Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Oceansider on the Case

Oceanside resident Woodrow Higdon continues his search for additional evidence of police corruption and city council collusion. During the Wednesday, October 21, council meeting, Higdon testified before Oceanside councilmembers and says he was snubbed by Mayor Jim Wood and the city council.

For months, Higdon has focused on the case of Oceanside police officer Damon Smith, who has admitted to covertly recording interviews he conducted with criminal suspects without submitting the tapes to the courts, and Higdon believes that Smith was not the only one that knew about the recordings. He accuses Mayor Jim Wood and his ally on the dais, councilwoman Esther Sanchez, of protecting the Oceanside Police Department and Officer Smith in exchange for police and fire union support. He says Wood's 31-year career as a police officer and Sanchez' previous job as a criminal defense attorney is further evidence of their collaboration in the corruption.

"For a number of months I've been coming before this council and I've been talking about the corruption that exists in a police department and a fire department union organization and how it is connected to some members of this city council," Higdon said to the council.

Sponsored
Sponsored

He informed councilmembers that his "undercover" investigation of police and city council corruption has revealed some disturbing information, such as the fact that the police and fire unions have donated thousands of dollars to the political campaigns of Mayor Jim Wood and councilmember Esther Sanchez. In addition, Higdon mentioned that the effort to recall conservative councilmember Jerome Kern from his seat was largely funded by the unions who oppose Kern's stance on city employee pension funding.

After going over the basic tenets of his argument, Higdon focused on Mayor Jim Wood and Wood's reluctance to look into accusations of corruption in the city's police department: "He will manipulate the council agenda to force speakers, like myself, to the very end of the session so they have to sit around for four or five hours. It's a method of trying to discourage citizens of coming forward with complaints. It's also a violation of the Brown Act."

Higdon's allotted three-minute comment period ran out as he went into his investigation of Officer Damon Smith.

Higdon writes in an October 21 email, "Part of the reason for the cover-up is to protect the public image of the police department so that it would not adversely impact the new union contract negotiations that are under way and scheduled for a vote in January 2010."

Several sources reported October 23 that the Smith tapes were turned over to the district attorney's office. The tapes, which go back as far as April 2003, could change the outcome of 37 cases that have been adjudicated since then. Due to the Peace Officer's Bill of Rights, there's no word on how or if officer Smith will be disciplined.

According to citizen Higdon, "The careers and reputations of chief of police McCoy, mayor Wood, councilmember Sanchez, and [district attorney Bonnie] Dumanis all hinge on suppressing attorney notifications, limiting the [Smith] investigation and number of contaminated criminal prosecutions, and keeping officer Smith's mouth shut about the identity of other police officers that knew about the secret audio tapes.... The only way to keep officer Smith's mouth shut is to protect him from arrest and prosecution. If he is fired, he becomes smoking-gun evidence for tens of millions in civil liability."

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego seawalls depend on Half Moon Bay case

Casa Mira townhomes sued after losing 20 feet of bluffs in storm
Next Article

San Diego seawalls depend on Half Moon Bay case

Casa Mira townhomes sued after losing 20 feet of bluffs in storm

Oceanside resident Woodrow Higdon continues his search for additional evidence of police corruption and city council collusion. During the Wednesday, October 21, council meeting, Higdon testified before Oceanside councilmembers and says he was snubbed by Mayor Jim Wood and the city council.

For months, Higdon has focused on the case of Oceanside police officer Damon Smith, who has admitted to covertly recording interviews he conducted with criminal suspects without submitting the tapes to the courts, and Higdon believes that Smith was not the only one that knew about the recordings. He accuses Mayor Jim Wood and his ally on the dais, councilwoman Esther Sanchez, of protecting the Oceanside Police Department and Officer Smith in exchange for police and fire union support. He says Wood's 31-year career as a police officer and Sanchez' previous job as a criminal defense attorney is further evidence of their collaboration in the corruption.

"For a number of months I've been coming before this council and I've been talking about the corruption that exists in a police department and a fire department union organization and how it is connected to some members of this city council," Higdon said to the council.

Sponsored
Sponsored

He informed councilmembers that his "undercover" investigation of police and city council corruption has revealed some disturbing information, such as the fact that the police and fire unions have donated thousands of dollars to the political campaigns of Mayor Jim Wood and councilmember Esther Sanchez. In addition, Higdon mentioned that the effort to recall conservative councilmember Jerome Kern from his seat was largely funded by the unions who oppose Kern's stance on city employee pension funding.

After going over the basic tenets of his argument, Higdon focused on Mayor Jim Wood and Wood's reluctance to look into accusations of corruption in the city's police department: "He will manipulate the council agenda to force speakers, like myself, to the very end of the session so they have to sit around for four or five hours. It's a method of trying to discourage citizens of coming forward with complaints. It's also a violation of the Brown Act."

Higdon's allotted three-minute comment period ran out as he went into his investigation of Officer Damon Smith.

Higdon writes in an October 21 email, "Part of the reason for the cover-up is to protect the public image of the police department so that it would not adversely impact the new union contract negotiations that are under way and scheduled for a vote in January 2010."

Several sources reported October 23 that the Smith tapes were turned over to the district attorney's office. The tapes, which go back as far as April 2003, could change the outcome of 37 cases that have been adjudicated since then. Due to the Peace Officer's Bill of Rights, there's no word on how or if officer Smith will be disciplined.

According to citizen Higdon, "The careers and reputations of chief of police McCoy, mayor Wood, councilmember Sanchez, and [district attorney Bonnie] Dumanis all hinge on suppressing attorney notifications, limiting the [Smith] investigation and number of contaminated criminal prosecutions, and keeping officer Smith's mouth shut about the identity of other police officers that knew about the secret audio tapes.... The only way to keep officer Smith's mouth shut is to protect him from arrest and prosecution. If he is fired, he becomes smoking-gun evidence for tens of millions in civil liability."

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Holiday Market At Petco Park, Will Smith’s Dance in the Darkness Tour, Light Shows, Snowfall, Caroling

Events December 12-December 13, 2024
Next Article

National City to junk permissive land-use code

Airbnb regs would be like Chula Vista's
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader