County of Santa Clara

 

 

 

 

Of?ce of the Sheriff
55 West Younger Avenue
San Jose. California 95110-1721
(408) 808-4611
Laurie Smith
Sheriff
SERVICE COPY - RETURN TO PERSONNEL UPON
HAND DELIVERED SERVICE OF ORIGINAL
Februa 24 2017 7 #45 
ry DATE 1 TIME SERVED

Sheriff's Correctional Deputy Alana Simpson-Hogan



 

LOCATION

Lil'- wwzl?b

 

SUBJECT: Final Disciplinary Action: TERMINATION 

 

 

Internal Affairs Case #2015?029 MWW 27? 

Dear Deputy Simpson-Hogan:

In a letter dated August 4, 2016, Sheriff Smith issued you a Recommended Disciplinary Action
Letter advising you of the recommendation that you be terminated from your position as a
Sheriffs Correctional Deputy for the County of Santa Clara effective Thursday, August 18,
2016 at 1700 hours.

The August 4, 2016 Recommended Disciplinary Action letter reads, in relevant part, as follows:

II.



IV.

This action is based on but not Iimi ed to the followin sustained char es:

 

Santa Clara County Merit System Rule "Violation of the county
charter, merit system rules and regulations and written and published departmental
rules and policies which do not conflict with this article."

Santa Clara County Merit System Rule A25-3OI "lnef?ciency, incompetence,
or negligence in the performance of duties, including failure to perform assigned task
or failure to discharge duties in a prompt, competent and responsible manner."

Santa Clara County Merit System Rule A25-301 Guilty of gross misconduct or
conduct unbecoming a County of?cer or employee which tends to discredit the
County or county service."

D.O.C. Policy l.lS.lI.D- Post Order Compliance: "Employees assigned to posts must
use good judgment, tact, and careful attention to detail in performing their duties,
whether or not they are covered in post orders."

V.

D.O.C. Policy 3.31.IV.J.14.a- Employee Conduct/Untruthful Statements "Employees
shall not make less than truthful statements, either verbal or written."

VI.

D.O.C. Policy 9.27.I.B- Reporting of Incidents: "All staff involved in a reportable
incident shall promptly notify a supervisor."

The facts, which are the basis for these charges:
See attached Investigative Report (Statement of Findings IAU#2015-029) dated June 15, 2016
and the Basis for the Recommendation section below. Internal Affairs conducted an extensive
investigation into the allegations of your misconduct. The investigation confirmed that:
On August 9, 2015, you exhibited a lack of good judgment and inefficient performance of your
duties by assisting Officer Michelle Broussard (#2543) in pursuing a course of action, which
resulted in a physical confrontation with an uncooperative inmate
.
and you did so
without notifying a supervisor of the potential problem.
You were less than truthful when documenting the details of the physical encounter between
inmate
you, Officer Broussard and Officer Rivera, in your submitted Employee Report
and in your oral reports to investigators.
The Basis for the Recommendation:
The Internal Affairs investigation shows that on Sunday, August 9, 2015, Inmate
("
was brought to Elmwood Processing after being arrested on numerous drug related
warrants. Correctional Officer M. Broussard ("Officer Broussard") took inmate
into the
female side dress-out room without incident. In the dress-out room, a conflict occurred between
Officer Broussard and inmate
was yelling and demanding to see a sergeant and
complaining of how she was being treated.
Because she was agitated, Officer Broussard attempted to calm her by leaving her alone in the in
the dress-out room. The voices were loud enough and agitated enough to draw the attention of
Correctional Deputy Michael Divine. He walked over to the dress out room and arrived just as
Officer Broussard was walking out. Officer Broussard told him that she had an inmate that might
need to have her clothes cut off.
You were assigned to W4C housing unit with trainee Correctional Deputy Kitong when you
received a call from Officer Broussard. Officer Broussard explained that she was having
difficulty with
who was refusing to dress-out of her street clothes. Officer Broussard
asked you "can you come to Processing?" You agreed and left your duty assignment to assist
Officer Broussard in Processing. It takes approximately 8-10 minutes to arrive at Processing
from WC4 housing unit, due to the various doors and security procedures required to access
Processing.
Page 2 of 10

