Baca halts training of new recruits

Michael Gennaco, head of the sheriff's watchdog agency, said he would investigate the state's findings, which he said suggested a larger problem with the program and the training staff.

"We will be examining what was allowed and permitted," he said.

The commission's report challenged the sheriff's testing system, alleging that instructors inappropriately gave recruits access to test questions and, in one case, provided them with answers for exams.

Commission inspectors also reported that the firearms and emergency vehicle training was not up to state standards, in part because recruits were allowed to repeatedly take "skills tests" after failing.

Under state requirements a trainee can have only one retest. Some recruits, sheriff's officials said, took up to five.

Sheriff's Chief Roberta Abner, head of leadership and training, downplayed the problem. She said an examination by the department found that 12 out of 2,500 trainees since 2005 had taken multiple tests.

The state's report also noted that some of the sheriff's training facilities were substandard. "An area of significant concern," state inspectors said, was the armory at Pitchess Firearms Training Facility, which is a small block building with a wooden door. The building contains a large number of shotguns and AR-15s, and is secured by a padlock but no alarm in an area that is poorly secured and accessible to jail inmate trustees.

Additionally, state regulators criticized the department's record-keeping, saying it was "disorganized," and course documents and instructor resumes were not on file with the state as required.

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richard.winton@latimes.com