Keeping a lookout

Capt. Stan Jacquot is a jack of all law enforcement trades. He’s

spent time in the courts and jails, on the streets, in the air, and

even on horseback. So, perhaps it only makes sense that he now spends

some time on the water policing Newport Harbor, as well as harbors in

Huntington Beach and Dana Point.

On Friday, City Editor James Meier visited Jacquot at the Harbor

Patrol headquarters on Bayside Drive in Newport Beach to discuss his

career, his new gig and the Harbor Patrol’s responsibilities during

war.

Tell me a little about your law enforcement background.

A while ago, one of my prouder moments was being the keynote

speaker at my son’s graduation [from the police academy]....I gave a

little example of where my background was with the [Orange County]

Sheriff’s Department because I’ve been very, very fortunate to have

worked a lot of assignments, but at the same time, I joked with the

audience that they might say, “Gosh, that guy’s had a lot of great

opportunities.” And my wife and daughters would all say, “You’re

right, Mom. Dad never could keep a job.”

When I was hired on, I started in civil divisionI got promoted to

Deputy III went to the jail and, in less than two months, a patrol

list came out and I was on it because I had the seniority built up.

So I went to patrol, spent seven years in a patrol car and was in

SWAT, went to the academy as a tactical officer ... went to

investigations, then got promoted to sergeant back at the jail. Then

I went to air support. I started up our helicopter program and flew

them.

Then I went into the jail planning program, opened up the new jail

-- the intake release center -- then into transportation where I took

over the mounted unit. I was the mounted sergeant for 5 1/2 years.

From there, I took over our career criminal apprehension team,

which was in special investigations....

Then I was transferred to take over the homicide unit. I was then

promoted to lieutenant, went back to the intake release center, then

went to our emergency communications bureau. From there, I went down

to south operations in patrol, which was captain of south operations.

Then I took over Mission Viejo as the chief of police for the last 3

1/2 years.

And how did you become harbormaster? Did you have to apply?

No, in a sense, you apply and interview for captain. So I got

promoted to captain and the timing, with Marty [Kasules] leaving,

they moved me to the harbor. And sometimes, they put out for

positions. Sometimes they don’t. This one wasn’t. This one surprised

people. This one upset people. This one made some people real happy.

The people it upset were the ones who were interested in the job.

So I get picked on as a new captain coming to the harbor. It’s a

good-natured kidding. I watch my back when I cross the parking lots

at work.

This was a total surprise. Going through the resume. I’ve been on

SWAT, mounted, had a lot of fun assignments -- flown helicopters,

gang team, homicide. The only place I never had the opportunity to

work was at the harbor. I knew a lot of the guys over the years. So

this was a real great opportunity.

Can you just hop in a boat and go?

Yeah, but they would panic. I have a boat. I have a little 18-foot

Sea Ray that has been in salt water once. My kids grew up at the

river -- Lake Mojave, Lake Mead -- and that’s where we spent a lot of

vacations. So when the guys joke about bringing the boats in and

tying off and stuff like that, I say, “What do you mean bring the

boat in? We just run it up on the beach.” They just kind of roll

their eyes.

So while I have a boat, it’s nowhere near the knowledge and level

of seamanship required to handle some of this stuff. I’ve gone out a

couple times and the guys were all impressed that I went out on a

boat. I ask them when they’ll let me drive and they’ll scatter like

cockroaches. But that’s something that I will do.

My wife was the horseman in our family and when I took over the

mounted unit, of course I didn’t do horses, but I had an opportunity

with my trainer in my spare time and before long, I was running

steeples and jumping horses. I thought as a sergeant, it was

important that I learn how to do the job and know what the problems

are.

It was the same thing with air support. I didn’t go in as a pilot,

but I ended up with a commercial rating before I left. It’ll be the

same thing here. I am looking forward to getting into the boat

training. It’s not that I need to be the expert. These men and women

here are the experts. But for me, it’s gaining some knowledge to have

a better understanding when some citizen calls me with a problem or a

concern....

So when I have questions or someone calls me right now, I’ll just

grab somebody going by and say I’ve got a citizen on the phone, and

they’ll say they need to do this and go here. So even though I have a

limited knowledge on a lot of seamanship stuff, I have all of the

experts in the world here with me.

I could see why everyone would get jealous. This office has a

great view of the harbor.

That’s exactly what you get. Everyone loves it.

What exactly do your duties as harbormaster entail?

My mission for the sheriff is to maintain the same traditions that

we’ve always built and established, and I think if you look at me

throughout my career and assignments, I’m kind of a people person.

