Sheriff accused of unjust demotions

Deputies claim retribution for backing Moore's foe in election
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San Joaquin County Sheriff Steve Moore at a March 30 news conference.Michael McCollum/The Record

FRENCH CAMP - Current and former employees are accusing San Joaquin County Sheriff Steve Moore of demoting highly decorated officers and decimating his department's canine unit to "get even" with them for supporting his opponent in the 2014 election, allegations Moore strongly denies.

Retired Sgt. Steve Walker and Deputy Ray Esparza said Moore summoned them and two other canine patrolmen to his office in 2011, two to three weeks after organizers for the department's canine competition printed a paid advertisement for Moore's opponent in the event program. Moore made a thinly veiled threat toward the canine officers in that meeting, suggesting there could be consequences if they continued to support Sgt. Pat Withrow's candidacy for sheriff, Walker and Esparza said.

"During that conversation, we were told that we could vote for whoever we wanted and we could support whoever we wanted, but we were also told that the sheriff doesn't get mad, he gets even," Esparza said.

In a separate interview, Walker recalled the sheriff making a similar statement.

"He said, 'I don't get mad, but I never forget and I always get even,' " Walker said.

All four of the canine officers were transferred to bailiff duty and boat patrol, although Walker chose to retire instead of accepting his new assignment in Court Services. Two of them were named Officer of the Year in recent years, including Esparza. The other two were recently nominated for the award, including Walker, who was a three-time nominee. All four had more than 20 years' experience in the Sheriff's Office.

Moore, who was elected sheriff in 2006 and re-elected in 2010, said none of the transfers were demotions and none was politically motivated.

"I would not tell anybody anything like, 'I don't get mad, I get even,' " Moore said. "That's not me. That's not my nature. I have a history of promoting people, even people who supported other candidates and even a gentleman who ran against me.

"If I said anything at all, it would have been to advise the unit that, pursuant to county work rules, you can't do things that are associated with the job that are related to political activities. I truly do not care who they support for any political office or any political issue. It's totally up to them. They get to express their opinion at the ballot box."

Moore said officers are routinely transferred to other assignments in order to gain additional skills and experiences, and to create opportunities for other officers.

Undersheriff John Picone said new assignments make officers more "well-rounded" and referred to the practice as "good management."

Picone said officers can be transferred any time at the sheriff's discretion if it serves the "best interest of the office," but 97 to 98 percent of transfers are made at an officer's request. Picone said officers can appeal to his office if they believe they are being transferred for punitive reasons. Picone added that no one has appealed on those grounds since 2008, but Esparza said he filed an appeal that was denied in 2012.

Withrow, a four-time Officer of the Year nominee who spent 12 years on canine patrol, was serving as an administrative sergeant in Lathrop but requested a transfer before announcing his candidacy in 2011. He was assigned to the Alternative Work Program, overseeing low-level offenders on work projects and home detention.

Withrow said two of the officers who were transferred from the canine unit are on his executive board, and another is an outspoken advocate for his campaign. He described each of them as friends.

Withrow said he expected to encounter a backlash for his decision to run against Moore, but he didn't expect his supporters to suffer.

"I knew there were going to be some repercussions, and I expected that those things would happen to me, but I did not expect it to happen to people who simply wanted to support me," Withrow said. "I was surprised and disappointed when things like that began to happen. You can be transferred at any time to any location in the department for what is deemed the good of the department, but I don't know why, given what's going on in our cities and our county at this time, you would want to remove veteran officers from the street."


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