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Internal affairs investigates allegations of internal affairs at sheriff’s department

August 9, 2010

By KAREN VELIE

San Luis Obispo County Sheriff officials are conducting an internal affairs investigation into a male sheriff deputy and a female jail correctional officer who are accused of sexual misconduct on the job and of filing a false report against the wife of a former San Luis Obispo police officer.

Patty Limon says that Deputy Gower Slane filed a sheriff’s report last spring claiming she had sent two threatening Facebook messages and one harassing voice message to correctional officer Jamie Elwell.

Limon, the wife of recently terminated San Luis Obispo Police officer Armando Limon, denied the allegations and filed a complaint against Slane who she said filed a false report for a colleague he had allegedly had a relationship with.

CalCoastNews interviewed multiple sheriff’s department insiders who said the investigation, which is focused primarily on sexual misconduct while on the job, is being kept under wraps. However, sources also contend that several additional, but unnamed sheriff deputies, are also being investigated for sexual misconduct while on the clock as part of the internal affairs investigation.

Regardless of whether the original report is accurate, several police officers have said that such messages, unless clearly threatening or voluminous, do not normally result in law enforcement action. At the same time, an officer is not supposed to take any action on behalf of a friend.

According to Patty Limon, deputy Slane originally refused to tell her who reported that she was making harassing phone calls, other than to say the alleged victim lived in Templeton.

Dan McDow, the other police officer who pled guilty in April to bringing misbranded pharmaceuticals over the U.S. border from Mexico, told the Limons the report was most likely filed by Jamie Elwell, his former girlfriend and also the mother of his child. McDow’s suspicions were soon confirmed

After their breakup over three years ago, Elwell and McDow continued to text and stay connected. That is when, according to Patty Limon, Elwell texted McDow to describe intimate encounters she was having, while at work, with deputy Slane.

However, after McDow started dating an old girlfriend, Elwell allegedly broke into McDow’s home and began driving by his and his girlfriend’s homes.

During their custody battle, in an affidavit Elwell admitted to entering McDow’s home without permission. She said she went into the home through a back door because McDow had failed to return one of their son’s shoes after spending time with their son. Armando Limon also provided an affidavit in which he said he had witnessed Elwell stalking McDow.

Then on May 15, 2009, McDow’s current girlfriend, Holly Hovore filed a report against Elwell with the Pismo Beach Police. Holly said Elwell called her dozens of times, sent her text messages, and would repeatedly drive by her home. On two occasions, someone vandalized Hovere’s car during the night.

Holly said she asked Elwell to stop calling or texting her, but the phone calls continued.

“I began getting nervous because she carries a gun for her profession,” Hovore said. “She hasn’t contacted me since I filed the report.”

Hovere and Limon contend that Elwell had Slane file the report to retaliate against them for the affidavits and reports they had previously filed against her.

Meanwhile, some department insiders are questioning if having San Luis Obispo Sheriff Sgt. Andy Rasmussen conduct the internal affairs investigation into the alleged false report and sexual misconduct creates a conflict of interest. Rasmussen worked with Gower Slane’s father, former department commander Greg Slane, and also attends the same church in Atascadero, sources said.

Patty Limon said Rasmussen told her and McDow he knew the messages had come from her computer. He, however, refused to take her computer to check the address after she asked him to examine it in order to clear herself.

“Rasmussen said he had to have a warrant before he could take the computer,” Patty Limon said.

In addition, Limon said Sgt. Andy Rasmussen stopped by McDow’s home on July 29, and threatened that if the sex allegations didn’t go away someone was going to have to go to jail.

“He said they were going to charge Dan (McDow) as an accessory,” Patty Limon said. “This is ridiculous.”

Rasmussen did not return requests for comment.


