The continued drama engulfing the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Workplace continued Monday, with the county’s high prosecutor saying a deputy who was accused of time card fraud had dedicated no crime, and the Deputy Sheriff’s Affiliation calling for a civil rights investigation into the Sheriff’s Workplace.
Carlos Tapia, who serves as president of the San Mateo County Deputy Sheriff’s Affiliation, had surrendered to be booked on the costs Nov. 12. In ordering the arrest, San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus mentioned on the time that she had “consulted” with San Mateo County District Lawyer Stephen Wagstaffe on the costs, which included felony grand theft.
However in an announcement Monday, Wagstaffe mentioned the sheriff’s investigation into the alleged time card fraud was “extraordinarily limited” on the time Tapia was booked and the case was despatched to the DA’s workplace. The appearing assistant sheriff who performed the investigation acknowledged in his report that the investigation was incomplete, in response to the DA’s press launch.
“We concluded that there just simply wasn’t a crime here,” District Lawyer Stephen Wagstaffe mentioned in an interview.
The DA’s workplace performed a “thorough” evaluation of the allegations, Wagstaffe mentioned, together with interviews with Tapia, Tapia’s supervisors, the appearing assistant sheriff who performed the Sheriff’s Workplace’s investigation, human sources officers and extra. Prosecutors concluded “without question that Deputy Carlos Tapia did not commit grand theft, theft by false pretenses or any sort of timecard fraud,” in response to an announcement from Wagstaffe’s workplace
Tapia mustn’t have been arrested, and there was no foundation to consider a violation had occurred, the investigation additionally discovered.
The DA’s workplace additionally spoke with the appearing assistant sheriff who performed the preliminary investigation, who agreed that the DA’s investigation “definitively” discovered that Tapis shouldn’t be responsible of felony conduct, in response to the press launch. In addition they discovered the miscoded hours didn’t lead to any financial loss to the Sheriff’s Workplace.
“My fellow deputies and I look forward to the day we can work with a new sheriff who will restore the trust and transparency the public deserves from its Sheriff’s Office.”
The deputy sheriff’s affiliation is asking for a civil rights violation investigation into the Sheriff’s Workplace’s actions in arresting Tapia, he mentioned on the press convention.
Tapia’s give up final month came about simply hours earlier than an impartial investigation into allegations in opposition to Corpus was launched, detailing allegations that the county’s first Latina sheriff had an inappropriate relationship together with her chief of employees, retaliated in opposition to officers and staff, and used racist and homophobic slurs within the office.
Corpus strongly denied the allegations on the time the report was launched, saying it was defamatory and politically motivated, and vowing to combat what she described as a corrupt “good old boys” community within the county.
Corpus mentioned in an announcement Monday that her workplace would proceed with a separate inside evaluation into Tapia.
“As with any allegation of a crime, initial information is presented, and additional follow-up is completed,” Corpus mentioned. “While the criminal investigation has concluded, a separate internal review will take place, which is standard protocol when the arrest involves an employee. The internal review will be conducted by an independent third-party investigator to ensure it is a fair process.”
Wagstaffe mentioned that the confusion over the time playing cards got here from clerical errors of coming into hours with the wrong code for time spent conducting work for the DSA; Tapia is entitled to place 75% of his working hours towards that place, Wagsaffe mentioned.
“It didn’t change that, either way, the money was being paid to him — he worked the hours,” Wagstaffe mentioned.
Wagstaffe added that it’s “unusual” for the Sheriff’s Workplace to make a warrantless arrest in a case like this. Instances which have an investigation over a possible crime resembling theft are typically investigated, taken to the DA’s workplace for evaluation, then a warrant is issued for an arrest, Wagstaffe defined, including that it’s authorized to make a warrantless arrest and “up to the law enforcement officer.”
An announcement attributed to the Deputy Sheriffs Affiliation mentioned they have been “pleased” by the outcomes of the investigation and referred to as the arrest “a clear attempt at silencing an opponent and stifling dissent.”
San Mateo County supervisors Noelia Corzo and Ray Mueller additionally referred to as for Corpus to resign at Monday’s press convention.
“I do think back to that day, and the heaviness that was felt all across all of our county — especially those who understood the gravity of what that meant, what line was crossed when our sheriff ordered the false arrest of Deputy Tapia,” Corzo mentioned. “(Corpus) should have resigned months ago, and I’m hopeful that we will continue to share the truth.”
Initially Printed: December 16, 2024 at 5:00 PM PST
