There was a reason every single law enforcement group in Humboldt County endorsed Paul Gallegos' opponent in the last election. Their endorsement was couched in careful terms, but amounted to a stunning vote of no-confidence in Gallegos.
Here again, you might have had a glimpse into the reasons, but the Chief wants concerns surrounding dropped rape charge to be kept private
Concerns about a plea deal that resulted in a 19-day sentence for a man originally charged with rape will not be discussed publicly, said Arcata Police Chief Randy Mendosa.
“I do have some concerns about the process, which I’m going to be communicating to (Humboldt County District Attorney Paul) Gallegos, but it’s not appropriate to make those communications through the media,” Mendosa said Wednesday.
The chief’s concerns stemmed from the case of Clinton Lee Harris III, who was arrested by the Arcata Police Department April 18 and mistakenly released from the Humboldt County jail Aug. 3, while awaiting trial on charges of rape and burglary.
Harris was rearrested several days later but was let out again, this time intentionally, on Aug. 20 after the two felony charges were reduced to a single misdemeanor...
...Mendosa declined to specify his particular concerns with the deal, in large part, he said, because the case involved an alleged sexual assault.
“I don’t want my comments to make the process more difficult for rape survivors,” he said, “but I’ll be discussing the matter further with Mr. Gallegos.”
If Randy grows gonads over this, I be damned.
ReplyDeleteWhat f#@k up is finally going to piss him off enough to stand up for his victims and his cops?
it's a matter of time til this thing blows up in their faces, one of these guys they let out will do i t again and really hurt somebody, maybe kill somebody and the question will be how did this happen
ReplyDeleteIMHO
That has already happened. They plea bargained Garza to false imprisonment a minor felony and put him on probation after he and 3 others tied a woman to a tree and repeatedly raped her over a period of several days. As soon as he got out he raped a 13 year old girl, got her pregnant and instead of going away for the serious felony of child assault - just got a watered down minor felony of statutory rape. Heck, that didn’t even require that he register as a sex offender and even more bizarre - another round of probation for him.
ReplyDeleteScratch your head at that one and hide the women and children in the closet.
Its time for the Chief to discuss and explain to the public and not behind closed doors to Paulie.
ReplyDeleteI know the politics in Arcata but for christsakes, the guy raped his ex and is getting off scott free. I wonder what the womens groups up at HSU are gonna do.
I think a good picket at the courthouse is appropriate under these circumstances.
Won't happen. People are way to polite. Good people try to do the right thing and go through proper channels - and they are being ignored byt the untouchable Gallegos.
ReplyDeleteWait, Randy Mendosa, the guy who backed down to a misdo no time deal when one of his cops got his face ripped open, that guy has publicly stated that he has issues?
ReplyDeleteWell, the T/S and ER have the chance now to show whether or not
they are real newspapers. Let's find out what happened and what didn't, and why, in this case.
What do the cops know that has them so upset?
You won't read about this travesty in the SubStandard. Their new hate monger Thaddeus Greenson, along with Rich whatshisname, are too busy trying to drum up violent demonstrations against the police. They would never waste their time on sticking up for a rape victim or APD against their beloved Gallegos.
ReplyDeleteRandy M. with a pair of balls? Not a chance in hell. Randy M. is a sideways Arcata politician of the same cloth as Dave Merserve (Davie is an AH but he has a pair). Randy is a jellyfish. A whimp. Randy likes Gallegos. Randy would never stick up for one of his cops or a victim unless there was something in it for him personally. Randy only does what makes Randy look good or makes things eaiser for him. A disgrace as a leader and a joke as a cop.
ReplyDeleteFuck off 419
ReplyDeleteI mean that with all sincerity. I know Randy Mendosa, and you have NO clue of the impossiblity of running a Police Department in the peoples republic of Arcata.
If you asswipes think arcata pd could be run by a belligerent noncommunicative good ole boy type, (not that being a good ole boy is a bad thing, though belligerence is not good), then I have ocean front property in Arizona to sell you.
You have no idea how much shit Randy Mendosa and his officers put up with on a daily basis, and they do it for the most part with grace and dignity.
Tell me, 419, how would YOU handle it? You wouldnt. You'd sputter, bluster and try to play games through the press, and you'd be canned by the City Council within a month.
No, but I'd probably last 3 months longer than you would with your foul mouth (fingers) and anger issues.
ReplyDeleteAnd if you know so much about Randy M. you know that he negotiated a sweet deal to be chief and if they do fire him he gets demoted to lt. at the same pay rate until he retires. In reality RM could buck the powers to be in Arcata even a little and gain some respect and support from his rank and file. And maybe outside agencies.