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This article points out daily occurrences in ALL law enforcement agencies and in the private sector. When men and woman work together things happen. It is human nature and people cheat. For a host of reasons I guess, but it usually has a way of ending bad. This site focuses a lot of time pointing finger at cops and digging up the dirt. Those two SLO cops were caught and fired. POBAR (agree with it or not) applies and those things take a long time to fully investigate. They are put on administrative leave. SLOPD makes a huge salary. Other agencies in this county don’t. Most agencies have taken pay cuts, furloughs, and haven’t had raises in a very long time. I have friends who are cops in the paso. They are so short staffed it’s ridiculous. My vehicle was broken into in Paso and almost two hours later a cop showed up. He apoligized for the delay but I was angry. I mean its not L.A., it’s Paso. The officer told me there were only two other cops working. 3 cops for all of Paso. Are you kidding me. My friends I spoke with said this is now common in all departments. What a joke. What do are tax dollars pay for then? Why don’t we have the police we need?


I agree that if these cops have sex on duty they should be fired. Alot of bad press has come out lately about cops. The few bad ones make it hard for the good ones. But there are good ones out there. I wonder how much of these news stories are politically motivated though? Cops should be held to a higher standard and when they faulter they should be disclipined or fired. But with unions and litigation that process takes a very long time. There is a good ole’ boy club, which exists in any business. Favortism, special treament, and unfair labor practices from working at McDonalds to the Sheriff’s department.


The sad truth is the cops I know are more worried about getting in trouble at work than protecting us. They are scrutinized so bad by bosses they don’t fight crime. They look the other way. They don’t want to be a news headline or in trouble. That is very troublesome in my opinion.


0

whocaresanyway, There is no reason for any police officer to be worried about getting in trouble unless the officer is doing something they shouldn’t be doing. If they are concerned about how they should conduct themselves maybe they need more training. We are complaining about :


1) LEO engaging in sexual misconduct while on the job, or any sex for that matter while on the job, we don’t pay them for that.

2) Selling T-Shirts on the job, we don’t pay them for that.

3) Knowingly violating peoples rights by breaking into their safes, filing false charges and colluding to cover it up.

4) Smuggling illegal narcotics while on or off the job.

5) Beating up innocent people in their homes or anywhere and then claiming all the video and audio malfunctioned.

6) Chasing citizens for passing them and beating them up and leaving the scene when 911 is called.

7) Leaving their loaded unregistered (illegal) guns in their unlocked cars and then trying to cover up when the gun is stolen.

8) Threatening officers over their friends filing complaints on other officers friends.

9) Filing false charges against your girlfriends perceived enemy over some name calling.

10) Having oral sex with citizens that are in custody.


Are these the things that your police friends are worried about? Is this why they can’t do their jobs? You sound foolish.


0

I wonder if perhaps the CHP or FBI could just take over the SLOSD for six months and gut it of all the garbage? I suspect 1/3 of the force would be canned — and they likely wouldn’t need to be replaced if the place was run like it should be run…


0

The next best thing to the FBI taking over the SLOSD would be for us to vote Joe Cortez in as Sheriff. Joe is a graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia, as well as the FBI’s Law Enforcement Executive Development seminar. I think he has the kind of experience and training that we need to turn the sheriff’s dept around and root out the corruption.


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I wonder if Jamie Elwell is as hot as Gail Wilcox in that creepy, almost macabre sorta way?


0

Look at her facebook page and judge for yourself:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1306999936


http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/profile-ak-snc1/v223/1405/76/n1306999936_5366.jpg


0

I don’t think that any parties involved in this situation would think it was okay for a link to be posted here that shows a picture of someone’s child. He’s actually one of the only true victims in this story, and I don’t think he deserves to have his face linked to this site. I don’t care if you want to post a picture of Jamie, because that might actually show the wives of the community who they should be careful of, but I don’t think the child should be involved.


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I don’t think he deserves to have his face linked to this site.

facebook good! CCN bad!


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Anybody can look up Jamie on facebook. It is Jamie who made the decision to post her photo along with her little guy on her facebook page. It’s not as if sloslo posted a secret link or something. I looked her up 3 days ago.

