Supe Spitzer's Restaurant Clash: County To Pay News Agency's Legal Fees

ORANGE COUNTY, CA – The Orange County Board of Supervisors agreed Tuesday to pay the legal bills of a news organization that fought for Supervisor Todd Spitzer's email correspondence on an op-ed he wanted to publish about his conflict with a man at a Wahoo's restaurant two years ago.

The Voice of OC sued the county and won four of the 26 pages of emails it had sought. The news organization reportedly issued a bill for $121,395, but it was not immediately clear how much the county agreed to pay.

Leon Page, the general counsel for the county, announced that terms of the agreement -- which was reached in closed session -- will be released when both sides approve it.

The legal dispute stemmed from Spitzer's efforts to answer criticism of his handling of an April 3, 2015, conflict with Jeovany Castellano, who approached the supervisor to discuss the Bible.

Spitzer later said in interviews that Castellano made him nervous, so he went to his car, retrieved his gun and handcuffs, and held Castellano under citizen's arrest until sheriff's deputies arrived at the restaurant.

In email exchanges with Jean Pasco, a now-retired spokeswoman for the county, Spitzer asked her to proofread a draft of his op-ed on the conflict.

Pasco, a former journalist, urged Spitzer to let it go.

"I must recommend against making any other statements regarding this incident," Pasco wrote. "It was a one-day novelty story at best. A further statement will be seen by reporters as issuing a defensive manifesto and will just prolong a story that was particularly newsworthy to begin with. So my edit would be not to send it."

Spitzer responded that he had "new edits" and intended to "make this a public statement about mental health."

Pasco replied, "My worry is that you've already implied the guy was fired from his job and was acting as if he was mentally ill. Going further to tie the incident to his alleged mental illness may be perceived as slander."

Instead, Pasco suggested, "Why don't you invite the gentleman to lunch at Wahoo's to show how much the incident is behind you?"

Spitzer said he tried to reach the man through a nonprofit where he was employed, and added, "That's how I found out he was terminated."

In the op-ed, Spitzer said the "incident" happened after he attended a Good Friday church service.

"My interaction with Mr. Castellanos began initially pleasant, but despite my sharing of the Christian events I had participated in, he was persistent and unwavering," Spitzer wrote.

Spitzer said Castellanos made him nervous because he was "eying the serrated steak knife" on the supervisor's table.

"As a police officer, I have received hours of training on edged weapons," Spitzer wrote. Police officers are trained not to allow anyone either armed with a knife or ready access to a knife to come within 10 feet. Use of deadly force is justified under those circumstances.

Spitzer recounted his days as a Los Angeles police officer and various incidents he was involved in, and recalled that he "tackled" a shoplifter who was running from security when he was a lawmaker in the Assembly. He also said he helped police track down a chase suspect in 2012 and that the suspect's father later confronted him while he was at the gym.

"I wasn't leaving Wahoos until I knew that the customers and the workers there were safe from Mr. Arellano," Spitzer wrote.

Spitzer's office pointed City News Service to a news release he sent out June 30 on the issue.

Spitzer noted that no further action was taken against Castellanos, and that he has not filed any sort of complaint or legal claim against the supervisor.

"I have been permitted to carry a concealed weapon for nearly 20 years without incident and my permit remains intact and unaffected," Spitzer said in the June 30 statement.

Spitzer said the Wahoo restaurant owner, Wing Lam, "personally thanked me" and that he was given a "plaque of appreciation for protecting his customers and employees."

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--City News Service/Image, courtesy OC Gov Todd Spitzer Biography.