Sacramento police have let go 41 retired officers who were working part-time after a CalPERS audit found compliance issues with their employment conditions.These reserve officers, known as retired annuitants, were often considered extra help and included individuals brought in on an interim basis to fill vacancies or prevent emergencies.The audit found that one officer returned to work only 30 days after retirement, instead of the required 60 days. In another instance, some officers did not submit the required documentation showing they had not received unemployment insurance prior to their return to work.Dustin Smith, the president of the Sacramento Police Officers Association, said the audit marked the end of decades of service for dozens of officers. “For most of them, it’s just heart-wrenching because this is a big part of who you are and what you do in life,” Smith said. “We have 40-year employees that have given their life, their heart and soul to this community, that are all basically with a phone call, were told, ‘I’m sorry, we have to let you go.’”Smith said the reserve officers would generally help with things like cold case investigations, jail intake, and special events. He said losing them will hurt—especially amid a staff shortage.“There’s going to be more police officers pulled off the streets, trapped in a place like jail, doing basic admin work instead of coming back out to handle calls for service. So, call response times and all the things we talk about routinely to help the community are going to go down again,” Smith said. Sacramento Police shared a statement saying in part, “At this time, we are still working with City Human Resources to determine how the work previously performed by retired annuitants will be addressed, and we do not yet have details on what the impact will be to staffing.”Meanwhile, CalPERS released a statement saying, “We are working with the city to resolve the issues and ensure that the retired annuitants they want to utilize are processed correctly. CalPERS did not prohibit the hiring of any officers and ultimately the city is responsible for their hiring decisions.”Smith said this is a big loss for something he called a minor issue.“We really need the people at PERS and the city to get together and sit down and just use common sense. This was a technicality and it was an accident,” Smith said. “There’s a lot more to it than just numbers and response times. We’re losing some really good people.”See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
Sacramento police have let go 41 retired officers who were working part-time after a CalPERS audit found compliance issues with their employment conditions.
These reserve officers, known as retired annuitants, were often considered extra help and included individuals brought in on an interim basis to fill vacancies or prevent emergencies.
The audit found that one officer returned to work only 30 days after retirement, instead of the required 60 days. In another instance, some officers did not submit the required documentation showing they had not received unemployment insurance prior to their return to work.
Dustin Smith, the president of the Sacramento Police Officers Association, said the audit marked the end of decades of service for dozens of officers.
“For most of them, it’s just heart-wrenching because this is a big part of who you are and what you do in life,” Smith said. “We have 40-year employees that have given their life, their heart and soul to this community, that are all basically with a phone call, were told, ‘I’m sorry, we have to let you go.’”
Smith said the reserve officers would generally help with things like cold case investigations, jail intake, and special events. He said losing them will hurt—especially amid a staff shortage.
“There’s going to be more police officers pulled off the streets, trapped in a place like jail, doing basic admin work instead of coming back out to handle calls for service. So, call response times and all the things we talk about routinely to help the community are going to go down again,” Smith said.
Sacramento Police shared a statement saying in part, “At this time, we are still working with City Human Resources to determine how the work previously performed by retired annuitants will be addressed, and we do not yet have details on what the impact will be to staffing.”
Meanwhile, CalPERS released a statement saying, “We are working with the city to resolve the issues and ensure that the retired annuitants they want to utilize are processed correctly. CalPERS did not prohibit the hiring of any officers and ultimately the city is responsible for their hiring decisions.”
Smith said this is a big loss for something he called a minor issue.
“We really need the people at PERS and the city to get together and sit down and just use common sense. This was a technicality and it was an accident,” Smith said. “There’s a lot more to it than just numbers and response times. We’re losing some really good people.”
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel