The ongoing drama engulfing the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office continued Monday, with the county’s top prosecutor saying a deputy who was accused of time card fraud had committed no crime, and the Deputy Sheriff’s Association calling for a civil rights investigation into the Sheriff’s Office.
Carlos Tapia, who serves as president of the San Mateo County Deputy Sheriff’s Association, had surrendered to be booked on the charges Nov. 12. In ordering the arrest, San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus said at the time that she had “consulted” with San Mateo County District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe on the charges, which included felony grand theft.
But in a statement Monday, Wagstaffe said the sheriff’s investigation into the alleged time card fraud was “extraordinarily limited” at the time Tapia was booked and the case was sent to the DA’s office. The acting assistant sheriff who conducted the investigation acknowledged in his report that the investigation was incomplete, according to the DA’s press release.
“We concluded that there just simply wasn’t a crime here,” District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe said in an interview.
The DA’s office conducted a “thorough” review of the allegations, Wagstaffe said, including interviews with Tapia, Tapia’s supervisors, the acting assistant sheriff who conducted the Sheriff’s Office’s investigation, human resources officials and more. Prosecutors concluded “without question that Deputy Carlos Tapia did not commit grand theft, theft by false pretenses or any sort of timecard fraud,” according to a statement from Wagstaffe’s office
Tapia should not have been arrested, and there was no basis to believe a violation had occurred, the investigation also found.
The DA’s office also spoke with the acting assistant sheriff who conducted the initial investigation, who agreed that the DA’s investigation “definitively” found that Tapis is not guilty of criminal conduct, according to the press release. They also found the miscoded hours did not result in any monetary loss to the Sheriff’s Office.
“I’m grateful to the District Attorney’s office for recognizing these charges for what they were: yet another attempt at retaliation from Sheriff Corpus at an expressed loss of confidence in her administration,” Tapia said at a news conference Monday afternoon. “Despite the personal stress it caused me to fight to clear my name, I love my job and I’m proud to serve the people of San Mateo County.
“My fellow deputies and I look forward to the day we can work with a new sheriff who will restore the trust and transparency the public deserves from its Sheriff’s Office.”
The deputy sheriff’s association is calling for a civil rights violation investigation into the Sheriff’s Office’s actions in arresting Tapia, he said at the press conference.
Tapia’s surrender last month took place just hours before an independent investigation into allegations against Corpus was released, detailing allegations that the county’s first Latina sheriff had an inappropriate relationship with her chief of staff, retaliated against officers and employees, and used racist and homophobic slurs in the workplace.
Corpus strongly denied the allegations at the time the report was released, saying it was defamatory and politically motivated, and vowing to fight what she described as a corrupt “good old boys” network in the county.
Corpus said in a statement Monday that her office would continue with a separate internal review into Tapia.
“As with any allegation of a crime, initial information is presented, and additional follow-up is completed,” Corpus said. “While the criminal investigation has concluded, a separate internal review will take place, which is standard protocol when the arrest involves an employee. The internal review will be conducted by an independent third-party investigator to ensure it is a fair process.”
Wagstaffe said that the confusion over the time cards came from clerical mistakes of entering hours with the incorrect code for time spent conducting work for the DSA; Tapia is entitled to put 75% of his working hours toward that position, Wagsaffe said.
“It didn’t change that, either way, the money was being paid to him — he worked the hours,” Wagstaffe said.
Wagstaffe added that it is “unusual” for the Sheriff’s Office to make a warrantless arrest in a case like this. Cases that have an investigation over a potential crime such as theft are generally investigated, taken to the DA’s office for review, then a warrant is issued for an arrest, Wagstaffe explained, adding that it is legal to make a warrantless arrest and “up to the law enforcement officer.”
A statement attributed to the Deputy Sheriffs Association said they were “pleased” by the results of the investigation and called the arrest “a clear attempt at silencing an opponent and stifling dissent.”
“We believe the arrest was nothing more than a criminal conspiracy committed by Sheriff Christina Corpus and her executive team,” the statement read. “Sheriff Corpus has created a culture of fear and retaliation, and she has allowed that culture to flourish. Employees are afraid to engage in protected union activities for fear of arrest and unlawful persecution. The only way to end this culture is for Sheriff Corpus to resign or be removed from office.”
San Mateo County supervisors Noelia Corzo and Ray Mueller also called for Corpus to resign at Monday’s press conference.
“I do think back to that day, and the heaviness that was felt all across all of our county — especially those who understood the gravity of what that meant, what line was crossed when our sheriff ordered the false arrest of Deputy Tapia,” Corzo said. “(Corpus) should have resigned months ago, and I’m hopeful that we will continue to share the truth.”
