The men and women of the Santa Barbara County Deputy Sheriffs Association spoke loud and clear when they chose to endorse another candidate for sheriff. The men and women of the Santa Maria Police Officers’ Association spoke loud and clear when they endorsed another candidate for sheriff. The County Firefighters union spoke loudly when they chose to endorse another candidate for sheriff. Two county supervisors from different sides of the aisle spoke loudly when they chose to endorse another candidate for sheriff. I actually voted for Sheriff Bill Brown when he defeated Sheriff Jim Anderson. It didn’t take me long to realize I made a huge mistake.
How do I know Sheriff Brown? I worked for 30-plus years at the Sheriff’s Office. I worked for four different sheriffs, all of whom had strengths and weaknesses. Sheriff Brown was my last sheriff. He can be credited for some things, but for the last five-plus years he has been an absolute disaster and in my opinion unethical in other matters. Now that I am retired I can openly talk about him without fear of retaliation.
I will give you one example of many that anybody can verify through a Freedom of Information Act request. Two memos I authored dated May 7, 2009, and Dec. 14, 2011.
The Jesusita Fire started on May 5, 2009. I was assigned to the Sheriff’s Air Unit at the time. Late that first evening I made several attempts to radio the progress of the fire, which was moving toward Mission Canyon and the residents below. For more than 30 minutes I was ignored on the radio by someone in the fire command center. When I finally got a response, I informed them of my concerns of the fire’s movement. I was told, “Do not worry about that area, we want it to burn down there.” When I again tried to inform them of the threat, they again stated, “Don’t worry about that.” Well, we all know what happened that very next day. Would the outcome of my concern be different today if they would have acted on it? We will never know. On May 7, 2009, I wrote a memo up my chain of command informing them of what happened that first evening. No response from anybody.
Around December of 2011, I learned of a lawsuit filed by many individuals and agencies regarding the fire and three companies that were named in this lawsuit. I had heartburn over the fact that several companies were being sued due to the negligence of two individuals’ misuse of their product that started the fire.
On Dec. 14, 2011, I wrote another memo to Sheriff Brown requesting permission to release my 2009 memo to the defense. I finally got a response from the Sheriff’s Office on Dec. 21, 2011. Sheriff Brown and his undersheriff wanted to meet with me after work. After work it was only “the sheriff” who showed up. After that meeting I wrote down in my personal notes everything he said to me. During that one-on-one meeting at a Santa Ynez coffee shop, he told me, “I’m not going to give you permission” to release the memo, stating it was, “Sheriff’s Department property.” He said, “I can’t stop you, but you should really think long and hard before doing this.” He also said, “This will not look favorably on the department.”
I’m still puzzled at the fact the Sheriff’s Office would look “unfavorable.” It was the Sheriff’s Office pointing out the concern. For over an hour he attempted to persuade me from saying anything. One of his last comments to me was, “If people can’t get along they can be moved.” That was obviously a clear threat shot across the bow to keep me silent. Is this the type of sheriff you want to represent Santa Barbara County? The memo eventually found its way to the surface, and I was subpoenaed for a deposition on April 30, 2013. The defense thanked me for my honesty.
A man or woman who is entrusted to be your sheriff should not use their power to threaten their employees for “asking” to do the right thing. I should have gone public back then, but the Deputy Sheriffs’ Association attorney warned me doing so would be grounds for discipline or termination even if the order was unethical. I would have had to go through years of litigation trying to fight him to clear my name for violating his order of “keeping silent.”
Please consider your vote for Lt. Brian Olmstead to become your next sheriff. The employees of the Sheriff’s Office and the citizens of Santa Barbara County deserve a sheriff who fights for all sides even if it means taking responsibility, being transparent, and owning their failures.
Jon Simon is a retired Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s deputy and a resident of Solvang. Send your thoughts to letters@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Apr 26 – May 3, 2018.