of
sheriff’s resources such as helicopters for non-law enforcement activities. The
jurors also recommended that such usage be approved in advance of the event by
two senior managers at the Sheriff’s Department, or one senior manager each
from the Sheriff’s Department and the CEO’s Office.
The report
indicates that the elected sheriff is in a unique position in relation to the
authority of the county’s CEO and the Board of Supervisors. While the board
maintains approval authority of the department’s budget, the sheriff is
directly accountable to the voters.
The grand
jury says neither the Board of Supervisors nor the county CEO has direct
supervisory authority over Sheriff Adam Christianson or his department.
The grand
jury, which is a watchdog group, is appointed by the presiding judge of the
Superior Court to serve a one-year term. Its recommendations are not legally
binding, but officials have 90 days to respond in writing to the findings.
Bee staff
writer Rosalio Ahumada can be reached at rahumada@modbee.com or (209)
578-2394. Follow him on Twitter @ModBeeCourts.
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