 When you arrived at Processing, Officer Broussard told you "I don't think this lady's gonna dress
out; could you stand by just in case?" Even though you were told by Officer Broussard that a
difficult inmate was refusing to follow orders and dress-out, and that she had asked you to walk
approximately 8-10 minutes from W4C to Processing just to assist with this very difficult inmate,
you did not call for a sergeant to supervise and assess the situation. However, based on the
information provided to you, and based on your many years of experience, you should have
immediately called for a supervisor to be present before you and Officer Broussard began further
interaction with inmate
However, neither you nor Officer Broussard called for a
supervisor.
You agreed with Officer Broussard that you would remain outside the room while she re-entered
the dress-out room alone. Shortly after Officer Broussard re-entered you heard the partition
move and you then entered the room to assist Officer Broussard by forcible removing Inmate
clothing while Officer Broussard held
down. Dep. Rivera also responded to
assist after hearing the physical confrontation with
During the physical encounter, Deputy Rivera stated in interviews with both IA investigators and
Sheriff's Detectives that she heard yelling and screaming coming from the dress out room in
Processing. She responded and when she arrived, she saw you and Officer Broussard holding a
female inmate on the ground, dressed in street clothing. As Deputy Rivera rushed into the room,
Officer Broussard told her "We got this, Rivera. We got this." However, it was obvious to
Rivera that you could use assistance due to inmate
struggling to keep you from removing
her clothes, so she retrieved gloves and assisted. Rivera wondered why you and Officer
Broussard were forcibly removing clothes from an inmate without a Sergeant present, which she
believed was protocol.
During the encounter, Deputy Rivera saw Officer Broussard put her left foot on the inmate's
chest with
saying, "I can't breathe. I can't breathe." Deputy Rivera also reported that she
saw Broussard pull
hair with her right hand and pull her back down to the floor, and at
the same time Broussard put her left hand onto
throat in a "C-clamp", with
again
yelling, "I can't breathe. I have asthma. I have asthma." During this time, Officer Broussard
was saying "Sweetie calm down" – and Rivera felt Broussard was speaking this way so people
outside of the room would think that she was trying calm down the inmate, while instead
Broussard had a hand on
throat and a foot on her chest.
Inmate
reported that during this encounter Officer Broussard used force on her that was
unnecessary and unreasonable given the circumstances. The Internal Affairs Investigative Report
indicates that you were present, along with Dep. Rivera, to observe Officer Broussard's' use of
force on
but you failed to include any information relating to Officer Broussard's use
of force in your official Employee Report, and you failed to mention or reference Officer
Broussard's use of force on inmate
to both IA investigators and Sheriff's Detectives.

Page 3 of 10

 Internal Affairs determined that you wrote one Employee's Report and were interviewed two
times- once by IA investigators and once by Sheriff's Detectives. These interviews and your
report contain many inconsistencies and omissions as detailed below.
Employee's Report: Your Employee's Report was written the same night as the event. It was
very vague. You did not mention that you had received a call for assistance from Corr. Off.
Broussard (while you were 8-10 minutes away in the W4C housing unit) and that was the real
reason you were present in the Processing area. You wrote instead that you were already in
Processing to get some cheesecake, and then heard a commotion in the dress out area. You did
not write that you spoke to Officer Broussard and directed Broussard to go back into the dress
out room to see if inmate
would voluntarily change her clothes. During the physical
encounter with
you did not write that you dropped inmate
when
went
limp. There was no mention of Corr. Off. Broussard grabbing inmate
head to stop her
from biting. There was no mention of Corr. Off. Broussard putting her foot on inmate
body or that Corr. Off. Broussard pulled
hair. There was no mention of Corr. Off.
Broussard putting a C-clamp hold on inmate
neck. You also did not mention that Corr.
Dep. Rivera assisted them in changing out the inmate.
Interview with Sheriff's Detectives: You told investigators that you received a call from Corr.
Off. Broussard telling you that Broussard needed help changing an inmate. You did not mention
anything about already being in Processing to get cheesecake. When you arrived in Processing,
you told Corr. Off. Broussard to go back into the dress out room and tell inmate
that she
had to dress out. You heard a commotion from inside the dress out room, went inside, and saw
Corr. Off. Broussard holding inmate
down on the bench by the shoulders. When they
stood up, you said inmate
went dead weight and fell to the ground. You did not mention
that you let her go. You said you wouldn't have seen anything that Corr. Off. Broussard did after
this because you were facing the inmate's legs and feet.
Interview with Internal Affairs Investigator: You said you got a phone call from Corr. Off.
Broussard asking you to come to Processing. You said you did not know why Broussard wanted
you to come to Processing, but you went. You do not think you said anything to your trainee,
Corr. Dep. Kitong about leaving. Once in Processing, you said Carr. Off. Broussard told you that
she didn't think this woman was going to dress out and could she stand by just in case. You told
Broussard to ask
if she was going to change out and you would stand by. You said that
Corr. Off. Broussard went in and heard her tell inmate
that she had to get dressed and
inmate
yelled something like "Fuck you, bitch." You then heard the partition curtain
slide, so you went into the room. You saw Officer Broussard holding the inmate down by her
shoulders and the inmate kicking. You made the decision to continue changing the inmate instead
of stopping and calling a sergeant because you "already hands on."
In your Employee's Report of the physical encounter with inmate
you failed to record any
information associated with Off. Broussard's physical force that she used on inmate
information that a reasonable officer would have realized is very important and pertinent to

