Grand jury slams El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department
By Carlos Alcalá, Sacramento Bee
The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office needs to fix its treatment of women in the department and prevent deputies from using phony educational degrees to gain pay increases, according to the El Dorado County grand jury’s report released Friday.
The grand jury’s 2010-11 report focused three of its 12 sections on the Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff John D'Agostini
A newly elected sheriff, John D’Agostini, took over the department at the beginning of the year.
The report’s section on gender bias in the department outlined a female staffing level far below national averages, and a pattern of gender bias complaints that jumped in 2010.
Roughly 5 percent of sworn officers are women, according to the report. It contrasted El Dorado’s level to a national average of 12.8 percent in communities of similar sizes.
The department saw 12 gender bias complaints filed in 2010, double the number for 2008 and 2009 combined, the report said.