Thursday, March 10, 2016

Is the Marin County Sheriff being used for Political Advantage?



Marinwood CSD board president confirms that Marin Sheriff reported private conversation which was then used for political purposes at a Marinwood CSD meeting on March 8, 2016.

In a related video, we observe an armed Marin Sheriff while allegedly  performing security, testify with highly salacious  testimony to support the passage of a local dog leash ordinance.  We question the ethics of doing this in an official capacity.   

In our view, Marin Sheriff's office violated ethics twice.  Once, when the officer provided the irrelevant testimony to inject fear of outsiders in the discussion about the dog leash law and twice, when a private complaint was revealed to Justin Kai for his political advantage.

We expect our police to uphold the law and serve the public in a unbiased manner and not become political tools for petty officials.

To appreciate the ethical problem poised by the deputy, consider the following.  Imagine if the armed sheriff standing guard, suddenly spoke up in favor of the current "leash optional" policy and said. "Excuse me board members, I don't think you have established the facts.   There have been ZERO reported incidents in the Marinwood Park Panhandle".

Even though the deputy would have spoken the truth,  his improper injection of personal opinion into the community discussion while serving as a security officer would have been totally improper.  It would have been perceived that he was challenging the majority of the CSD board and creating undue influence.

The Sheriffs department should not be unofficial advocates for any political discussions while performing their duties in uniform at a public meeting.

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