There's a new Sheriff in town (OC)

[TDA]

I saw this on Fox News. Thought you might be interested, in case you haven't already seen this.
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Santa Ana -- Santa Ana, Calif. -- Orange County officials on Tuesday turned to a law enforcement veteran from neighboring Los Angeles County to take charge of their scandalized Sheriff's Department, the nation's fifth-largest.

The county Board of Supervisors voted to appoint Sandra Hutchens, 53, a retired division chief at the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, to replace former sheriff Michael Carona.

Carona, 52, left the department in January after he was indicted last year on federal charges of public corruption, witness tampering and fraud in a case that also named his alleged mistress and wife. Two former assistant sheriffs pleaded guilty to lesser federal charges and helped prosecutors build a case against Carona.

Three supervisors voted for Hutchens, while two voted for Santa Ana Police Chief Paul Walters. Supervisors had narrowed a field of nearly 50 to two after holding a daylong public interview process two weeks ago.

Hutchens, of Dana Point, was immediately briefed by Assistant Sheriff Jack Anderson, who has been leading the department since Carona's departure.

"I will live up to the confidence you have placed in me today," Hutchens told the board after the vote. "I am a change agent. I will be a change agent in the Sheriff's Department."

She takes charge of a budget of more than $700 million and more than 4,000 employees. She will serve the remaining 21/2 years of Carona's term and have the option to run for a new four-year term in 2010.

In recent months, the department has faced allegations of corruption and cronyism, a scathing grand jury report about county jail conditions, the high-profile deaths of two inmates and several civil lawsuits.

Anderson had expressed interest in the top job, but was not selected despite positive reviews from some county officials. Hutchens hinted that there might be room for him on her command staff nonetheless.

Also Tuesday, the American Civil Liberties Union issued a statement saying Hutchens had less than a week to respond to a public records request for department policies on Taser use, inmate monitoring and medical care at county jails, among other things.

A report written by a grand jury earlier this year showed that an Orange County sheriff's deputy watched TV and sent text messages while jail inmates beat another prisoner to death.

The report, released in April, also pointed to systemic problems and abuses by deputies at the Theo Lacy Jail and raised questions about whether the Sheriff's Department tried to block or divert the probe.

No criminal charges were filed, but several deputies lost their jobs and several high-ranking officials -- including the undersheriff -- left the department abruptly before the findings were released.

Another inmate died shortly after the report was released after being Tasered at the jail.

Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

[hygyliac]

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