Nearly $1.5 million was cut from the Costa Mesa, CA, budget several years ago and when the Chief of Police objected to the cuts he was forced to resign by city officials.
After objecting to the cuts, the chief, a decorated 26-year officer who rose through the ranks from a custody officer to police chief, was accused of having a disability and was forced to resign.
Among the Costa Mesa officials deeply involved in the proceedings was the city’s Mayor at the time Katrina Foley. Foley, now a member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, has been at the center of several controversies in recent months.
Impact
In the early 2010s the Costa Mesa, CA, police department was in dire straits. Morale was low after a 40% sworn-officer contraction. Many officers had left the force due to the city’s political environment.
In 2015 Robert Sharpnack was named Chief of Police, the third police chief in six months. It was the first time in over 50 years a chief had risen from within the department’s ranks to its highest post.
It did not take long for Sharpnack to have a positive impact. He revived community policing, his innovative policies earning him an award. He added K-9 units, a human trafficking investigator and promoted the first (two) female lieutenants. Arrests and citations increased and beginning in 2015 crime rates began to decrease. They would continue to do so for several years.
Things began to change though, during the Department’s budget process for the 2019/2020 fiscal year. That process, which began in January/February 2019 was filled with improprieties, according to court documents filed by Sharpnack. It was clear to him and his staff that there were various misrepresentations being made and various responsibilities being shirked with regard to the budget.
On January 16, 2019 Sharpnack met with both Mayor Foley and City Mayor Pro Tem John Stephens to express his concerns to them. Those concerns were never resolved and would continue through to the spring as the budget process moved forward.
Sharpnack sent a memo detailing his concerns to city officials on May 10, 2019. In that memo he explained his fears that the Costa Mesa Police Department will have problems “retaining and recruiting personnel as the Department is again exposed to an unstable environment here in Costa Mesa,” and that “deep adjustments” made in the budget will impact the Department’s ability to keep “personnel safe and effectively provide public safety services.”
Sharpnack followed that memo up with another on May 23, 2019. That memo, unbeknownst to Sharpnack, was leaked to the public and became the subject of press reports.
Foley requested a meeting with Sharpnack “as soon as possible” right after the memo was leaked. Her first words to Sharpnack during that May 28, 2019, meeting allegedly were “I don’t know anything about the budget. And your memorandum made me look bad.”
“Not a wave maker”
Soon thereafter, Sharpnack says the city of Costa Mesa began a retaliation campaign against him. He was informed that Foley was willing to “anything” to fire him.
According to court documents in meetings over the ensuing several days Foley stated to other city officials that Sharpnack’s memo caused her to worry about the “perception she was not able to properly govern a city” leading officials to believe Foley’s “concerns were not with the health of the Department, but [with] the perception of her leadership abilities for her pending Senate race.”
Foley also reportedly called Sharpnack a “leaker” and spread rumors that the “majority of [his] memo was lies.”
The following month, Sharpnack accused Foley in an email of trying to undermine his authority and in subsequent meetings city officials continued their campaign of retaliation by attempting to force Sharpnack out on “leave” due to a perceived “disability” related to his “stress.”
In a memo dated June 19, 2019, Sharpnack again denied leaking the memo and again expressed a desire simply to do his job. “I am not a wave maker. I am quiet. I simply want to do my job and lead the Police Department to the best of my ability,” he wrote.
The retaliation campaign did not wane however, and after enduring several more months of it, Sharpnack informed city officials on October 16, 2019 he would be retiring. While he could stand for negative comments about his performance or Police Department operations, he would not stand for Katrina Foley “attacking his integrity, calling him a liar, calling him ‘political’ and accusing him of ‘leaking’ his memo,” his court filing states.
That, however, was not good enough for city officials, who according to Sharpnack wanted to control the narrative around his departure. Three days later, during a meeting with city officials Sharpnack was informed that he was to clean out his desk and be gone by the end of the day. He was threatened with an administrative investigation was told his actions would be viewed as insubordinate if he did not comply.
Sharpnack was forced to announce he was taking a “vacation,” – the official cover story. Two weeks later when Sharpnack was due to return to work he was barred from doing so and was placed on administrative leave. The city then opened an investigation which was completed in December. That investigation found Sharpnack should not be allowed to work as the city considered his retirement “accepted.”
Notably, as if a warning to Sharpnack against any additional action, the investigation stated it could have also “found grounds for termination.”
“Bully”
Orange County, California, has become the epicenter of the fight against government overreach in the U.S. in recent months. Of the many city officials to receive criticism from residents, Katrina Foley has received the harshest.
In May she called individuals protesting against Covid19 vaccine passports “insurrectionists.” A month later six individuals, including a 30-year law enforcement professional, Alan Hostetter, was indicted on charges stemming from the events of that day.
Recently Foley admitted – in public comments – that a state of emergency in the OC in effect for more than 15 months is being kept in place merely to collect federal Covid19 relief funds. “The only reason this is here is because of the money,” she said.
“Mayor Foley is described as a controlling narcissist, a vindictive unethical bully and a power-seeker,” Sharpnack’s complain reads. “A common City saying is: ‘Katrina will go to jail if she stays in politics.’”
A request for comment from Foley’s office was not returned at the time of publishing.
Recall efforts are currently underway against all five members of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, including Foley. Those elections are on track to be held this fall.
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