Former Rancho Cordova Police Chief Reuben Meeks Could Face Criminal Charges For Impersonating a Police Officer
Former Rancho Cordova Police Chief, Reuben Meeks, could face charges of impersonating a police officer. Meeks allegedly used his police issued lights and siren to pursue and apprehend a driver on Monday during a chase that reportedly reached speeds of 90 miles per hour.
Reuben Meeks has been on contract with the City of Rancho Cordova as a civilian Police Director since November, 2009 when he retired from the Sheriff’s Department. He served the city of Rancho Cordova as Police Chief since 2006. Sheriff’s Captain Doug Diamond was selected as Meeks successor for Chief of Police for Rancho Cordova in April of 2010. Per department policy, Reuben Meeks was to have removed the Sheriff’s Department issued lights and siren from his personal vehicle. According to official statements he used this lights and sirens during the incident to chase the alleged suspect which ultimately ended in a crash.
On Thursday, Sheriff McGinnis made the following statement to KCRA 3 tv, “Apparently, the fact that he chose to activate that equipment [lights and sirens] and operate it in a manner reserved only for law enforcement officers, that puts it in the area of criminal conduct. That’s where he’s got some explaining to do”. There is more coverage from CBS 13 here.
Reuben Meeks is under investigation for impersonating a police officer. Currently, the investigation is with the Sacramento County District Attorney’s office. This isn’t the first time Reuben Meeks has been involved in a controversial incident. Back in 2008 while off-duty Meeks crashed a police motorcycle causing $10,000 damage.
City of Rancho Cordova officials when reached for comment declined to issue an official statement on the matter.
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Posted by Michelle Ventress
on Jun 24 2010. Filed under News, Public Safety.
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Who could not see this comming. I wonder what comments the city will make on this matter. Lets see what the city manager has to say now?
I know Reuben personally. We are not close friends, but I know him well enough to say he is a man of phenomenal character and someone deserving of great respect. Did he make a mistake by not removing his lights and sirens upon his retirement? Yes, I believe he did. However, I believe he was acting on his trained instinct to protect public safety. I expect anyone with extensive training and decades of experience in law enforcement would have a hard time looking the other way when a crime is in progress before him, whether on active duty or retired. Reuben clearly overstepped his current civilian role, but I hope the judge will take into consideration Reuben’s many years of service to this community before making his final judgment.
Go to Youtube.com and type in the words Rancho Cordova. What’s the number one viewed video on Rancho Cordova to pop up? An 8+ minute video of “Garbage collection in Rancho Cordova, CA.” Pretty unfortunate that dealing with the trash in our community is the number one point of interest. Previously pinning a piece of tin to one’s chest should never define the meaning of hero or saint. And this isn’t the first time Meek’s has been in trouble. Just like when he wrecked a Sheriff’s Department vehicle earlier, Meeks knew precisely what he was doing when he used his lights and siren illegally. But Meeks is in the brotherhood of ongoing local government corruption. He is not going to go to jail. Keep an eye on what will happen to Meeks. City leaders, law enforcement officers, district attorney employees, local fans of Meeks and his family will be writing letter to the Sacramento D.A. and, if needed, the judge to get him off the hook. If Meeks were to be modestly punished, its just going to be some sort of community service–like having him rake leaves for a weekend at a school–and that’s only if there is a loud enough community protest and backlash to Meeks breaking the law. District Attorney Scully is an elected official too, and knows there is no point on making enemies, even if the law says otherwise. (Rancho Cordova has enough rednecks who believe in vigilante justice anyway. These redneck codgers do not have the cognitive capacity to even understand what is wrong with what Meeks did. So it all works in Meek’s favor.) Sacramento County District Attorney Scully also has to count upon former local law enforcement officers like Meeks to provide the testimony and information to get convictions–even if the current and former officers are criminals. If Meeks were to be justly punished, we would be seeing other criminal cases going to court with Sac County law enforcment and prosecutional officers losing notes, records, and other evidence. The one hand of law enforcment washes the other hand of the county district attorney’s office. Meeks having the badge that his department conferred upon him at his retirement is another element of how former local law enforcment can break the law and get away with it. Even helps to explain why our Rancho Cordova city leaders are all for the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department providing contracted law enforcment. Its payback for the money bones Sac Sheriff people and organizations threw into R.C. city leaders’ cages at election time. Meeks going to jail or be severely punished? Ha! Better chance of it snowing soon on the Rancho Cordova 4th of July parade!
