Ex-LAPD official runs into trouble as OC assistant sheriff

**Gladiator** · #1 (**permalink**) 03-20-2009, 05:09 PM

Hurricane Hillmann reaches Orange County | hillmann, county, one, orange, supervisors - News - OCRegister.com

Friday, March 20, 2009
Ex-LAPD official runs into trouble as OC assistant sheriff

"Hurricane Hillmann" hits Orange County

BY NORBERTO SANTANA JR., TONY SAAVEDRA and KIMBERLY EDDS
The Orange County Register

Standing aboard a sheriff's harbor patrol boat just off the Seal Beach coast, Mike Hillmann, Orange County's newest assistant sheriff, stares at an offshore oil rig nicknamed Esther and lets his fears run wild.

What if terrorists put bombs on one of these three rigs — or all of them?

After more than four decades as a cop, Hillmann's mind is capable of seeing terrorist attacks that can make the hair on the back of his neck stand as straight as his razor-sharp crewcut.

"This is what keeps me up at night," he said.

Hillmann, 63, retired from the LAPD last year as a deputy chief and came to Orange County at the request of newly-appointed Sheriff Sandra Hutchens, to rebuild field operations after years of a decaying command structure. He is passionate about preparing for big threats.

"I don't like to get caught off guard," he said.

Yet that's exactly what happened to Hillmann in his Orange County debut.

During a November hearing, Hillmann was caught sending text messages mocking county supervisors and opponents of the sheriff's plan to reduce concealed weapons permits.

Two months later, Hillmann dispatched uniformed, plainclothes and undercover deputies to control the crowd at another hearing, a move later criticized as heavy-handed.

Activists said Hillmann tried to intimidate them, in violation of their right to free speech.

"I basically took out a gun and shot myself in the foot," Hillmann said. "Shame on me."

Critics and supporters alike say Hillmann has brought a Los Angeles cop mentality -- honed on mean streets and big-city threats-- to laidback Orange County, where neighborhoods are calmer and police are checked by a libertarian-leaning government. Hillmann argues that his experience is needed here as Orange County becomes more urban.

But in the meantime, he has e-mailed a letter of apology to county supervisors. The supervisors, still smarting from the incidents, are considering whether to replace the sheriff's department as their security force.

THE LAPD YEARS

Known by colleagues as "a cop's cop," Hillmann is intense, and claims to sleep only four hours a night. He says he works out every day. He certainly doesn't have a problem mixing it up with protestors. He earned the nickname "Iron Mike" for a photograph of him with one hand wrapped around a bullhorn and the other around the throat of an anti-war protester at the 2003 Academy Awards.

Hillmann joined the LAPD in 1966 and built his career in counter terrorism. He joined SWAT in 1970, eventually leading police operations during large protests and riots. Often cast into the role of fixer, Hillmann was tapped to reorganize entire divisions after high-profile screw ups, such as the 1992 Rodney King riots, the 2002 Rampart scandal and the 2007 May Day violence at MacArthur Park.

"I was always fascinated with gaining control of dynamic instances," Hillmann said, "bringing calm to chaos."

Hillmann said he begins each morning by taking out a polishing cloth and shining his badge.

"It's a subtle way of reminding yourself, we work for the community," he says.

"He's a true believer. No question about it," said Carol Sobel, a Santa Monica-based ACLU attorney who worked with Hillmann on numerous rallies over the years.

Yet the same man who starts each day polishing his badge is also capable of tarnishing it.

"Mike Hillmann made mistakes. And when he made them, they were doozies," said Sobel.

There was the choking incident at the Academy Awards, which Sobel said prompted her to stop speaking to Hillmann for a year.
(See OCCCWS | Together We Win for picture)
Eric Kessler was a 23-year-old Occidental College student when he encountered Hillmann during the anti-war rally near the Academy Awards.

"He came out of his police car, the thing wasn't even stopped yet, the door was open and it was still rolling," Kessler remembers. "He picked up Gina (Kessler's girlfriend Regina Clemente), lifted her up and threw her to the ground."

Hillmann said he didn't recall the scuffle, but reported all use-of-force incidents to internal affairs. He says he was never disciplined; internal police records are confidential.

Hillmann says he's the first one to work toward a peaceful protest. But if demonstrators get out of hand, he's the first one to join the fray, to restore order.

Sobel said there have been other events, such as a Century City protest by Justice for Janitors, where security headed by Hillmann was overbearing, trying to take away from protesters the sticks that held their signs.

But Sobel said there's a key difference between dealing with Hillmann and other top brass at LAPD.

If he's wrong, Hillmann will admit it, she said.

"When the police tone it down, they have a better relationship with protesters," she added.

THE HURRICANE

In Orange County, toned-down is the last thing associated with Hillmann.

Since he arrived, Hillmann has been manic about reviewing homeland security planning and training. He's reorganized command structures in the patrol divisions, and tried to create a full-time SWAT team.

The rank and file have nicknamed him "Hurricane Hillmann."

"They look at me and shake their heads," said Hillmann, acknowledging his new moniker.

The troops also have chafed at some elements of his approach.

One of the first things Hillmann did was institute formal uniform inspections in all divisions, 11 in total. At substations throughout the county, Hillmann has forced deputies to show up in full dress for annual inspections, for the first time in decades. He says the inspections are good for discipline and accountability.

But deputies complain about the overtime it's costing. Some have lost uniforms; Hillmann said others have shown up in wingtip shoes.

At the Harbor Patrol headquarters, Deputy Jan DuMonce looks up proudly at the formal photo of her division during the inspection, and says, "It took us 22 years to get there."

Hillmann said the individual deputies and command staff he sees are first rate. But he also sees challenges.

