An El Dorado County jury deliberated for just three hours before it found Placerville Police Officer John Jacobs, age 48, not guilty of violating a mandatory requirement to report child abuse. Jacobs, a 17—year veteran of Placerville PD, was represented by LDF panel attorney Paul Q. Goyette of Goyette & […]
City of Oroville Police Department dispatcher and past-POA treasurer, Laura Smith, was reinstated by Arbitrator Ronald Hoh after the Department terminated her for “creating strife, discord, and discontent throughout the Department”. Ms. Smith was represented by LDF panel attorney, Paul Q. Goyette of Goyette & Adams. The department terminated Smith […]
A Solano County deputy sheriff facing termination for his handling of a possible child molest complaint instead has walked away from the case with nothing more than a letter of reprimand. Deputy Thomas Gilson and another deputy were dispatched last May to interview a woman reporting “something funny” in the […]
Following a lengthy arbitration, the disciplines imposed on Berkeley police officers Henry Wellington and William Thornton were overturned. After vindicating these officers, Arbitrator Paul Staudohar reinstated Wellington to his former position and rescinded the 10-day suspension imposed on Thornton. Thornton was also reinstated to his position as a field training […]
When he completely overturned a 10-day suspension imposed on San Rafael Police Officer James Strong, Arbitrator Leo Kanowitz acknowledged that off-duty officers are sometimes compelled to make arrests for the safety of the community; even though they are out of their jurisdiction and even though it would have been easier […]