On Tuesday, East Valley residents were greeted with the news that Mesa Police Sgt. Fabian Cota had been busted by San Diego Police over the weekend for disorderly conduct involving alcohol and was hauled off to the drunk tank to sober up.
According to the police report, Cota was taken into custody Saturday night after screaming at officers who confronted two women Cota was with who appeared too intoxicated to drive. Under California's public intoxication laws, Cota was not booked into jail or charged because he agreed to be held for four hours for detoxification and paid a $50 fee.
Cota, who is also the president of the Mesa Police Association, has been placed on administrative reassignment by Mesa police while the incident is being investigated.
Cota reportedly makes $88,420 a year and receives an additional $12,000 per year for being the union president. He had been assigned a desk job and was allowed to work on union labor negotiations 30 hours a week while getting paid by taxpayers. The MPA is in negotiations with Mesa on a memorandum of understanding on pay and benefits. His on-duty union work was suspended after his arrest.
The incident in San Diego is not the first time Cota has gotten in hot water with his superiors. Last fall, Cota was suspended for two days without pay and put on one-year probation upon allegations of untruthfulness during an investigation of his conduct prior to an employee vote selecting the MPA over the Fraternal Order of Police as the bargaining agent for officers.
In 2009, Cota was reprimanded "for careless or neglectful handling of a firearm" after leaving behind his Glock at city hall following a meeting.
Last May, Cota told the Tribune the police department and the city were dealing with him differently during these investigations because he is Hispanic, and he was considering suing because he felt the city "violated his civil rights and were racially motivated." Two days later he decided not to sue.
But Cota has sued in the past.
Cota and the MPA sued Mesa in an effort for officers to get paid overtime to get dressed for work - the so-called "donning and doffing" lawsuit. They wanted officers to receive eight hours of overtime per month and back pay of $6.9 million.
The case was thrown out of federal court in Phoenix and tossed by a federal appeals court but not before Mesa residents shelled out $348,479.79 in attorney fees and costs.
That money could've paid the first-year salary for seven police officers.
Cota, who is also the vice president of the statewide Arizona Police Association, has provided a steady stream of entertainment to Mesa residents, the mayor and city council, police department and police officers throughout Arizona. Unfortunately his latest antics will only add to the lingering questions employers and the public have about labor organizations and their advocacy for police officers.
Now more than ever public safety labor groups need a strong trust relationship with employers and the community they serve if they expect to have a leadership role and effective input on matters of community public safety.
The Mesa police department will do yet another investigation on Sgt. Cota. I have no idea what the outcome will be. His probationary status means punishment could be another suspension or even termination.
Regardless of the punishment, Cota's latest stunt has already done more damage to the credibility of the Mesa Police Association and the trust relationship Mesa residents have with the Mesa Police Department than even a public flogging of Cota could repair.
• Retired Mesa master police officer Bill Richardson lives in the East Valley and can be reached at bill.richardson@cox.net
• Editor's note: Bill Richardson was a founding member of the Mesa police union but has not been involved with the union or the Fraternal Order of Police in over 20 years.
ofuque2 posted at 8:16 am on Fri, Jun 10, 2011.
Putting his union affiliation aside, this guy should have been terminated long ago. He is a prime example why so many people in this valley and the nation in general have such a low opinion of our police officers. Police officers should be held to a MUCH higher standard of conduct if they want to keep being considered "our heroes". If they are content with being treated like everyone else in the public sector, then fine. The City of Mesa fired a long-time electrician because he got a DUI. They said that his conduct (a FIRST offense) could not be tolerated because he sometimes was required to drive a boom truck. We all got a memo stating that a FIRST DUI offense on our record would result in immediate termination. Why won't they do that for the police? What makes them better than the rest?
Dale Whiting posted at 8:36 am on Fri, Jun 10, 2011.
ofuque2,
Cota was not driving, hense not DUI. He was charged with public intoxication and the disorderly conduct associated therewith. Guys like Cota give police officers a bad name. But the Mesa PD must walk on eggs in handling him or pay the price for any mistakes made.
Leon Ceniceros posted at 8:57 am on Fri, Jun 10, 2011.
