Inmate Plays Golf With The Sheriff

That is right! An inmate confined to LA county jail got play a round golf.  This way beyond the privileges that an  inmate a deserves.  Here is the article from KABC

“LOS ANGELES (KABC) — A Los Angeles County sheriff’s captain is being investigated for allegedly taking an inmate out of jail and going golfing.

Cpt. Jeff Donahue reportedly took professional golfer-turned-jewel-thief Frank Carrillo out of the Avalon jail. Carrillo says Donahue wanted tips to improve his golf game.

Donahue is now on medical leave. Sheriff’s officials are forbidden from fraternizing with inmates.

Carrillo, 41, was serving a two-year sentence after he pleaded guilty to stealing cash and jewelry from people at golf courses. He was at the Men’s Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles then transferred to Catalina, where he became a trusty, which refers to a convict who is granted special privileges due to good behavior.

Word spread that he had been a pro golfer in Canada and after meeting Donahue, Carrillo suggested the idea that they play some golf. Donahue took him up on that idea and said he’d like some pointers.

Carrillo told the Los Angeles Times that the captain escorted him in a patrol Jeep to a hilltop golf course where Carrillo gave him pointers to reduce a double-digit handicap last summer.

The golf outing proved divisive among deputies at the station. Some had no problems with it while others took issue with the trip, saying it was illegal. Deputy William Cordero was in the disapproving party and filed a claim saying that other deputies harassed him when he spoke out about the incident. He has since been transferred.

Carrillo claims Sheriff Lee Baca not only knew about the outing, but he approved it. He said Baca knew him from charity golf tournaments, spoke to him during a tour of the Avalon station and did seem to approve of the golf trip.

Sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore disputed those claims, saying Baca would never condone taking a trusty out to play golf”

The Costs of Occupy LA

As much as the Occupy movement brought attention to the corporate malfeasance,  it had an cost to the taxpayer.

The aggregate cost was $2.3 million as reported by the LA Times and that is a drop in the bucket for Los Angeles taxpayer, but since LA is almost bankrupt, it will result in more financial peril.

In budgeting, this is an unexpected contingency cost that the city did not plan to have.  No one expect to the Occupy movement to happen.  No city budget planner could place a line item in the budget for Occupy.  It was a completely spontaneous movement that came out of nowhere.

In the end, the benefit of the Occupy movement for exposing economic injustice exceeded the cost to the city.  A $2.3 million dollar loss for the city was worth what the Occupy movement did.  We have not had a social movement in the last ten years that has successfully pointed  towards the economic injustices to the level that Occupy movement

Less money could have been placed into putting less law enforcement resource to police Occupy.  It did not require the large police presence as it did.

A long-term occupation that would last for months and months would cost the city too much.  There is a point where the Occupy movement moves beyond just an extraordinary expense and becomes a liability to cities precious financial statement.  If Occupy went on for more than a year and cost $10 million dollars, then it would have drawn money away from parks, libraries, and other city resources that needed the funding.  

In conclusion, a one year occupation would have made little sense.  The Occupy movement would had to move its energy to different forms of protest outside of occupying a piece of the lawn in cityhall.