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The county Civil Service Commission on Tuesday (Nov. 10) voted unanimously to uphold disciplinary action against Deputy Juan Lopez of the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office in connection with allegations that he violated jail policies and procedures.
An internal-affairs investigation in 2014 concluded that Mr. Lopez inappropriately touched at least one inmate (by hugging him), provided inmates with food from outside the jail, and lied to investigators.
The five-member commission met to hear Mr. Lopez’s appeal of the punishment, which consisted of a 150-hour suspension and his designation as an officer who could not be relied on to tell the truth.
The commission acted after a day of testimony from several Sheriff’s Office employees, much of it recounting events of Nov. 5, 2013, during a transfer of an inmate from one cell block of the county jail to another. The transfer was made out of concern for the inmate’s safety.
Witnesses said that during the transfer, Mr. Lopez hugged the inmate twice – once with a “bro-hug,” a handshake in which the two men also put their free arms around each other’s shoulders – and again when they were walking out of the cell block and allegedly had their arms on each other’s shoulders.
Physical contact by deputies and corrections officers with inmates is considered inappropriate out of concern for prison discipline and the safety of officers and inmates, Undersheriff Carlos Bolanos said in his testimony. Perceptions may lead to suspicion of a quid pro quo or that the inmate was an informant, he said.
Mr. Lopez is also accused of conspiracy in the smuggling of cellphones into the jail and of fraud in connection with his run for sheriff in the June 2014 election.
The Almanac was unable to reach Mr. Lopez for comment. According to a report in the Daily Journal, Mr. Lopez denied hugging the inmate and acknowledged providing food for inmates in keeping with his religious principles about not wasting food.
Under-sheriff Carlos Bolanos has been selected by Sheriff Munks to succeed him as Sheriff next year. The two were caught in an underage sex slave sting near Las Vegas but no one ever even ran against Munks in two later Sheriff elections (until Lopez tried incompetently to run and became a write-in in 2014). Someone should run against Bolanos. But will an opponent step forward if it is perceived that the Sheriff and DA can and will trump up criminal charges against any such troublemaker? So, it is in the public interest that Lopez’s criminal case be pursued and concluded without further delays.
Thank you for your thoughtful comment. This corruption makes me so angry that I can’t see straight. You have written a much more level-headed comment than I ever could.
John wrote
“Under-sheriff Carlos Bolanos has been selected by Sheriff Munks to succeed him as Sheriff next year.”
I just wanted to point out the election is in 3 years, not next year.
Maybe candidates can get paperwork in by the deadline in 2018, if they’re not too busy giving bro-hugs to inmates.
Folks sure know how to pick’em.
Question: is the entire county Civil Service Commission crooked also? After all, they ruled against Lopez. Must be dirty!
It sure is reassuring to see the sheriff and perhaps some of his supporters in law enforcement crack down on transgressions by fellow cops. I must have misjudged Munks, Wagstaffe and Bolanos. I thought they were part of the whole thin blue line stuff and would defend stuff their brothers in blue did that were far worse than a bro embrace. I guess this means that lots of stuff is going to change, citizen complaints are going to be taken seriously, and cops who mess up are going to get firmly disciplined and criminally charged.
Nice!