Ventura Sheriff Department: A Study in Corruption

First off, this is my opinion and other people's opinion may vary. I have also heard additional similiar stories about the Ventura Sheriff's department under Bob Brooks, which involved people running for political office. There is the concept of where there is smoke, there is fire.

It is my personal opinion, based on what I have seen and heard, as well as the definition of the word "corrupt" (which involves not following the rules, not just illegal actions), that the current administration of Sheriff Bob Brooks is corrupt. It is interesting to do a web search "ventura sheriff corrupt". On some of the links, you will find people who believe that the Ventura Sheriff's department is corrupt and some specifically mentioned Bob Brooks and says:

http://twitter.com/VenturaCorrupt
Do not move to Ventura; Sheriff's Dept is corrupt and youll only get service if you are a friend of bob brooks 1:30 AM Nov 18th, 2009 from web

As an introduction, do a web search for "Ventura County Sheriff Bob Brooks fired Geoff Dean".

A link to the story is at:

http://www.vcstar.com/news/2009/mar/22/brooks-is-told-to-reinstate-dean/

The second paragraph in this story is really important and shows that our current government is out of control:

The commission ordered Brooks to reinstate Dean and recommended that the sheriff allow his successor to be "elected through the democratic process without undue influence from within the department," according to the report, which Dean provided to The Star on Friday.

What is this business about the commission recommending that Sheriff Bob Brooks allow his successor to be elected without undue influence from with the department? Shouldn't Sheriff Bob Brooks be ordered to not interfear in the election process? That statement makes it clear to me that Sheriff Bob Brooks does not want to allow the citizens of Ventura County to be able to elect the best person for the office of Sheriff.

While Geoff Dean was reinstated, I personally don't see how the Sheriff can be allowed to demote a person for running for Sheriff. That seems to be a clear violation of the rights of the person who want to run for office, as well as the rights of all the citizens to be able elect who they want, rather than who the current Sheriff thinks that we should elect.

I recently read an article about Dennis Carpenter and Geoff Dean and their comments at a recent question and answer forum. If you read some of the articles, which are linked above, you will see that clearly Dennis Carpenter thinks that the current way of doing things should continue. Perhaps this is because he is Bob Brooks choice and he does not like the concept of the people choosing the Sheriff, instead of the previous Sheriff making the decision. Dennis Carpenter attacked Geoff Dean by saying that he was found guilty of insuboardination. In my view, that is a positive thing. Bob Brooks had NO right to tell ANYONE to not run for Sheriff until he decides that it is acceptable. Bob Brooks statements in some of the newspaper articles I have read are unethical, unAmerican and in my opinion he should be fired and charged with a crime for interfearing in an election. Bob Brooks admitted that he transferred Geoff Dean so that he would not be seen by the public so that it harm his chance of getting elected as Sheriff. If this is not illegal, it should be. Bob Brooks' attitude seems to be quite arogant and certainly not what one would really want as an elected Sheriff. Dennis Carpenter said that he will continue to run the Sheriff's department the same as Bob Brooks. To me, this is unacceptable and shows that Dennis Carpenter should not be elected to the position of Sheriff. We don't need more of the same!!

What do you think the effect is on others who might want to run for the office? I am willing to bet that others do not want to take the chance of getting fired and having to go through that whole process. It is a serious chilling effect on the democratic process. It also hints that the Ventura Sheriff's department is a rogue organization, one in which is overseen by no one.

There is a reason why I made that last statement and it is because of other issues I have seen. I was told by the Ventura County Board of Supervisors, who pay the salaries of the Sheriff's department, that they can not oversee nor investigate the Sheriff's department. I was told by the Ventura DA that they can not investigate unless you can prove that some illegal act occurred, which means that you had best know ALL of the laws in order to get them to do anything.

Another interesting article is:

http://www.vcstar.com/news/2009/mar/25/something-about-a-sheriff/

Which says, in part:

And he did transfer Dean out of his high-profile position as chief deputy in charge of the patrol division specifically to lower Dean’s public visibility and to raise the profile of a potential competitor.

Who is Sheriff Brooks to play such games? He should be fired or jailed for such actions in my opinion. His job as Sheriff is not to determine who the next Sheriff is. It is clear that his attitude is reflected in the people who he has in the power structure and it is certainly the case that he does not care to do the job of the people, he is in it for his own political goals and agenda.

