San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos issued a media advisory today regarding the POST scandal involving up to 27 members of the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. He has called a press conference for March 8 at 11:30 a.m. Employees have been accused of falsifying training records so to receive additional compensation.
The scandal was first discovered as early as 2009 and was reported on a local political blog, iePolitics.com. Sheriff's officials continued to deny the extent of the criminal activity among its members as recently as the June 2010 primary when Sheriff Rod Hoops was running for election to his first full term. He had been appointed the previous year by the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors to replace Sheriff Gary Penrod, who retired before his term expired.
Hoops easily won re-election, assuring voters and the Board of Supervisors that the POST scandal had been handled. However, questions continued to be raised as bloggers and members of the department pushed the issue. A Grand Jury complaint was filed.
High-level officials, who wish not to be named, expect a number of employees to be charged or indicted. However, Ramos gave no indication in his media advisory as to whether arrests and/or indictments should be expected or if he plans to find that there was no wrongdoing.
POST, an acronym for the Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training, awards certificates based on coursework completed. Those certificates then are used to increase the hourly rate of pay for peace officers. In San Bernardino County, for example, a sergeant with an Advanced POST Certificate earns an extra $2.43 an hour. A sergeant with a Supervisory POST Certificate earns an extra $3.69 an hour. At an assumed minimum hours worked of 2080 per year, the difference can be substantial and also affects retirement allowance. San Bernardino County Sheriff's deputies enjoy 3 percent at 50 so with approximately 33 years of service, which is easily attainable by age 50, they can retire with a retirement allowance that is virtually 100 percent of their paycheck. The Supervisory POST Certificate would result in an extra retirement allowance of $7675 per year for the rest of their lives.
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