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If you read American Police Beat, you know that there are more "volunteer" officers and outfits than ever before. But while law enforcement officials are happy to have some extra help during times of financial crisis, some of the uncertified personnel that are "picking up the slack," so to speak, are taking liberties with their perceived powers.
A director of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Multicultural Advisory Council has been stripped of his reserve deputy status after Glendale police complained that he showed up at the scene of a suicide recently, flashing his badge and demanding access to the scene.
The case is just the latest in a series of incidents across the country where reserve or volunteer officers overstepped their authority. In Southern California alone there has been a recent string of cases in which reserve deputies or volunteers working for sheriff's departments have been accused of going too far.
The latest case prompted a top sheriff's official to send out an e-mail stating that reserve deputies are not permitted to enter crime scenes or use their badges to gain access to restricted areas. The L.A. County Sheriff's Department currently has 800 reserve deputies, including some business and community leaders. One of the reserve deputies involved in the Glendale case is one Aram Sardarian, a car dealer who serves on the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Multicultural Advisory Council.
That organization is made up of a group of business leaders and community activists and was created to give the Sheriff advice about issues involving ethnic communities. Sources close to the investigation said Sardarian threatened to call Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca when Glendale police would not let him enter the crime scene.
In interviews with local reporters, Undersheriff Larry Waldie declined to discuss details about the Glendale case but described Sardarian as "a friend" of the suicide victim. Sardarian was joined at the scene by a second reserve deputy, whose name has not yet been released. Both men's badges and department-issued guns have been taken away while authorities investigate further.
"If the behavior is at a level that is inappropriate, the deputy should be fired from the reserve program," Baca said in an interview. "Emotions run deep when it comes to suicides." Glendale Police spokesman John Balian said the department lodged its complaint after what he described as Sardarian's "unprofessional" and "aggressive" behavior at a home in South Glendale.
Law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation, however, said Sardarian pulled up on the scene in a Ford Crown Victoria, a car favored by law enforcement, about 45 minutes after the husband of the suicide victim had found her bleeding from a gunshot wound at their home and called authorities. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites       
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