Thread: ESCONDIDO, CA, POLICE UNION MAILS OUT GANG FLIER

ESCONDIDO: Ugly negotiations prompt controversial police union mailer
Council calls flier intentionally misleading

By DAVID GARRICK - Staff Writer
Monday, March 16, 2009 8:22 PM PDT


The Escondido police officers union sent a flier featuring this provocative photo to 17,000 residents seeking their help in a dispute with the City Council over compensation cuts.


ESCONDIDO, CALIFORNIA ---- Seeking to gain public support in its fight with the City Council over proposed compensation cuts, the labor union representing Escondido police officers mailed a provocative flier this past weekend claiming that "gang members outnumber police officers by almost 6 to 1."

The glossy four-page mailer, which was sent to 17,000 Escondido homes and paid for by the Escondido Police Officers Association, says recent increases in crime and gang activity make it crucial for residents to protest the proposed compensation cuts at this Wednesday's council meeting, which will begin at 4 p.m. in City Hall, 201 N. Broadway.

On Monday, council members called the mailer a disappointing intimidation tactic and questioned many statistics it cited. They also warned union officials that portraying Escondido as crime-ridden might scare people away from the city, potentially accelerating a recent decline in the local sales tax revenues that help cover police salaries.

In addition, Councilwoman Olga Diaz and Latino activist Bill Flores said the mailer features racist overtones that could alienate the roughly 60,000 Latinos included among Escondido's 143,000 residents.

Union officials defended the mailer, contending that the statistics were carefully gathered and that it is not their job to make the city look good.

"It paints a fair picture of the violence in the city and the fact that it's on the rise," union President Michael Guerrero said Monday.

The trouble between the council and the union stems from the union's rejection of proposed compensation cuts that all other city employees have had to accept this winter. The cuts eliminate 401(k) contributions, end automatic pay increases tied to longevity and wipe out most bonuses for education and training.

Leaders of the police union acknowledge that Escondido is facing sharply declining revenues from the recession, but they contend their willingness to forego pay increases this year should be adequate.

Council members have disagreed and said they plan to invoke their authority to unilaterally impose the compensation cuts Wednesday. They also said it would be untenable to exempt police officers from the compensation cuts that other employees have already accepted.

The mailer, which features photos of bloody fingerprints and several tattoo-covered gang members, paints an unflattering picture of the city. It says Escondido is home to 138 registered sex offenders, 569 prison parolees, 382 documented gang members and 1,000 more gang "associates," who fraternize with gangs but aren't full-fledged members.

It also claims that gang members outnumber officers 6 to 1, but council members called that ratio intentionally misleading. They explained that the city's 382 gang members only outnumber the city's 158 officers by 2.4 to 1, and that the union has added in gang "associates" to achieve the 6-to-1 ratio.

"They know the difference between a gang member and an associate," said Councilwoman Diaz.

Council members also questioned assertions in the mailer that Escondido has the lowest pay of any police department in San Diego County, and that the department has struggled to recruit and retain officers because of inferior compensation.

"This was a tacky effort that makes them look like thugs themselves," said Diaz. "I'm disappointed our police officers would try to intimidate the public for their own financial gain."

Diaz said the union has every right to sway public opinion, but that it should have done so more "tastefully" and with more accurate numbers.

Councilmen Sam Abed and Dick Daniels offered similar sentiments.

"This was a hit piece that features a lot of half-truths and inaccuracies," said Daniels. "Something like this doesn't serve to educate or inform the public. I'm just glad they didn't Photoshop pictures of the five council members on to the bodies of gang members."

Abed said city officials plan to clear up any inaccuracies during this Wednesday's meeting. Mayor Lori Holt Pfeiler said that even an accurate mailer would have been inappropriate because the council hasn't sent out a mailer defending the compensation cuts. Councilwoman Marie Waldron did not return phone calls.

Guerrero, the union president, said city officials left the union no choice.

"City staff is trying to ram this 'takeaway' contract down our throats, so we had to go to the voters," he said.

Diaz and Flores said the flier was racist because the gang members pictured were all minorities and the officers pictured were all white.

"This will make people afraid of young Latino men," said Diaz.

