Those hired by other L.A.
county agencies included an officer who cut a man's neck with a knife in an
off-duty fight, records show.
By Ben Poston and Robert
Faturechi
Dozens of police officers
rejected for jobs at the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department after
investigators found evidence of dishonesty or past misconduct were given
positions elsewhere in county government, according to interviews and internal
hiring records reviewed by The Times.
The hirings came in 2010 after
the county's little-known police force, the Office of Public Safety, was
dissolved as a cost-saving measure. The Times reported earlier this month that
the sheriff took on about 280 of the officers from that agency, many of whom
had histories of serious misconduct and integrity-related problems. More than
50 of those who didn't make the cut at the Sheriff's Department secured jobs at
other county agencies, such as social services, children and family services
and community and senior services. County officials said they were not required
to hire the former officers. Still, they said, they wanted to avoid as many
layoffs as possible.
Records show that among those
hired was an officer who cut a man's neck with a knife in an off-duty fight
outside a bar and others who admitted to sleeping or having sex on duty.
More than half of the former
officers hired by other county agencies had been disciplined for significant
misconduct such as making false statements, sexual harassment or
insubordination. Forty showed evidence of dishonesty, according to hiring
records.
BEHIND THE BADGE: Full coverage
of the sheriff's hiring practices
County officials who made the
hiring decisions had access to only some of the problems discovered by
sheriff's background investigators. According to a county spokesman, agency
heads were able to review personnel files, which contained details about on-
and off-duty misdeeds that led to discipline. But because of confidentiality
laws relating to police personnel records, county officials were not privy to
information that applicants disclosed to sheriff's investigators during
interviews and polygraph examinations.
Under those limitations, county
officials had access to personnel records showing that Officer Allen V. Davis
was suspended 20 days around 2003 after he pulled a knife on a man outside of a
bar and cut his neck. He was charged with assault with a deadly weapon, and
later pleaded no contest to disturbing the peace, sheriff's investigators
noted.
The county rehired him to work
as a supervising clerk at the registrar-recorder/county clerk's office. Davis
could not be reached for comment.
County officials also had
access to personnel records showing that Officer Darrell Green was suspended 10
days in 1995 for domestic violence, admitting he punched his wife in the mouth.
He was convicted of misdemeanor spousal assault and was sentenced to three
years of probation. He told sheriff's investigators that the case was
eventually expunged.
The records indicate that Green
also was suspended for sleeping on duty in 1996 and another time for
threatening a fellow officer on duty in 2005. In that second suspension, the
other officer accused Green of standing in front of him with his fist clenched
and saying, "I know you are a snitch. You know what they do to snitches in
prison, don't you?"
Green, who could not be reached
for comment, was hired by the Department of Children and Family Services as an
eligibility worker.
In general, individuals
applying for civilian jobs within the county are not as intensely vetted as
those applying to be peace officers because the positions come with far less
authority.
County spokesman David Sommers
said various criminal convictions don't automatically bar someone from
employment. Past misdeeds can be disregarded if officials determine there are
mitigating circumstances or the misdeeds are not related to the position and
the applicant poses no threat to the county or to the public, he said. He
declined to discuss specific hires.
According to the police
confidentiality rules Sommers laid out, county officials probably weren't told
about the admissions of Officer Andy Northrup.
During his screening interview,
Northrup gave sheriff's background investigators conflicting accounts of when
he solicited prostitutes, something he eventually said he did about 100 times
while employed as a county police officer as recently as 2004.
The county hired Northrup as a
welfare fraud investigator. Reached by The Times, Northrup declined to comment.
Contact the reporters | Follow
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A look inside the
hiring files
The Los Angeles
County Sheriff’s Department hired dozens of officers even after background
investigators found they had histories of serious misconduct or
poor performance.
The
investigators delved into the backgrounds of about 280 officers hired in 2010
when the Sheriff’s Department took over patrol responsibilities for the
county’s Office of Public Safety.
