Bad Dreams
I had a dream, a terrible, horrible dream. In my dream, killer cop Derek Chauvin was a deputy in Sonoma County and the Sheriff fired him for his willful and cruel abomination. But Chauvin sued for wrongful dismissal and while the case was pending, he was allowed to retire with full pension. People took to the streets in protest and caused quite a ruckus.
Then I woke up and realized that my dream was actually about Sonoma County Deputy Charles Blount, who bashed David Ward’s head repeatedly against the side of his car and then botched up a carotid restraint and choked him to death. Ward died at the scene.
After he was fired by Sheriff Mark Essick, the Deputy Sheriff’s Association engaged an attorney for Blount, who filed suit for wrongful termination. Blount was allowed to retire while the case was open, just as the Sheriff and the Deputy Sheriff’s Association planned.
The Ward family’s civil suit against Blount has been settled for a record-busting $3.8 million at taxpayer expense. Blount’s been charged with manslaughter, but there’s reason to question whether it will ever come to trial. Meanwhile, he’s scot-free and enjoying his retirement with full pension, also financed by taxpayer dollars.
People, we’ve been hoodwinked big time. I wonder if we’re ever going to wake up.
Kathleen Finigan, Santa Rosa
Just Your Opinion
You know as well as I do that your poll of “best of” does not reveal the best of anything. I suggest you call it “My Favorite” since that is really what it is. In fact, your labeling of a business as “the best” can actually do a disservice to the other businesses that may be more worthy. In other words, public opinion is not an indication of quality.
Pieter S. Myers, San Anselmo
