LaDucer Reportedly the Subject of Criminal Probe

A top commander with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department who was fired after an internal investigation into sexual harassment also is the subject of a criminal probe, sources said Thursday.

Two veteran detectives have been assigned to the investigation of Dennis LaDucer, 52, their former boss and a 31-year veteran of the department, according to department sources.

The internal investigation involved allegations contained in sexual harassment lawsuits filed by three female employees, who say they were relentlessly badgered, groped and propositioned by LaDucer. It was not clear if the criminal probe extends beyond those allegations.

In firing LaDucer on Wednesday, Sheriff Brad Gates said the first investigation had determined that the assistant sheriff “clearly violated our department rules.”

LaDucer could not be reached for comment. His attorney, Bruce Praet, said he had no knowledge of a criminal investigation.

Gates declined to confirm or deny that a new investigation is underway. Citing the pending lawsuits, Gates also declined to comment on the specific findings that prompted LaDucer’s firing. The sheriff did acknowledge that LaDucer’s dismissal validates at least some of the claims made by the women.

“There’s no question that my decision certainly underscores that something improper was occurring in this agency, something that would not be tolerated by me,” Gates said.

Gates praised the three female employees, including one of the highest-ranking women in the agency, for fulfilling their “difficult obligation” and performing “a service to the department.”

Gates himself is named in the suits, which contend that he condoned a hostile, abusive environment toward women by ignoring LaDucer’s excesses and, in one instance, making sexist comments himself.

Gates has denied he acted improperly and has said he never saw LaDucer harass any employee.

The lawsuits claim that LaDucer made veiled career threats, fondled and kissed the women against their will and made humiliating sexual comments in the workplace.

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Attorney Pat Thistle, who represents all three women suing LaDucer, said he expects that the criminal investigation will extend beyond incidents involving Lt. Wendy Costello, office employee Mary Ann Hoyt or Deputy Florence “Jeanie” Henson.

“I believe there is more to this story than has been told in the complaints filed so far,” Thistle said.

LaDucer had been on administrative leave since May, when the harassment allegations were made public.

His firing stunned attorneys on both sides of the case. Praet said LaDucer himself, leader of the department’s vast patrol and detectives divisions, had no warning that he was losing his job.

A captain in the department called LaDucer at home and asked if he could drop off some papers, never hinting that the documents were termination papers, Praet said.

Praet said his client was “just devastated” by the news and the manner in which it was delivered. The attorney said his client may consider suing the agency for violating his privacy rights by publicizing the firing in a news release.

LaDucer “can’t get his blood pressure under 190, so there’s a health issue here,” Praet said. “Do you fight something to your grave and end up dead right, literally?’

Praet said the county is continuing to pay for LaDucer’s legal defense, and he had no indication that was going to change. The attorney also said the firing would not insulate the agency from any liability in the case against LaDucer.

Praet said he has reviewed several thousand pages of transcripts from the internal investigation and found nothing that would explain the sudden firing.

“I’ve still not seen any evidence that would support any of the allegations,” Praet said.

In careful tones, Gates expressed remorse Thursday over the abrupt ousting of LaDucer, a trusted confidant and friend to the sheriff for decades.

“We’ve lost a family member,” he said, adding later that he would have liked to call LaDucer personally, but did not because of the pending lawsuits. “You can’t reach out to people as you would like to.”

LaDucer has long been viewed as one of the most innovative administrators in Gates’ handpicked hierarchy. It was LaDucer who masterminded the creation of the sheriff’s helicopter program and canine unit.

He led the push to make the department’s patrol cars the first in Southern California with mounted video cameras to monitor traffic stops. LaDucer also was a key negotiator when the agency took over police services in Stanton and San Clemente and extended into newly incorporated South County cities.

“Dennis has a tremendous range of abilities, a phenomenal ability to take on new tasks,” said Walt Fath, a former assistant sheriff who retired in August 1994. “He’s one of the most capable people I ever worked with.”

LaDucer’s success was driven by a passion for his job, Fath said, which likely makes his downfall especially painful.

“Dennis lived for law enforcement; it was his No. 1 thing,” said Fath, a 37-year veteran of the agency. “He must be devastated by this, just devastated.”