This graphic
offers a sampling of substantiated misconduct from the files, which the
Sheriff’s Department used to determine whether to hire the applicants. The behavior
and incidents described in the records were compiled by sheriff’s investigators
and forwarded to top officials, who ultimately hired all of those below.
David W. Johnson
49 years old
Hired rank: Deputy SheriffSheriff's background file shows:
- Sheriff's background investigators noted issues with his "professional demeanor." Sheriff's background investigators noted: "The applicant has given an excuse for all discipline he has received. He has not taken any responsibility for his actions whatsoever ... applicant has no idea how he comes across towards others."- He was reprimanded in 2006 for derogatory language toward county police applicants. In front of applicants, he said "I hope that piece of crap is not applying with us," referring to an overweight applicant. Also in front of applicants, he told a recruiting sergeant: "You've got to be ... kidding me. Is that the kind of crap you're recruiting?"
- In 2008, he was suspended for 10 days for failing to take a report when another officer got into an on-duty traffic accident, then submitting an incomplete report with multiple errors.
- He was suspended for three days in 1995 for continuing a pursuit even after a supervisor directed him to stop.
Response
Reached by The Times, Johnson did not address his listed misconduct, saying in a statement that the information was confidential and "protected from disclosure."
Angela Contreras
45 years old
Hired rank: Deputy SheriffSee response
Sheriff's background file shows:
- Following an internal affairs investigation, she was found to have committed a variety of misconduct, including unnecessarily drawing her gun on two men and their dogs over an off-leash violation and making disparaging comments about colleagues. The discipline was withdrawn, however, because the investigation wasn't completed in a timely manner. It is unclear when these incidents occurred.Response
Attempts by The Times to reach Contreras by email and phone were unsuccessful.
David E. Esparza
39 years old
Hired rank: JailerSee response
Sheriff's background file shows:
- He said he took an estimated $2,200 in equipment from the military: a flak vest, two radio-equipped helmets, a sleeping bag, mattress pad, poncho liner and ammunition. He also said he took $220 in sandwiches without paying for them while working as a security around 1998 at the Queen Mary. He did not initially disclose these thefts to sheriff's background investigators.- He said he smoked marijuana in 2008 while employed by the county police agency. He said he was off duty at the time.
- He was suspended for one day in 2006 after accidentally discharging his shotgun. Esparza said he didn't realize he had loaded the weapon.
- He said he drove under the influence of alcohol and what he believed was over the legal limit 15 to 20 times from 1994 to 2009 but was not arrested.
Response
Reached by The Times, Esparza did not address his listed misconduct, saying in a statement that the information was confidential and "protected from disclosure."
David F. McDonald
53 years old
Hired rank: JailerSee response
Sheriff's background file shows:
- He was fired from the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department around 1985. He was found to use far too much physical force in controlling inmates. In one instance, he responded to an inmate making a comment by handcuffing the prisoner, spinning him around and sweeping the inmate's feet out from under him. "The applicant's actions were unnecessary as he could have simply closed the holding cell door," authorities noted. The investigation determined that other inmates observed his actions, "which could have precipitated a lynching or riotous reaction." A fellow deputy asked not to work with McDonald because he "jacked up inmates too much" by calling them names. Asked by a supervisor how he thought inmates should be supervised, he said "Well, like Clint Eastwood, tell them what to do and they either do it or else." During the background interview, McDonald said that he had a reputation for being rude and insulting inmates. He also said that on occasion he would press inmates against the wall in a control hold.- He said that around 1988 at age 28 he kissed and groped a 14-year-old. He said he thought she was 16 but continued the relationship even after he learned her true age. He said they did not have intercourse.
- He was sentenced to two days in jail in 1986 at age 26 for unlawfully carrying a gun in his car.
- Since being hired by the Sheriff's Department, McDonald said he has been disciplined in connection with using force on an inmate.