Page 4 of 10

 include in their report. As a competent and trained Sheriffs Correctional Deputy with many years
of experience, you have a duty and responsibility to accurately report, orally and in writing, all
use of force incidents involving inmates whether you applied the force or you witnessed the
force being used by another deputy or officer. Your failure to do so in this incident is simply
unacceptable for any Correctional Deputy but more so for one with your years of experience and
service. The only reasonable conclusion that can be drawn as to why a deputy with your years of
experience and training would omit such important information from your reports was to conceal
the facts of the incident to minimize the possible adverse impact the truth may have had on you
or Officer Broussard or both of you.
In our profession, there is no place for a deceitful and untrustworthy employee because such a
person will only impede our ability to establish and maintain trust with the citizens we protect
and serve. Your actions have compromised your integrity and as a result, the department, the
justice system and the public have lost the ability to trust you to be honest, ethical and forthright.
Your ability to function effectively as a witness, a Correctional Deputy or as an employee of this
County has been significantly compromised.
Based upon the foregoing, I am recommending that you be TERMINATED from your position
as a Sheriffs Correctional Deputy with the Santa Clara County Department of Correction/Office
of the Sheriff- Custody Bureau effective Thursday, August 18, 2016 at 1700 hours.
The above-mentioned discipline is a recommendation. Therefore, the termination date listed is
tentative. Any actual discipline dates will be listed on a Final Disciplinary Action Letter that will
be served to you.
History/Past Discipline:
None"
This concludes the relevant quotation from Sheriff Smith's DATE Recommended Disciplinary
Action Letter.
Administrative Hearing:
An Administrative Hearing was convened on October 4, 2016 to allow you the opportunity to
respond to the Recommended Disciplinary Action letter dated August 4, 2016. The hearing was
held at 55 W. Younger Avenue in the 4th floor conference room in front of myself as the
designated Hearing Officer. You were present along with your
began the hearing by asking me to review the recordings of your statements to
Investigators. He said that the criminal and IA statements mirror each other and there are no
inconsistencies.
said he didn't agree with the Investigator's findings. He stated that
Deputy Broussard called Alana (Officer Simpson-Hogan) and asked if she could come to

Page 5 of 10

 Processing, but she didn't say why.
presented the events as he believed them to have
occurred and raised issues he has with the Recommended Disciplinary Action letter.
stated that supervisor reporting is necessary when Level 3 force is used or imminent, but that you
didn't know it (Level 3 force) was used because you were facing the other way.
also
said you didn't know it was going to go south (inmate becoming uncooperative) when you were
standing at the door.
also mentioned that this incident occurred a few weeks before
the
death and that there were many changes regarding use of force in the jail after
the death. After the death, directives came out to notify supervisors before force was to be used
if it was anticipated.
further indicated that you felt you were operating according to
normal practice at the time.
also said that no disciplinary action has been taken
against (Correctional Deputy) Rivera and that Rivera did the same thing that you did. He said if
anyone was going to call the Sergeant, she (Rivera) had the time to, but instead she left to get
gloves and then came back to assist. He said it wasn't consistent.
said that in
hindsight, you said you would've cuffed the inmate and called for a Sergeant and that hindsight is
20/20 and you have learned from this incident.
also asked what kind of harm came
from the incident.
said that Sgt. Sevillano couldn't have done it as a male (dress out or
supervise the dress out of the female inmate).
Regarding the reporting issues,
stated that the investigators claimed that you were
dishonest in your reporting. You, however, said that you didn't see the acts (use of force by
Deputy Broussard) occur and that you didn't know about the allegations regarding use of force.
said that the department claimed that the employee's report is too brief, and the
investigators claimed that you omitted facts but it's not the case.
then provided
example ER's of 4 other Level 2 use of force reports that you had submitted and turned in. He
said that these reports are normally approved and you weren't attempting to conceal anything.
continued that Sgt. Sevillano told you to write a quick E.R. and to write exactly what
you did.
said that yours was the supplemental report (ER) and not the original which
has all of the information.
also said that you were told to print out a second copy of
your E.R. and to give it to Sgt. Liddle, and that you asked Sgt. Sevillano if it was good or needed
to add more and he said no (no more needed). After the
incident, you remembered briefing
memos regarding use of force and that everything needs to be documented really well, even if
you just showed up and you would need to write that you just showed up.
said that
the interviews were conducted 6 months later and everyone said they'd call the sergeant in a
similar situation as you, but that the practice was different before
said that there is no untruthfulness or deception or omission of facts and that the
reports and statements were consistent.
said that Broussard did call you, and that
Broussard also brought in the cheesecake.
said when you went over to Processing,
you figured you'd get a piece of cake while you were there before it was gone.
said
you went over to Processing for both reasons (to get a piece of cheesecake and because of the
call you received from Broussard).

