The Deluge of 2020 By : Ted Stec , Chief of Police – Bishop PD
I do not know if what our country has gone through this year will change policing forever , but the effects will certainly haunt us for many years . 2020 makes me think of the 9 / 11 terrorist attack on the U . S . Some remember it well , some have forgotten , while others have a skewed opinion of it . I see this profession as one that presents moving legal targets that necessitates our nimbleness . I also see a pendulum that swings both gently and fitfully depending on which way the wind blows . The human race is fickle , and politics are brutal .
Many of my SoCal colleagues know Bishop well . This is a glorious travel and vacation destination north of the Los Angeles area : hiking , world-class rock climbing , famous yearly trout derby , off-roading , and the largest annual mule event in the world . The daytime service population is over 20,000 comprised of the city , the surrounding greater Bishop area , an adjacent Native American Reservation , and the influx of tourists from all over the world . Over one-million vehicles pass through Bishop monthly . We are the only police department in the county who protects and serves these visitors .
The above illustration was necessary to set the tone before moving on to the theme of this edition of the California Police Chief Magazine . Has this idyllic area escaped the fallout of 2020 ? I feel the first inclination from many outsiders might be , yes . This is because Bishop is hours from hectic metros and high crime areas , so we have escaped a lot of the “ drama ” over the years . SoCal is about five hours to the south of Reno NV and has 14,000-foot mountain ranges to the east and west . But , unfortunately , this special and unique area has not escaped the trauma of 2020 .
In terms of COVID-19 , shutting down our deployment to only necessary , dangerous , or emergency work to reduce exposure hurt morale , especially on the hard chargers who like to work . A few weeks was tolerable , but months were not . Driving up and down Main St ., which is often bumper-to-bumper , and hardly seeing any vehicles was troubling . Recognizing the fact that Bishop relies so much on tourism revenue , many began anticipating pay cuts or
furloughs to offset an increasing budget deficit . In September , the bargaining units agreed to furloughs . Luckily , I had two vacancies that I froze to lessen the financial impact while also placing my Lieutenant on patrol to fill a void . I feel COVID-19 will have lasting effects in terms of maintaining adequate PPE supplies and staff living with one more health risk to think about every shift . Of course , if an actual cure becomes available for COVID soon or , at least , an increase in more of the promising remedies , concern should be reduced . The bottom line is , this was a kick in the gut that has impacted work and home life , personal finances , family , and more .
In May , George Floyd died while in-custody . This certainly was not what we needed especially during a pandemic . This understandably caused heightened scrutiny of other police involved deaths and an unbearable amount of politics . California had already led the way on some use-of-force reform , but now the genie was out of the bottle again .
As expected , my Bishop PD officers , and several officers from my previous agency whom I continue to mentor , began questioning this career . Had trickery and unscrupulous intent found its way into the reform and , more importantly , what is next ? Officers had serious discussions about the meaning and potential consequence of just one word or phrase in the new law narrative and , once again , they wondered , what is next ? One does not have to look far to find a media story that tends to highlight prosecutors seemingly relishing the thought of prosecuting peace officers even when those officers
16 CALIFORNIA POLICE CHIEF | www . californiapolicechiefs . org