Oz,
You have hit the nail right on the head. I could tell you many stories of coruption and so on. Meeks is being paid allot of money by the city and he barely makes meetings on time and if he does he is always late. While he gets paid people are being laid off. He is just the tip of the iceburg in regards to the good ol boys program. I am an insider and i am glad to see there is someone who knows what is going on.
What is “interesting” (no pun intended) to me is how neither of the two of you are confident enough in your flame throwing to use your real names. You may even have some valid points, but your credibility is absolutely nothing to me if you feel like you have to make your comments anonymously. I guess it’s just easier to hide behind a conspiracy theory.
what is the saying people in glass houses!
I have no reason to hide. But the truth is the truth. And even if I included my last name, address, telephone number, social security number, photograph, fingerprints, and my mother’s maiden name, it does not alter the facts about Rancho Cordova governance and law enforcement corruption. So whoever the “L” you are Shannon, please be grateful that some of us have been around this Rancho Cordova block before, and know how our local elected and appointed officials play (and don’t play) by the rules. Having had a connection to law enforcement, and earlier in my life having served in government for one of the largest cities in California, it is not like I am just mildly throwing out words to entertain, or to pound my chest. Rancho Cordova is degrading–as can be witnessed by the local schools shutting down, the businesses boarding up, and the general welfare of our community on general life support. The majority of the commerce and industry workers who are employed within the city boundaries of Rancho Cordova reside elsewhere–a testament to the fact that local employees know a bad thing when they hear about and see it. So what does that leave for the residents of Rancho Cordova? Sure, we have a base of corporate companies–everything from Aerojet to Bank of America. But really examine these jobs: Lots of temp work, no or limited benefits, many positions at or barely above minimum wage, and many “employment opportunities” with really dead-end career paths–like call center staffing and loading trucks. Even the City of Rancho Cordova website lies about our community. Go see how it tries to say that the average family in Rancho earns $77,950 per year. That’s pure fabrication. (City leaders include an asterisk next to the number to note that the dollar amount was derived from all households living “within a 5-mile radius of Zinfandel Drive and Folsom Boulevard”–consequently, the “data” (really the “lie”) included families and households in Gold River, Carmichael, and across the American River into the high-end hamlets of Fair Oaks. It even extends our Rancho Cordova demographics to include even a portion of city of Folsom. Yet the truth is we have over half the children in Rancho relying upon government and other relief for food to eat. So some of us with even half a brain are tired of the B.S. and double-talk. Rancho Cordova is really a mess. I grew up in this town when Coloma Road was just a two-lane roadway and nature was everywhere. Today in many of our destroyed R.C. suburban neighborhoods, children are fortunate to ever even see a butterfly or a frog. We have environmentally toxic polluted waterways coursing under our feet, and some of the most polluted air in America over our heads. But city leaders will approve to widen Highway 50 without looking at the bigger picture of what that really accomplishes for our city, state, and nation. Yes, we may now be called an All-America City, but we are also a city on the EPA superfund list too. Some people may call me a whiner, but the truth is that our local leaders have their heads in the sand. Like building overpasses and punching in roads just so the developers can put them back in office, it instead would be wonderful to have elected officials with vision and integrity. As a boy I can remember stopping to help a wild turtle make it across Coloma Road so that it wouldn’t get run over by a car. Today, it is not always safe for even an adult to cross the same roadway. So sure Shannon, you can shoot the messenger, but it doesn’t change the message. Rancho Cordova needs new leadership–or face the peril of further destruction.
