Assembly Driver Put on Paid Leave During Drug Inquiry

The Assembly driver arrested in a state car on drug charges last week in Los Angeles is on paid administrative leave while the matter is investigated, Speaker Willie Brown said Tuesday.

Donald Thompson, who has worked for the Assembly as a sergeant-at-arms for more than 20 years, was arrested Friday night with another man on suspicion of possessing cocaine for sale in Encino, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

“It comes as a great shock that someone who has worked for us for more than 20 years would be near the activity reported by the press and would be that late at night in a state car in an area nowhere near state activities,” Brown (D-San Francisco) said at a Capitol news conference.

He said the matter is being investigated by the Assembly Rules Committee, which oversees the sergeants. The investigation will probably be finished by the end of the week, he added. Sergeants keep order in the Legislature and do a variety of jobs for lawmakers that include driving, messages and errands.

Brown said Thompson is one of three sergeants permanently stationed in Los Angeles to drive legislators to and from the airport and legislative meetings.

Thompson was released on $10,000 bail and ordered to appear in court May 4.