Principles for Public Safety Employment

 An officer is entitled to a transcribed copy of any notes made by a stenographer or to any reports or complaints made by investigators or other persons, except those which are deemed by the investigating agency to be confidential. No notes or reports that are deemed confidential may be entered in an officer’s personnel file.  If prior to or during the interrogation of a public safety officer it is deemed that he or she may be charged with a criminal offense, he or she shall be immediately informed of his or her constitutional rights.  An officer has the right to a representative of his/her choice upon the filing of a formal written statement of charges, or whenever an interrogation focuses on matters that are likely to result in punitive action against the officer.  No officer shall be loaned or temporarily reassigned to a location or duty assignment if a sworn member of his or her department would not normally be sent to that location or would not normally be given that duty assignment under similar circumstances.

Government Code section 3303, subdivision (i) states that none of the rights described above apply to “any interrogation of a public safety officer in the normal course of duty, counseling, instruction, or informal verbal admonishment by, or other routine or unplanned contact with, a supervisor or any other officer, nor shall this section apply to an investigation concerned solely and directly with alleged criminal activities.” Van Winkle v. County of Ventura 88 In Van Winkle v. County of Ventura , 89 the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department uncovered evidence that Deputy Van Winkle had embezzled firearms from the Sheriff’s Department. The Department’s Major Crimes Bureau (MCB) ─ which has authority to conduct criminal investigations, but not to recommend discipline ─ conducted a criminal investigation into an allegation that Deputy Van Winkle received weapons required to be destroyed and subsequently kept the weapons without booking them for destruction. MCB conducted a sting operation, during which Van Winkle made several incriminating statements. Van Winkle was subsequently arrested. At the start of his interrogation, the MCB detective told him, “this is a criminal matter, it's not [an] administrative matter so I can't order you to speak.” Van Winkle then waived his Miranda rights and admitted that he took home one of the guns that had been taken to the station for destruction. The Sheriff's Department later terminated his

employment. Van Winkle argued that the Sheriff’s Department violated the POBR by obtaining statements from him during the criminal investigation without providing him with various POBR rights. The California Court of Appeal upheld the termination decision, finding that the POBR provisions do not apply to officers that are subjected to criminal investigations conducted by their employers.

Principles for Public Safety Employment ©2022 (s) Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 27