Mailbag: Police union should be placed under citizen oversight

The recent felony arrests of two private investigators for allegedly setting up two sitting City Council members and attempting to set up a third should send chills down your back.

The story reads like a Fox television drama. The two P.I.s are hired by the law firm representing the Costa Mesa police union to dig up dirt, and then they allegedly place a tracking device one of their vehicles.

Fortunately for us all, their alleged scheme completely backfired. Now our police union finds itself embroiled in a civil lawsuit with an added criminal twist. [Editor’s note: No police officers are accused of a crime in the case]. Where will this take us next?

Why would two Inland Empire private investigators working for the police union’s law firm go to such great efforts to smear our elected officials?

We need to follow the money. The police union needs to open its books and offer testimony under oath. It is taxpayer dollars that pay members’ salaries, after all. Right now, it is hiding behind its lawyers. I am immediately suspicious.

The most troubling aspect of this entire drama is that it casts a shadow over a wonderful department with terrific rank-and-file officers who are dedicated to keeping our city safe. If indeed there are a few bad apples, they should not be able to take an entire department down with them.

This story also highlights the key problem in all of this: Cops and politics don’t mix.

So where do we go from here? The police union should come clean and identify its role in this charade. If it is established that members of the Costa Mesa police union had any part in these alleged criminal actions, those officers should be immediately fired and charged.

Further, the current police union should be completely dissolved and a new association placed under citizen oversight. We deserve answers. If we can’t trust the police, who can we trust?

Colin McCarthy

Costa Mesa

The writer is a city planning commissioner.

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Parade fireworks bad for air quality

Fireworks are already an air-quality nightmare, even on the Fourth of July, when winds blow the remnants away. Smoke from fireworks, according to the state of Washington’s Department of Ecology, puts us at risk from breathing in tiny, harmful fine particles.

Promoters of the Newport Beach Boat Parade also don’t seem to be aware of or discount the hazards: risk of heart attack and stroke; lung inflammation; reduced lung function; asthma-like symptoms; and asthma attacks. All made worse by the wintertime inversion.

Like the beach bonfires, these fireworks displays are another example of someone’s fun at the expense of a neighbor’s health. Instead, let’s enjoy happy and healthy holiday events. No more fireworks, please.

Frank Peters

Corona del Mar

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A conservative would not remove bunnies

Regarding Newport Beach’s concrete bunnies and Councilman Scott Peotter’s desire to remove them from the civic center:

He should understand that an economic conservative would not push for get rid of an artistic placement, approved by the city before he was elected and costing taxpayers $200,000-plus, before he takes into account the cost to taxpayers of removal and replacement.

These bunnies are fun. They remind us of the nice things in life and should be left for the enjoyment of residents and visitors. It is my hope that Peotter drops this idea and turn his attention to keeping Newport Beach the fine city that it is.

Diana Walker

Newport Beach

The writer is a former member of the Newport Beach Parks, Beaches and Recreation Commission.