The Press-Courier

The Sheriff’s Department acted properly when it fired a deputy repeatedly suspected of misrepresenting facts and mistreating suspects, the county Civil Service Commission ruled.

The commission upheld the firing of Deputy Scott Shaw, 23, whose ouster resulted from the department’s own internal investigation of suspects’ complaints about his behavior. 

The commission specifically found that Shaw “misstated the sequence of events” leading up to an arrest made on suspicion of drunken driving last summer in the Silver Strand area of Oxnard.  A breath analyzer test later indicated the driver was sober, and he testified that Shaw had misrepresented what happened at the arrest scene.

Shaw previously had been suspended for 20 days and ordered to get psychological counseling for allegedly using excessive force against prisoners.

“It is the collective opinion of the Civil Service Commission that law enforcement officers must be held to a higher standard of conduct than most, to ensure the confidence and respect of the citizens they serve,” the commission said.  “Scott Shaw, while possessing many fine qualities which might otherwise make him an outstanding law enforcement officer, has demonstrably failed to meet that higher standard of conduct.”