Darling little boy.


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shannie…..the only way sloslo could obtain her picture with her kid is if Jaime didn’t choose the right settings on her facebook page that would keep the photos private. Come on, we all know if you put something on the computer, it could get out.


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Don’t worry, I’m not suggesting that they did anything illegal by posting it. And I am NO fan of Jamie Elwell and don’t give a rat’s *ss if they want to post 100 pictures of her on here! I just know that Dan and Holly and the other people involved really care about the child, and I think it doesn’t seem right to have his picture linked. Maybe we can all convince her to change her facebook picture to one of just her! LOL


1

this is so totally ridiculous……..to even suggest that he is the only one who really cares about this child….are you fricken kidding me. If he cared so much why is this BITTER person who just lost their job lashing out at the mother of his child, hoping to jeopardize her job. All of these accusations are absolutely ridiculous and look at the sources…they are ALL friends of the BITTER ex. Its ALL rumors from a bitter ex trying to bring down the mother of his child cause he has nothing else to loose. Own up to your mistakes and face the music, you did this to yourself, quit dragging down innocent people. Quit making the mother out to be the monster….because you have a list of wrong doings that go on and on and on..the difference is Jamie would never air out her opinion of you and leave it out there for a bunch of people to judge you on. This is a ONESIDED story based on the opinion of BITTER people who can’t own up to their own mistakes!!!


-2

I can certainly understand wanting to defend your friend. That is why I am on here, as well. I have sat by while this woman has systematically and deceptively destroyed the life of a very good friend. She plays the part very well of an innocent victim and a good Christian, and I know that she has a lot of people convinced that she is- yourself included, I see. In reality, she is a liar and a manipulator and she does in fact relentlessly pursue men who she knows are married and have families. From reading this article, it would seem that it is a fact that she has attacked and harrassed some people who she really should not, regardless of whatever issues she has with the father of her child. I don’t see how that is defensible behavior, no matter how you want to bash the man’s personal choices. I don’t see how anybody could see that as healthy or appropriate behavior for the single mother of a child, and how that could ever foster any sort of good relationship her child might have with his father. To me that is extremely un-Christian of her.

I could go on at length about the ways that this woman has destroyed the lives of innocent people in her quest to get whatever it is she is looking for in this life, but I will not. I will just say that her friends should stop blinding themselves to the truth and perhaps start really paying attention to the pain Jamie Elwell has caused to so many others who do not deserve it.

Oh, and I do not see anywhere in that post that it says that the father is the “only” person who cares about the child. It looks like it says that he and the other people involved care about the child, and wouldn’t want his picture posted on this website. I don’t see any reason to attack the poster over that comment, no matter what side you are on. If you care about Jamie Elwell, then you should care about the well being of her child, too. Unless of course you are Jamie herself, in which case you have already shown that you care most about yourself.


1

of course I care about the well being of this child….this is about the extent that people are going to to lash out at Jamie. She’s made some mistakes, she’s human. But OBVIOUSLY so has the father….I think he is lashing out and trying to direct all the negative attention away from him. I don’t see his life being made an open book for everyone to scrutinize. HE HAS DONE ALOT to make her life difficult…so don’t be putting all the blame on her…he is definitely no victim here. They both have done stuff to eachother…she would not stoop so low as to put ALL of his shortcomings out there for everyone to throw stones at.


-1

I would like to know how you rationalize and excuse the pain Jamie Elwell has caused the wives and children of the married men she has slept with. I will not cause her further pain by naming her on this site, but my friend has suffered a great deal at Jamie’s hand. She is a selfish, self-serving sociopath who believes she is righteous, invincible, and always justified in hurting whoever she wants if she feels she is owed something. I’m sure she and Dan McDow have a long history of bad behavior towards each other, but that’s irrelevant, except when it comes to how it affects their child. But I don’t understand how you can condone her attacking his fiance or his friends. I for one have no personal interest in Dan or Patty Limon or any of these people. But I truly hope that Jamie Elwell at least has to face the consequences of her actions at work, because that would be the only fair outcome for all of the hurtful and immoral things she has done to the wives, children, and other innocent parties involved.


