Support for Sheriff

I was quite surprised at how uninformed the L.A. Times was in writing the editorial on Sheriff Duffy, (“It’s Time to Hear From Sheriff Duffy,” Dec. 11).

The San Diego Union reported a case where an ex-deputy was cleared by a jury of brutality. A victory for the Sheriff’s Department. This jury saw through the absurdity of this lawsuit.

It should be against the law to file frivolous lawsuits. The courts are already overburdened. It’s a waste of taxpayers’ money. These claims of brutality are probably being blown out of proportion, never occurred, or cons trying to con the county out of money. In fact, I hope that the sheriff’s deputies countersue.

The Times says that Duffy should speak out. Well, I’m sure that the reason he or his designated official won’t say anything is that anything they say might be detrimental to the cases. He has already won one case, and I’m sure he’ll win more without saying anything.

The Times wants to consider a civilian review board. A law enforcement officer’s worst nightmare is to have a civilian, who is not trained in the law enforcement procedures, who does not have to deal with the bad side of the public, to judge whether the law enforcement officer was right or wrong. All The Times has to do is check their stories to see that the Sheriff’s Department does “police” its own. The media have reported at least three cases, that I know of, where sheriff’s deputies were fired from the department and/or cases taken to the district attorney for criminal charges to be filed. I say no to a civilian review board.

In my opinion, the Sheriff’s Department is doing a good job. To reiterate what I saw on a bumper sticker, “San Diego County Sheriff--Law Enforcement at its Best.”

LORAN WON

Oceanside