San Diego sheriff’s deputy’s suspension reversed in skateboarder’s arrest

A San Diego County sheriff’s deputy who was suspended for 10 days for failing to properly park his patrol car during an arrest had his suspension reversed by the civil service commission, which ruled that no discipline was warranted.

Commissioners last week voted to reverse the suspension and grant the deputy back pay. The deputy was not identified in a report released after the meeting.

According to the decision, the deputy was responding to a “hot prowl” burglary about midnight in an unspecified community when he spotted a suspect riding a skateboard near the scene.

The deputy attempted to cut off the suspect with his patrol car as the two approached a gated community. The deputy tried to put the car into park and exit the vehicle at the same time.

“As he was doing this, the suspect went into a throwing motion,” the report states. “Employee could not see what was in his hand but he did feel threatened. As a result, employee failed to shift the car into park.”

The suspect apparently hurled a paint brush at the deputy just prior to being arrested. The commission noted that the deputy didn’t know what was being thrown at the moment, so he was not at fault.

The patrol car rolled into the gate, causing damage to the gate and to the vehicle. It also knocked down the deputy, who tore his shirt and suffered some scratches, the findings state.

A second deputy arrived and the suspect was arrested without further incident.

Sheriff’s Department officials subsequently determined that the unnamed deputy’s negligence caused damage to public property and committed acts that were incompatible with public service by failing to operate the marked cruiser in a safe and prudent manner.

Civil service commissioners disagreed.

“He had a split second to react to the assault,” the report said. “He didn’t abandon the car. He didn’t forget to shift the vehicle into park or make a decision not to; he tried and failed. … Employee was reacting in a reasonable manner when he failed to place his car into park while dodging an assault from a felon.”

It was not clear from the documents how much damage was caused to the car or the gate, or when the incident happened.

jeff.mcdonald@sduniontribune.com

McDonald writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.

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