Response
In an interview with The Times, McDonald said he was reprimanded once since being hired after he used force on an inmate. He said the problem was that he did not notify a supervisor beforehand. "Whenever you jack up an inmate, you have to get supervisor approval," he said. He said that in general, his listed misconduct is from many years ago and does not represent who he is now. "Just because I got fired from a cop job doesn't mean I should be tarnished forever," he said. "Most people learn from their mistakes." As for the relationship with the 14-year-old, he said they went on dates, hugged and kissed but did not have sex. "I was in love," he said. "I wasn't being a bad guy." McDonald said he was confused by the decision by sheriff's officials to hire him as a custody assistant in the jails. "How can you put me back in the jails when I already had a problem there?" he asked. McDonald later reached out to The Times to say he was not terminated from a job after his weapon accidently discharged. He said he quit, and that the employer said he was terminated in order "to save face with his clients."
William J. Martin
58 years old
Hired rank: JailerSee response
Sheriff's background file shows:
- He was suspended for 20 days in 1988 for an "unprovoked physical altercation" against another officer. Martin was not happy with his work assignment. He pushed the officer who had assigned it, causing the officer to hit his elbow and suffer a puncture wound in his neck from a pencil he was holding. Martin then struck him a second time, causing the officer to lose his balance again. Martin did not dispute his involvement when talking to a sheriff's background investigator.- He was suspended for five days in 1995 over an unauthorized pursuit. During the chase, the suspect crashed into another motorist, causing severe injuries to passengers in both cars.
Response
In an interview with The Times, Martin said "nobody's squeaky clean." He said the allegation that he attacked a co-worker was overblown. He said that he pushed the man once, not twice and that the injury was "very slight." He said the witnesses were friends with the other man, so that slanted the end result. "We were just two guys who didn't see eye to eye," he said. "There was a lot of tension at that time ... I was a black guy, he was a white guy." As for the unauthorized pursuit, he said that at the time of the accident he had stopped pursuing the motorist, but he acknowledged he should have reported the pursuit on the radio sooner.
Jesus A. Gonzalez
34 years old
Hired rank: Deputy SheriffSee response
Sheriff's background file shows:
- In 2008, he was suspended for six days in connection with a traffic accident in which his car rear-ended another car while on duty, causing damage to both vehicles. He allegedly discouraged the other party from filing a complaint, warning that the person's car would be impounded if a report was made. Gonzalez failed to notify a supervisor of his traffic collision until five hours later. The county police considered firing him, but instead suspended him.- In 2009, he was suspended for two days after driving a patrol all-terrain vehicle into a bicyclist he was trying to pull over. The cyclist was injured.
- He was reprimanded in 2008 for driving into a cement bench.
- He was convicted of drunk driving around 2002.
Response
Reached by The Times, Gonzalez hung up before a reporter could read him a summary of his background file.
Edgard Garcia
49 years old
Hired rank: Deputy SheriffSee response
Sheriff's background file shows:
- Soon after getting hired by the county police, he was convicted of misdemeanor counts of assault with a deadly weapon, brandishing a firearm and possession of a concealed and loaded firearm in public. He was sentenced to two years' probation. The convictions stemmed from a fight he got into after leaving an East Los Angeles bar in 1989.Response
In an interview, Garcia said he was convicted of only misdemeanor battery, not the other charges. He confirmed he was a police officer at the time but said "I really don't feel comfortable talking about that." He said he works as a jail deputy, and has not been reprimanded since being hired. Later, his attorney Bradley Gage told The Times that Garcia is "a highly regarded officer."
Jason Crosswhite
41 years old
Hired rank: JailerSee response
Sheriff's background file shows:
- He was suspended for 15 days for false statements and other policy violations. He was on patrol, with his headlights off, when he crashed into a metal pole around 2001. He told his sergeant, however, that the damage to his car was caused by a pole falling onto it.- Crosswhite was suspended two other times for car accidents he caused, including a 25-day suspension around 2003 when his foot slipped off the brake pad and he hit the car in front of him, and a 20-day suspension around 2002 when he attempted to avoid hitting a jaywalking pedestrian and instead collided with another car, sending occupants of both cars to the hospital.
