News

A legislative town hall in Coeur d'Alene descended into chaos when Teresa Borrenpohl found herself dragged across the floor by plainclothes security after shouting about a legislator's use of public lands. The incident, which left her with a misdemeanor battery citation, began when Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris - dressed in jeans and a baseball cap - approached her in the darkened auditorium.

... The security firm LEAR Asset Management, licensed as a private patrol operator in California but whose plainclothes presence violated Coeur d'Alene city code requiring clearly marked uniforms, has declined to comment. While Norris claims no knowledge of security arrangements, KCRCC chair Brent Regan stated, "Nothing was done without him being aware."

Before becoming sheriff, Norris served as a Lieutenant with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, where he led counter-terrorism efforts at the Joint Regional Intelligence Center after 9/11. Working under then-Sheriff Lee Baca, he held top security clearance while managing personnel from the FBI and CIA.

Now, records from Transparent California reveal Norris collects $186,675 annually from the Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association - including $150,282 in disability payments and $36,393 in benefits. While claiming in 2020 he received only pension payments, he recently disclosed having partial disability ratings - 12% for his right shoulder and 13% for his left. However, after video surfaced of Norris physically grabbing and attempting to remove Borrenpohl from the town hall, users online have begun questioning whether he should still be receiving disability payments based on alleged physical impairments.

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