An Exhibition of Poor Judgment : Stripped down to basics: Strip show at O.C. Sheriff’s Dept. was wrong

The staff at the training academy of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department may have seen too many “Police Academy” movies and then blurred the line between what gets laughs on the movie screen and what’s funny in reality.

When an instructor at the training academy celebrated his birthday two years ago, trainees chipped in for a present. The gift was a 10-minute performance by a stripper, witnessed by about 30 recruits and 10 training officers at the academy during work hours.

Like so many events these days, the exhibition was videotaped. One copy turned up two months ago at the offices of the tabloid television show “A Current Affair,” which broadcast it this week. The tape shows the stripper shedding a police-type uniform in front of the training officer and making physical advances toward him.

Among the onlookers is the commanding officer of the academy, Lt. Steve Carroll. He says he expects to face disciplinary action for allowing the stripper to perform. He deserves it. Carroll had warned that the woman could not perform in the nude, but now he said he was wrong to let her perform at all. He’s right about that.

One training officer correctly said the birthday surprise showed poor judgment, but then claimed that the worst someone could say was that it wasted 10 minutes of taxpayers’ time. Wrong. People could also say it treats women as objects and helps create an atmosphere conducive to sexual harassment on the job. In fact, members of the National Organization for Women have already said that, and they are right.

At least the Orange County Sheriff’s Department is aware it has a problem and is investigating the incident. One assistant sheriff said the department was “embarrassed” and would make sure it did not happen again. But he also said top department officials did not know about the strip show until queried by reporters.

That part is hard to believe. But if it’s true, the department must do more than restate its definition of unacceptable behavior. It must get a better idea what’s going on under its own roof as well.