Vie^.t Xi' Qua'ch Westminster (chuye^.n da`i 4 mu`a)
Dr. Tri
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Monday, August 17, 2009 http://www.ocregister.com/articles/diep-police-restaurant-2531261-quach-officers
Police, councilman clashed over late-night inspections
Westminster Councilman Tyler Diep says he was trying to settle a
concern raised by a restaurant owner.
By DEEPA BHARATH
The Orange County Register
Comments 139| Recommend 12
WESTMINSTER – Councilman Tyler Diep told police officers to stop
conducting routine business inspections at Citryst Restaurant in
February, about 55 days after he took office as a City Council member,
according to audio recordings and internal memos obtained by The
Orange County Register.
Westminster police officers reported that an angry Diep stormed into
the watch commander's office after midnight Feb. 7 to complain that
officers were at the popular Little Saigon watering hole. Diep told
the lieutenant on duty that he did not want the officers going to
Citryst and that he was upset because of that, according to police
memos.
Diep now says he never intended to interfere with police business and
in hindsight would have waited until the next morning to talk to the
city manager about it. He said he simply did not know because he was
new to office.
On Friday, Diep issued a "pre-emptive apology" to the Vietnamese media
after being contacted by the Register for an interview on the matter.
He told the Nguoi Viet Daily News that as a new council member, he was
"still inexperienced" and did things he shouldn't have, according to
editor Hao-Nhien Q. Vu.
Mayor Margie Rice said she believes Diep's incident with police is
symptomatic of a culture clash in Westminster that has risen to the
level of high drama in recent months. Some newly elected city
officials such as Diep do not properly understand the difference
between politics and governance, she said. And in Little Saigon, she
said, favoritism, intimidation and even corruption are not as frowned
upon as they may be in mainstream American society.
"We have to treat all businesses normally," Rice said. "If a city
council member is not being fair about the way they act and
administer, that's a reason for all of us to be scared."
The Brookhurst Street restaurant was also part of the police
investigation into Westminster Councilman Andy Quach's Aug. 2 drunken
driving arrest. Quach clipped another car and crashed into a pole,
knocking out power to 300 homes, police said. Police looked into
reports that Quach was at Citryst before the crash, but say they have
found no evidence of that. His blood alcohol level was more than three
times the legal limit.
Assemblyman Van Tran, a mentor to Diep and Quach, was threatened with
arrest after he referred to himself as Quach's attorney at the scene
of the accident and interfered with the DUI investigation, Westminster
police said. Tran has denied interfering, saying he was only trying to
ask a few questions.
Diep's interaction with police
The chain of events on Feb. 7 began when three police officers
conducted a routine business check at the restaurant at 15440
Brookhurst St.
The officers were met with resistance by an armed security guard who
shut the glass doors and refused to let the officers in, per owner
Amanda Nguyen's orders, Westminster police Sgt. Dan Schoonmaker said.
When officers eventually went inside, there were no problems, but
Nguyen told police they were not welcome because they made her
customers uncomfortable, he said.
According to audio recordings and police memos, Diep called the watch
commander's office about 12:15 a.m. Feb. 7, barely 20 minutes after
officers visited the restaurant.
Diep, who spoke to Sgt. Timothy Vu, the watch commander that night,
told Vu to call him back on his cell phone because that phone line was
being recorded.
"It's midnight … and I have to deal with this crap," Diep is heard
snapping at Vu.
The councilman then walked into the watch commander's office about 15
minutes after hanging up. Based on the audio recordings, Diep was so
upset that he couldn't get the words out of his mouth.
Diep asked Vu what officers were doing at the restaurant and why they
were sent there
Vu explained to Diep his department's routine procedure is to visit
businesses. Citryst was the third or fourth cafe they visited that
night, he told Diep.
"It's not a case where any particular business is being targeted or
anything like that," he explained to Diep. "There isn't any kind of
conspiracy if that's what someone believes is happening. … I don't
know if that explains it to you or not, sir."
Diep replied: "No. You gave me the public answer for it."
Lt. Jack Davidson asked Diep if he was saying police should not go to
the restaurant.
"I'll talk to the chief about it," Diep said and left.
