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San Diego Police SDPD among lowest paid in state

| Nov 10, 2014 | Firm News |

As a former San Diego City prosecutor I can tell you the city can underpay its employees.  Several former colleagues put in hours that would earn them hundreds of thousands of dollars but take a portion of that to prosecute.

As a San Diego tax payer I can say we should pay based on supply and demand.  If we can get more for less than lets do it.

As a father in San Diego I can say pay what you need to keep the community safe.   

As a defense attorney I have to say the issue of money (or lack thereof) may be a motivation for arrest in a San Diego DUI.  You see obvious arrests when someone is over .08%.  However, several of my clients are now headed to trial with blood alcohol levels under .08%.  Why?  

A San Diego DUI usually comes with two charges, commonly known as an “A” count and a “B” count.

The “A” count is based on the totality of factors that provides the officers optinion whether someone is under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.

So, if someone is .07% an officer can charge.  Sometimes police tell someone to get a cab and call it a night.  In other cases they arrest.  Is the thought the arrest can lead to overtime be a factor?  Remember, police get $275 for one hour of work on a APS hearing after a San Diego DUI arrest.  Police can guaranteed 4 hours of overtime when a San Diego DUI case is in trial or at a hearing.

It is ghastly arithmatic.  Here is an article on the award received by officer Zirpolo who made 177 arrests last year.   Just add these numbers together.  Does that mean that this is a motivation in every case?  No, but can it be?  It is something that needs to be examined. This includes whether number of arrests are a factor in experience which can lead to a pay grade.

In any event, we will see what happens.  In the meantime, it is an issue that has many different angles.

(a) It is unlawful for a person who is under the influence of any alcoholic beverage to drive a vehicle.Under the influence is defined by: “The physical or mental abilities are impaired to such a degree that you no longer have the ability to drive with the caution characteristic of a sober person of ordinary prudence under the same or similar circumstances”

SDPD Occupy.jpg

 San Diego’s police officers are among the lowest-paid in the state, and are at the bottom in some categories, according to a salary survey released by the city Thursday.

Total compensation — including base salary and benefits — ranged from 77 percent of the average of law enforcement agencies studied for recruits to 90 percent of average for a captain.

For years now, the department has struggled to retain experienced officers, who have been poached by nearby police departments that offer more lucrative pay. The SDPD has been chronically more than 100 officers below what is called for in the city budget.

City leaders have been aware of the problem for a couple of years and have taken some steps to correct it, including the commissioning of the salary survey of 18 other law enforcement agencies statewide.

“Unfortunately, this report highlights a serious challenge that we all recognize and must overcome,” Mayor Kevin Faulconer said. “We need to make our police department compensation more competitive with other law enforcement agencies so we can stem the tide of officers leaving.”

He said he’s committed to working with the SDPD and Police Officers Association to find solutions.

Brian Marvel, the president of the San Diego POA said, “This salary survey confirms what we’ve known for a long time — San Diego police officers are at the bottom of the market when it comes to compensation. Our officers are aware of this fact, which is why nearly 300 officers hired since 2005 have left our department for other agencies — at great expense to San Diego taxpayers.”

San Diego ranks last in pay for officers and sergeants, is second-to-last in compensating recruits, is 14th for lieutenants and 13th for captains.

Because of the availability of data, only 15 of the 18 other agencies studied were included in the total compensation chart.

Employees at a job level of police officer I or II makes more than $96,000 in base pay — before benefits — in San Francisco and over $91,000 in San Jose, according to the survey. The base pay in the same employee category for the Sheriff’s Department in San Diego is more than $68,600.

For the SDPD, it is not quite $62,600.

“In a very competitive market for police officers this study confirms we must immediately address these challenges as we move forward as a department to ensure we attract and retain the very best police officers who proudly serve our city,” SDPD Chief Shelley Zimmerman said.

The survey looked at pay at the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, in local cities such as Carlsbad, Chula Vista and El Cajon; large cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Jose; and medium-sized municipalities like Anaheim, Bakersfield and Fresno.

It also compared policies for overtime, step and merit increases, shift differential for evening and overnight shifts and standby or on-call pay.

The full article can be found here.

Hire a Proactive, affordable, and quality defense when you are facing San Diego DUI charges.  Whether you have been charged of a San Diego DUI, Poway DUI, La Mesa DUI, Santee DUI, Mission Valley DUI, Clairemont DUI, Point Loma DUI, La Jolla DUI, Carmel Valley DUI, Mira Mesa DUI, Pacific Beach DUI, Del Mar DUI, Carmel Valley DUI, Encinitas DUI, Oceanside DUI, Ocean Beach DUI, Escondido DUI, Vista DUI, San Marcos DUI, Carlsbad DUI, El Cajon DUI it is vital you need to hire an attorney who knows how to defend your rights and can determine if the government can prove their case.  Contact the Law Office of Mark Deniz now for a free case evaluation at 858-751-4384 or send an email to [email protected]


23152. (a) It is unlawful for a person who is under the influence of any alcoholic beverage to drive a vehicle. (b) It is unlawful for a person who has 0.08 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood to drive a vehicle. For purposes of this article and Section 34501.16, percent, by weight, of alcohol in a person’s blood is based upon grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood or grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath. In any prosecution under this subdivision, it is a rebuttable presumption that the person had 0.08 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood at the time of driving the vehicle if the person had 0.08 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood at the time of the performance of a chemical test within three hours after the driving. (c) It is unlawful for a person who is addicted to the use of any drug to drive a vehicle. This subdivision shall not apply to a person who is participating in a narcotic treatment program approved pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 11875) of Chapter 1 of Part 3 of Division 10.5 of the Health and Safety Code. (d) It is unlawful for a person who has 0.04 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood to drive a commercial motor vehicle, as defined in Section 15210. In any prosecution under this subdivision, it is a rebuttable presumption that the person had 0.04 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood at the time of driving the vehicle if the person had 0.04 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood at the time of the performance of a chemical test within three hours after the driving. (e) It is unlawful for a person who is under the influence of any drug to drive a vehicle. (f) It is unlawful for a person who is under the combined influence of any alcoholic beverage and drug to drive a vehicle. (g) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2014.

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