Yuba County officials investigate code enforcement officer’s encounter with resident
Video shows officer cursing at woman
Yuba County officials are investigating a filmed encounter that shows a code enforcement officer cursing at a woman.
The minute-long video was posted on Facebook Thursday by Honna Lee and has since been viewed 1,200 times with 260 shares.
Filming starts near the end of the encounter and shows a woman arguing with code enforcement officer Chris Monaco about how long she is allowed on a property. He asks her why she ripped something off; and she replies that no one said she couldn’t rip it off “and I’m not a dirt bag. Who do you think you are?”
He replies, “exactly,” and the woman tells him she has the tag. The video flips to show Monaco looking at an orange tag and the woman says, “people like me? I go and clean up …” before Monaco interjects telling her she has two days and that “you don’t do (expletive). Get out of here.”
It then shows Monaco walking back to his code enforcement Jeep saying, “Get outta here before I come drag the (expletive) outta here myself.” It’s not clear what he is referring to.
The woman says he can’t talk to people like that and that he’s code enforcement, not a cop. Monaco, halfway into his Jeep, replies: “And what are you? You’re a (expletive) homeless piece of (expletive).” The Jeep then speeds away.
Yuba County Spokesman Russ Brown said officials are aware of the video “showing part of an encounter” between a resident and a code enforcement officer.
“The officer’s words and attitude captured in the video in no way reflect the professional conduct we require from our staff,” Brown said Monday. “We expect every single Yuba County employee to consistently treat everyone with respect. Please be assured that we are conducting a full investigation of this incident, and we will do whatever it takes to address this matter.”
Monaco has been employed in the department since spring 2015 and as of Monday afternoon was still working.
Brown said the county is bound by rule and law and has to go through processes to make sure the incident is addressed correctly. It has now become a personnel matter.
The woman who filmed the video did not respond to a Facebook message requesting comment prior to publication.