1

She looks fairly skanky — trailer trashy. I now think more of the blame belongs with her partners because she certainly doesn’t look like some hot babe that would be difficult to say “no” to.


1

OUCH Crusader ! Is it the twelfth round yet? I’d say Jamie has been knocked out for a while. I’ve never seen anything like this in my life. When these cops get into it with each other it’s wild, better than anything on TV, that’s for sure! I can’t stop laughing and I know it shouldn’t be funny but it is, it’s really funny. COP’s are crazy.


1

I just have to comment on that slomommaof4’s posts- they’re too funny! You actually say people are talking about Jamie because “she could be attractive and works with a lot of men”?? So, you think it’s okay that she sleeps with men on duty who she knows are married, just because she works with them? That doesn’t strike you as a horrible thing to do to the wives and families of these guys, as well as unethical?


You also say “of course she has contact with the father of her child”. So, you actually condone the FACT (not rumor, not gossip…FACT) that she stalked and harrassed the father of her child and his fiance to the point that she had to file a police report against Jamie?? And that Jamie admits in court paperwork that she illegally broke into Dan’s home, regardless of whatever “reasons” she tried to give to justify her breaking-and-entering? And that now Jamie’s being investigated for filing a false police report against his friend? Does that sound like acceptable “contact” with the father of her child? This is a woman who is authorized to carry a gun for a living. Breaking and entering and stalking someone becomes a much bigger deal when there could be a firearm involved.


I’m sure you’re a friend of hers and want to defend her, but where there is this much smoke, there is always fire. You may want to rethink your allegiance on this one.


0

The trespassing and breaking & entering floor’s me. She admitted it and claimed that she did it to retrieve her son’s shoe! Give me a break, does her son only have one pair of shoes and if he does, didn’t she notice that he was missing one when she picked him up? There are too many dangerous LEO walking around on the streets involving themselves in the day to day affairs of the unsuspecting citizens. They all seem to be clustered in the SLOSD and the SLOPD.


There are 5 that we know of in the SLOPD and I repeat these are the ones that we know of. The 4 that attacked the man in his own home, tortured him and then claimed all the audio and video malfunctioned. We had to pay out 200K for that and it would have been swept under the rug without CCN. There is also the off duty SLOPD LEO that attacked a disabled man in Atascadero, again in the man’s own home and that has also been swept under the rug while his attorney attempts to force the A-Town PD to turn over the 911 tapes. All these officers got away so far and remain undisciplined. McDow and Limon although not violent also would have got away except for CCN.


The SLOSD also has more incidents than we can count and I remain incensed and concerned about the deputies who colluded to wrong Matt Hart , the CO’s selling drugs and having oral sex with inmates and now this Elwell woman who is obviously off her rocker. That is just to name a few but there have been more incidents over the last few years that we can count. I agree that we need to clean out these departments and start over. Keep the good ones and reorganize, complete with a review board that has teeth and can over come the civil service protections that they have all bestowed upon themselves. It’s disgusting and we are all in danger. It only takes a few bad apples and they need to go, for good.


0

While we bash this woman Jaime, let’s not forget to place equal blame on the married men she did these things with. These men are disgusting…..it takes two to tango.


0

Seriously folks. Can you all not read between the lines of BS slung in the name of the “journalism’ and “truth.” The article itself is slanderous enough and you all that have responded have taken the bait and sontinued the barrage of slander. Fact: Internal matters are not a matter of public record and all of Karen’s “sources” have violated the law by making them public. Enough already. I’m anxioulsy awaiting the comment from the third part of the tri-fecta, Joe Cortez. I’m sure he has lots of grand ideas on how to clean up the Sheriff’s Department. Fortunately, Joe has lost all credibility with the actual deputies at the Sheriff’s department due to his alliances with Dale Strobridge and Karen Velie.