Everyone knows that there is a ...DOUBLE STANDARD...of Law Enforcement for
.. D.U.I.'S ..DOMESTIC ABUSE ....AND OTHER LAWS....where ....POLICE
OFFICERS, SHERIFF DEPUTIES. POLITICAL FIGURES AND SPORTS FIGURES
ARE INVOLVED.
Just look at the Scottsdale ....D.U.I. ARREST .....on May 30, 2011 (Memorial Day) of .........EX-ARIZONA BASEBALL PLAYER............MARK GRACE.
MARK GRACE'S ...D.U.I....ARREST........did not become public knowledge until...........8 DAYS LATER.
WHERE WAS THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC....EAST VALLEY TRIBUNE....NEWD TIMES....CRONKITE NEWS SERVICE....OUR LOCAL TV NEWS PROGRAMS....ARE YOU GOING TO TELL ME THAT.............NONE OF THE ABOVE............KNEW ABOUT ...MARK GRACE'S ARREST FOR DRUNK DRIVING...............GIVE ME A BREAK.
As for............."REPAIRING THE PUBLIC TRUST AND ADMIRATION"..for our Local Law Enforcement Agencies. Here are a few ideas that might be considered;
1. Enforce all Laws...this includes the...FEDERAL ILLEGAL ALIEN LAW (there would have been no need for SB 1070...IF OUR LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES HAD ONLY DONE WHAT THEY ARE...."PAID AND SWORN TO DO"...PROTECT THE CITIZENS).
2. Start .........TREATING CITIZENS WITH COURTESY FOR A CHANGE.
3. When you are driving around in a SQUAD CAR........SMILE FOR A CHANGE.
4. When you are in a LOCAL FAST FOOD PLACE....TALK TO THE CUSTOMERS IN LINE ...........BE A ....PUBLIC RELATIONS ASSET.......NOT A ...DISASTER.
5. YOU ARE A ...LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER OR SHERIFF'S DEPUTY.......24/7............REMEMBER THAT ...24/7...IT YOU DON'T LIKE IT....THEN QUIT............THE BADGE MAKES YOU A ...."SPECIAL PERSON"...IN THE PUBLIC'S EYE.........ACT LIKE IT.....THIS GOES FROM THE.........."COP ON THE BEAT"...TO THE CHIEF OF POLICE OR THE SHERIFF. WE HAVE SEEN "SEX SCANDALS" INVOLVING ..........POLICE BIG SHOTS....AND THIS SICKENS THE PUBLIC WHO ARE PAY FOR THEIR WAGES AND BENEFITS.
IF YOU WANT "GOOD" SALARIES AND "GOOD" BENEFITS = DO IT THE OLD=FASHIONED WAY = EARN IT.
Rich posted at 9:10 am on Fri, Jun 10, 2011.
88K ? For a policeman??????? That's nuts. No wonder service bites and taxes go up. Hey, are there gold plated fixtures in washroom he uses? Public salaries have to be cut to less than salaries in the private sector. Nanny government can't afford to be Lady Bountiful as well.
mikedurham posted at 9:55 am on Fri, Jun 10, 2011.
This seems to be the usual cycle of dealing with officer acting out.
I guess the big question is, "Will Arizona P.O.S.T. receive a copy of the San Diego investigation, review and investigate it?" May P.O.S.T. initiate it's own investigation based on the San Diego PD findings?
Other concerns:
Was Cota carrying any Mesa Police identification and did he display it to SDPD? Was Cota armed at the time of his arrest, and, if so, was the firearm a Mesa PD issue weapon?
Who paid for his trip to San Diego ... personal or in official Mesa PD capacity or as a union representative?
Does the City of Mesa have a community based committee which may initiate it's own inquiry into Cota's arrest?
Does the union have a committee which may initiate it's own inquiry into Cota's arrest?
The bottom line is where are the checks and balances on this sort of issue for Mesa?
samkat posted at 7:49 pm on Fri, Jun 10, 2011.
Rich: You sound like sour grapes. Do you put your life on the line each day as our police do? Are you in a highly technical position that requires in many cases a college degree or specialized training? I don't know what you do for a living or how long you have been in your job but if you feel so strongly, why not apply for one of these high paying jobs? It is easy to sit on the outside looking in and make such comments. Does the average clerical worker make more than their private sector counterpart? I doubt it. Go back to the drawing board on this one. While I often agree with your comments, I think you are out of line on this one.