Deputy Donna Sievers [more]
Donna Sievers of Newport Beach Harbor Patrol; Former Lake Forest Motorcycle Traffic Cop
By Alice McWilliams
Deputy Sheriff Donna Sievers has heard just about every excuse in the book for speeding.
“I’m late” is the most typical one.
Her favorite excuse was a man who claimed he had a bag of sperm in his car and he only had forty-five minutes to get to the hospital because he had to impregnate his wife. Motor Deputy Sievers just laughs thinking back on this story. The hospital was only ten minutes away.
Deputy Sievers recently transferred from Lake Forest Police Services to Marine Operations.
She has a wonderful work ethic.
“She does not look for recognition in writing tickets. She sets a personal standard for herself and she hunts down speeders. She works areas in Lake Forest over and over again until drivers change their behavior,” says Sergeant McGovern, the Department’s Motors Sergeant. She was a Motor Deputy in Lake Forest for 12 years and issued about 2,000 tickets per year. A testament to her character: she has never had a formal complaint filed against her. “I enjoy traffic enforcement because it’s a place where you can see direct improvement in the community. Slowing people down decreases the accident rate." Deputy Sievers likes knowing she is making the streets and community safer and Sergeant McGovern agrees, “She makes the road safer for all of us to drive.”
Deputy Sievers joined the department over 24 years ago. After her initial assignment in corrections she was transferred to patrol in Laguna Hills and Mission Viejo. When Lake Forest developed their motor program she signed up immediately. “I always liked motorcycles so this opportunity combined my two favorite passions: motorcycles and traffic enforcement." In addition to being an exemplary Motor Deputy, she also is a Motor instructor.
“She takes great pride in her riding ability and her ability to help other Deputies ride better,” says Sergeant McGovern.
A typical traffic stop for Deputy Sievers involved pulling over a speeder. She then explained to them why she stopped them and takes their information. Deputy Sievers was always polite and she found most people responded nicely in return. Only an occasional person argued. In those cases she was as polite as possible. She wrote a ticket, and told them “I’m not here to argue, you can dispute the ticket in court."
There are some people who just don’t get it, though. One time she pulled over someone speeding on a southbound street. Not more than five minutes later, she pulled over the same person traveling northbound on the same street. “Two tickets to the same person in less than five minutes. That was a record for me,” laughs Deputy Sievers.
Most people associate Southern California with beautiful weather but the weather was one of the most difficult parts of the job for Deputy Sievers. “Being exposed to the elements was one of the hardest parts of the job. Wearing the uniform, helmet, gloves, and boots tends to get very hot under the Southern California sun.” Winters can also be very cold when you are a motorcycle deputy.
After 12 years as a motor cop Deputy Sievers wanted a change. She is now in training at the Newport Beach Harbor Patrol learning how to operate the boats. “It’s so different than driving a car. There are no brakes!” After learning about the mechanics of the boats she will then move on to learning firefighting skills because not only does the Harbor Patrol keep the waters safe, they also have to be prepared to put out any boat fires that may occur. She likes her new environment because the people are nice and she gets to be closer to one of her hobbies, the water.
Scuba diving is a passion for Deputy Sievers. She likes to do local shore diving in Laguna. She also has been diving at Catalina Island, Washington, Hawaii, and even the Caribbean. “Instead of looking at an aquarium, it’s like being inside of it. It’s a whole different world under there.”