Legal opinion leads to change in badge policies

By: JOHN HALL - Staff Writer | Monday, August 6, 2007 10:33 PM PDT ∞

RIVERSIDE -- In response to a legal opinion issued by the California attorney general's office last week, Riverside County prosecutors as well as nonsworn employees and volunteers with the Sheriff's Department will no longer carry badges, officials said Monday.

"All (prosecutors) with existing badges must turn them in," Ingrid Wyatt, spokeswoman for the district attorney's office, said.

More than 200 attorneys within the office have badges, she said.

"We are in the process of collecting the badges," Wyatt said.

The change will not affect the more than 100 district attorney's investigators, who are sworn peace officers under California law.

The decision made by District Attorney Rod Pacheco is twofold, Wyatt said.

"It is first to prevent any confusion to the public," she said, "and also to restore the public trust that may have been lost through this entire situation."

Pacheco has not issued badges to any prosecutors who have been hired since he took office in January, Wyatt said.

In March 2006, then-District Attorney Grover Trask asked the state attorney general to look into reports published by The Los Angeles Times that there was misuse of honorary badges by members of law enforcement auxiliary groups in Riverside, San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties.

In the legal opinion published July 30, the attorney general's office concludes that there would be a violation of state law if a badge "would deceive an ordinary reasonable person into believing that it is authorized for use by a peace officer."

The attorney general's office also concludes the gift of an honorary badge does not give the person who receives it any peace officer power.

The opinion also states that, if the sheriff of any county issues a badge neglectfully, that sheriff -- as well as the county -- could be subject to civil liability for any injury resulting from the misuse of the badge.

Officials in Riverside County have reviewed their own practices regarding badges since the opinion was released.

The district attorney's office considered the option of having prosecutors turn in their badges to be framed or mounted in some way, but that will not be done, Wyatt said.

"It's a difficult thing for people who have been with the office (and had badges) for a long time," she said.

Most likely, Wyatt added, the office will design a new identification for prosecutors to carry with them to use in their official capacity.

Sheriff Bob Doyle said Monday that it is not an issue of if, but when and how badges issued to nonsworn employees in his department will be pulled back.

Doyle said last week that he has never issued honorary badges since he was elected sheriff and has tried to retrieve such badges from people who were given them by his predecessors.

He said his staff is working on the logistics of retrieving badges from employees such as community service officers and volunteers with the department, such as mounted posse members.

After the legal issue was announced, Doyle said he thought this would be the time to "clean up" the badge issue statewide. He called upon agencies to evaluate their use of badges by anyone other than a sworn peace officer.

Among those he said have badges but now, based on the new legal opinion, should not, are state correctional officers -- whom he said are not sworn officers -- county animal control officers and county supervisors.

County spokesman Ray Smith said Monday he has spoken to two of the five county supervisors about the issue.

"If the determination is made to give their badges back, they have no problem with that," Smith said of the two he had talked with.

-- Contact staff writer John Hall at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2628, or jhall@californian.com.