Jail staff on mandatory overtime, 5 correctional officers gone to EPD

 

Jail staff on mandatory overtime, 5 correctional officers gone to EPD. County and courts have been short staffed for years. 

Law enforcement agencies all over the country and California are facing a short staffing problem but in Humboldt, the attrition has been increasing every year for decades. The TV stations do a superficial interview about short staffing, the rest of the local media ignores it except to let ungrateful anti law voices and frustrated keyboard warriors attack the people on the frontline who are not the problem. 

If other local media had the guts and weren't tools of the establishment, they need to prove it. Do an investigative and factual story with stats on how many deputies and correctional officers have left the County without interviewing self promoting and giving First District Supervisor Rex Bohn more PR or Sheriff William Honsal or HCSO administration providing a spin. Certain media is too busy posting the same Mckinleyville High school story a gazillon times instead of reporting on the quick response by deputies despite short staffing or what the students, families and staff went through with two calls where law enforcement found no evidence of the alleged threat or a suspect.

When I first came here, it was the anti law enforcement voices who were the issue. Even before my blog, I wrote opinions and predicted that if you drive away the good officers and deputies, you will be left with the very people you complain about; they will just transfer to another agency. 

In the last few years, the good people that have left or transferred from courts and law enforcement , are because of management and those in charge. The Board of Supervisors, especially Rex Bohn and Michelle Bushnell protecting their buddies and yes people, including Sheriff William Honsal and former HCSO Deputy Matt Tomlin have chased away good, decent law enforcement. We still have good people left but they are outnumbered by problem or incompetent officers and deputies. Do you know how many cases were jeopardized or resolved because Tomlin was involved? This is what someone inside the criminal justice system told me. "All a defense attorney has to do is mention Tomlin's name or say they will file a Pitchess motion."

More experienced officers are going to leave EPD and I have written about that more than once.

Local attorney Michael Acosta's case is just one example. He conveniently resigned and every effort for me to report was stymied by the County and St. Bernard's Academy. 

Working in any capacity with the criminal justice system takes a toll but this is a problem that has been created by Humboldt repeatedly electing the ones who create the problem, defending the ones who are the problem and misdirecting their anger at the wrong people. So get off those keyboards and either take the risk and start speaking up or take your two cents and suffer the status quo you created. Politicians and the good ole boys like St. Bernards Academy only have the power you give them. Your bad choices affect my life and others' lives and our livelihoods. We are the ones out there risking, speaking up and doing our best to bring positive change in this hellhole; so I give two cents about the negative people who demand and waste time instead of looking in the mirror about the Humboldt they created.