SAN BERNARDINO — The San
Bernardino County Grand Jury acknowledged "issues" Wednesday related
to the Sheriff's Department and its seizure of vehicles later sold at lien
sales, seemingly giving some credence to whistle-blower allegations that
officials routinely flipped impounded vehicles for personal gain.
In its annual report, the
Grand Jury recommended the Sheriff's Department "continue to monitor the
towing issues" after jurors probed the department's policies and
procedures regarding employees purchasing impounded vehicles that had been
seized during an investigation.
But the surprisingly small
focus within the 122-page report given to the alleged towing corruption did not
indicate jurors found any specific wrongdoing, only pointing out that the
Sheriff's Department "appears to be aware of issues regarding towing and
sale of both towed and seized vehicles and has taken steps to resolve
them."
Jurors said that an addendum
had been added in February 2013 to one unspecified sheriff's station's Tow
Service Agreement — the terms and conditions between them and tow companies —
that appeared to directly address the allegations.
"All companies
participating in the TSA will no longer be allowed or permitted to sell and or
give vehicles, motorcycles, motorized vehicles and or any other property
directly related to the towing businesses that are currently enrolled in the
TSA to a Sheriff's Department employee and or their immediately family,"
the addendum read.
But the report also said this
addendum has since been deleted.
In March 2014, the following
revision was added to the department's manual: "... Deputy Sheriff's
frequently seize the personal property of citizens. The act of seizing
another's property is one of the most invasive and litigated activities by law
enforcement. In order to avoid any appearance that a seizure was for personal
gain, employees shall not possess property that has been seized by the
department. This includes the purchase of seized property by a third party for
an employee's use."
The report comes almost a
year after a lawsuit filed by one retired and two current motorcycle deputies
last working at the Victorville Station. In a court filing previously reported
by the Daily Press, retired deputy Tim Jordan said he was retaliated against
after he uncovered a systemic scheme sustained by close connections that was
being covered up by higher-ranking officials.
The Sheriff's Department has
denied all the allegations in the lawsuit in response.
Jordan alleges that while
working as the administrative/detective sergeant at the Victor Valley Station
in November 2010, he was tasked with serving a detective with a letter of
reprimand for impounding a car during a search warrant and later buying the car
from the tow yard during a lien sale, then giving the car to his daughter.
Then, in early 2011, Jordan
said he unearthed that sheriff's personnel assigned to the department's
narcotics unit would "routinely tow vehicles and 'flip' them by purchasing
the vehicles at lien sales and selling them for profit."
Jordan alleges the father of
a deputy was the owner of one preferred tow company, which would be called to
retrieve a vehicle regardless of where the vehicle was located. The deputy's
father would allegedly call deputies when the vehicle came up for lien sale and
offer them the first chance of purchasing the vehicle, often at thousands of
dollars below Blue Book value.
The Grand Jury report found
that while TSAs specify using only the rotation for approved tow yards, "a
station commander, his designee, a supervisor or a scene manager may request
tow service outside the normal rotation."
Jordan contends he reported
the wrongdoing to a lieutenant and was told he would be interviewed as part of
an internal affairs investigation, but Jordan said no follow-up was ever
performed. When he asked the lieutenant about it, the lieutenant purportedly
said, "I was told in no uncertain terms that it's been handled and not to
worry about it."
The lawsuit said Jordan was
soon after transferred to the Victorville Station, assigned to work graveyard
patrol and work weekends, which he felt was a punitive shift from his previous
schedule — working days and having weekends off.
The lawsuit filed by deputies
also refers to an alleged traffic ticket quota at the Victorville Station — a
violation of state law if true — but the Grand Jury report does not address
ticket quotas.
July 1, 2015
Victorville
Daily Press
By
Shea Johnson
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