Shasta County Deputy Reinstated

Arbitrator William Riker has overturned the termination of Shasta County Deputy Sheriff, reinstating him with back pay.

The case arose in April of 1996 when the Shasta County Sheriff’s Department initiated an investigation against Deputy John Patrick Kropholler for alleged improprieties in testing a female inmate for being under the influence of drugs. Ultimately, the County terminated Kropholler’s employment in September of 1996. The matter went to hearing for six days in January and February of 1997.

In his decision overturning the termination, the arbitrator found Kropholler’s denial of the improprieties to be credible and further opined that the “event,” as alleged, “would be simply out of character when compared to Kropholler’s work ethics and rigidity in adhering to the Shasta County Sheriff’s Department rules and regulations.

Legal Defense Fund panel attorney Bill Williams, who represented Kropholler, said it was an unusual case, stating: “This case was not so unusual because of the allegations of bizarre improprieties, but rather because we were able to present so much credible evidence that directly conflicted with the County’s case. Usually, while there may be conflicting evidence, the employer and the employee have some areas of agreement, but in this case, there were straight up disputes regarding almost every allegation. Ultimately, I think the arbitrator was swayed by Deputy Kropholler’s credibility and his fine work record.”

Deputy Kropholler is extremely grateful to the Legal Defense Fund for the representation provided to him. “I can’t thank LDF enough for the excellent representation that I was provided. I learned in the course of this case how much work goes into the preparation and defense of an employee.

There were days of preparation involving not only my attorney but a private investigator and my attorney’s paralegal. Without the resources of the Legal Defense Fund, an individual employee could simply not afford the type of quality representation which I received from beginning to end in this case. I especially want to thank my attorney, Bill Williams, paralegal, Annette Kenney Artinian, and private investigator Jim Gilhula for their fine work and support of me throughout this ordeal.”