A policy permitting some North County law-enforcement officers to take home patrol cars has become a campaign issued in Escondido.
The controversy -- specifically, whether police officers who live in cities like Murrieta or Temecula should be allowed to take patrol cars hom --is central to the race for Escondido City Council:
Currently, most officers are only allowed to take a patrol car home if they live within 10 miles of the police department. There are exceptions to that rule, however, and it's those exceptions that are causing controversy. Exceptions are made for detectives, SWAT team members, K-9 officers and emergency negotiators. They are permitted to take the cars up to 40 miles away.
Candidates Olga Diaz and Richard Barron say that the practice costs the city more than $100,000 a year.
"We have to be very careful of how the money is spent," Barron said. "Now you're putting far more wear and tear on the vehicles with that amount of commuting, and they're not able to be maintained as well as they should be."
Incumbent Sam Abed agrees with the policy, saying it's a safety issue.
"The city council cannot micromanage the police department," Abed said.
For his part, the police chief said that eliminating the policy may prompt officers to leave the departments.
Two other candidates, Dennis French and Chuck Voelker, could not be reached for comment.
