Officers Asked to Avoid Politicking : Grand Jury Advice an Indirect Criticism of Duffy, Miller

In a statement indirectly critical of Sheriff John Duffy and Dist. Atty. Edwin Miller, the San Diego County Grand Jury has asked county law enforcement officials to avoid supporting or opposing political candidates.

Regional law enforcement officers, including Duffy and Miller, received the two-paragraph recommendation in a letter mailed a week ago by the grand jury. Copies also were sent to all police chiefs and city attorneys in the county, grand jury foreman William Egan said Tuesday.

Duffy has been sued by the American Civil Liberties Union for having on-duty deputies issue post cards calling for the resignation of state Chief Justice Rose Elizabeth Bird. (In February, under pressure from civil libertarians, Duffy stopped the distribution of the post cards.)

Miller has been accused of political favoritism in prosecuting Mayor Roger Hedgecock while having supported Hedgecock’s opponent, Maureen O’Connor, in an earlier mayoral race.

Such officials should not endorse or oppose candidates “in order to fully preserve the absolute integrity of the law enforcement agencies,” the letter said. Still, the letter indicated the jury “fully supports the right of every individual to speak out or become involved in the political process.”

The grand jury’s action was motivated by Duffy’s action and by Miller’s support of O’Connor, the grand jury foreman acknowledged. Egan, however, declined to say how many of the 19 grand jurors voted for the recommendation. The recommendation carries no legal force.

The recommendation drew cautiously worded resistance from Duffy and Miller.

In a statement released by Sgt. Barry Zuniga, Duffy said: “I have no knowledge of what prompted the grand jury to issue their recommendation in letter form, which obviously went to a number of law enforcement officials. I believe that the grand jury is well-intentioned, but it would appear that they may have failed to consider that the sheriff, district attorney and San Diego city attorney are all independent elected officials, unlike chiefs of police and most city attorneys.

” . . . While I appreciate the good intentions of the grand jury, I have no plans to change how I function in my role as an elected official.”

Miller spokesman Steve Casey said he and Miller discussed the recommendation Tuesday “and he thinks that the grand jury recommendation was well-intentioned, and he has no plan at this point to endorse anyone. But he certainly wouldn’t rule it out if the occasion presented itself and seemed appropriate.

“Endorsements don’t have anything to do with agency integrity,” Casey said. “You establish integrity by tough prosecution of cases.”

San Diego Police Chief William Kolender declined to comment on the specifics of the grand jury letter because he had not yet read it. However, he noted that he has allowed an organization of police chiefs to use his name in support of a push to oust Bird from office.

Also, Kolender recalled that he once supported a political candidate who was running for Congress against a member of the Ku Klux Klan.

The ACLU’s lawsuit against Duffy is scheduled to be heard on April 24 in Superior Court, according to ACLU lawyer Gregory Marshall. The suit seeks a declaratory judgment that Duffy’s activity was illegal, but it does not request damages. The suit was filed on behalf of Common Cause, a retired superior court judge and a university professor.

The grand jury’s recommendation is “good news,” Marshall said. “There is just a whole realm of serious problems raised by the thought of any kind of public employees getting involved, on company time, in political campaigning . . . police are the most visible and intimidating symbol of the state.”