Talmo

The central issue in this case is whether the civil service commission abused its discretion in upholding the discharge of a deputy sheriff who committed batteries on two prisoners, uttered threats and racial slurs against a co-employee and lied about these actions to his superiors. After hacking our way through a thicket of procedural issues, we conclude the commission acted well within its discretion in discharging Deputy Brent Talmo.

Facts

The commission’s findings of fact are uncontested.

Deputy Talmo was discharged by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for violating numerous sections of the sheriff’s department’s manual of policies and procedures. The letter of discharge described these actions as “bizarre behavior and unprofessional conduct.” Some of Talmo’s conduct involved destruction of county property, such as pouring dirt in the gas tank of a county vehicle. But the more serious charges against Talmo involved abuse of jail inmates and lying about these acts to his superiors. In one instance, Talmo placed a dead gopher in the pocket of a prisoner. He then falsely denied to a superior officer he had done this act and attempted to get another deputy to…