San Clemente police chief tries building trust after Marine was killed

San Clemente police chief tries building trust after Marine shooting
Building a connection could be a challenge for the new chief after a recent, high-profile deputy-involved shooting of a Camp Pendleton Marine sergeant at San Clemente High School.
May 26, 2012
By SALVADOR HERNANDEZ and FRED SWEGLES
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

SAN CLEMENTE – In 1986, John Coppock was a young officer starting his career in what was then the San Clemente Police Department. He was eager to go out and "crush crime."

Twenty-six years later, Coppock is a lieutenant in the Orange County Sheriff's Department and oversees its operations in San Clemente, making him the de facto chief of police in the city where he grew up and spent most of his teenage summers on the beaches.

Coppock now has 35 deputies under his command. He said he tells the younger ones he doesn't just want them to crush crime but also to get out of their patrol cars and build a bond with members of the oceanfront community.

But making that connection could be a challenge for the new chief after a deputy's recent shooting of a Camp Pendleton Marine sergeant at San Clemente High School.

The shooting generated big headlines, a lawsuit from the Marine's family and a crisis of confidence among some residents who asked the City Council to terminate its contract with the Sheriff's Department and bring back the San Clemente Police Department. Others spoke out about what they said is a history of heavy-handedness by local deputies.
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