City Employee Probed Over Actions in Arrest

A longtime city employee is under investigation for allegations that she threatened San Diego police officers who stopped her in December on suspicion of drunk driving and that her plea not to be arrested “came close to bribery.”

Myra D. Anderson, an executive assistant for the five-member Civil Service Commission by an officer who said he observed her car weaving along Camino del Rio West and Sports Arena Boulevard.

Her boss, Personnel Director Rich Snapper, said Tuesday that he will begin investigating allegations that Anderson told police during the arrest that she worked for “city personnel” and “was responsible for reviewing police discipline cases.”

Sgt. James Larson, who was called to the scene after Anderson allegedly requested that a superior officer be present, recalled that she eventually became more remorseful during the evening and said that “she would do anything not to be arrested for this.”

Larson said that, “based on (her) expressions and the tone of her voice,” he “felt her statement came close to bribery.”

Last Friday, a San Diego Municipal Court judge ruled against Anderson’s attempts to suppress the results of her blood alcohol tests, which the city attorney’s office said in court documents registered .20, nearly 2 1/2 times the legal limit.

Police forced Anderson to give blood after, they said, she refused four times to specify what type of test she would take.

An attorney for Anderson contended in court papers that the blood alcohol results should not be admitted as evidence because Anderson consented to a urine test moments before the police drew blood.

But Municipal Judge Ann Winebrenner ruled that police were reasonable in their attempts to extract a blood sample and denied Anderson’s motion.

Neither Anderson nor her attorney, Don Peterson, returned telephone calls Tuesday.

As an executive assistant to the commission, which hears appeals on disciplines for Civil Service employees, Anderson is responsible for taking minutes, making sure exhibits are brought to hearings and preparing final decisions in cases agreed upon by the commissioners.

Snapper said Anderson worked as his personal secretary for three years before joining the commission seven or eight years ago. She has also worked as a secretary for the San Diego Police Department.

“She has been an absolute professional,” Snapper said. “She’s done a stellar job working for the commission.”

Snapper said that he had been aware of Anderson’s misdemeanor drunk driving charge for some time, but that he did not learn of the allegations by police until he was notified last Friday by a San Diego Tribune reporter that they were contained in court documents.

The court papers were filed by the city attorney’s office in opposition to Anderson’s motion to suppress the blood alcohol content results. Prosecutors allege that Anderson was stopped by Officer Leticia Taylor after Taylor noticed Anderson’s car weaving.

Taylor said she stopped Anderson about 9:40 p.m. Dec. 14 and noticed “bloodshot eyes, dilated pupils, slurred speech, a lax face and jaw, an unsteady gait, stained clothing, messed-up hair and a dry mouth,” according to the court papers.

Anderson allegedly told Taylor that “I’m not drunk. Yeah, I’ll admit that I have alcohol in me, but I’m not drunk.”

After Anderson allegedly asked for a superior officer, and Larson arrived, she allegedly told him “that she sat in on the (Civil Service) hearings and played an important role (and) also said that she knew several police officers and knew that she did not need to be arrested.”

In fact, Anderson has nothing to do with the commission’s decisions, other than to take notes and write up the commission’s findings.

When Larson and Anderson first spoke, according to court documents, she allegedly said she had no problem with Taylor, who arrested her. But, later in the conversation, Anderson allegedly said that “if she was arrested, she would change her mind and file a complaint.”

Snapper said he was “surprised by the (allegations). I don’t have the documents. I haven’t seen the evidence the allegations were based upon.”

Hope Logan, a Civil Service commissioner for eight years, said she was only partly aware of the situation involving Anderson and hoped to review the court documents in the next few days.

“Myra as a person is extremely responsible,” Logan said. “She sits with us in hearings and writes . . . the summaries that you see. She writes like an angel. I speak for the entire commission when I say we appreciate greatly what she does.”