Judge Calls Fullerton Police Department's Handling Of Allegations Of Sexual Misconduct…'Shocking'

OC Weekly ^ | September 30, 2011 | Marisa Gerber

[Immerito]

A U.S. district court judge's decision earlier this week further tainted the already ailing image of the Fullerton Police Department.

In a court document posted on the Friends For Fullerton's Future blog, U.S. District Judge Andrew J. Guilford writes some cutting words about the department and their handling of allegations of sexual misconduct by an officer.

Officer Albert Rincon, who was hired by the department five years ago, allegedly had a habit of detaining women and either making sexual propositions to them, groping them, or doing both, the document states.

Rincon admitted that, in violation of city policy, he never called for a female officer to help pat-down women he detained. The policy states that "whenever practical" pat-downs should be done by an officer of the same gender as the person being searched.

Another city policy requires officers to wear a digital audio recorder and turn it on when they contact a subject. Perhaps even more damning than ignoring the pat-down rule, is the fact that Rincon consistently turned off the audio recorder at some point during the detention of the women. "This is different than simply forgetting to switch it on. This means that Rincon chose to leave no audio recording of the arrest," Guilford writes. When asked about why he turned off the recorder, Rincon had no explanation, the document states.

[Immerito]

Full title: Federal Judge Calls Fullerton Police Department's Handling Of Allegations Of Sexual Misconduct By An Officer 'Shocking'

[Mr.Unique]

The Fullerton PD only has ~85 officers. Around 10 are currently the subjects of investigations/lawsuits.