LA MESA
Ray Sweeney, La Mesa’s new police chief, can’t talk about the significance of where he is without talking about where he was.
It comes down to one day as an 8-year-old, when he was put in a chokehold by a relative’s partner, who held a gun to his head.
“I was scared to death,” he said, recounting the incident with family members that took place outside a hotel in Orange County.
He felt helpless that his own flesh and blood, a person who was supposed to protect him, stood by and did nothing, even as his brother begged them to stop.