Assault by Broccoli No Defense for Officer Accused of Excessive Force.

After being stopped for not wearing his seatbelt, driver Mark Anthony Young exited his vehicle and sat on the curb eating his broccoli and tomatoes.  Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Richard Wells ordered Young to, “just have a seat in the truck.” Young declined stating, “I don’t feel like sitting ...Read More

How to Avoid a Sick Leave Abuse Allegation

Sick Leave Abuse               The recent economic recession is leading to a familiar scenario: Budget cuts cause an agency to reduce its staffing levels and no new hiring occurs.  The agency resorts to minimum staffing and mandatory overtime for its public safety officers.  As a result the officer is ...Read More

Salary Reductions

One of the most common forms of disciplinary action taken against public safety employees is a reduction in pay for a period of months.  Generally this reduction will take the form of a 5 or 10 percent reduction for however many months are imposed.  There are both some key pros ...Read More

POBR Vioalations

A woman filed a complaint against a sheriff’s deputy for various allegations of misconduct while off duty. The woman and the deputy are next door neighbors and have a fairly typical neighbor feud going between them. The woman filed the complaint with a sergeant who happened to be working as ...Read More

JURY FINDS LIEUTENANT NOT GUILTY OF FELONY ASSAULT CHARGES

 It took an El Dorado County jury just 45 minutes to acquit Lt. Chris Gold of two felony and two misdemeanor charges related to an off duty altercation he was involved in with his former father in law.    The background of this case includes an ugly divorce and child custody ...Read More

Termination Reduced to Voluntary Demotion with Same Pay

On November 10, 2009 an employee at the High Desert State Prison received some of the worst news anyone in today’s economy can receive; she was terminated effective immediately.  She contacted Goyette and Associates to help her in this time of crisis and her case was assigned to attorney Dan ...Read More

CORRECTIONAL OFFICER FOUND NOT GUILTY ON ALL 32 COUNTS

Correctional Officer Julie Newlin was found not guilty by a Solano County jury on Thursday, March 26, 2009 of 32 counts of workers’ compensation fraud, insurance fraud, and theft. Officer Newlin is a correctional officer for the California Department of Correction and Rehabilitation at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville, ...Read More