By Manuel Delgadillo, SAPD Police Officer and a member of the Santa Ana Police Officers Association

Dear SAPOA Members,

The numerous emails and messages received from SAPOA Members and Retirees wanting a change at the top of our SAPOA. This change is coming slowly but coming. Our SAPOA, at this point, needs to be revamped. It calls for total transparency, something not in the best interest of this current administration. Here are many questions sent, which I will share to bring this change.

First and foremost is to continue caring for Rosie and Chela because they are the backbone of the association’s daily duties. Those ladies work hard for the SAPOA Members. Let us move on to the following questions posed.

1. SAPOA Members need to know how much money they SAPOA Members have to pay for the failed attempt for SAPOA President’s Pension Increase. (The hourly rate and total.)
2. There must be a dollar limit in the SAPOA constitution regarding a limit on expenditures exceeded on the Serrano Pension increase representation. Who authorized it exceeding the limit, and when was the authorization limit granted? These SAPOA Membership funds need reimbursement to our SAPOA immediately.
3. Since that attempt failed miserably and CAL PERs decided Serrano was not entitled to the increase, why is he not repaying the SAPOA? Was he ever asked to sign a repayment pledge or plan letter BEFORE his legal fees were advanced?
4. The attorney in the case against the City and the Chief, why wasn’t the attorney aware the Chief could not be personally liable in this type of litigation before filing the lawsuit? If the Chief sues for malpractice prosecution, will the malpractice carrier pay the defense costs and any damages awarded against the SAPOA, or are the SAPOA Members now on the hook for those potential losses? It sure looks that way!
5. Our current SAPOA President, E-Board, and Negotiation Team have failed to produce an acceptable offer due to this retaliation litigation against the City of Santa. How in tarnation are we supposed to get a new labor agreement with the same Manny, Moes’ and Jacks?’ Who are we kidding?
6. It is evident at this point that the “Price for Peace” with the City of Santa Ana is a resignation by the SAPOA President and a new E-Board because we cannot do what we always have been doing again. Gentlemen, we all failed miserably and have no one to blame but ourselves for not being more involved, and this goes for all of us. Our SAPOA is a distant memory of what it once was and stood for.

There will also need to change to our Reliable Source. Whatever happened to the Reliable Source and the advertising money it generates? An idea for a new Reliable Source more open to discussion, criticism, SAPOA Member information, and Community Engagement is coming, titled “Reliable Source 2.0.”

There will also be a piece in the future from the figures currently available on how much this debacle has cost each of our SAPOA Members. The figures used will be Serrano’s CAL PERs Pension, former Council Member Cecilia Iglesias’s Recall Effort, and Current Recall Effort, Donations to Politicians who sent CAL PERs Letters, Anaheim Council Member Avellino Valencia’s Donations (Why?), money paid for positive articles on SAPOA to OC Independent, and frivolous lawsuits cost. Once a definite figure on the failed contract cost is totaled, this amount will significantly increase the amount to each paying SAPOA Member so that it will be part of the equation.

In closing, there is a cost too great to calculate. That is the bad blood our SAPOA image has suffered in the eyes of the Santa Ana Community, the City of Santa Ana, and the Santa Ana Police Department. Our SAPOA President is slowly running out of options. CAL PERs denied him, the City of Santa Ana will not go against the CAL PERs decision, the frivolous lawsuits failed so no settlement, no higher paying position offered and medically, not likely, because he has not done any police work in six years. There are times we, ourselves create our own dire situations. This is the case now. This new beginning with the City of Santa Ana will not start until our SAPOA President resigns.