Thanks for putting up this post as it is long overdue. I totally agree with your comments. I think it is shameful how the police department has had little public support from the Town Council.I guess they are content to see the officers and department regularily get beat up like a pinata. If they question the lack of support from the community all they need to do is look at the numbers voting for the last parcel tax. The tax is all about the police department.

If your police department would clean out its corrupt member(s) it probably wouldn't get beat up so regularly.

If it is true 97% of Atherton absolutely loves the Atherton PD, then the Ahterton POA should have no fear of putting out a request for proposal for police services.

Come on guys and gals, what are you afraid of, a little competition?

By the way, your personal attacks on McKeithen, Buckheit, Carpenter and others doesn't help your cause.

I would say that much more than 97% of the residents support the police department. That is one of the reason we moved here many years ago. They are doing a great job! There are a few malcontents in every community who have their own personal agendas, i.e. McKeithen and Buckheit. And I wonder why the above Menlo Voter calls our department corrupt. Put up or shut up, Menlo Voter. You are a pain in the neck.

What Atherton citizens want is high quality police services, which is very different than wanting to own and operate a police department. We also want reliable electricity but we don't own and operate an electric utility -as does Palo Alto.

The employees of the Atherton Police Dept. provide more services than any other police depts. The residents of Atherton are fortunate to have their homes checked twice during a 24hr period when they are on vacation. If a resident is locked out of their home, they are able to come to the police dept where someone is there 24/7 for their house key or a officer will respond to their house with the key. Also, 80% of the homes are connected directly to the police department where the response time by the officers are unprecented by any other police or sheriff dept.
The Police Dept. is dedicated to its residents. Remember, traffic problems are a huge issue with the residents. The Police dept. has a traffic officer dedicated to traffic enforcement, which the City of San Carlos no longer has.
If residents really want to know the pros & cons of outsourcing the police dept, just ask a San Carlos resident!.

Fed Up:

I didn't say your whole department was corrupt only one or some. Put up or shut up? I don't have to. One of your own "wonderful" officers already testified UNDER OATH in open court that his report had been tampered with. That is a FELONY fed up, yet no one has pursued it. Rest assured, had this occured in the department I spent my time in, it would have been VIGOROUSLY investigated and PROSECUTED. If you want to keep you head in the sand that is your right. It doesn't change the fact you have a corrupt cop or cops on your force. A truly good force would have exposed them and prosecuted them by this time.

Peter Carpenter, we know what we want. We don't need you to tell us. We want our own police department because we know that if police get outsourced, services will suffer.

Are you, John Buckheit and Kathy McKeithen ready to put $10M into an escrow account to be able to consider police outsourcing? If you're not, discussion cannot even begin. The reason for this is if the outsourcing doesn't work (as it won't - the sheriff will just offer a nice deal for year one, and then jack up the prices), it will cost the town that much money to bring the department back.

Are you ready to do that? Is Buckheit? Is McKeithen? If not, stop talking. No one wants to hear from you.

I'll contribute to the $10 million escrow account if I can get a share in the money that would be saved by dumping our corrupt and inefficient Atherton Police force.

[Portion removed; unsupported accusations of criminal behavior violate terms of use.]

Wake up Atherton, you are all prisoners in your own homes and you don't even know it.

Is this the Atherton Police Appreciation thread, or is it the attach Jon Buckheit thread, or do the posters here consider these threads to be one and the same?

Those who think they are supporting the Atherton Police Department by attacking Jon Buckheit, Kahty McKeithen et al are reminiscent of a poorly bred german shepard dog with a bad case of fear agression.

Jon Buckheit is a man of courage, of integrity. In one year Jon Buckheit and Kahty McKeiten have done more for this town than the past three chiefs of police combined. They have saved the life of an elderly woman left to die at the hands of an abuser and a close associate of a former Chief of Police. They have cast a bright light on a corrupt and inefficient police department.

Jon Buckheit has put his money where his mouth is. He put up a $6.2 million bond to act as a conservator for a woman he didn't even know.

[Portion removed; stick to the issue.]

[Post removed; unfounded accusations of criminal behavior violate terms of use.]

I suggest keeping this thread to police outsourcing decisions. The personal attacks on all sides get in the way of looking at the true issues which are substantial.

"White glove" service probably means something very different to those who have been abused (not allegedly abused) by the Atherton Police Department.

And having the police serve as locksmiths, private security guards and escort guests as they drive away comes with a very big price. You don't have to pay someone $150,000 a year to direct parking when you have a party.

Pretty soon, especially after that parcel tax is imposed, Athertonians will find out that this level of service is no longer affordable.

