After reading the article about our police chief and the SVPOA (Simi Valley Acorn , Nov. 13), I have to ask: Where have all these city officials been?

The rank and file have been complaining about this politically connected appointee since his arrival. That doesn’t mean our police officers are not going to do their jobs they swore an oath to do.

I had a chance to meet with the chief, and I posed a question hypothetically: “The city is awash with money; we are in record good times, and an elected official comes to you, Chief, and asks, ‘What do you need or want to help our officers do a better job or to just get the job done?’” He answered, “Nothing,” and of course he looked in the direction of the mayor and the other councilman that were in attendance first.

My reply was, “Good to know our department is so well equipped.”

What we need to remember is that we want to live in a safe city and it is the rank and file police officers under the rank of lieutenant that make it so.

They are the tip of the spear, so to speak, so when I hear politicians or a nonelected city manager say that the chief is a great guy and that they have full confidence in him and that he belongs to the Rotary, I have to wonder what that has to do with anything. How does that make us safe?

Besides the mayor, these politicians have never strapped on a gun or armor and gotten into harm’s way. Where did they receive their expertise in law enforcement? The answer is, they don’t have any.

The chief wasn’t appointed because in his other agency he could spot a felony crime being committed from a unit doing 35 mph in the dark, he wasn’t the best shot in the department and he’s not the most decorated officer in the department. He was chosen because a nonelected city manager and elected city officials liked his oral interview the best.

A police administrator’s job is never done. So don’t buy into the politicians’ slant on this.

Yes, the SVPOA and the city are in a labor dispute, so both sides may stretch things a bit, but remember, our police officers keep us safe, not Mike Sedell, Steve Sojka or Paul Miller. They just have the pulpit for now. Treat our police officers fairly.
Mike Judge
Simi Valley