He was surprised by the kind of heavy duty shoulder armaments being handed out to deputies without sufficient tactical training.

"An AR15, an M4 an MP5?" Hillmann said. "When you give someone that weapon, I ask why?"

He also sees tactical deficiencies—such as the lack of a full-time SWAT team.

"If we had multiple jurisdictional incidents happen here, you could bring law enforcement to its knees pretty quickly," Hillmann said.

GUN PERMITS

In the last few months, Hillmann said, the bottom fell out of many of his plans.

The devastating effects of the bail-out economy have forced budget managers to reign in spending. Much of what Hillmann came to do has been blocked by budget cuts.

In addition, the sheriff had taken numerous hits from both county supervisors and activists who didn't like her plans to reduce the number of gun permits.

At a November hearing, hundreds of activists challenged Hutchens. Hillmann sent a text message to his secretary, saying, "We are locked in mortal battle...it is ugly." Later he emailed another colleague, "This has been unbelievable. Am ready to stick a pencil in my eye."

Those messages would later be disclosed to the public when the gun activist group, Ordinary California Citizens Concerned with Safety (OCCCWS), filed a request for the texts under the state's public record laws.

County supervisors meanwhile were fighting with the county's largest public employees union over layoffs. At one point, hundreds of union members crammed into the supervisors' lobby in protest.

In January, the lieutenant in charge of security at the Hall of Administration told him about the union protest and noted there was an upcoming gun permit hearing, where one group advocated bringing unloaded firearms in protest.

Once again the gears in Hillmann's head started spinning, recalling the Missouri gunman who opened fire at a council meeting, the shooting deaths of Mayor George Moscone and County Supervisor Harvey Milk in San Francisco.

Hillmann, the guy who ran through Los Angeles storm drains during the 1970s looking for Black Panthers, could not help but prepare for the worst.

Hillmann said the prospects of activists carrying unloaded guns mixed with laid-off county workers had the potential for a "perfect" storm of violence. Yet he acknowledges that he didn't question any of the intelligence.

Instead, Hillmann recalls, he thought, "OK, let's plan for that."

And that, said county union leader Nick Berardino, is where he got himself in trouble.

Berardino said it troubles him that the sheriff never called to ask about plans for the protests.

"That's not cooperation. It's intimidation," Berardino said.

Hillmann said the torrent of criticism from county supervisors and activists has given him an education on the differences between Los Angeles County and the libertarian leanings in Orange County.

"There's a settling-in period here. I have to get to know the climate, the people."

One local police chief who knows Hillmann said Orange County is lucky to have him.

"When the chips are down, Michael Hillmann is the man you want in charge," said Fullerton Police Chief Pat McKinley, who was his supervisor at the LAPD.

McKinley also has a suggestion for keeping Hillmann out of the headlines:

"No one should give Michael a BlackBerry."

Contact the writer: 714 796-6930 or tsaavedra@ocregister.com, 714-796-2221 or nsantana@ocregister.com

PUNK · #2 (**permalink**) 03-20-2009, 05:17 PM

Quote:

"I basically took out a gun and shot myself in the foot," Hillmann said. "Shame on me."

Take away his gun!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just went to "OCCCWS.COM" and saw that photo of Hillmann.

This guy should NOT be an Asst. Sheriff.

**X-ffdo** · #3 (**permalink**) 03-20-2009, 05:50 PM

Obviously, this guy doesn't know when his carnival is over.
Looks old and washed out.
Take his gun away, force him into retirement
A typical loose cannon.
I see big law suits in the future, somebody with that aura will not be easy to defend.

Tom98915 · #4 (**permalink**) 03-20-2009, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PUNK

Take away his gun!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just went to "OCCCWS.COM" and saw that photo of Hillmann.

This guy should NOT be an Asst. Sheriff.

I see a bald spot on the back of his head too.

**IAmASensFan** · #5 (**permalink**) 03-20-2009, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PUNK

Take away his gun!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just went to "OCCCWS.COM" and saw that photo of Hillmann.

This guy should NOT be an Asst. Sheriff.

Very Wierd...I have a picture of the Prime Minister of Canada doing the exact same thing.

Must be a liberal thing.

**akulahawk** · #6 (**permalink**) 03-20-2009, 06:11 PM

Different pressure points... same result. Pain Compliance.

Barky · #7 (**permalink**) 03-20-2009, 07:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by akulahawk

Different pressure points... same result. Pain Compliance.

Very good, indeed.

**THE Gimper** · #8 (**permalink**) 03-20-2009, 07:55 PM

Quote:

Standing aboard a sheriff's harbor patrol boat just off the Seal Beach coast, Mike Hillmann, Orange County's newest assistant sheriff, stares at an offshore oil rig nicknamed Esther and lets his fears run wild.

What if terrorists put bombs on one of these three rigs — or all of them?

What if they advocate CCW rights?

Quote:

"I basically took out a gun and shot myself in the foot," Hillmann said. "Shame on me."

But in the meantime, he has e-mailed a letter of apology to county supervisors. The supervisors, still smarting from the incidents, are considering whether to replace the sheriff's department as their security force.

And still he doesn't apologize to the citizens!

Quote:

"It's a subtle way of reminding yourself, we work for the community," he says.

A lesson he apparently hasn't learned yet.

Quote:

Hillmann said the prospects of activists carrying unloaded guns mixed with laid-off county workers had the potential for a "perfect" storm of violence.

How exactly do unloaded guns make for a perfect storm of violence?

Ken_In_Colo · #9 (**permalink**) 03-20-2009, 08:14 PM

Quote:

"I basically took out a gun and shot myself in the foot," Hillmann said. "Shame on me."

A real sincere apology if I ever heard one.