-1

“Fact: Internal matters are not a matter of public record and all of Karen’s “sources” have violated the law by making them public.”

Don’t you all just love it ! Hey areyoukiddingme, everything that the public servants do on our dime is our business. We never voted otherwise. You civil service folks created that self serving absurdity. BTW, if you servants break the law while your on your own time ; that is our business to, despite how much you would like to cover it up.

Glad the deputies don’t like Cortez,, that’s why I’ll be voting for him.


0

areyoukiddingme has to be the likes of a Rop Bryn or some other Dept pinhead who think this type of behavior is none of the public’s business ….. WRONG Bucko !!!! This crap has to stop because it hurts all of us and the image of our Dept (which is currently in the gutter)


Many of you Parkinson supporters know damn well this kind of stuff is going on in his own dept with one of his underlings …. just ask some of the blue suits over there. So if he comes on board its going to me of the same BS and more bad press.


Personally I think Joe Cortez is the only hope for this place and if he gets here I hope he takes areyoukiddingme to the woodshed.


1

And Parkinson has built credibility with video systems that don’t work at crucial times (times four!), cartoony cop cars and dalliances with people he works with? C’mon, be real…


0

Areyoukiddingme: So bring it on — let’s see the list of all the mistakes in this article. Go ahead. Take your time. Give it your best shot.


0

X2@U slojo, You’re damn right about that.


0

You’re absolutely right slojo. The married men that have been having sex on duty are equally to blame. There are now three different accounts that people have come forward with of three married deputies having sex with Jamie Elwell while they were on duty. How is it that several people know about these incidents of misconduct, but they’ve been allowed to keep getting away with it? I guess nobody has been talking until Cal Coast finally opened Pandora’s Box and started letting some of the secrets out. Maybe people are finally feeling like they can come forward.

Our hearts go out to the families that are going to be destroyed by this, and the wives who thought their husbands were at work, when all the while they were stopping by women’s houses to have sex and getting favors on and in work property. I hope at least now they will no longer be played for fools by their husbands and Jamie Elwell.

We should all hope that this will start forcing the department to crack down on these people.


0

Per SaveSloCounty. – “The real public concern is in the preparation of false reports, stalking, threatening to jail a complaining party and an internal affairs investigation with the appearance of bias based on the connection to the father of one of the suspected policy violators.”

Well said, that’s what this story is about and the reason (for the most part) that CCN wrote it. IMO


Per JessicaSlo – “The MAIN subject is that these lude acts where done DURING working hours.” .

Well noted and that is another reason that CCN wrote the story. IMO


I would add that the readers might notice that Gower was noticed making excessive calls to Elwell’s home at odd hours because he was showing up in his SLOSD vehicle. Funny that he wasn’t concerned about how it looked or how obvious it was, guess he figured that he was untouchable and it looks like he is, so far. Why is that? It’s because some LEO have no respect for the citizens they serve, that’s why. There is an obvious “so what” attitude along with “what are they gonna do about it”. It isn’t only about this story, it’s about many incidents that are repeated over and over with no consequences. This behavior can no longer be ignored, we have the power to do something about it. It starts with the civil service board, the BOS and a newly elected Sheriff. Lets get on the horn and stop with the complacency, that is what got us in this situation to begin with, complacency. CCN has become our oversight committee! START SCREAMING.


1

I see that some people are calling McDow a “dead beat dad” because he is not in a relationship with Elwell (though it sounds pretty sane to me…stalking, breaking and entering, but that’s just my opinion), well then you are calling A LOT of men in this world dead beats. Unfortunately, this day and age not everyone having children are happily in love and married. Unfortunate, but true. If a father still takes care of his child and is a part of his life then I don’t see the problem. This article states none of that, but I don’t think this is the matter at hand nor does it have anything to do with this case. But, to those of you calling McDow a dead beat dad, I would like to know what you think of the mother who has a man (or multiple) coming in and out at all hours while there is a CHILD in the house! A MARRIED man at that! What an amazing example.


