Opinion: My dog ate my badge

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The ‘special reserve deputy’ program in Orange County has been a sore spot for years, with former Sheriff Michael S. Carona handing out badges to his buddies and, more to the point, campaign donors. Broadcom’s Henry Samueli had one, until he handed it in after pleading guilty in a stock manipulation case. Carona’s martial-arts instructor pulled his out--along with a gun--in an argument on the golf links. Others allegedly used theirs in attempts to gain favors from police. Some actually used theirs to do worthwhile volunteering for the Sheriff’s Department.

Yet more than three dozen of the recipients don’t seem to have found their badges very special at all. When the new sheriff in town, Sandra Hutchens, recalled the badges of the tainted program, 42 recipients said they’d lost them, or the badges had been stolen. Among these, uh, losers, are some particularly influential operators in town.

The Sheriff’s Department is pretty obviously suspicious about this, and said anyone found using the badges, or even still having them around, would face charges, including possession of stolen property. In a sort of library-reprieve gambit, the 42 were advised to take a careful look around, go through closets and cabinets, to find them. Kinda gives cleaning up the Sheriff’s Department a whole new meaning.

No, that’s not a real Orange County ‘special reserve deputy’ badge. It’s a fake. Don’t be fooled. Photo by the Times’ Mel Melcon.