Mesa Police Association President Fabian Cota has stepped aside from his police union duties after he was detained during a public intoxication and disorderly conduct-related incident in San Diego over the weekend, triggering an internal investigation here in Mesa.
The incident involved Cota, a sergeant, screaming names at the San Diego police officer who confronted two women Cota was with who appeared too intoxicated to drive early Saturday.
Cota, who currently is on probation for an incident in connection with a union election, was placed on administrative re-assignment and remains working, according to Sgt. Ed Wessing, a Mesa police spokesman. The department’s personal conduct policies are being reviewed to see whether Cota violated any of them, Wessing said.
Wessing told the Tribune that Mesa was informed of the incident Saturday morning, but they were not aware of what Cota was yelling at the officers who detained him.
Under California’s public intoxication laws, Cota was not booked into the city jail or charged because he agreed to being held for four hours for detoxification and paid a $50 fee, Wessing said.
Pending the outcome of the investigation, Cota could be facing disciplinary actions ranging from suspension to termination.
Cota could not be reached immediately for comment.
Cota spoke out last month against a three-day suspension without pay and one year’s disciplinary probation he received last fall upon allegations of untruthfulness in connection with the release of a list of police officers’ contact information during the meet-and-confer election between Mesa’s two police unions, the MPA and the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 9. He had said then that he was reviewing all of his options and considered suing the city because he says his due process rights were violated during the investigation, which he believes was racially motivated.
Meet-and-confer allows a police union to meet with city officials when issues or grievances arise. The MPA won the election in October after the city deemed the initial election in February 2010 invalid amid claims from the FOP against Cota, which accused him of elections tampering when public resources were not supposed to be used during the campaign. The contact lists of officers eligible to vote was supposed to remain confidential.
In a 222-page report issued by the Mesa Police Department’s internal investigations unit and released early last month, assistant chief John Meza said Cota didn’t intend to be untruthful, but failed to properly report the use of the employee list.
Cota said he did not do any police union work on the clock, and that he provided the list to Williams and Associates, a lobbying firm the MPA worked with. Williams and Associates was going to mail the information to officers’ homes, something Cota said the FOP was also having done. Cota said he did not know how the Arizona Police Association, which emailed the list to eligible voters, received it.
Investigators initially recommended that Cota be fired for the claims against him, and later reduced the charges down to a 36-hour suspension before dropping it down to a 24 hours, which Cota served late last year.
The MPA’s executive board on Tuesday released the following statement:
“President Fabian Cota was involved in an incident that led to an administrative complaint. We are confident President Cota will receive due process like any other member. Pending the outcome of the complaint process the MPA will continue to provide the same level of quality service to its membership and will continue to negotiate on your behalf in the meet and confer process.
“At this time President Cota will focus on the investigation and has decided to take an inactive role within the MPA. Vice President Dan Glover will assume the role of interim president. As always we remind everyone that all of us are presumed innocent and entitled to due process.”
• Contact writer: (480) 898-6533 or msakal@evtrib.com
Leon Ceniceros posted at 9:00 am on Wed, Jun 8, 2011.
Growing up in South-Central Los Angeles in the 40's and 50's, neighborhood "Authority Figures" (priests, nuns, policemen, firemen and doctors) were held to the "highest regard". Big Shots like the Mayor, City Councilmen, County Supervisors, the Cardinal, were .."gods" that us mere mortals never, ever came in contact with. The local Diocese Bishop only showed up for Confirmations because he had to preside in the Sacrament.
I remember reading about F.B.I. agents and cadets of the different Military Academies and thinking what special people they were.
Now we see "hundreds" of F.B.I. agents caught up in an examination cheating scandal. We see Annapolis, West Point, Marine Academy, Coast Guard Academy and Air Force Academy cadets caught up in scandal after scandal after scandal. We see a President of the United States admitting to sexual encounters in the Oval Office of the White House. We have seen Senators, Congressmen, Generals, Admirals, Governors and other ......"POLITICAL LEADERS" ...caught up in scandal after scandal after scandal.
I am not going to "dump" on anyone for doing something stupid but when you are a "LEADER"....along with the title goes ..."RESPONCIBILITIES". One of these ..."responcibilites"....is ..."CONDUCT".
How can a "leader" expect the people he "leads" to follow his/her orders if he/she has not ..."EARNED"....their ...."RESPECT".
I was raised by a divorced "MOM" who admonished us before we left the house to...."PORTENSE BIEN"....in English..."CONDUCT YOURSELF WELL"....aka....YOU HAD BETTER BE ON YOUR BEST BEHAVIOR OR YOU ARE GOING TO GET THE "BELT".
Maybe that's what all these ..."LEADERS" ...need.....A GOOD SPANKING.........oh, that's right....the ...A.C.L.U.....and all the ...CHILDREN'S RIGHTS ACTIVISTS ....have put a stop to spanking............SINCE THE 1960'S... A PARENT IS SUPPOSED TO ..."REASON"...WITH THEIR CHILDREN.....WELL...BY LOOKING AT THE DAILY SCANDALS OF OUR LATEST CROP OF ..."LEADERS".....A FAT LOT OF GOOD....."REASONING" ...HAS DONE TO TEACH THEM THAT ALONG WITH THE TITLE OR THE POSITION.... GOES..........."GOOD CONDUCT".
Geepers posted at 8:39 pm on Wed, Jun 8, 2011.
This Cota character can't seem to stay out of trouble. I wonder if he is going to use his race this time like he did last time when he contemplated suing the city for his three-day suspension. This guy is a train wreck who is just waiting to explode. He needs to be grateful to SDPD for their hospitality in not criminally charging him and find within himself who he really is. One thing he isn't is a leader in his profession or an honorable representative of his department and city. Find a new line of work that does not involve responsibility because you can not handle it.[sad]