Saturday, January 21, 2012

The $20 Million Dollar Fender Bender and the Manhattan Beach Outrage

A minor fender bender in Manhattan Beach among off-duty police officers has turned into a miasma of lawsuits, discrimination, tarnished reputations, and wasted tax dollars. This is one joke that does not make me laugh. Now even LA Weekly has taken on the frivolous lawsuit of three aggrieved former police officers from Manhattan Beach, CA.

Three former police officers, following a botched-up investigation over the delayed reporting of a traffic accident, are now demanding punitive damages from the city of Manhattan Beach for unlawful termination and slander.

The allegation is preposterous, whether the police chief compared them to terrorists or not; yet the notion that these police officers would then launch a multi-million dollar lawsuit over such outrageous name-calling is ridiculous in itself. Since when did having a wealthy tax base force a beach community to endure such unsupportable legal action? Police officers are worn to serve and protect their communities, not fleece them and defect from duty. The citizens of Manhattan Beach deserve better than overpaid peace officers who received six-figure compensation while on administrative leave after failing to report a minor traffic accident.

Upscale communities already have to contend with burglary and fraud -- but why should the residents of Manhattan Beach also have to fend off their very people who are supposed to be protecting them in the first place? Manhattan Beach is a wonderful place. Her public employees have no right instigating silly scandals for alternative newspapers to carp about.

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