Jon Buckheit is a classy guy. However he is overlooking one thing. There is a criminal element in the Atherton Police Department. It is a certain element in the Atherton Police force that has left it morally bankrupt.

Unless we call attention to the misdeeds of those currently and formerly employed by the Atherton Police Department, there will never be change.

Glenn Nielsen got paid more than the Governor in his last year with Atherton and he left a department in shambles. He should be held to account for failure to protect those whom he was sworn to serve.

Nielsen was at the helm when Jon Buckheit was falsely arrested. Nielsen promoted those who followed.

In Nielsen's case, one bad apple did spoil the whole bunch.

Let's stop being civil, the very safety of Atherton is a stake.

Throw the whole department into the compost heap and start all over.

We know what we want - please explain to others why you are willing to pay TWICE as much for exactly the same level of police services that we would receive if we contracted with the the Sheriff like Woodside, Portola Valley and many other communities do?

Here are the facts:
Agencies which have their own Police Department:

Atherton
As of the census of 2000, there were
7,194 people
4.9 square miles (12.8 km²)
Police budget $4.9 M
$681 per capita

Redwood City
As of the census[1] of 2008, there were
75,508 people
34.6 sq miles
Police budget $31.7 M
$419 per capita

Palo Alto
As of the census of 2000, there were 58,598
people
23.7 sq miles
Police budget $29M
$494 per capita

Foster City
As of the census of 2000, there are 28,803
people
The city has a total area of 19.9 square
miles (51.6 km²), of which 3.8 square miles
(9.7 km²) is land and 16.2 square miles
(41.9 km²) is water.
Police budget $9.6 M
$333 per capita

Burlingame
As of the census of 2000, there were 28,158
people
The city has a total area of 15.6 km² (6.0 mi²).
11.2 km² (4.3 mi²) of it is land and 4.4 km²
(1.7 mi²) of it (28.19%) is water.
Police budget $9.5M
$337 per capita

Hillsborough
As of the census[5] of 2000, there were
10,825 people
The town has a total area of 6.2 square miles
(16.1 km²), all of it land.
Police budget $8M
$739 per capita

Los Altos
The population was 27,693 according to the
2000 census.
6.3 square miles (16.4 km²).
Police dept budget $13.46 M
$485 per capita

Menlo Park
As of the census of 2000, there were 30,785
people
17.4 square miles (45 km2), of which
10.1 square miles (26 km2) is land
and 7.3 square miles (19 km2) is water. Police services budget $14.69 M
$477.148 per capita

Agencies which contract out their police services:

Saratoga
The population was 30,318 at the 2007 census.
The city has a total area of 21.1 square miles
(31.4 km²)
Police costs via County Sheriff $4.34 M
$143 per capita

Woodside
11.8 square miles (30.5 km²)
As of the census of 2000, there were
5,352 people
Police services via County Sheriff $1.3 M
$242 per capita

Portola Valley
The population was 4,462 at the 2000 census
9.2 square miles (23.7 km²)
Police services via Sheriff $498,601
$111 per capita

San Carlos
The population was 27.238 in 2008
5.93 square miles
Police services via proposed Sheriff's contract
$6.8 M
$248.62 per capita








I want what Hillsborough has. Atherton is at least as deserving.

I don't care whether or not we pay twice as much as neighboring cities for police services.

All I want is a police department I can trust.

The Atherton PD has a very sad history of corruption. Look what happened to Buckheit, Bothun and Clark Yee.

We had a Chief leave just a year and a half ago collecting a final paycheck of $300k.

We had a Finance Director's office raided after he complained of fraud in the PD.

We have a current chief who has collected tens of thousands of dollars collecting fees as a management consultant, on Town time and using Town property.

What I want is an honest DA to investigate corruption and to rid us of the criminal element that lies within.

That's what it is going to take to restore trust in our PD. If Wagstaffe won't get off his duff, then we simply must outsource. There is no alternative.

Steve Cader was investigated by the DA on voter fraud and misuse of the Town's credit card

Clark Yee was investigated by the DA on stealing golf clubs

John Johns was investigated the the DA on charges of fraud

The DA refused to investigate Bob Brennan on allegations that he misused his Town issued credit card

The DA refused to investigate Mike Guerra that he worked on outside consulting using town time and town property

The DA refused to investigate Glenn Nielsen on charges that he falsified his time sheet.

The DA refused to investigate Jon Buckheit's falsified police report.

The DA refused to investigate charges of a violation of the Brown Act by the Sequoia Unified High School District.

Is this prosecutorial discretion or prosecutorial misconduct?

Who is Wagstaffe protecting and why?

Is there a double standard for Friends of Steve and enemies of Steve's friends?

It's time for a grand jury investigation of the DA.