FBI agents arrest San Luis Obispo Police officer

February 5, 2013

cuffsFBI agents arrested a San Luis Obispo Police officer earlier today following an approximately two-week sting into allegations of police misconduct, sources said.

Officer Cory Pierce allegedly took drugs from criminals and the evidence locker in order to resell. He then, according to inside sources, intimidated a probationer to sell the drugs for him on the street with claims he could make the probationer’s life difficult if he refused.

Pierce also told the probationer that he could work off a heroin charge if he cooperated, the federal attorney’s office in Los Angeles said in a press release. Pierce would provide the probationer and his girlfriend placebo pain pills to trade for real pain pills or drugs used for heroin addiction.

After the probationer told Pierce the drug dealer he had deceived wanted revenge, Pierce said he would “take care of it,” the press release says. Pierce also allegedly took drugs from drug dealers.

“Pierce pulled over the dealer’s vehicle at gunpoint, seized morphine pills and let the dealer go without making an arrest,” the press release says.

After several months of the alleged sale of evidence, the probationer’s girlfriend, who is being held in the San Luis Obispo County Jail, informed guards of the alleged police misconduct which resulted in federal authorities being brought in.

Pierce worked on the San Luis Obispo County Narcotics Task Force at the sheriff’s office.

 


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Does anyone realize that the 2011/2012 Grand Jury did a follow-up report on property and evidence rooms? They also did one in 2009.


Here is the link to the Grand jury report and the excerpts below are classic. How about Parkinson explaining some of this to the Grand Jury since he said correcting the property/evidence room deficiencies was a top priority.


http://slocourts.net/downloads/grand_jury/reports/2011/Property-evidence_Room_Report.pdf


“The property/evidence room currently contains over 75,000 items in a space that is not well designed or orderly. Additionally, the surplus shelving in use does not maximize the current space. While the evidence area is cluttered, the evidence observed was packaged properly and the evidence tracking software is used properly. Sheriff Ian Parkinson described the space as a “disaster” and he has made correcting the property/evidence room deficiencies a top priority.”


Audit/Inspections: The Sheriff’s Department is not in compliance with its Lexipol policies on audit procedures. The last audit was four years ago.


FINDINGS

1. The Police Departments of Arroyo Grande, Grover Beach, and Paso Robles, and the Sheriff’s Department are not in full compliance with their respective policies pertaining to evidence room inspections.


Under pension reforms signed into law last year, public employees who are convicted of a felony lose their pensions. Unless Pierce resigns before conviction and withdraws the money that is actually in the PERS account he loses it and any pension rights upon conviction. Interestingly enough the legislation doesn’t apply to county pensions because it is a private trust and the county employees pay for half of the pension and in some cases they find the entire pension out of their salary.

The idea of citizen review boards is not feasible as the board could not possess blanket authority to look into complaints against city, county and state employees. SLO County is a general law county which means it follows the state constitution as to it’s operation. This does not allow for any oversight other than the grand jury. The grand jury can look into some things, however certain laws related to personnel records, medical records, and rules of evidence precludes them looking into certain things.

After taking office Sheriff Parkinson brought an investigator from outside this area into the department to handle personnel complaints. This is commendable as it makes the complaint process as independent and unbiased as the law allows.

What happened with Pierce reminds me of the movie Departed. One dirty cop surrounded by honest ones. What still bothers me is what the heck were the supervisors of this guy doing?


Wow, the press release the SLOPD and Sheriff sent out said nothing about all this, stealing drugs conspiracy to sell drugs, ripping off drug dealers, threats, etc…

All it said was that the cop had sold placebo pills to an informant, who sold then to a drug dealer and then to drug users and that he was being charged with bribery.

Sounds like the SLOPD and Sheriff tried to low jack this whole thing with a bunch of BS in their press release.

So add lying to the public to Parkinson and Gedell’s misdeeds. Too bad, I thought the SLOPD Chief was a stand up guy.

Hope they throw the book at this cop.


This reads like the script for a bad cop movie. Maybe Cory can sell the film rights to pay for his legal expenses and refund the City for their costs too. If he is cleared of all charges, he might get the leading role for the film, Sting vs Sting.


Cory will be fine for money, he has his pension which the taxpayers fund and pay and he will continue to receive even if convicted, thank the union for that.


if this situation proves to be true, all the cases this cop played a role in should be thrown out.


It can be a very hazardous and dangerous world outside

We have no credibility against lying criminals to our right and cops to our left nor their attorneys in front of us, not even in court.


There are mornings when I wake up and the news is so sad and depressing I can hardly read it. This

Story made my day. The image of Cory Pierce watching and laughing as I was falsely arrested and

Handcuffed in the street is forever burned in my mind. Finding out he is the worst kind of criminal there is on the face of the earth and has been caught is of little comfort, but at least I know he will never have the opportunity to put anyone else through the hell he put us through.


Looks like the civil suit just got a whole lot better for the 1/2 dozen.