Regarding former city manager Shoreh Dupuis’ Nov. 16, 2023 traffic stop and the city’s release of the body cam on April 6, 2023 of the bodycam video along with context, which I refer to as the “press release video.” You can watch it on YouTube. I showed the beginning at the recent council meeting. In my 38 years in Laguna, I have never seen such a weird action by the city. I don’t know what this cost the city either in expenditures or staff time, nor do I know who prepared the “context” accompanying the bodycam video. I asked Mayor Sue Kempf: What did the press release video cost in expenditures or staff time? Who prepared the “context” text? Who approved the press release video? Were any council members aware of the creation of the press release video before its release? Did any council members approve the press release video before its release?
A short, written, inexpensive press release would have sufficed as the city manager herself admitted to the violation of holding and using her cell phone while driving. If the context of the expensive press release video was to exonerate the city manager, it failed miserably. The video shows her invoking the name of the officer’s boss, which borders on creating a hostile work environment. The dictionary definition includes it “causes one or more employees to feel uncomfortable, scared, or intimidated in their place of employment.”
Gene Felder, Laguna Beach
