CAPIZZI RIVAL CRITICIZES HIS LACK OF POLICY

Orange County District Attorney Mike Capizzi is being criticized by his
rival for the GOP nomination for attorney general in the wake of the death
of teenage informant Chad MacDonald.

Capizzi should have had a policy that required the Distinct Attorney's
Office to approve high-risk use of informants who are minors, Deputy
Attorney General Dave Stirling said.

"That (informant's role) was one of extreme jeopardy," Stirling said. "The
district attorney absolutely should be involved. They should have had a
police as to a minor informant who was being used as a drug buyer."

MacDonald, allegedly a drug informant for the Brea Police Department, was
found dead in a south Los Angeles alley March 3.

Capizzi brushed off the criticism, saying he did not have the power to
demand that police departments get his approval for informant activities.

"Police departments are independent agencies," Capizzi said. "We cannot set
their policies. ... (Stirling) is exploiting this tragic death for
political purposes."

Other district attorneys have such policies, Stirling said, but he could
not name one.

Stirling said he would push for statewide requirements that high-risk use
of informants first be cleared by a lead agency such as a District
Attorney's Office.