A Christian police support organization has hired a former San Diego County sheriff’s deputy who served prison time for sexually assaulting women — women who had called emergency services seeking help.
The Christian Law Enforcement Fellowship’s president said the former deputy, Ricky Fischer, had experienced religious redemption and was ready to minister, to male officers only, just as the organization had done for Fischer during his incarceration.
“Who better to minister to cops who are in trouble than a cop who has been in trouble who has now been forgiven by God?” said retired San Diego Police Department Capt. Jerry Hara, the fellowship president.
Because of Fischer, county taxpayers paid out $10 million to settle a civil lawsuit brought by the survivors.
Midway’s Legislator Did End Up Speaking About Midway Legislation
The Politics Report Saturday led with our attempts and failures to get Assemblymember Tasha Boerner to tell us what she thought of the legislation drawn up to support Midway Rising, one of the largest proposed development projects in the state. The bills would help developers put up more than 4,200 new homes, a new arena and more in her district.
Yet did not vote on SB 958. She didn’t vote for it or against it. Just didn’t vote. If the governor signs SB 958, opponents to projects like Midway Rising would no longer be able to sue arguing that the developer did not study the impacts of the height of the planned buildings adequately. Boerner didn’t want to discuss it.
Then, another San Diego Assemblymember presented SB 344 to the Assembly floor and a different San Diego Assemblymember spoke against it. But Boerner said nothing and then also didn’t vote on it. SB 344 would expressly protect Midway Rising from lawsuits over environmental impact.
Sunday we got a statement from Boerner: “I didn’t vote for SB 958 and SB 344 relating to the Midway Rising project. If we want to address California’s housing crisis, we need to allow for public scrutiny, and the public to sue when appropriate, to correct legitimate concerns and mistakes when assessing impacts. I agree we need to address the housing crisis, but we must do so in a way that does not sacrifice protections, especially environmental ones, we already have in place.”
Didn’t matter: The Assembly passed the bill with the needed two-thirds vote and it sailed through the Senate.
More from the Politics Report: We also wrote about gambling and the Padres, the cops and the cops’ accountability agency and why the Prebys Foundation bought the dilapidated California Theater.
The Politics Report is good but it’s for members here.
More from the Sacramento Report: With just three days left before the midnight deadline, Sacramento is rushing to finish its work. A San Diego lawmaker is trying to ban ICE’s controversial shock gloves before session ends, sparking a fight between civil rights groups calling the gloves inhumane and police unions calling the ban government overreach.
Another bill was proposed that would make it easier to place people with severe mental illness in court-ordered care.
Read the Sacramento Report here.
Podcast: The Voice of City Workers
Michael Zucchet is the general manager of the largest union of employees of the city of San Diego. Scott Lewis did a one-on-one interview with him for this week’s podcast. Zucchet made the case that critics of spending at City Hall are talking about millions of dollars in a much much larger budget of billions and that real cuts in spending need to accompany service cuts.
He acknowledged that worthwhile cuts and efficiencies were found after voters refused to approve a new sales tax and those changes would not have happened had the tax passed. He said it’s probably time to begin discussions about actual service cuts. \
The conversation also digs into labor costs and pensions, a trash-bin “lid lifter” mandate, and questions over the Port Commission’s handling of Harbor Island.
Listen to the full episode here.
Judge Won’t Make Fletcher Accuser Pay Agency That Fired Her
A San Diego Superior Court judge on Friday ruled against forcing an ex-Metropolitan Transit System staffer who accused ex-Chair Nathan Fletcher of sexual assault and harassment to cover the agency’s more than $775,000 in legal fees and costs.
We broke the news last week that MTS sought to force Grecia Figueroa to pay up after Judge Matthew C. Braner dismissed Figueroa’s case against MTS. Braner ruled her firing was based on performance issues. Braner also later threw out the sexual harassment case against Fletcher because Figueroa had deleted evidence detrimental to her claims.
But Figueroa is appealing, and Braner ruled Friday that her appeal means it’s too early to force her to pay.
He also noted in the more detailed tentative ruling Thursday that he would likely deny the request anyway. Defendants can’t usually collect attorneys fees unless a judge finds “the action was frivolous, unreasonable, or groundless.” Braner wrote that he didn’t find Figueroa’s claims met those definitions.
In Other News
- Arrests by ICE hit record highs in San Diego and Imperial Counties last month. (CBS 8)
- If San Diego City Council and the developer of 101 Ash Street agree to some edits on their lease agreement, the deal to flip the building into apartments for low-income families could be closed by end of September. (Union-Tribune)
- Starting this week-end, SDPD is launching “Operation Last Call” in the Gaslamp, adding foot patrols and tactical units to target public intoxication, disorderly conduct and assaults. (Inside San Diego)
- San Diego could soon lose independent oversight of its juvenile detention and foster care system. The Superior Court said it will end its administrative support and insurance on Sept. 29. (KPBS)
The Morning Report was written by MacKenzie Elmer and Naomi Granata. It was edited by Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña and Scott Lewis.