DEPUTY REINSTATED WITH
FULL BACK PAY AND BENEFITS
Rocky Lucia, of Rains,
Lucia & Wilkinson LLP, recently secured an arbitration award from
Arbitrator Matthew Goldberg, reinstating his client to his former
position as a deputy sheriff.
Lucia represented a
former Humboldt County deputy who had been charged with dishonesty
arising out of conversations he had with supervisors in the department
and representations made by him during an Internal Affairs interview.
The deputy had been
employed by the department for well over seven years and had received
exemplary performance reviews throughout his tenure as a deputy. The
department and community groups had also recognized him for his
outstanding efforts relative to his duties as a deputy.
The arbitrator heard
evidence from a number of departmental witnesses (including the
sheriff), and made a number of findings regarding to the allegations and
the department’s investigative efforts.
Arbitrator Goldberg ruled
that the department had incorrectly concluded that statements made by
the deputy were untruthful. The deputy, for the most part, admitted to
the statements yet emphatically asserted that the statements were
misinterpreted and taken out of context. The arbitrator found that the
department’s rationalization for drawing inferences and conclusions
based on the statements was not supported by the record.
The arbitrator also found
that the department had failed to conduct a thorough investigation and
review of the matter. The arbitrator noted that several material
witnesses had not been interviewed during the investigation.
Furthermore, it was argued by Lucia that had those witnesses been
interviewed early on in the investigation, the allegations of
untruthfulness would not have been lodged against the deputy.
Lucia argued that a
member of the command staff, who ultimately reviewed the matter and
recommended termination, did not conduct a fair and objective evaluation
of the Internal Affairs report. He pointed out that the particular
member of the command staff had been a percipient witness to one of the
alleged acts of untruthfulness, was the complainant, and requested an
administrative investigation to review the matter. Ultimately, it was
this same individual who reviewed the investigation report, and made the
recommendation for termination. The arbitrator confirmed that it was
inappropriate for the member of the command staff who initiated the
investigation and was a percipient witness, to conduct a review of the
investigation and make recommendations for discipline.
Arbitrator Goldberg
imposed no discipline and reinstated the deputy with full back pay and
benefits.
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