All that "lets be tough on crime" stuff that winger Californians have used to shatter community budgets with bloated staffs of overpaid, lazy, donut eating cops has resulted in yet another example of their finely honed powers of observation.
Contra Costa sheriff admits missed opportunities to rescue Jaycee Dugard
Authorities in Contra Costa County had several chances to uncover the hidden backyard compound where Jaycee Dugard was kept for 18 years, Contra Costa County Sheriff Warren Rupf said.
"We missed an opportunity to have intervened earlier," Rupf told a news conference. "I offer my apologies to the victims and accept responsibility for having missed a chance to rescue Jaycee."
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In acknowledging the misses — a 911 call in 2006 reporting suspicious circumstances at Garrido's Antioch-area home and a sex offender compliance check in 2008 — Rupf said his agency will be more diligent, especially after it was learned an investigating deputy may not have been aware of his criminal past.
Rupf outlined a Nov. 30, 2006, visit by a deputy to the Garrido's Walnut Avenue home. A caller had reported suspicious circumstances involving young children in the home's back yard, and said Garrido was psychotic and had a sex addiction.
Rupf said the deputy who responded to the call spoke with Garrido in front of the home but did not find any cause to search the home. He warned Garrido any living quarters set up in the backyard were a code violation. The emergency call was cleared within a half-hour.
He attributed the shortcoming to the deputy's
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lack of ready access to a database containing information about sex offenders in the county.
"We should have been inquisitive, more curious, and turned over a rock or two," Rupf said. "There are no excuses."
The deputy involved in that 2006 call will not be disciplined, and Rupf complimented the deputy's general performance. The constant reminder of the tragic oversight will be punishment enough, Rupf said.
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I suppose that under the circumstances, medals should be passed out. The house could have been the subject of a botched raid on the wrong address, the victims (and dogs) shot by error.
That everybody lived in this scenario is a shining testament to the professionalism and good judgment of of the CCSD.