Snooping in the Classroom?

Rancho Santiago College instructors and officials are outraged to learn that secret tape recordings of a classroom lecture by an instructor critical of Orange County Sheriff Brad Gates turned up in the sheriff’s intelligence files. It’s a justifiable reaction.

The 1981 taping of a lecture by George Wright, who teaches police administration, poses the chilling possibility of police intrusion into the classroom where academic freedom and the open exchange of ideas should flourish. The episode conjures up an image of a highly defensive public agency stretching the bounds of propriety in reaction to criticism or political opposition.

Gates and his attorneys will not say who recorded the tapes, for what purpose or how they got into the sheriff’s files. The sheriff has referred reporters’ questions to his attorneys in a lawsuit in which the tapes have become an issue. But one of the attorneys has refused to comment because “the case is over.”

The case is a civil-rights lawsuit filed against Gates, alleging that he improperly used his office to harass and spy on critics. One of the original plaintiffs was Wright, a former police officer who ran unsuccessfully against Gates in 1978 and indicated that he might do so again in 1982. Wright, however, was dropped as a plaintiff by a federal judge after Gates filed a sworn declaration that he had not maintained files on Wright or monitored his activities.

The suit was settled out of court for $375,000 on April 2, just days before it was scheduled for trial. County officials say the tapes weren’t the primary reason for the out-of-court settlement, but the plaintiffs’ attorney believes otherwise.

County officials say there might be legitimate reasons for the existence of the tapes. Perhaps. But even if there are, the tapes’ existence still represents an odious monitoring of the classroom. According to court documents and investigative notes obtained by The Times, another tape in the sheriff’s files contained a telephone conversation made by an informant to a Register newspaper reporter who had written articles critical of the sheriff’s operation of County Jail.

The sheriff ought to devote his time and energy to fighting crime and resolving longstanding problems like jail overcrowding. He should not misuse his power and position by maintaining intelligence files on his critics and political opponents.