0

Though I would agree, I think this whole thing is turning into one big soap opera and pardon for the phrasing, but one big circle jerk. The MAIN subject is that these lude acts where done DURING working hours. While, WE the taxpayers are paying for it. Technically, the officers are paying taxes as well, so what does that then turn it into? Prostitution?! Anyways, the whole who did what to who first and blah blah blah, he said, she said stuff is getting old. The main point is that Elwell, Slane and anyone else involved should face consequences for their actions. We do NOT pay for a dating service. This is not your typical job and they should act accordingly. If these are the stunts that Elwell would like to pull then I’m sure she can get away with it somewhere else, like Starbucks.


What she/they choose to do on their own time is to their discretion, though as immoral as it may be. What is happening while they are working and sworn in to serve and protect is just becoming sickening to think about! Well, at least someone was getting served. Unfortunately, those getting screwed in the end are the families and innocent bystanders. I feel for them.


0

Maybe deadbeat dad is a little strong, prior to the article yesterday he was just another dirty cop to me……..I guess we can just stick with drug smuggling cops who think they are above the law. That seems about right considering the reporting on the Limon and McDow case these past many months from this blog. They did get fired. They did smuggle drugs across the boarder. I guess its the unabashed rhetoric on this “comment blog” and the way in which its been set up to foster an obvious “war of the words” from Limon, McDow, Elwell and friends against the citizens of San Luis Obispo County is what disgusts me. We are smarter than this Karen. Meaning its a waste of time to read/write a story substantiated in large part by the wife of a drug smuggling ex-cop or any of the comments for that matter. Its laughingly clear that the people leaving comments are the people involved in the reported problems, Limon, Elwell, Mcdow etc. and it makes a mockery of the reporting your doing by letting them fight back and forth on your website with one another Honestly I am surprised by the atmosphere you are fostering. Like I said on air last night, these people are fighting like young kids in a love triangle and that is what the comments expose. How about a story on how we get our $300k back and some jaill time for these guys. It is obvious they got off when any other SLO citizen would have gone to jail. Whens the last time you made $150k in a year for sitting on your ass and breaking the law?! Thats the real story. I could give two craps about their social lives.


0

I don’t have the impression that McDow is a dead beat dad and the indications in this story seem to confirm that he is involved in his son’s life and supports him in every way that a father can. Actually the only part McDow and Limon play in this story is that it just so happens to be the mother of McDow’s son that colluded with her LEO lover to file a false and misleading report against Limon’s wife. McDow and the Limon’s really have nothing to do with this story.

Truthmatters continues to attempt to turn this story into something else in an effort to bring attention back to the McDow and Limon scandal while avoiding the real issues at hand. This is the behavior of a troll and I would say she has her own agenda but we don’t have to respond to it. I plan on staying on track, there are important issues to be addressed that have nothing to do with McDow or Limon. The real problem this article attempts to address is with the Sheriffs Department. Do not feed the trolls.


0

lol cindy, dont pretend like you know me because you dont, I certainly dont know you. Ive been following this story for a year and refused to comment until now. You so clearly exemplify my points with your quick scattering and redirecting. You must be one of the afore mentioned individuals or a friend. All the generalizations I have made, I have made from the articles and comment forums on this website. I have not contributed any new information to the forum other than what is already present in my what like four posts…….so please! Dont try and sucker people into thinking Im somewhat Im not, its transparent and the oldest trick in the book. BTW, who is the “she” you think me to be? Let me digress, my main point has always been that CCN is less than respectable if they continue to let anonymous individuals slander and libel individuals based off of a story that is less than credible from a drug smuggling ex-cops wife that CCN wrote. To foster the atmosphere of hate and slander openly in a forum like this, well, its just down right unprofessional. But if you love sensationalism you can get a heaping plate of it here. The real story is in the $300k these guys got for breaking the law and sitting on their asses for a whole year, other than that,like I said I could give two craps about what they’ve done between the sheets. Apparently you live in a glass house too.