Soon after, Councilman Andy Quach called Vu. Quach mostly inquired
about Diep's visit and told Vu the restaurant owner had complained
that the officers were rude to her and told her to talk to the City
Council if she had any problems – a complaint police later said had no
merit. Quach hung up after telling Vu that Diep is a new councilman
and is still figuring out how it all works.
In a Feb. 7 memo, Davidson wrote that Diep called to apologize for the
midnight incident and offered to buy him a drink so they "can talk and
get to know each other better."
Police Chief Andrew Hall send out an e-mail at 11:06 p.m. Feb. 7,
saying he would conduct a meeting in council chambers that would be
attended by him, Schoonmaker, Diep and Quach. The meeting, Hall wrote,
was to "to clarify our respective roles and responsibilities."
In a follow-up memo Feb. 9, Hall wrote that he provided Diep with
materials including a California League of Cities Publication titled
"Everyday Ethics for Local Officials" and the Institute for Local
Governments "Key Ethics Law Principles."
"I think he understood in the end how or why things are the way they
are,'' Hall said about the meeting. "After that night, we have had no
problems with (Diep)."
Mayor Rice said she was appalled at Diep's demeanor toward police
officers that night.
"I don't care who you are and what issue you're dealing with, as a
public official, you remain civil," Rice said. "I get complaints from
businesses all the time. I don't go storming into the watch
commander's office at midnight. I forward the concerns and complaints
to the city manager. It's his job, that's why he gets paid the big
bucks."
Campaign finance statements filed by Quach and Diep during their
respective election campaigns do not list any contributions from
Citryst or Nguyen.
A "learning experience"
Diep says he went to the police station after getting a call from the
restaurant owner about being "treated discourteously by city
employees."
"But I learned (from that incident) that the only person who works for
me is the city manager,'' Diep said.
"I was very exuberant and wanted to resolve any dispute," he said. "I
take calls from a lot of people and businesses seeking help. I treat
all businesses equally."
Diep says his intent was not to tell police how to do their job.
"I did not give a direct command to city employees on how they should
do their job," he said. "I don't think it was wrong for me to convey
someone's complaint to city management."
Schoonmaker said he has received general council direction in the
past, but never anything so specific about a particular business.
He said he had a conversation with Diep on Jan. 30, a week before Diep
came into the station, about inspections at Citryst. Schoonmaker came
to the restaurant after hearing from officers that Diep was asking
questions about why they were there. Diep became upset after officers
told him to step away and let them do their jobs, Schoonmaker said.
"I then came down and talked to (Diep) about why and how we do
restaurant inspections," Schoonmaker said. "And he seemed to
understand."
Councilman's whereabouts "a mystery"
Citryst's problems began to escalate in January after Westminster
police arrested a suspected drunk driver who told them he had been
drinking there. In March, police Chief Andrew Hall moved to revoke the
restaurant's permit, citing the January DUI and the Feb. 6 incident in
which owner Amanda Nguyen prevented officers from entering the
restaurant.
Schoonmaker said the restaurant shut its doors for five days in June
as a penalty. The conditional use permit and police permit were never
revoked, he said. Nguyen in April pleaded guilty to a charge of
resisting, delaying or obstructing a police officer in connection with
the incident at the restaurant.
Citryst's name came up again after Quach's recent DUI arrest. Police
got a tip that the councilman was at Citryst the night of Aug. 1,
right before the crash, Schoonmaker said.
Quach has denied being at the Citryst and says he left West Coast
Seafood Buffet on Beach Boulevard before the accident. Police say
Citryst's connection to the DUI incident remains a mystery. West Coast
is also being investigated by the ABC for possible violations.
Police got the surveillance video from Citryst for that night,
Schoonmaker said. The restaurant's conditional use permit requires it
to submit the video on demand from the police chief.
Nguyen told police she had turned off the surveillance camera at 10:30
that night, although she was required to keep it on until midnight,
Schoonmaker said.
"So, the answer is, we don't know if (Quach) was or was not at Citryst
that night," he said. "We had to conclude that he was at West Coast
Buffet based on another conflicting report that (Quach) was there
until midnight."
Nguyen said Quach was not at her restaurant the night of Aug. 1.
"I can tell you he was definitely not here," she said. "Yes, he likes
to come into our restaurant once in awhile. But that night, he was not
here."