Badges! Badges! We need stinkin' badges!

The sheriff Corpus soap opera continues apace with near daily updates since the last post 10 days ago.  Much of the drip, drip is due to reporters, editors and columnists sifting through the 400-page report from the retired judge than led to the county Supes moves against the sheriff.  The Daily Post is on the case again today with a photo of Chief of Staff Victor Aenlle wearing a badge that looks just like a deputy's badge.  The article states that he is "likely committing a crime by impersonating a police officer".  But wait, there's more.  Aenlle had other badges made up and was passing them out to friends and colleagues at a local non-profit.  Hence the Daily Post headline "Anyone want a sheriff's badge".  Blazing Saddles and The Treasure of Sierra Madre had it right after all.

I had heard from a couple sources that Aenlle is a Burlingamer, but had not made any effort to verify it.  The Post just did the legwork for me by citing his B'gamer status in today's piece.  The second article on changing the code on a rifle storage locker continues the drip, drip as does editor Dave Price's column about trusting sheriff's departments.  I don't see this drip dripping until a March special election.

Comments

[Joe]

Oh boy! Talk about not reading the room. Check this bit of news from yesterday from today's DJ:

As a way to “streamline information” for residents about “updates that impact them most” from the Sheriff’s Office, Corpus announced Nov. 25 she will be launching a quarterly newsletter that “allows residents to get important information directly from us.”

“I believe that maintaining lines of communication between the community and our office will help us build greater trust, inclusion and collaboration as we work harder and smarter to fight crime,” Corpus wrote in the inaugural newsletter.

The first edition of the newsletter made no mention of the ongoing outcries of concern over the state of the Sheriff’s Office, but included staff’s access to a 24/7 therapist as a wellness initiative, an autism awareness training conducted in July, and other community programs implemented earlier this year.
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What the over/under on how many issues of the newsletter will ever be published? I'm going with 5.

[Joe]

The soap opera continues with San Carlos weighing in--and some astounding numbers about resignations in the department. From the DJ:

The first city to weigh in on the Sheriff’s Office scandal, the San Carlos City Council at its Nov. 25 meeting unanimously passed a resolution of no confidence in Sheriff Christina Corpus and called for her immediate resignation.

As one of three cities in the county to contract services with the Sheriff’s Office, San Carlos weighed in on what Mayor John Dugan described as “nothing less than a full spectrum failure of leadership.”

Since Corpus entered office, at least 106 sworn staff left the agency, and only approximately half of those were retirement eligible.
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And a regular recall effort is kicking off with Harnett and Mueller raising money and volunteers.

[Joe]

Game on. March 4th is the election date for the temporary Charter Amendment that would allow 4 out of 5 Supes to dump the sheriff. The DJ has some details today:

The second reading (Ed: at yesterday's Supe meeting) of an ordinance similar to this one would usually be approved through the consent agenda, Supervisor Noelia Corzo said, but was placed as a discussion item out of consideration of the public. Many residents have raised concern over the quickness taken in placing the ordinance on the ballot.
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Gotta love that "many residents" bit. How many is "many"? And how many of them were part of "Wreckin' San Mateo"?
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Corzo said she had a conversation with the sheriff earlier this year when Corpus admitted Victor Aenlle — who is at the core of the allegations investigated by Cordell — had lied to Corzo about something Corpus allegedly had said.

However, the Board of Supervisors also approved formally asking Corpus to attend the board meeting Dec. 10, and provide sworn testimony in an effort to grant the sheriff the ability to respond to the allegations. The board has until Dec. 11 to remove the measure from the ballot.
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The operative word here is "Sworn" testimony. The adjacent operative word is "Perjury".
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With the passing of the ordinance to be placed on the March ballot, members of the county — including the board and the sheriff — will be barred from using county resources for campaigning.
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I guess it's a sign of the times--and the soap opera--that this even needed to be said.

[Joe]

It's Monday so Dave Price at the Daily Post publishes his editorial for the week, and Oh Boy. Headline:

Don't Give Corpus a Golden Parachute

He put the Supervisors on notice that taxpayers will not look kindly on a pay-to-go-out-the-door deal. His radar says it's being "considered". My favorite part is:

SHE'S LAWYERED UP

"Corpus has hired a couple of lawyers, and they may be telling her that any public statements she gives can and will be used against her in a FUTURE CRIMINAL PROSECUTION."

I added the CAPS there at the end. Price goes into a couple possible criminal charges. He doesn't say it explicitly, but if the Supes think they have prosecutable stuff, do not pop the parachute for her.

The Cordell report just keeps giving details. Per Price's piece "He (Aenlle) gave her (Corpus) $11,000 diamond Tiffany earring and $1,200 red-bottomed Christian Louboutin boots, according to the report."
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As a little sweet bite at the end, Price reminds us that we had a sheriff trainee deputy leave her gun behind at Crepevine in B'game recently. I wouldn't pin that on the sheriff necessarily, but it supports the basic jist of "it's time to go".