"It's fear-mongering at its worst with racist overtones," said Flores. "Something like this can alienate a huge part of the community."

Guerrero responded that virtually all local gang members are minorities.

Diaz and Flores also complained that gang members pictured in the mailer were from MS-13, a notoriously violent gang based in Los Angeles. Guerrero acknowledged that fact, contending that the use of local gang members would have "emboldened" them.

Contact staff writer David Garrick at (760) 740-5468 or dgarrick@nctimes.com.

NORTH COUNTY TIMES

City disputes facts in police union's flier

Benefits conflict on council's agenda

By Angela Lau
Union-Tribune Staff Writer
2:00 a.m. March 18, 2009

This image of heavily tattooed gang members flashing signs was sent to about 17,000 residents in Escondido on a flier from the Escondido police officers' union, which is embroiled with the city in a contract dispute. However, these aren't Escondido gang members and city officials dispute many of the crime statistics used in the flier. The police are also being accused of race-baiting and invoking racial stereotypes. A union spokesman stands by the flier. - ESCONDIDO — City officials are challenging statistics in a controversial flier by the police union depicting Escondido as gang-infested and on the verge of a major crime wave.
The flier, mailed to about 17,000 households, stems from the city's effort to cut employee benefits to help close a widening budget gap. The city wants to suspend automatic pay raises and contributions to 401(k)s for the Police Department, terms that other unions have accepted or were forced to accept.

But the police union has rejected the offer, saying that the city has enough money to avoid such cuts. The dispute is headed to the City Council at 4 p.m. today.

The four-page, full-color flier, which city officials have characterized as inflammatory, shows five heavily tattooed gang members on the cover. They are not from Escondido, but apparently belong to MS-13, a notorious Los Angeles gang whose members are from El Salvador. It also cites various statistics:

Flier: “In 2009, violent crime and theft in Escondido is sharply on the rise and threatens to reach levels not seen in more than a decade.â€

http://www.ci.escondido.ca.us/police/ne ... index.html

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http://www.ci.escondido.ca.us/police/ne ... larios.pdf



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http://www.ci.escondido.ca.us/police/ne ... d/mora.pdf



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http://www.ci.escondido.ca.us/police/ne ... alonso.pdf



http://www.ci.escondido.ca.us/police/ne ... -07636.pdf



http://www.ci.escondido.ca.us/police/ne ... -14142.pdf



http://www.ci.escondido.ca.us/police/ne ... -11489.pdf

Racism? Here we go again. It ain't racism when your neighbors down the street are continually arrested for gang activity. Discrimination? Not at all as if a convict is black or white they also get their photos and descriptions published for the public good.

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SHERIFF'S WHO IS IN JAIL - INMATE LOG

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However, these aren't Escondido gang members

Oh excuse me!! So Escondido gang bangers are somehow more upstanding or virtuous than those pictured!

Would they have been happy if Escondido gang bangers had been used instead! What a bunch of idiots!

By Angela Lau (Contact) Union-Tribune Staff Writer
7:22 p.m. March 16, 2009


ESCONDIDO — Some residents and politicians say a flier sent by the city's police officers' union crosses the line, peddling fear and deepening racial wounds in its effort to win a labor battle.

About 17,000 Escondido residents woke up over the weekend to a full-color four-page flier in their mailboxes with five heavily tattooed gang members flashing gang signs on the cover.

Above and below them a message in large type says: “On the streets, gang members now outnumber Escondido police officers by almost 6 to 1 ... Why isn't the City Council putting your safety first?â€

Rows of Escondido police officers listen as Mike Guerrero, president of their association speaks at Wednesday's city council meeting. Guerrero later said the union's lawyers wold go to court Thursday to force the city into binding arbitration. -

Council berates police union over labor-issue flier

SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE

Well i got banned at the North County Times again.

Union officials defended the mailer, contending that the statistics were carefully gathered and that it is not their job to make the city look good.

Yeah, that would be a job no one wants because it is impossible to make Escondido look good. I avoid that city like the plague.
This is a mess they will be mired in for a long time due to thier sanctuary status. I'm afraid it's too late for this town.