unbelievable...
CHP should get a citation for policing itself
By K. Lloyd Billingsley, Guest columnist
The California Highway Patrol performs good work, in difficult and often dangerous conditions, but a recent development provides new evidence that the CHP could do a better job of policing itself.
On July 1, Deputy Chief Gary Dominguez became commander of the Southern Division, including Los Angeles County, with a population of nearly 10 million. Early last year, Dominguez was on medical leave from the CHP, though his medical problem did not keep him away from the Montebello Golf Course.
He drove 13 miles from there and was arrested in Pasadena with a blood-alcohol level of 0.10 percent, well over the 0.08 legal limit for driving. That should have been enough for a drunk-driving charge, but local officials opted to charge him with failing to obey a peace officer -- officers had to forcibly remove Dominguez from his car.
The charge of failing to obey was later dropped, however, because the main witness proved unable to testify. But the DMV still suspended Dominguez's driver's license.
State Sen. Gloria Romero, a Los Angeles Democrat, told reporters that she was "outraged at (Dominguez's) appointment" -- an outrage compounded by the fact that the CHP's job is to keep the public safe from drunk drivers.
The force's response to reporters has proved revealing. "The bottom line is that Chief Dominguez is a deputy chief in the California Highway Patrol," a CHP spokesman said. The message was clear. Rank alone protects chiefs against the consequences of their actions.
That also seems to be the case in retirement. A Sacramento Bee investigation found that a full 80 percent of CHP chiefs have filed workers' compensation claims within two years of retiring. Some of the cases seem palpably obvious.
Deputy CHP Commissioner Ed Gomez claimed to be disabled by workplace stress and physical ailments. In 2000, the 57-year-old was awarded a $39,000 settlement, medical care for his injuries for life, and a state industrial disability pension of $106,968 a year, half of it free of taxes. Two years later Gomez became security director at San Francisco airport -- a stressful, difficult job.
Deputy Chief Kevin Mince sought a workers' compensation settlement as a result of stress from dealing with his supervisor. He was found to be 23 percent disabled as a result of headaches, shingles, chest pains and "injuries to his psyche." Mince took an industrial disability retirement of $109,259, half of it exempt from taxes. He also moved to Hawaii, where he functions well enough to work as a scuba-diving instructor.
CHP Capt. Larry Hollingsworth was found to be 61 percent disabled from knee injuries, ulcers, high blood pressure and hearing loss. He took a medical pension from the CHP, but is still apparently sound enough to become assistant sheriff of Yolo County.
Assistant CHP chief Denise Daeley was hurt in a private car returning from a weekend in Las Vegas. The trip was not work-authorized, but she claimed to have been recruiting for the force. Daeley got an annual payment of $57,396, half her salary, tax free, and decamped for Hawaii.
The author of the report that authorized Daeley's claim was Mike Brown, then a deputy chief and now CHP commissioner.
In response to the Bee report, the CHP created a workers' compensation fraud unit and promised to crack down, sparing nobody, whatever their rank. In more than half a year, however, its efforts have yet to touch a single chief. A lowly officer and dispatcher are the prime targets.
Workers' compensation was created to help those legitimately injured on the job, not to bankroll luxury retirement on dubious grounds. CHP benefits are generous, and it is possible for officers to retire at age 51 with 90 percent of their pay.
Despite its good work, the CHP should not be allowed to investigate itself. If current CHP leaders want to enhance the force's reputation, they should hand the pension fraud investigation to the Legislature, decline to give chiefs special treatment, and make key personnel moves free from even the appearance of scandal.
K. Lloyd Billingsley is editorial director of the Pacific Research Institute. Write to him by e-mail at lbillingsley@pacificresearch.org
By K. Lloyd Billingsley, Guest columnist
The California Highway Patrol performs good work, in difficult and often dangerous conditions, but a recent development provides new evidence that the CHP could do a better job of policing itself.
On July 1, Deputy Chief Gary Dominguez became commander of the Southern Division, including Los Angeles County, with a population of nearly 10 million. Early last year, Dominguez was on medical leave from the CHP, though his medical problem did not keep him away from the Montebello Golf Course.
He drove 13 miles from there and was arrested in Pasadena with a blood-alcohol level of 0.10 percent, well over the 0.08 legal limit for driving. That should have been enough for a drunk-driving charge, but local officials opted to charge him with failing to obey a peace officer -- officers had to forcibly remove Dominguez from his car.
The charge of failing to obey was later dropped, however, because the main witness proved unable to testify. But the DMV still suspended Dominguez's driver's license.
State Sen. Gloria Romero, a Los Angeles Democrat, told reporters that she was "outraged at (Dominguez's) appointment" -- an outrage compounded by the fact that the CHP's job is to keep the public safe from drunk drivers.
The force's response to reporters has proved revealing. "The bottom line is that Chief Dominguez is a deputy chief in the California Highway Patrol," a CHP spokesman said. The message was clear. Rank alone protects chiefs against the consequences of their actions.
That also seems to be the case in retirement. A Sacramento Bee investigation found that a full 80 percent of CHP chiefs have filed workers' compensation claims within two years of retiring. Some of the cases seem palpably obvious.
Deputy CHP Commissioner Ed Gomez claimed to be disabled by workplace stress and physical ailments. In 2000, the 57-year-old was awarded a $39,000 settlement, medical care for his injuries for life, and a state industrial disability pension of $106,968 a year, half of it free of taxes. Two years later Gomez became security director at San Francisco airport -- a stressful, difficult job.
Deputy Chief Kevin Mince sought a workers' compensation settlement as a result of stress from dealing with his supervisor. He was found to be 23 percent disabled as a result of headaches, shingles, chest pains and "injuries to his psyche." Mince took an industrial disability retirement of $109,259, half of it exempt from taxes. He also moved to Hawaii, where he functions well enough to work as a scuba-diving instructor.
CHP Capt. Larry Hollingsworth was found to be 61 percent disabled from knee injuries, ulcers, high blood pressure and hearing loss. He took a medical pension from the CHP, but is still apparently sound enough to become assistant sheriff of Yolo County.
Assistant CHP chief Denise Daeley was hurt in a private car returning from a weekend in Las Vegas. The trip was not work-authorized, but she claimed to have been recruiting for the force. Daeley got an annual payment of $57,396, half her salary, tax free, and decamped for Hawaii.
The author of the report that authorized Daeley's claim was Mike Brown, then a deputy chief and now CHP commissioner.
In response to the Bee report, the CHP created a workers' compensation fraud unit and promised to crack down, sparing nobody, whatever their rank. In more than half a year, however, its efforts have yet to touch a single chief. A lowly officer and dispatcher are the prime targets.
Workers' compensation was created to help those legitimately injured on the job, not to bankroll luxury retirement on dubious grounds. CHP benefits are generous, and it is possible for officers to retire at age 51 with 90 percent of their pay.
Despite its good work, the CHP should not be allowed to investigate itself. If current CHP leaders want to enhance the force's reputation, they should hand the pension fraud investigation to the Legislature, decline to give chiefs special treatment, and make key personnel moves free from even the appearance of scandal.
K. Lloyd Billingsley is editorial director of the Pacific Research Institute. Write to him by e-mail at lbillingsley@pacificresearch.org
posted by BLONDIE at 5:24 PM
1 comments
