The Risk of ‘Play’ Deputies

It’s important that a sheriff have in his possession something even more crucial than his gun. That something is good judgment. Evidently this quality is lacking in the sheriffs of Los Angeles and Orange counties, who are handing out special gun privileges like bubble gum.

Take Los Angeles Sheriff Lee Baca’s so-called Executive Reserve Company. This pet program of Baca’s bestows a badge, a uniform and a Beretta semiautomatic handgun on celebrities and other prominent people who complete 64 hours of training and undergo a background check.

That’s pretty risky, considering that any veteran cop will tell you it takes more than 64 hours to be seasoned in using a gun to thwart a criminal, particularly when innocent bystanders are around. Worse, Baca’s Executive Reserve Company could give these chosen few the impression that they are real law enforcement officers with real power to act in such a capacity.

Already, there’s been a questionable incident involving one “celeb dep,” Scott Zacky of the Zacky Farms chicken dynasty. There are conflicting reports, but the general outline seems to put Zacky outside his home, pointing a gun at suspected car thieves. Problem was, the “car thieves” were the car’s owners, who then notified the Los Angeles Police Department. Zacky called it a “nonincident.” LAPD investigators have suggested that the gun Zacky allegedly used was not the one provided by the sheriff. That matters little. What matters--and what’s potentially dangerous--is that Zacky apparently thought he was acting on behalf of the Sheriff’s Department. Baca has been in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department 34 years, long enough to know that a past policy that similarly allowed a special deputy designation was wisely abandoned by then-Sheriff Peter Pitchess in the 1950s. Why revive a demonstrably bad idea?

Meanwhile, Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona continues to grant a concealed weapons permit to just about anyone without a criminal record. Those who apply do have to undergo 16 hours of firearms training and supply a reason for needing a weapon. Carona in his first five months as sheriff was already weighing more concealed weapons requests than his predecessor, Brad Gates, handed out in his final term.

Both Sheriff Baca and Sheriff Carona should be working to contain the number of guns on the streets, not put more out there. The public deserves better and shouldn’t be subjected to any Baca buddies playing sheriff.