I’m a big believer in community-oriented policing, which is basically

getting the community involved....

Here, I’ll set a tone for the deputies, which is pretty much what

Marty Kasules had going. You’re not going to see things change. So my

job more is to be the liaison with the community.... I’m not the one

out fighting the fire and going out on a rescue assignment. My job is

to be sure they get the training and equipment they need.

With the nation now at war, how has the environment in the harbor

changed?

After Sept. 11, Sheriff [Mike] Carona got really involved on a

national level as part of a Homeland Security team the president

established. For a while, we even thought we were going to lose him

because his name was being knocked around to take that over.

For me, I want to assure the public that all three of the harbors

are very safe, the state is safe, the county is safe. We’ve taken a

lot of precautions. We’ve designated certain areas that we think

might be targets....

For us, it’s being out there and being seen more. It’s reassuring

the public that we live in a safe and beautiful area. Enjoy yourself.

I tease the guys that my motto now is “The Happy Harbor.” I was

kidding them that every one of them has a smile on their face.

My reputation within the organization is I’ve been sent to many

areas to start up a program or to fix a program or for morale

training. Everyone teases me, “Hey Stan, you’re talents are being

wasted here. These guys are all smiling all the time.” And they

really are. When they come to work, they’ll smiling.

Let’s face it, as a police officer, you’re in the field and you

deal with people most of the time at a time in their life when it’s a

near crisis or it’s not the best of circumstances, so your contacts

are not always a pleasant one. You go as a police officer from doing

an officer friendly in first or second grade, where the kids smile at

you and write you thank you notes in crayons, to when they’re in the

eighth or ninth grade throwing rocks at your car as you go by.

Down here when you step out, the people are waving at you. They

get so excited to see you. So when one of my guys stops by on a dock

or house and someone hands them a cup of coffee and they shoot the

breeze with them, that’s exactly the kind of message I want to send

out. We’re here to serve and to help. What a great opportunity.

Look at the history of the Harbor Patrol. It’s family oriented. I

know when Sheriff Carona took over, this was one of the very first

divisions he visited. He fell madly in love with it. And with the

outreach of the community and support, he’s just a big fan of the

Harbor Division.

Do you think the Harbor Patrol’s role has changed at all in this

time of war?

Yes, in a sense. I think everybody understands their role. I think

we’re a little more cautious, but at the same time, I think the guys

work a little harder at assuring people that things are OK, that we

really do know what we’re doing, that we want you to understand you

live in a safe community and we’re here to support you. These guys

are the first responders if there’s a problem out here and none of

them would hesitate.

The guys are just more aware that the community is a little more

nervous and on edge, so they might go out of their way even a little

more.

As police, we do a terrible job at reaching out to the community.

We’re getting better all the time. The masters are the firemen. The

fire department just does a tremendous job of PR.

With us, When I see a guy turn into Robocop like, “Hey officer,

was it a bad accident?” “Ma’am, we’re working this accident scene. I

can’t talk about it. You need to move on.” ... To me, it’s like, “OK,

you were just telling me how cool it was the car flipped three times,

but the minute she walks up, you turn into Robocop. Why couldn’t you

tell her that the kid’s OK, that his car rolled three times, it’s

demolished, but because of the airbag, he doesn’t have a scratch on

him?” “Uh, I don’t know.”

That’s what I always worked on. You have maintain your sense of

humor and your being. Don’t be afraid to talk to people. We worked

real hard with that in Mission Viejo and the guys got better all the

time because they knew I’d jump on them if I saw them being Robocop.

Coming here, these guys were already light years ahead of where I

would like to see most cops be. These guys are the firemen, lifeguard

and policemen. They’re a combination rolled into one. So they’re out

there waving all the time. When someone has a problem with a boat,

boom, they’re there.

This group kind of leads by example in dealing with the community.

They’re just a little more aware of the needs and concerns from the

general public and we’re here to just reassure them.

Any final thoughts?

The message from Sheriff Carona is we want the people to enjoy the

resources that are available to them here. It’s a great county, a

great area. It’s just a beautiful area.

One of the big things with us is we’re working with a group of

underprivileged kids from Stanton and Garden Grove to bring a lot of

kids down here. They’ve usually done it at the Boy Scouts Sea Base,

but it’s under construction this year, so they can’t do it there. So

we’re kind of working on breaking it down to smaller groups to where

we can bring 25 kids down at a time and put on a class here and let

them go on the fireboat and play with the hose and stuff. Some of

these kids have never seen the ocean and yet they’re born and raised

here.

To me, that’s what it’s all about, so much of the education and to

enjoy the area and what’s available to ya.