When El Cajon police stopped automatically responding to some mental health crisis calls earlier this year, firefighters flagged safety concerns.
Then, in early June, an intoxicated woman threatened to kill herself and a Heartland Fire & Rescue captain was injured as he restrained her when she ran into the road.
Our Lisa Halverstadt reports that the Heartland fire chief implored the El Cajon police chief to pause its policy shift until firefighters and police could receive more training.
Later that month, another fire captain expressed discomfort after feeling forced to pat down a patient and search his backpack for weapons with no help from police.
El Cajon Police Chief Jeremiah Larson said police responded to both incidents – and were even staged nearby during the second one – but acknowledged the situations spurred his department to work with fire officials on training and improved communications. He said the two departments are now “on the same page” and that the confusion didn’t reflect a lack of care for firefighters but instead a federal appeals court ruling that creates more liability for officers responding to crisis calls.
ICYMI: The El Cajon City Council is set to discuss Larson’s crisis call policy shift at its 3 p.m. meeting today. Mayor Bill Wells said he didn’t expect immediate changes but looked forward to reviewing the situation and getting input from residents.
Chula Vista Mayor Embroiled in Rent Dispute
Chula Vista Mayor John McCann and his wife Myllissa McCann had to move their real estate company out of its headquarters after they allege the office was flooded with raw sewage and urine.
They own Coronado Shores Co., and now they are battling it out with the landlord of the company’s former office space, which Coronado Shores rented for roughly $13,200 a month.
The staff at Coronado Shores Co. left the office space in February of this year, before the end of its five-year lease, according to the property’s landlord, Chicago real estate company Madison Desplaines LLC. Now, the landlord is suing Coronado Shores Co. for $650,000 in unpaid rent and fees.
McCann’s company is suing the landlord right back, alleging that Coronado Shores Co. had to vacate the property after months of neglected maintenance, including mold, leaks and a ruptured sewage pipe that left the office “uninhabitable.”
Coronado Shores Co. says it was the landlord that violated the lease by ignoring repeated requests for repairs. The landlord disagrees.
Border Report: Inside an Immigration Detention Center Courtroom
As Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, continues to detain people at an increasing rate, detention centers across the country are filling up, and so are the courtrooms inside of the detention centers.
That includes the Otay Mesa Detention Center here in San Diego County, where there are currently several court hearings a day.
Voice Contributor Kate Morrissey went to one of those hearings in June and detailed her experience. She describes a crowded courtroom with multiple men and women in custody, waiting for their cases to be reviewed by a judge. Many of them asked to be deported.
Meanwhile, some of the detainees’ family members couldn’t even get into the courtroom because of how crowded it was, Morrissey writes.
Politifest: What Should We Do When People Refuse Treatment?
As promised, this year’s Politifest will be unlike any other. We are bringing together leaders, experts and thinkers to battle it out in our solutions showdown.
Our Jim Hinch will help moderate a discussion on what we should do when people with behavioral health problems refuse treatment. Helping these individuals is one of the region’s greatest challenges.
We’ll hear potential solutions from a harm reduction advocate, the leader of a sobriety-based shelter network and the city of San Diego’s chief behavioral health officer.
It’s all happening at Politifest 2025. Click here to get your tickets.
In Other News
- San Diego County’s treasurer, Dan McCallister, retired last month after six consecutive terms. His legacy includes two sexual harassment lawsuits, including one that reached a $105,000 settlement in 2022, which taxpayers covered. (Union-Tribune)
- New public records reveal that the recent death of Karim Talib in a San Diego County jail came after multiple days of warnings and pleas for help from other men in custody. Sworn declarations from these men say they repeatedly asked deputies and medical staff to help Talib, but were ignored. (Union-Tribune)
- Students at San Diego Unified schools now have to follow a new districtwide phone policy. (KPBS)
- Did you tune into the housing Q&A on Reddit hosted by Voice of San Diego and KPBS reporters last week? If you missed it, read all about it here. (KPBS)
The Morning Report was written by Lisa Halverstadt and Tigist Layne. It was edited by Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña and Scott Lewis.
“… they allege the office was flooded with raw sewage and urine.”
it’s a small thing, but doesn’t sewage already include urine?