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Police officers earn $150,000 on leave

March 29, 2010

By KAREN VELIE

For more than six months, San Luis Obispo police officers Dan McDow and Armando Limon have been on paid administrative leave while U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continues to investigate suspicions the pair attempted to smuggle prescription drugs into the United States.

McDow and Limon were placed on paid leave on Sept. 16 after the city learned they had been detained by ICE officials under suspicion of attempting to bring contraband into the United States at the San Ysidro port of entry. As of March 11, Limon has received $75,393 in total pay and benefits and, for McDow, that amounts to $75,817.

The two were stopped as they tried to reenter the country from Tijuana on Sept. 15.


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At their salary, it is NOT like they can’t afford the medication on this side of the border.


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too bad the federales weren’t the ones to catch these guys. they might have learned a valuable lesson rotting in a Tijuana jail.

I don’t understand why they smuggled the pills (pain meds as I recall) at all, when you can get just about anything you want over the Internet from India.

I say fire ’em, it’ll be a good lesson for the rest of the boys in blue.

As for whether or not they were mules (people who smuggle drugs for someone else) they were certainly jackasses.


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Given time off (sounds like the worst will just be a reprimand – no fine because it was handled administratively) and money (full pay) amounts to a big reward for the deed!


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Put these bums back to work….whats the difference. We have paid out settlements for sheriffs that have killed civilians in jails and trailer parks and they are still working. Whats the problem with having a couple of drug dealers out on the streets with guns. Put them back to work….If we are lucky maybe some deputy sheriff will run into them in a trailer park


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well… I wondered what had happened to these guys?!


Hey, I’d gladly see them keep the money if they would sing… to the feds. Were they mules or was this a private entrepreneurial venture? If they don’t sing then they should lose it all…


There is not much worse than an elected official or a sworn offficer who betrays the public confidence.


Roger Freberg


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I am in complete agreement with Roger.


Did I just say that? :)


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Cops that break the law should have double penalties. Cops or others that take forever to investigate a simple situation should be fired immediately. This is ridiculous, I figure a dim witted 9 year old could have worked this out in a week or so.

I think the ICE should pay the cost and get some new people in there. Willie is so right, if this happened to any of us we would be screwed, immediately. Put in jail, raise bail if possible, hire a mouthpiece and then undergo a big trial. All at our expense.


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Compare this to an ordinary citizen in the same perdicament.

An oridinary citizen would have to post bail, may lose his job but certainly will not have six months of paid time off. It “hardly” seems equitible.


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We should all have the same rights and priviledges!

Unfortunate we don’t!


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I forgot all about this till I saw this article. This is still ongoing???? Whyin the name of all that is holy, is it taking soooooooooo long? This is ridiculas how long this has taken. Innocent or guilty, investigators still have nothing??


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Oh God, here we go again…..c’mon…what if they are innocent? The pay would be justified and until the investigation is complete, what are they supposed to do????


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Maybe they are innocent, but life isn’t fair and if this happened to a private citizen they wouldn’t benefit from continued pay while it was all sorted out, if anyone even bothered to try to get to the truth. Now, if some company wanted to have this sort of policy, fine, but some of this money is MINE and I’m sick of it being taken from me under threat of violence to pay RIDICULOUS salaries to self-righteous group-thought-driven jerks who think they are entitled to it because of some special status or some perceived sacrifice they think they make.


You law enforcement types can stick it you know where. And save your cliche’s about sacrifice and seeing how I like it if you don’t show up next time I need you. I don’t need you, I don’t want your services, and I will never call you for help. But if I do, you better kiss my butt because like it or not, I am a customer who contributes to your paycheck. You should see some of the customers we in private industry have to deal with while we smile and still do the best job we can.


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mckaney…..you could be the biggest a-hole ever.

First, “some of this money” is NOT yours. Once taxes are taken out of your paycheck they go to where the citizens have already voted they go. No one is “taking” it from you except the government.

You are so clueless and bitter. Law enforcement and firefighters have to deal with scum like you on a daily basis and they do it because it’s the right thing to do, not because you say so.

You are an ungrateful, angry, disrespectful un-American P.O.S……S.T.F.U.