From a front line view point 4:19 is closer to the truth than I like to think about.
ReplyDeleteHow did this turn into a Mendosa-bash? He's a very thoughtful, considerate man who probably could use a pair, but as I hear from acquaintances, a good guy to work for. Stick to bashing the dipstick DA!
ReplyDelete"And if you know so much about Randy M. you know that he negotiated a sweet deal to be chief and if they do fire him he gets demoted to lt. at the same pay rate until he retires. In reality RM could buck the powers to be in Arcata even a little and gain some respect and support from his rank and file. And maybe outside agencies."
ReplyDeleteHi 10:02,
I too know Randy Mendosa and find him to be a thoughtful and considerate man. I also work for another City in the county, though I am not in law enforcement. I can tell you that in the case of employees who work directly for city councils, that it is fairly common for them to negotiate their contracts directly with their respective city councils.
His contract is not unique; many police chiefs and city managers negotiate their respective employment contracts.
It also flies in the face of the arugument that he has no backbone/balls/fortitude/whatever, yet he negotiated in your words, a "sweet deal".
The foul mouth person last night may have not said it politely, but really, how else are you going to deal with things in Arcata? Just because Randy is soft spoken does not mean he does not command respect. I can tell you with assurance that Randy Mendosa has the complete respect of at least three former/current chiefs of police from cities here in Humboldt County.
Jeeze - Randy just needs to speak up and say this is all screwed up - and say it to gallegos, the community and to the victim. Thats all - easy.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I believe you may be missing is that it is quite likely that Randy Mendosa is not playing politics and having a mud fight through the press.
ReplyDeleteI am quite sure that he has communicated his displeasure to Paul Gallegos privately.
I agree that this should not deteriorate into Mendosa bashing. he is a good guy with a good reputation in a difficult job.
ReplyDeleteAND, communicating his concerns to Gallegos privately is not going to solve this problem, in my opinion.
The problem IS that the voters do not even know there is a problem BECAUSE no one will tell them. They are the ONLY ones with oversight over the DA's Office. They will act to fix the problem IF they are made aware of what is going on.
Do you honestly believe that talking to Gallegos will fix the problem? Have you seen any indication over the last FIVE years that he is inclined to FIX the problems? NO. You have not. There is a long stretch ahead. Do you realize that? Do you comprehend how much damage has been done and how much can be done?
You have to tell the people what is going on. Trust them. They will fix it. That is not playing politics with the press. That is simply and factually letting people know that there is a problem. And putting the blame where the blame belongs. HOLD THE MAN ACCOUNTABLE for God's sake.
Amen -
ReplyDeleteNow do it Randy!
Quite the opposite from those accusing Chief Mendosa of being "testicularly challenged", he is maintaining the high moral ground to not do this in the press. Just by the mere fact that he is NOT doing so should infer that he is quite displeased and doesn't want to air the dirty laundry in the press, like so many others. The fine art of reading between the lines should be in play here.
ReplyDeleteWell that could be - it could also be that he needs to grow a spine. Only time will tell and only he can tell.
ReplyDeletePaul will assure him that "certainly" he understands and sympathizes, and he'll put his "team" right on it, because "at the end of the day" he's all about "justice for alllllllll....." And the people will go back to sleep, and Randy and everyone else will continue to have to deal with the problem, again and again and again.
ReplyDeleteRandy is a good man, but in a bad spot. In many respects Philp is in the same spot. They both have to deal with Gags as lying and corrupt as he is. But I keep on thinking that keeping quiet and not letting the public know how screwed up it is doesn’t do anyone or anything any good.
ReplyDeleteI hope that Randy pounds the table for a little justice for this woman.
Yeah. My take on it is they are both trying to keep things professional. And for their trouble, they, and EPD will keep taking the hits.
ReplyDeleteOh yes Randy is just a dynamic leader, always concerned about the welfare of his troops. NOT.
ReplyDeletesince this is getting a bit off track, he could use a decent haircut and a cup of coffee (Randy drinks herbal tea)
Google News Alert for: Paul Gallegos
ReplyDeletehttp://www.eurekareporter.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?ArticleID=27745
Chief wants concerns surrounding dropped rape charge to be kept ... The Eureka Reporter - Eureka,CA,USA
"I do have some concerns about the process, which I'm going to be communicating to (Humboldt County District Attorney Paul) Gallegos, ...