Wednesday, May 30, 2007 | One of the necessary conditions for a civilized community is a chief law enforcement officer who upholds the law without prejudice or politics and does not lie to the public.
Sadly, San Diego has a police chief, William Lansdowne, who has violated every one of these principles.
It is time for him to resign.
Chief Lansdowne marched down the aisle almost literally hand-in-hand with County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis in Council chambers two years ago and stood there while she violated the city charter on public comment seeking to enhance her empire by acquiring the city attorney’s criminal division.
Political sure.
Sunroad development: Lansdowne refused to execute a search warrant issued by a Superior Court judge and somehow the mayor learnt about the order.
Political and unethical sure: a violation of the law, probably.
Now voiceofsandiego.org reports that Chief Lansdowne routinely lies to the public on crime statistics and police response times and comments from Mayor Sanders suggest to voiceofsandiego.org’s editorial writer that the mayor is saying.
“Don’t listen to what the chief says out loud, he might not be telling the truth and you have to double check everything he says.”
Good public policy and ethical no; something you should admire about your police chief, absolutely not.
Despite a preemptive strike by the chief to enhance his image published as a faux news report in the Union-Tribune, it is time for Lansdowne to go.