BREAKING: Cop Union Pulls Bill Hunt Endorsement
May 24, 2010 by OCCCWS Editor · Leave a Comment
Multiple sources say that the Santa Ana Police Officers Association has yanked its endorsement of Orange County sheriff’s candidate Bill Hunt.
The union’s president, Joe Perez, did not return phone calls for comment, but other law enforcement sources say the decision was made because Hunt, a private detective and former sheriff’s lieutenant, worked on a robbery case involving an alleged gang member.
“Our members are very upset with Mr. Hunt,” one officer told the Weekly on condition of anonymity. “He testified against us in court.”
But Hunt disputes the assertion, saying that he was hired to work on a robbery case and recently attended a preliminary hearing but did not testify. He also says that his client, Victor Manuel Lua, is innocent of the charges based on evidence he’s developed and that the gang allegation is tenuous at best: The 20-year-old Lua, he says, grew up in a Santa Ana neighborhood controlled by a criminal street gang and thus knows members but is not one himself.
[From OC Weekly Blog]
Sheriff candidates show their colors at debate
February 10, 2010 by OCCCWS Editor · Leave a Comment
Both challengers of Sheriff Sandra Hutchens attacked the incumbent at a candidates forum Tuesday night, but distinctions between all three were clear.
Former Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Bill Hunt repeatedly emphasized the Second Amendment and his vow to make it easier to get concealed weapons permits, while Anaheim Deputy Police Chief Craig Hunter characterized Hutchens as a Los Angeles-style cop in a county where people expected more.
“Would you rather go to the Honda Center or the Staples Center?” he asked. “Irvine Park or MacArthur Park? Ask yourself why that style of law enforcement doesn’t work.”
Hunter also seized upon criticism of Hutchens that arose at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting. When reorganizing the department amid last year’s budget crisis, Hutchens was widely applauded for saving street-level jobs by laying off two assistant sheriffs and six captains.
However, she recently unveiled a plan to promote 15 sworn officers – at their current pay for 18 months – and that led to Supervisor Bill Campbell to express concern about a “bait and switch” that would end up absorbing savings made by earlier cuts.
9th Circuit Finds 2nd Amendment Applies to States
April 20, 2009 by OCCCWS Editor · Leave a Comment
In a decision released today, the 9th circuit finds that the 2nd Amendment applies to both the Federal government as well as the states as a fundamental right.
<a href=’http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2009/04/20/0715763.pdf ‘>Ruling Text</a>
Schroeder’s legal counsel responds to revocation
March 25, 2009 by OCCCWS Editor · 3 Comments
OCCCWS has obtained a copy of the letter sent to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department in response to their revocation of Michael Schroeder’s CCW permit.
SAF Challenges D.C. Handgun Ban Scheme With Lawsuit
March 12, 2009 by Crassroots · Leave a Comment
The Second Amendment Foundation and three Washington, D.C. residents have filed a lawsuit challenging a regulation by District of Columbia city government that arbitrarily bans handguns based on a roster of “acceptable” handguns approved by the State of California.
The District is using this list despite a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court last summer that protects handguns that ordinary people traditionally use for self-defense. This scheme could eventually bar the ownership of any new handguns.Attorney Alan Gura, representing the plaintiffs in this case, noted that District bureaucrats “told Tracy Ambeau Hanson her gun was the wrong color.” Americans are not limited to a government list of approved books, or approved religions, he said. A handgun protected by the Second Amendment doesn’t need to appear on any government-approved list either.
“The Springfield XD-45 is approved for sale in Washington,” Gura noted, “so long as it is black, green, or brown, but her bi-tone version is supposedly ‘unsafe’.”
[Read the rest of the Story here]
County Denies OCCCWS Public Records Request
March 12, 2009 by OCCCWS Editor · Leave a Comment
The County Counsel for Orange County has replied and rejected OCCCWS’ Public Records Act request for the security camera footage of the January 13th Board of Supervisors meeting. OCCCWS feels that this security camera footage reveals the Sheriff’s attempts to intimidate the public and suppress free speech by deploying the SWAT team in plain clothes to harass and intimidate speakers.
This refusal is in direct violation of state law regarding the disposition of public records, and OCCCWS is taking appropriate action in response.
Read the response here.
Video shows Sheriff’s official spying on county supervisor
March 5, 2009 by OCCCWS Editor · 2 Comments
If, as the Sheriff claims, this was not any kind of conspiracy, but just a “random act” by an under-supervised employee, why was it only the supervisors who have been most vocal in their opposition to her that were spied on?
This was no random act. This was a clearly a blatant attempt to spy on the supervisors.
The Sheriff claims to want transparency and accountability. If she truly has nothing to hide, now it is time for the Sheriff to be ‘transparent’ and release the remainder of the security footage.
Or perhaps it is the fact that it will show her SWAT team intimidating law abiding citizens who oppose her policies.
See the (heavily edited) video clip below.
[Full article at Total Buzz - OCRegister.com]
No CCW Policy under Sheriff Carona? We beg to differ.
February 23, 2009 by OCCCWS Editor · Leave a Comment
There have been claims from officials that no CCW policy existed under former Sheriff Mike Carona. That simply is false. Linked below are screenshots of the pages from the OCSD website at the time when former Sheriff Carona was in office.
This policy was unchanged from 1999 to 2008.
NBC News on the 2/10 Board of Supervisors Meeting
February 13, 2009 by OCCCWS Editor · 1 Comment
NBC Channel 4 was at the February 10th Board of Supervisors meeting and aired a brief segment on the nightly news. You can watch the video clip below.
OC Gun Activists Speak Out
February 11, 2009 by OCCCWS Editor · Leave a Comment
Video here from OC Register.com of some of the highlights and interviews from the February 10th, 2009 Orange County Board of Supervisors Meeting.
Also, please see the coverage by LA Times and the OC Register.
This issue is by no means over! OCCCWS will continue to vigilantly monitor the Sheriff’s department for any illegal or improper behavior, as well as continue to use every legal means at our disposal to oppose the Sheriff’s arbitrary and capricious approach to CCW issuance.