Page 6 of 10

 also said that as a whole, things could've been done differently and that you played
only a small part. He said the best way to correct these actions is through training because you
are willing and able to change.
also said that in over 10 years, you have taken a lot of
training, and that you had even completed seven classes while you've been on Admin Leave. He
said you are a Jail Training Officer and have never been disciplined. He also said your
performance evaluations show that you need minimal supervision and are a fantastic employee
all around and well liked.
You then spoke on your own behalf. You told me that Rivera said in her E.R. that you were
facing the other way and that you didn't see anything. You also said you've been around for 10
years and take training seriously. You also said that at the time of the incident, it happened so
quickly that you didn't think to notify a Sergeant. You said that you hope for another chance to
show that you're a great employee to the Sheriff's Office and that you would never lie because
that's what would get someone fired.
Administrative Hearing Officer's Decision:
After thoroughly reviewing your presentation, the recommended disciplinary letter and the
documentary evidence (including your audio statement to IA investigators), I have decided to
uphold the recommended disciplinary action. Based on the totality of the investigation, I believe
all of the policy violations charged in the Recommended Disciplinary Action letter dated August
4, 2016 to have occurred.
Your part in the August 9, 2015 incident began when Officer Broussard called you on the phone
and asked you to come to Processing. When you got to Processing, by your own admission to
the Internal Affairs investigators, you said that Ofc. Broussard told you that she didn't think an
inmate (
was going to dress out and she asked you to standby. Rather than contacting a
Sergeant per policy about an inmate who was failing to dress out, you agreed to standby while
Ofc. Broussard went back to make contact with the inmate. You knew that if the inmate was
combative that you would have to assist Ofc. Broussard with overcoming the resistance. Your
position as a Jail Training Officer (JTO), coupled with your years of experience make it clear that
you knew that the appropriate course of action was to call a Supervisor before making contact
with the uncooperative inmate. Then, according to Ofc. Broussard, the inmate became
physically and verbally aggressive. You then assisted Ofc. Broussard in conducting an
unauthorized strip of inmate
to dress her out. Then on the same shift that force was used
(approximately 2 hours after the force was used), while it was fresh in your memory, you wrote
an Employee's Report to document the incident. Your employee's report was very sparse. It was
also deceitful because it indicated that you were in Processing to get a piece of cheesecake when
you heard a commotion in the dress out area, as if the commotion occurred unexpectedly to you.
However, you omitted the fact from your Employee's Report that you were in Processing because
Ofc. Broussard called and asked you to come there. You also omitted the fact from your
Employee's Report that Ofc. Broussard had a discussion with you about the uncooperative
inmate before she made contact with her and you stood by outside of the dressing room. Clearly

