by Michael D. Robbins
Director, Public Safety Project, PublicSafetyProject.org
May 25, 2011
Michael Archambault
El Segundo firefighter Michael Joseph Archambault was arrested on April 12, 2011, for allegedly shoplifting $354.95 worth of merchandise ($389.56 counting tax) from Costco. He allegedly concealed five products in a trash can that was inside a box, paid only for the trash can, and then exited the store where he was detained and arrested.
Michael Archambault is entitled to a presumption of innocence until proven guilty. However, the information against him appears quite damning. As a sworn employee, will he be given a “professional courtesy” that is not available to every other citizen in similar circumstances? Shoplifting is a crime of moral turpitude, a disqualification for many government jobs and positions of authority and public trust. If Archambault is guilty, then the circumstances beg the question, how many times has he shoplifted or stolen hundreds of dollars worth of property at a time and gotten away with it?
Could El Segundo firefighter Michael Archambault’s arrest be the result of a culture of entitlement fostered by the firefighters’ union? Is this another example of the firefighters acting like a royal family that is entitled to whatever they want, no matter how excessive and unreasonable, where the rest of us are mere peasants who must provide it for them? They have demonstrated their sense of entitlement for at least two decades as they ratcheted up their salaries, benefits, and pensions to wildly excessive and unsustainable levels by aggressively campaigning to elect the City Council members who would determine their contract increases after becoming indebted to their union.
CLICK HERE to read the full story on El Segundo firefighter Michael Archambault’s arrest, and see a larger photo and the related documentation.
El Segundo Police Officers' Association (ESPOA) Exposed