Posted on 05/04/2006 4:46:06 PM PDT by BenLurkin
LOS ANGELES - The county Sheriff's Department is in the process of distributing new identification cards to 5,000 volunteers after the head of a "Homeland Security Support Unit" created and distributed unauthorized ID cards bearing Sheriff Leroy Baca's signature. Media reports about the actions of Gary Nalbandian, a reserve deputy who issued the laminated cards to members of the group, prompted a county investigation. As a result, county supervisors on Tuesday directed a revision of the County Badge Ordinance, which includes policies for identification cards.
The Homeland Security Support Unit, according to a county report discussed Tuesday, is designed to "provide insight into the Middle Eastern community, provide language skills, and interpret documents amongst other aspects that would affect the community and relationships with law enforcement."
The group operated under the Sheriff's Department's Reserve Forces Bureau, but its official-looking ID cards were issued by Nalbandian, without apparent involvement by the department.
The Sheriff's Department issues ID cards to 5,000 other volunteers, including 23 advisory councils, custody and station volunteers and chaplains. Those cards were not standardized, Assistant Sheriff Paul Tanaka told the Board of Supervisors, and the department is now collecting them to give out a new, standardized version.
(Excerpt) Read more at avpress.com ...
This guy Gary Nalbandian appears to be one of those. From grandstanding it's such a tiny step to abuse of authority...
Well, operating under RFB is suspect to begin with.
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