0

Cindy, you are a long time poster and supporter of finding the truth and wading through the gossip. I’ve been seeing you on here for a long time, though I’ve never decided to start posting until recently. I have to defend you here, because you hit the nail on the head and it’s been clear from the get-go that this truthmatters person is just trying to divert attention away from the issue at hand, and trying to tie it into this McDow and Limon thing that seems to have absolutely nothing to do with this. Sounds like a friend of Jamie Elwell’s or Gower Slane’s trying to sensationalize an unrelated story to try to get people to stop talking about their friends.

The only thing that matters here is that this is yet another story about misconduct in a department that is solely in need of some serious accountability. We should absolutely be able to have an open forum to discuss this waste of taxpayer’s money, this abuse of power and authority, and the fact that we are employing people who obviously have some psychological issues. I appreciate that CCN is reporting on things that the sheriff’s department is trying to hide for a reason.

Truthmatters…nobody is falling for your attempts at diversion. Stick to the matter at hand, or stop posting because we don’t want to hear it.


1

Well said StevenSLO, I to am reading right through truthmatters attempts at subterfuge. As far as I’m concerned the McDow and Limon issue has been dealt with. Granted they appear to have received preferential treatment in the Federal Court system as compared to what would have happened to the average citizen. On the other hand they have lost their jobs as police officers and that is a very big deal for them. This is a punishment that will have long term effects. They have been trashed in the press throughout the state and it’s unlikely that other departments will want to pick them up for a long time. Just google their names. It’s time for us to move on to other issues like the problems that are being addressed in this story. I feel sorry for McDow’s fiance’ and I understand why she is intimidated by this gun touting Elwell woman, I would be frightened to. This woman obviously has serous psychological problems and I can also empathize with the concerns of Patti Limon, what has she does to deserve this? Sounds like some bad LEO throwing their weight around under the color of authority that the public has entrusted them with. It angers me to no end.


0

Small towns are scary places for people who do things like have affairs, then talk about them. A friend of a friend of mine is Neil Clayton, the union president for the sherriff’s department. He was bragging about how this Jamie woman gave him oral sex in her car when he was in town for court, and in uniform. He got a big kick out of it at the time, but I thought it was pretty low since he’s married. I don’t know her, and don’t know really know him or his wife, but now that I read all this, I think they’re both pretty despicable. But he’s the union president, so I’m guessing nothing will be done about any of it. I think you all may be right that a governing body is needed to stop all this corruption from spreading.


(comment restored after review by moderator)


0

Pretty bold and slanderous of you to name names. You have all painted Jamie out to be a monster. She is not. She is a local, single mom and you are all slandering her. I hope she get a great lawyer and the truth comes out. Of course she has contact with the father of her child!


0

soccergal’s post is exactly what I’m talking about. The longer CCN fosters this kind of behavior on the website the more they lose credibility. The comments are slanderous and said anonymously and supported electronically and posted by the CCN website. Free speech is one thing, facts are another. Posting these comments on the blog puts CCN at risk. They must love the slanderous things that are being said about all these people in their stories. I mean seriously this is outrageous! Who says things like this? I bet Neil from soccergals post must be stoked she aired his dirty laundry. Its great that these individuals have a forum to say whatever they want about anyone! Who cares if it true or not, it reads good. Shame on CCN for fostering this kind of behavior online. get rid of the comment blog, or at least start doing some moderating. Or comment on whats been said because it is bad reporting to let a story incite such incendiary remarks of any individual that cant be substantiated. Additionally, to allow the use of your forum in this way to further your online readability appears garishly cold. Like I said before, it looks tabloid-ish. Isn’t anyone else mad these guys ripped us off for $300k this last year?


0

Neil…………. is that you?


0

To soccergal,, great post -good kick,,, I think they are all going to hell!!!!!!!!!!!!


