General (12)
Susana Barrios
From:Stephanie Mercadante <burglin.stephanie@gmail.com>
Sent:Tuesday, August 11, 2026 6:05 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 August 11, 2026:
On August 5, Chief Manny Cid attended a Los Amigos meeting and was questioned about the overtime
timesheet allegations involving Anaheim Police Association President Jose Duran and former Vice
President Tony Lee.
Chief Cid responded:
“There isn’t any necessarily specific culpability to any one person... but there were systematic or
managerial oversight shortcomings.”
I find that explanation deeply troubling.
Police officers are entrusted with enormous authority. We trust them to testify truthfully in court. We
trust their police reports. We trust them with badges, weapons, and the power to arrest people.
Surely, then, taxpayers should also be able to trust them to accurately report the hours they worked.
The California Highway Patrol faced allegations of overtime fraud within its own East LA station. CHP
didn't simply acknowledge weaknesses in its oversight system, change its policies, and move on.
CHP investigated its own officers and referred the matter to the DOJ.
That's an important distinction. And what did Anaheim do? Hired a consultant to audit ITSELF, which is
basically buying the answer they want, on the taxpayers’ dime.
So why does Chief Cid seem so reluctant to scrutinize the officers who actually submitted these hours?
Could it be because Jose Duran has told people he got Chief Cid the top-cop job? And was that so that
Cid could do him a favor since the overtime audit was well underway? And some say Duran told people
that if Vanderpool didn’t hire Cid, then Duran would get rid of Vanderpool, too. But Vanderpool agreed,
because he got a huge raise. And in return, Duran happily pushed Vanderpool’s agenda to outsource
Workers’ Comp to Adminsure.
Rob Fabela - Are you asleep at the wheel? Or are you just going to continue to look the other way and
pretend it isn’t your responsibility to stop this type of behavior?
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And why are taxpayers hearing about failures of “the system” rather than receiving a clear accounting of
the conduct of the people who submitted those timesheets?
Chief Cid says he is changing policies governing overtime. Fine. Fix the system.
But fixing a system and determining individual accountability are not mutually exclusive.
Because blaming “the system” while avoiding the question of who submitted the hours doesn't restore
public trust.
It undermines it.
And frankly, if shifting responsibility away from individuals and onto a broken system is becoming the
standard for accountability in Anaheim leadership, then Chief Cid appears to be fitting right in.
And I assure you, that is not a compliment.
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