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I am unAmerican because I have an issue with law enforcement agents who have committed a crime yet continue to feed at the public trough of socialized law enforcement.


gotcha


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You are just an ass in general…you have already convicted these guys and it hasn’t even been proved they comitted a crime. You called everyone in law enforcement and public saftely “jerks” and said you will never need thier help but IF you do, they can kiss your butt? Wow. If only people like you could walk around with a sign on thier forehead stating “don’t help me, I’m an a-hole and don’t need you”……

You really need to go on a ride-a-long or something………really….think about it.


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I have NOT convicted them.. My point with regard to these guys is this. In any other sector, they would suffer dire consequences (job loss, loss of everything to legal fees, etc..) even before they could prove it. If you are an officer, then it is VERY important that you understand something…


When a citizen is arrested and/or charged with a crime, life does not go into stasis while they await the chance to prove their innocence. I’m talking about casual issues like loss of reputation either. Even before trial, they may even have cars and property taken under forfeiture or impound. That is, not only do they suffer the incidental consequences, but cops ACTIVELY seek to penalize them before they can prove their innocense.


Yet somehow, police officers deserve the complete opposite.. the benefit of innocent until proven guilty, as well as no loss in employment or salary, despite the fact that on a DAILY basis they put people in situations where they will likely lose everything, salary often being the least of it, before they are proven guilty… that’s irony


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slojo: your comment would have been better received without the vulgar initials and ugly personal attacks, you could read the comment guidelines sometime.


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Mkaney…..A.K.A. James M. Kaney….I find it ironic that you are bitching about law enforcement who put thier lives on the line every day for a fraction of what you and your company makes…..50 to 100 million a year. Go relax in your country club home and count your money. Jack A**.


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I am Matthew Kaney, not James, so that was unwise and childish, and you should know that Mr. Kaney and I have different views on many things… one of them is law enforcement, so understand you just presumptously attacked one of your biggest supporters.


In addition to that, J. Kaney worked his butt off for his family, never buying anything for himself, and went back to school in his 50s, while handicapped, to better himself and get where he is. By the way, for many years, as a grocer, he didn’t charge cops for pastries and coffee.


So you are more than welcome to say anything you want to or about me, but criticizing him is unfair, WAY off base, and definitely pretty foolish unless you are someone with little or no fault or weaknesses. To anyone who has called San Luis Obispo home for any length of time, you have just made it quite clear who the Jack*ss is..


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My bad. You must be his son then….he sounds like a great man. You have probably never had to work for anything in your life.


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On the contrary, I was taught I had to earn everything and nothing would be handed to me. Even though I could have a couple times, I’ve never even taken unemployment. You have me pegged dead wrong.


I hope you will read this thread sometime when you’re not so upset, because I think you might see this exchange in a different light. I have not, at any time, personally attacked you or made presumptions about your character. You have not directly responded to any points that I’ve made and pointed out why you think I’m wrong. Instead you have resorted to personal attacks and insults, all based on assumptions. You refuse to identify yourself even though I have not attempted to hide anything.


Let me explain very clearly the apparent chip I have on my shoulder. Whether you see my taxes as directly contributing to LEO salaries or not, at some point a portion of my taxes at least indirectly helps fund them. I am not allowed to choose a different law enforcement provider, or opt out of LEO services in any way, shape, or form. Furthermore, these particular officers continue to draw a publicly funded salary in a situation where I would not be afforded the same benefits. If you truly appreciate self-reliance and hard work, then the problem with this should be immediately apparent to you.


Are you a Law Enforcement officer? If you are, it should also be immediately apparent to you why your reaction and words contribute greatly to my concerns and dissatisfaction.


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mckaney….get off your high horse. You assume just as much as the rest of us…..I am not a cop, a detective or in public saftely at all. I work part time, sitting behind a desk and computer and the other days I am home with my kids. And it’s Mrs. to you.


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You have probably never had to work for anything in your life hey, after what you have already made up about mkaney, you expect any one reading to believe this?

irony cuz I spect that you slojo are employed by law enforcement, just a hunch, Detective? maybe….


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wrong.


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Also, if you are going to attack people by name, common decency dictates you should not conceal yours. Mr..?


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Perhaps they could take a ‘stress disability leave’ and collect full pay and benefits………..for life/until the trial.


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