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Like most people, I have seen the impact of extramarital affairs and have been heartbroken over the pain they have cost. An innocent affair simply does not exist as there are always consequences. Very sad but somewhat universal to all professions. The romantic affair really has little to do with the importance of this article (unless it were my husband involved.) The real public concern is in the preparation of false reports, stalking, threatening to jail a complaining party and an internal affairs investigation with the appearance of bias based on the connection to the father of one of the suspected policy violators.

Bad things happen at work places across the country. Repeated bad things are not when an organization has strong leadership with a set of values and ethics. Theses factors that have been absent from the Sheriff’s Department since this Sheriff was elected.

The discussion of a civilian review board has some potential of correcting the behavior. However, such a board does not have the legal authority or sanction to hear confidential personnel issues and will most certainly be resisted through lawsuits should such a board be empanelled.

With the race for a replacement Sheriff in full swing, it is absolutely critical to elect the one man with the best leadership skills. No, I won’t turn this into a campaign plug for either candidate as the issue is too important. A true leader will set standards with a values statement, conduct unbiased personnel investigations and impose appropriate discipline to control those few people who would otherwise continue to destroy the public confidence in public safety.

The new Sheriff should promptly address the Civil Service Commission and seek their assistance in supporting his vision of cleaning up the department. The Commission is in fact the civilian review board who are selected by each board of supervisors member without input from the Sheriff. The commission is lawfully sanctioned and simply underutilized because the current Sheriff imposed many legal roadblocks while the county was investigating him.

Our new Sheriff also need to wake up the Grand Jury. They have the legal capability and the obligation to conduct oversight of government operations but have been dormant for many years. They have the power and authority to further hold employees accountable and are capable of conducting investigations and closed door hearings in the process.

Rest assured that people will continue to occasionally stumble regardless of who is running the Sheriff’s Department. But, with a leader imposing discipline and terminating employees who can’t follow the rules, the department can turn around and regain the respect of the community using the tools that are already in place.

While some readers have seen this article as a tabloid smear, that is not my view at all. Exposing yet another symptom of a broken organization is critical to the reconstruction process. I hope they have finally hit bottom and that the new Sheriff can see how disgusted and disappointed we are in the service they provide. We need a true reformist to repair this mess.


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Here here!! What a great post. CalCoast is absolutely right to bring this to the public’s attention. These are highly paid county employees who are breaking laws and committing immoral and unethical acts on the taxpayer’s dime. It is most definitely a broken organization that is allowing this to happen, and in many ways sanctioning it. A jail guard kept his job after being investigated for and admitting to having sex with jail inmates. Even now, there are a slew of cases of sexual misconduct going on inside the department, and the department is trying hard to cover it up so it doesn’t come to light. Jamie Elwell is just one of many who are behaving this way, and getting the royal treatment of a joke of an IA conducted by someone with personal reasons to make sure it goes away so they can all go back to doing what they were doing and being paid very very well for it. I agree that there needs to be an organization sanctioned to oversee these departments and investigate malfeasance to keep our law enforcement community clear of these unworthy and unfit elements.


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First, I would like to thank Karen for sticking with this story despite the lack of cooperation from the Sheriff’s Department. It must be uncomfortable to pursue these investigations but critically important to the community.


My second point is that Save really put it in perspective. I personally don’t care who is boinking whom except when it impact their on-duty performance. One who is having sex is probably not listening to the police radio and certainly not patrolling my neighborhood.


Finally, there are those safe guards available to support disciplinary measures should the Sheriff ever impose any. The grand jury has been a disappointment and the DA’s Office has turned a blind eye or merely referred cases to the Attorney General. Should the Sheriff request their help, I can image they would jump at the opportunity.


I think Parkinson will be an agent for the same and Cortez will be an agent for change. The majority of the deputies are doing a great job and the rest need the boot. Regardless, either will do better than Hedges and I can’t wait for his rein of terror to be over.


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