By Investigative Reporter, Linda Sutter – May 26, 2023 Currently, The Crescent City Harbor District is working to develop their own police station to monitor the Harbor District; however, the Harbor District Police may be nothing more than a big scam and this is why. Tim Petrick who is the current HarborMaster has taken the position that he will also be the Chief Cook and Bottle Washer of the Crescent Harbor District Police. For those of you who do not understand what that entails let me give you a hint. When you work for any Law Enforcement Agency your background must be impeccable. The question you might ask is, who conducted Tim Petrick’s background investigation that qualifies him to hold a position as the Chief of the Harbor District Police? Certainly not the Harbor District elected Commissioners. But since none of these commissioners took it upon themselves to look into Tim Petricks background, I did. Tim Petrick is a convicted felon. He was convicted of DUI with Bodily injury. He ran over a kid with his truck, served no time, and the father of the victim wished Mr. Petrick well, but by no means gave him any praise. Mr. Petrick would not qualify for any position in law enforcement yet he is going to be the Chief of the Harbor District Police. As a harbormaster and Chief of Harbor Police, Mr. Petrick would have the responsibility to ensure the safety of the Harbor and the individuals who use it. His DUI should have called into question this individual's judgment and fulfill his responsibilities, but the Harbor Commissioners turned a blind eye. Let’s talk about the Assistant Harbor Master who wants to be the “administration” portion of the Harbor District Police. Mr. Mike Rademaker. Mr. Mike Rademaker has an unfulfilled debt of $75,000. He currently lives at the old Abalone shack that the Harbor purchased for $85,000 and turned into individual living quarters for Harbor workers. It is believed Mr. Rademaker lives there for free, which means this is an added benefit. A large amount of debt can also impact an individual's ability to effectively perform their duties as a harbormaster assistant as well as an administrator of the Harbor District Police. It suggests financial instability, poor management skills, or potentially influence the individual’s decision-making in ways that are not in the best interest of the harbor district. Again, none of the Harbor Commissioners conducted their due diligence regarding the hiring of these individuals, which has already cost the harbor thousands of dollars. Lastly, Mr. Rademaker would not have qualified as any form of peace officer with that kind of debt. LACK OF TRANSPARENCY It comes as no surprise that the public has been completely left out of the loop regarding the forming of the Harbor District Police. There has been no proclamation, no resolution, they are secretly using public funds to attend 833 classes, and they are having their grant writer Mike Bahr look for grants to fund the Harbor District Police, or so they say. Keep in mind the Harbor District has lost two consecutive lawsuits that they will have to pay out undisclosed amounts of money not including the court costs. One could easily speculate that is why they are pushing for the Harbor Police which by the way serves an area of maybe one square mile. Afterall, why would you develop a complete Police station that will cost approximately $3 million dollars per year when they could contract out to experienced law enforcement officers through the City or County police, get grants to cover their wages and save money the Harbor does not have. It was once said at a public meeting, “everyone does a happy dance to get a grant for some new program or employee, however, once the grant money is gone, where is the money to keep what you create?” HISTORY OF LOST PUBLIC FUNDS It has already been reported that the former Harbormaster Charlie Helms spent $63,000 of unapproved public funds on travel, dining, alcohol, clothing, shoes, skin products and other miscellaneous things. It has already been reported that Tim Petrick utilized his CalCard for purchasing his wife airline tickets, for eating lunch out, for entertaining the Japanese Delegates, and continues the same behavior knowingly it is in violation of the Brown Act. The County Auditor Clint Schaad and the Del Norte District Attorney Katie Micks decided, "oh well" with a shrug of the shoulders. Here we are once again, allowing criminals to become Chief of the Harbor Police and someone who makes poor financial decisions to become an administrator of Harbor Police. Where do you think that grant money will go? Afterall, there is no oversight for any of this. Lastly, the questions that need to be asked and answered: since the Harbor Master is going for the big bucks in developing a Harbor police force, does that mean the Harbor master and the assistant harbor master will get paid separately for these two very separate jobs? Is there not supposed to be a separation of powers between the Harbormaster and the Chief of the Harbor Police to prevent corruption?