It is clear who Brooks wants:

http://www.vcstar.com/news/2009/jul/03/chief-deputy-carpenter-begins-campaign-for/

Hopefully, the people of Ventura County will vote for a change.

In my case, I have seen the Ventura Sheriff's department make false statements and retaliate due to my having a valid complaint. After making an appointment, driving over an hour to get there (one way), being told that the only person the only person who does the work is out sick and that you have to come back another day (as the whole department is effectively closed), do you think it is reasonable to ask if there is anyone else who can help you? Not even the supervisor was willing to just take a thumbprint and a check. The Sheriff's department took great offense to this, but nothing was said at the time. Instead, the Sheriff's department waited until the next renewal and denied it on false grounds.

How would you feel if the Sheriff's department told you that you had been fired from a job when the reality was that it was a layoff? That this had occurred around 6 years prior and was suddenly an issue, would that have an affect? How about if you told that you were guilty of misconduct on a job, when you have evidence to show that was also false?

If the Ventura Sheriff's department either can't get it right or intentionally retaliates against a citizen because they don't like to be questioned, there is something seriously wrong. Then, add to that being told by Undersheriff Mark Ball that when you get answer that you don't like you should quietly walk away, making it clear that if you are so bold as to not be a sheeple that they will take action against you.

Then, consider filing a complaint against these actions and have the "Professional Standards" Capt. Bruce Macedo investigate and not be able to find that anyone did anything wrong. What? So, the Sheriff's department can make false claims and the investigator can't find anything? Yeah, right, can you say a serious conflict of interest!!

It seems clear to me that retaliation is Standard Operating Procedure with the Ventura Sheriff's department. That there is little that a citizen can do about the abuses of the Sheriff's department because they have all the power. I have to wonder how many other stories are out there about the same types of abuses.

This has been educational, but I am not sure that those in power will like what I have learned. Since I have personally seen the lies from law enforcement, I really can't believe a word they have to say. This means that should I be called to serve on a Jury, I have reasonable doubt that the person that they are accusing is guilty. If the Sheriff can make up things which I personally know to be false, how can I trust them in things that I don't know? The simple answer is that I can't.

It is also important to realize (see case law) that the police have no duty or obligation to protect you as an individual. This means that you are really on your own. Due to the broken government, don't expect anyone to help you unless you have large sums of money to pay to an attorney to help you.

It is time to take OUR government back by throwing the current clowns out of office and electing people who are really for the people. Yes, this is a difficult task and it means that you have to follow what they are doing, but failure to do so will be the downfall of this country.

Update:

I recently when to a forum with Dennis Carpenter and Geoff Dean. I expected both candidates to be able to handle themselves well, but I was very mistaken. It seemed clear to me that Bob Brooks' choice for his replacement is out of his league. He had a hard time answering some questions and in one case it seemed that he was looking at his notes so as to determine what to say. He could not find anything and ended up saying that he was going to pass on that question. He could not or would not answer the question!!! Regardless of the other options, my impression was that I would not want Dennis Carpenter to be the Sheriff of Ventura County. He did not seem like a real leader to me. It also seemed to me that he was able to answer questions better when he got to hear Geoff Dean's response first. My impression is that he does not seem to be able to think for himself and that he needs others to tell him what he needs to say.

Dennis Carpenter attacks Geoff Dean on his "blemished" record, which is bogus since it is based on Geoff Dean refusing to follow an unethical order. When Dennis Carpenter was specifically asked about whether it was ethical for the Sheriff to order people to not announce their campaign for public office and whether it was ethical for the Sheriff to transfer a person with the specific goal of harming the chances of that person to get elected, Dennis Carpenter refused to answer and said that he would continue to run the Ventura Sheriff's department the same as Bob Brooks. I guess that is an indirect answer to the question and shows that Dennis Carpenter will continue with the same abuses as Bob Brooks. I heard that one of the reasons why he refused to answer the ethics questions was that Bob Brooks was in the audience and Dennis Carpenter did not want to do anything that might upset Bob Brooks. I, personally, want a Sheriff who will speak the truth and do what is right, rather than play politics and other such games.

Dennis Carpenter is supported by the Good Ol' Boys of Sheriff Bob Brooks, Undersheriff Mark Ball and the other Chief Deputies. Everyone else supports Geoff Dean it seems.