Poway City Councilmember Tony Blain is under investigation by the San Diego County District Attorney’s office, according to the Poway Sheriff’s Station.
A grainy video posted on Facebook by "Recall Tony Blain" appears to show Blain being searched by officers after last Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
In the video, officers can be seen wearing bulletproof vests with the word "police" on the back, but it is unclear which agency was involved.
Sheriff’s Lt. Colin Hebeler said it was the DA’s office.
Blain’s been on the Poway City Council for six months. In that time, he’s been accused of vote trading, and threatening and harassing city staffers and other officials, including City Attorney Alan Fenstermacher, who lashed out during a council meeting in January.
“I am no longer intimidated by you Councilmember Blain. I don’t give a flying f--- if you fire me. I will not take this lying down anymore," he said at the meeting. "You are a bully, you’ve been harassing me for months, and I’ve tried to be professional. This is enough.”
In February, Blain was censured by the Poway City Council, a first for the city. He is also facing a recall effort.
A DA spokesperson said the office is unable to confirm any potential investigations.
Blain sidestepped the issue in a statement to KPBS, saying that he has been called up to active military duty "and will not be attending any council meetings until November but I will be monitoring and responding to my city emails."
In April, the city took an unprecedented step of suing Blain, its own council member, to force him to comply with the California Public Records Act and to stop him from destroy records.
The city said the lawsuit was filed as a "last resort to prevent significant liability for the city."
“It’s outrageous that taxpayer dollars must be spent to compel a council member to follow the law," Mayor Steve Vaus said in a statement. "If Mr. Blain were truly committed to serving the public, rather than his own political ambitions, this situation could have been avoided."
The city said the suit was filed after months of trying to get Blain to comply with numerous public records requests.
