Merced, California, Aug. 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — “This wouldn’t be our fight, this shouldn’t be our fight,” stated Sister Kate of the battle for management of the police division in the small city of Livingston, “except for the fact that the Sheriff’s department decided to make it about cannabis. Since they made it about cannabis, it is now our fight.”
In slightly city in Merced County, in the Central Valley of California, on Tuesday night time this week, the Sisters and the native activists succeeded in blocking the sheriff from occupying the city law-enforcement management.
Several months in the past, a emptiness opened for police chief in the city of Livingston close by the farm of the Sisters of the Valley. The city has twice the quantity of cops per resident as the City of Merced. The Sheriff and his division govern the county, and regardless that Livingston is exterior his jurisdiction, the Sheriff stepped in and declared he would ‘save Livingston’ by assigning the notorious Chuck Hale to the job. And then, he would not go away after they requested him to.
A couple of months into Chuck Hale being interim police chief, the individuals started to wake to the realization that that they had been assigned a police chief more likely to have been rejected in all places else as a result of of his well-documented historical past of dishonesty. Look up the Ethan Morse trial, the Merced County case that settled in 2018 with Chuck Hale costing the taxpayers a half million {dollars} in a settlement for his sins.
At the similar time, the Sheriff’s workplace grew to become very aggressive in pushing the metropolis council to make Hale’s place everlasting. The metropolis council determined they had been higher off with no police chief than having a corrupt police chief and declined to resume or prolong Hale’s presence on their payroll.
It will not be uncommon for legislation enforcement to swap workers between companies, however what is extremely uncommon is that when Sheriff Warnke realized that his crooked cop was being rejected, he and his division doubled all the way down to reject their rejection. The Sheriff’s division then engaged in some very foul acts, in accordance with the Sisters, who’re watching this carefully.
The Sheriff’s division used the metropolis council of Livingston to thwart due course of – for only a current second in time — to get Hale confirmed as police chief, however it was deemed an unlawful movement and thrown out. That’s a matter of public report.
The Sheriff’s division despatched a threatening letter on the matter to the metropolis council, which is hooked up, as nicely, as a matter of public report.
The Sheriff’s division employed away native policemen from Livingston to make the look of a declining power and the look of a necessity for rescue by the Sheriff’s division. In Tuesday night time’s council assembly, the under-Sheriff admits to it and says ‘We are moving toward regional policing anyway.’ According to the Sisters, it is clear that the Sheriff’s department is creating a problem, and then blaming the city council for the very problem they (the Sheriff’s) created.
The Sheriff’s division maligned and bullied the two metropolis council members who questioned Hale’s necessity, accusing them of blocking the place as a result of of their perception in deregulating hashish.
The Sheriff’s division and the metropolis supervisor need the public to consider that the place was blocked not as a result of the cop assigned is a unclean cop, not as a result of Livingston is exterior the governance of the Sheriff’s division, however as a result of two of the metropolis council members as soon as, a very long time in the past, argued for hashish commerce of their city.
“Cannabis has nothing to do with the crooked cop they are trying to hoist on Livingston,” stated Sister Sophia. “It was shocking to see them accusing two councilmembers of pursuing special interests because they believe in plant freedom, especially when we know this is Vern Warnke pursuing his own special interests. At Tuesday night’s meeting, it became very clear that the Sheriff’s department platform is that if you believe in plant freedom, you can’t make good decisions about law enforcement. This is what they call ‘gaslighting’. The Sheriff has engaged his whole department in a gaslighting campaign to gain control over law enforcement of Livingston.”
In addition, it’s clear from the YouTube video of the August 2nd City of Livingston Council Meeting, that the Sheriff’s division went on the offensive and repeatedly shamed the metropolis council members for ‘no plan B’. Meaning, no selection right here however to make use of the Sheriff’s division. But not as soon as did the Sheriff’s division provide up an alternative choice to Hale, the crooked cop. The Sheriffs themselves had no plan B, however they wailed about the council having no plan B.
The Sheriff’s division sponsored a false concern operation and the metropolis supervisor (Vanessa) seems to be their puppet. On behalf of the Sheriff’s division, she declared the concern marketing campaign and she or he referred to as in the Sheriff’s division. Vanessa and the under-Sheriff urged the metropolis of Livingston to declare a state of emergency as a result of the Police Chief place can be vacant and the residents can be unsafe.
Said Sister Kate, “We have known since this started that the city of Livingston has no need for help from the Sheriff’s department, and that there are two people responsible for this false-fear operation, Vanessa, the City Manager — listen to her speak if you can handle it, she’s awful — and the under-Sheriff — listen to him, at least he can speak, but he’s a bully.”
“One might conclude that the Sheriff’s department is using the city manager to pursue Vern Warnke’s special anti-cannabis interests. One might conclude that Sheriff Warnke and his posse keep talking about how bad cannabis is because they want to protect their commercial interests in selling alcohol and tobacco products exclusively in that town. That’s why we have to come out to the public with this.” stated Sister Kate. “Making it about cannabis was their way of inviting us into the fight. Making it about cannabis invited us to discover that indeed, a Sheriff’s guy owns the gas station with liquor and tobacco licenses as part of a small monopoly in Livingston.”
At the assembly Tuesday night time, the grown-ups prevailed. The soiled cop was rejected and there was no state of emergency declared in a metropolis that’s overstaffed with cops.
“There are 34 full time cops on the Livingston force and there are a number of good candidates that can fill that position, so I don’t know what kind of game the city manager is playing with the Sheriff’s department, but the public and the Sisters called bullshit and stopped them, for now,” stated Sister Kate.
Sister Maria, newly arrived from New Zealand, was a witness to the political battle. She commented, “It is all so unusual that, of course, it got our attention. County law enforcement fighting hard and dirty to put sheriffs in city police jobs, what is that about? And why Hale? Why the most infamous of the department? And why won’t they take no for an answer from the council members? Why did the under-Sheriff come out and fight for it like his life depends on it? And why make it about cannabis? What’s the play there? There is something going on and the combination of the Sheriff’s department’s aggressive need for this position, their lack of transparency, and their verbal bullying – is all very unsettling.”
The Sisters are encouraging the public to e mail the Sheriff’s division at [email protected] and inform Sheriff Warnke to cease selling and hiding crooked cops, cease interfering in native decision-making, cease utilizing in depth police power to bully minority councilmembers, and for goodness sake, cease feeding your personal private anti-cannabis agenda, whereas finger-pointing and making use of your sins to others.
The Sisters are clearly flabbergasted that that is occurring in their very own yard and felt compelled to share the fact, as the native paper has not.
For extra details about the sisters, go to www.sistersofthevalley.org.
- The Sheriff’s Letter to Livingston City Council
- The Sisters of the Valley
