Four Orange County Sheriff’s deputies have been suspended and one deputy has resigned, rather than face termination, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said. The deputies were all involved in an incident to varying degrees, relating to the mis-treatment and subsequent arrest of a juvenile suspect near Americana Boulevard and South Texas Avenue in May 2009.
Courdney Ramsaroop, 25, an Orange County Deputy Sheriff, resigned from his position on January 19th instead of receiving his termination notice which remains in force, in the wake of an agency internal review of the May 3, 2009 arrest of a juvenile suspect.
Ramsaroop was one of five deputies who responded to a call in reference to several young men beating another man at Americana Boulevard and South Texas Avenue. When deputies arrived at the scene the juveniles ran. Deputies, including Ramsaroop, located one of the suspects, a 16 year old male, in a nearby backyard and took him into custody. Allegations were made by the suspect’s mother that the suspect was battered during the arrest, launching the agency’s Professional Standards Investigation.
The investigation concluded the deputies’ performance to be unsatisfactory in accordance to agency policies and procedures. They were given suspensions for the policy violation. The inquiry also determined that, in addition to unsatisfactory performance, Ramsaroop battered the suspect. Criminal charges associated with the battery were filed with the State Attorney’s Office.
The four deputies suspended for unsatisfactory performance are:
-Jonathan Reeves–24 hour suspension without pay
-Hector Avilez–30 hour suspension without pay
-Jon Bartley–12 hour suspension without pay
-Richard Perez–12 hour suspension without pay.
See Professional Standards Investigation Report with details of the Case Here
