The VC Star reported on Wednesday that the Simi Valley City Council has removed a neighborhood council member for disclosing the exact location of a DUI checkpoint conducted over the holiday season.
The motion was carried in a 3 – 2 vote to dismiss Rebecca Albarran, a member of Neighborhood District Council 3, just two months into her tenure on the council.
Mayor Keith Mashburn told VC Star reporter Mike Harris that he believes Albarran made a bad judgment, especially since she was just appointed to the neighborhood council.
Albarran was allowed to address the City Council via Zoom and felt that her removal was a personal “vendetta” for disclosing the location and argued that by revealing the location of the DUI checkpoint, she had broken no laws. Albarran offered no apologies for her actions and did not believe that she was wrong.
Other Council members rallied in support of Albarran. They countered with the argument that the Los Angeles Police Department often discloses the exact locations of DUI checkpoints and hours of operation.
During the sometimes heated exchange, Simi Valley Police Chief Dave Livingstone said that disclosing locations for the checkpoints undermines their deterrent effect.
“You know it’s going to be there,” Chief Livingstone said, “but you don’t know exactly where it’s going to be.”
On December 6, 2021, the Simi Valley Police Department announced a DUI checkpoint at an undisclosed location on December 17. Albarran posted on social media about the DUI checkpoint and instructions on how motorists could avoid the checkpoint by turning onto Country Club Drive.
Mayor Mashburn alleges that Albarran violated the city of Simi Valley’s code of ethics regarding law enforcement and the greater good of the community.
