General (13)
Susana Barrios
From:Stephanie Mercadante <burglin.stephanie@gmail.com>
Sent:Tuesday, July 28, 2026 5:39 PM
To:Public Comment
Subject:\[EXTERNAL\] On Behalf of Mike Robbins, District 2, Councilmember Carlos Leon
Warning: This email originated from outside the City of Anaheim. Do not click links or open
attachments unless you recognize the sender and are expecting the message.
For public comment on July 28, 2026:
Once upon a time, there was a fox. This fox was sly. He was sneaky. He was secretive.
Not only was he in charge of guarding the henhouse, but he was also responsible for investigating all
nefarious activities whenever one of the other foxes got into trouble.
And wouldn't you know it...
The fox never found that he—or any of the other foxes—had done anything wrong. Ever.
That's exactly how Anaheim handles accountability.
When allegations arise, the City investigates itself, clears itself, and then tells the public, "Nothing to see
here."
How is that supposed to inspire public confidence?
It doesn't. We know it doesn't. You know it doesn't.
Yet this Council continues to repeat the same pattern.
Chief Armendariz initiated an audit into overtime practices involving Tony Lee and Jose Duran.
Then Chief Armendariz was pushed out.
Chief Manny Cid was hired.
And the audit? It vanished.
Today, the audit is still nowhere to be found.
If there is nothing to hide, why not refer the matter to an independent law enforcement agency?
Then we learn about Detective Leslie Vargas and allegations surrounding the arrest of a young black
woman in what has been described as a civil dispute, along with allegations that the police report
included false information.
We all understand that every organization can have employees who are not ethical.
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But leadership is measured by how it responds. And City Hall continues to believe the fox should keep
guarding the henhouse. Do more elected officials need to go to jail for you to get your act together?
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