Page 7 of 10

 the inmate's aggression was not a surprise to you. A lie can occur by commission or by
omission. In this case, your omission is clearly deceptive in your Employee's Report, and I must
reasonably conclude that you had an underlying motive to protect Ofc. Broussard and yourself
for not calling the Sergeant beforehand for an inmate who was refusing to dress out and where
use of force was likely to occur due to the inmate's conduct, contrary to policy. You then
conducted an unauthorized strip of inmate
to change out her clothes. Furthermore, your
employee's report failed to document the forced used by Ofc. Broussard, who was a mere few
feet away from you at most since you were both using force against the same, petite inmate.
Also, by Deputy Riviera's witness account, inmate
was screaming that she couldn't breath
and that she had asthma, but you did not mention those statements in your employee's report. It
was also reported that
claimed that Ofc. Broussard punched her in the face.
yelled that statement while you were there, yet you did not document it in your report. You told
Investigators that you didn't list such information because your Sergeant told you to only write
what you did. Which begs the question, "Did you not hear such things from the inmate?" These
statements would be important to document for various reasons. The fact that you again omitted
relevant information from your Employee's Report regarding this use of force situation creates
further concerns about your ability to truthfully and fully report a situation that involves force
against a County inmate. Honesty and integrity are critical qualities that all Correctional
Deputies must possess in order to maintain credibility with the public, the justice system, and the
inmates that you are sworn to protect. If force is used by another Correctional Officer or
Correctional Deputy that you observe, it is your duty to fully report what you saw and did. The
fact that you were evasive in your report about the reason you were in Processing reasonably
leads me to conclude that, in the face of conflicting witness statements, you were also evasive
about what you fully saw and heard during the use of force situation itself. Your lack of making
a thorough and complete Employee's Report regarding this use of force incident is indicative that
you were trying to protect your friend, Officer Broussard, from being in trouble due to possible
excessive force used on her part. There is no room in this organization for someone who is not
fully honest and open.
Based on the totality of the investigation and in preponderance of the evidence, I believe that you
failed to contact a supervisor when you knew that contact with inmate
was likely to result
in force, and that you did not report the questionable force that was used by Officer Broussard
during the incident. Then in interviews with detectives and Internal Affairs investigators, you
were not honest and forthright about the force you heard or saw that was used by Ofc. Broussard.
In doing so, you covered for her. That is unacceptable conduct for someone sworn in as a peace
officer and you are no longer able to hold the position of Sheriff's Correctional Deputy in Santa
Clara County. Accordingly, as the Administrative Hearing Officer, I am upholding the
recommended discipline of termination. Therefore you will be terminated from your
position as a Sheriff's Correctional Deputy with the County of Santa Clara effective at 1700
hours on Friday, February 24, 2017.
Right to Appeal:

Page 8 of 10

 Should you be dissatisfied with the decision in this Final Disciplinary Action Letter ("final
action"), the County of Santa Clara Charter, Section 708(c) gives you the right to appeal the
decision. You may appeal the final action within ten (10) working days of receipt of the final
action to the Personnel Board pursuant to County of Santa Clara Charter, Section 708(c):
"The employee shall have ten working days from receipt of such written notice
within which to file an answer to the statement of charges should the employee
desire to do so, and the filing of such an answer shall be deemed to be an
automatic request for a hearing unless such employee otherwise indicates. The
answer to such charges shall be filed with the Personnel Board."
Should you choose to appeal the decision you must send a written notice to:
William Anderson
Chairperson, Personnel Board
c/o Clerk of the Board
70 West Hedding Street, 10th Floor East Wing
San Jose, CA 95110
Alternatively, should you voluntarily waive your right to appeal any disciplinary action to the
Personnel Board, by filing for arbitration of your appeal pursuant to Section 23 Grievance
Procedure, of the Memorandum of Understanding between the County of Santa Clara and the
Santa Clara County Correctional Peace Officers' Association, Inc. to appeal the disciplinary
action to arbitration by submitting a request in writing to the Office of Labor Relations within
fifteen (15) working days from receipt of the Final Notice (Skelly Decision) of disciplinary
action. Should you choose to do so, you must send the written request to:
Mitchell Buellesbach
Employee Services Agency, Labor Relations
70 West Hedding Street, 8th Floor East Wing
San Jose, CA 95110
You may seek either a hearing before the Personnel Board or an arbitration hearing, but not both.
Filing a request for an arbitration hearing, under Section 23 shall be deemed an automatic waiver
of the employee's right to appeal to Personnel Board.
You have the right to be represented in your appeal by your union or another representative of
your choice. You can contact your union at:
Santa Clara County Correctional Peace Officers' Association (CPOA)
1930 O'Toole Way
San Jose, CA 95131

Page 9 of 10

 (408) 526-0606

You have the right to the materials upon which this action is based. Those materials have already
been provided to you.

Sincerely,

242%

Ken Binder, Assistant Sheriff
Administrative Hearing Of?cer



Carl Neusel, Undersheriff Chief of Correction


((1)000 

AURIE SMITH, Sheriff

   

c: Troy Beliveau, Assistant Sheriff, Custody Bureau
Captain Eric Taylor, Main Jail Division
Captain Tim Davis, Elmwood Division
Captain Frank Zacharisen, Personnel Division
Juan Gallardo, Acting Director of Administrative Services
Mitchell Buellesbach, Labor Relations Representative, ESA
Anita Asher, Human Resources Manager, ESA

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