I couldnt agree more. You should take a poll of how many city employees live in the city limits of Rancho Cordova. Your city manager has a house in Rancho Cordova, but he lives in the bay area. One of your council members when asked if they wanted to help with an event on Croetto Drive asked “is it safe.” Take a poll of your city hall department heads and find out how many live in the city…..heres your answer: none! With the economy the way it is and people being laid off and looking for work it is a sad state of affairs we are more concerned about getting an award. People aretrying to make ends meet and city leaders and staff are taking trips to Kansas, Las Vegas and so on. I think if you pulled the wool out of your eyes you could see that.
Mr. Meeks should have known better. The other driver was clearly wrong. However, two wrongs don’t make it right. Anyone who knows the ”real” Mr. Meeks understands his behavior and this incident is just one more event in a long history of poor decision making, improper conduct and disgraceful behavior. Meeks can rationalize this all he wants, but his actions are still criminal in nature.
As the “Police Director”, Mr. Meeks was paid more than $90,000 for about 6 months worth of purported work. The City Manager authorized this contract which did not require City Council approval. The City Manager is authorized to approve personal services contracts (favors) up to $100,000 without question or approval by the city council. What did Mr. Meeks do that justifies that level of salary?
The newly created city position of “Police Director” was Mr. Meeks “reward” for his efforts to undermine the Sheriff’s Department police services contract. Unfortunately, the City Manager was duped by Mr. Meeks believing he had control of the police department staff and the Sheriff’s contract. What was not apparent was the wave of destruction he caused during his assignment at the RCPD.
Mr. Meeks is not shy about his disdain for his former employer, the Sheriff’s Department. He has publically commented on how his was wronged by the Sheriff’s Department, but could it be they were holding him accountable for his misconduct or abhorrent behavior? He aligned himself with the city in hopes of becoming the first city paid chief of police. When that didn’t work out, is when the “Police Director” position was created.
Employees who have worked around Mr. Meeks can tell countless stories of ineptitude, wasteful spending and unethical behavior. Why did he need to spend taxpayer dollars on custom golf carts; custom made model cars he gave away as gifts; unnecessary work related travel; and an assortment of other unnecessary and very expensive “toys”? Many of these needless items were purchased exclusively for the city, but were charged to the county. Why?
Mr. Meeks allegedly worked part-time as a college instructor and hired many of his female students to work as temporary help at the RCPD. He created paid positions that were totally unnecessary. Why? This seems highly inappropriate, not to mention a conflict of interest and unethical. What was going on here? Couldn’t those funds have been used to pay for more police officers or other needed equipment?
All of this is verifiable; most of it is public record. Public funds were used to pay for all of this and there is a record. A tenacious investigator with access to these records is going to find more than they bargained for. Perhaps it’s time for an audit. Isn’t theft or misuse of public funds a crime?
As a result of his latest indiscretion, Mr. Meeks now faces a myriad of criminal charges (reckless driving, impersonating an officer, assault/battery, false imprisonment and probably a few others). A competent law enforcement professional would not have acted in this manner. Any competent former law enforcement officer wouldn’t have acting in this manner either. They know better.
The potential claims and litigation that will follow will most likely be enormous. The taxpayers will again pay for Mr. Meeks behavior. Could this be a civil rights violation? Time will tell. The only positive from this is that nobody died. We haven’t yet heard from the other driver, so who knows what injuries, if any; he has suffered for this illegal use of force. The civil courts will sort that out.
There are so many unanswered questions here. The car chase was just the catalyst. There is a huge trail of issues that need reviewing. Perhaps it is time to start digging into this mess. We cannot change what has been done, but we can look into this and start holding those responsible accountable. There’s a whole lot more to this story and its time that some people start explaining their actions.
You better believe Meeks is dirty. So are the 8 officers that illegally searched my home – and found nothing – on the words of a neighber who has been harrassing me for 20 years. What a waste of valuable police resources. 8 officers to come up with nothing as a front to get code enforcement inside my home. What is america coming too?