PD officers accuse leadership of favoritism, abuse of power

By Doug Spoon, Editor

Menifee Police Department officers are demanding action from department leaders and are accusing them of covering up evidence of intimidation, favoritism and abuse of power toward the rank and file.

Menifee 24/7 has been investigating these claims for months, interviewing current and former officers, reviewing emails, and requesting public documents related to these allegations. Most of those sources are afraid to go on record with their name because of what they say are threats of retaliation from the department and the City of Menifee.

“We have a problem between who's ‘in the know’ and who isn’t,” said one officer, whom we will refer to as “Joe”. “That's the issue. It's people getting away with misconduct. From what I have seen, the people who align themselves with the people that are causing the bulk of the issues do not get in trouble. But the people actually doing the job here are the ones getting in trouble.”

“There are four or five people in the administration that are the problem,” said a source we’ll call “John”. “So many people have left. [Former HR Analyst] Bryan Melton got so sick of it, he left. There is a lack of trust and transparency. If any situation arises, they are so quick to throw you to IA (Internal Affairs).”

The issue was brought before the public during the May 21 City Council meeting, when a representative of two Menifee PD bargaining units addressed council members during a discussion of the City’s required annual report on staff vacancies. Adan Ochoa, President of the Menifee Police Officers Association, chose his words carefully, considering he is the only one involved who has chosen to go public with the concerns.

“I do want to thank the City for its willingness to work with both bargaining units during the recent salary negotiations,” Ochoa said. “The process was professional and we are grateful for the city’s dialogue in that. At the same time, it’s fair to acknowledge that neither bargaining unit walked away with everything our members were hoping for. That continues to influence how the employees view their direction and their longtime future in the department.

“One area that remains important for our members is a need for stronger internal communication and inclusion in decisions that affect their work. While we have seen progress over the last few months … there’s still room to grow. The need for greater communication and improved involvement helps improve trust, reduce uncertainty, and ultimately increases retention.

“Perhaps one of the clearest signs of that opportunity is what we’ve heard from our former employees. Those that choose to leave Menifee – not because they don’t believe in this department, but because they felt unsure of its direction, structure, and the internal planning. Some have even said they would return if certain conditions improved.”

City statistics about vacancies are misleading

Ochoa’s comments followed a report by Rita Reddy, HR analyst, listing current vacancies in three Menifee PD bargaining units: The Miscellaneous Menifee Police Employees Association (MMPEA), Menifee Police Officers Association (MPOA), and Menifee Police Management Association (MPMA). According to Reddy, Assembly Bill 2561 requires agencies to make an annual report on vacancies and recruitment and retention efforts.

Reddy’s report stated that any bargaining unit with 20 percent or more vacancies is required to make additional reporting to the state. According to the staff report, none of the Menifee PD bargaining units is at 20 percent or above. The highest listed is the MPOA with 10.8 percent, followed by the MMPEA with 9.5 percent. The MPMA is listed as having no vacancies.

One anonymous source who says he has additional information on departures claims those numbers are misleading when indicating the number of departures since early 2024.

“What they are posting online is off, what they are saying is off, so where are the actual approved numbers?” asked “John”. “What are we calculating? There is no way it is 10 percent. What was being published was wrong in so many ways.”

In a response to a public records request made by Menifee 24/7, The City of Menifee reported that from March 2024 through March 2025, 10 police officers left the department. However, when combining those numbers with additional departures reported by anonymous sources and researched by Menifee 24/7, the number of officer departures since early 2024 is at least 15. In total, departures from the entire department during that time period is at least 24.

Menifee PD’s loss of officers is in stark contrast to neighboring city police departments. In the last year, Murrieta PD has lost only eight officers. Hemet PD has lost five, according to public records requested by Menifee 24/7.

The employee survey that city officials are covering up

So why the high number of departures? Sources say that is indicative of the leadership misconduct they are alleging, including official complaints filed that have been denied access to Menifee 24/7 by the City.

One of the biggest issues is an employee survey that was conducted last year by a Menifee PD officer, who has chosen not to be named nor to comment because of fear of retaliation. According to several sources, this officer requested that he conduct a random survey of officers about their evaluations of the department. This was to be part of a project toward the officer’s PhD.

Both City Manager Armando Villa and Menifee PD Chief Chris Karrer confirmed that the survey exists. Villa said it was not approved by staff, but sources say there is communication between the officer and a lieutenant that confirms approval of the survey. Menifee 24/7 has made a public records request for those emails.

“The intent of the survey was not malicious at all,” said John. “Then the comments started coming in. There were comments about unfairness and misconduct. When that was shared, it was like the sirens went off. When they didn’t like the responses, they tried to hide it.”

Multiple sources said the officer who conducted the survey was given a “cease and desist” letter by City Attorney Jeff Melching, prohibiting him from commenting on the situation. Sources also say other officers were given notice that they would face consequences if they discussed the situation.

Menifee 24/7 made a public records request for a copy of the survey. After the 10-day period City officials are allowed in which to make a response, Menifee 24/7 received notice saying an additional 14 days were required to address the situation. Finally, Menifee 24/7 received a response saying the request was denied.

That denial included a letter from Melching saying, “This office has determined that your request seeks certain records that are exempt from disclosure.” Melching cites several Government Code sections. The first is Section 7922.000, which states the following:

“An agency shall justify withholding any record by demonstrating that the record in question is exempt under express provisions of this division, or that on the facts of the particular case the public interest served by not disclosing the record clearly outweighs the public interest served by disclosure of the record.”

In an interview with Menifee 24/7 in March, Villa said, “There was a report, but it was not a city document. We can’t disclose that document because we do not own that document; he owns it. We didn’t approve of it and the content was very subjective. Obviously, we disagreed with it.”

Karrer was asked about the survey in an interview in April.

“The study was not approved by our department,” he said. “It was never accepted. I didn’t sanction it; the city manager didn’t. But you still glean information out of it. What it really made me think was, we need to start having chats. It came down to communication. People didn’t feel like there was enough upward and downward communication. There was a feeling of not being included in some of our policy or future directions.

“We took those comments and said, ‘What can we do?’ We began a monthly newsletter. We created a Sharepoint internet that everyone can log onto. We have management meetings. We talk about what’s going on in the department. We opened up those meetings, saying to officers, ‘If you want to hear, come to the meeting. You don’t have a voice at it, but attend it.’ Officers can make anonymous suggestions. We said, ‘We hear you. OK, we need more engagement.’ That’s gone a long way in people feeling they have value.”

Officers interviewed for this news article said that is not the case. Although he indicates by those comments that there are issues that need to change, Karrer has never publicly acknowledged any misconduct on the part of himself or his leadership officers.

“The issue you’re going to have with the survey and why they are protecting it so much is that the raw comments that were made in the survey reflect bad against Armando and Chief Karrer,” said a source we’ll call “Frank”. “It calls out the favoritism and the city’s lack of support to fix the issues. I have a hard time accepting that it’s not public record when the city’s leaders in PD authorized it, and if Karrer is truly saying he is acting upon the results, then it’s public record.”

The officer who conducted the survey has been placed on paid administrative leave. Karrer would not answer a reporter’s question about that action.

"He promised to do his very best to correct the wrongs"

There are other documents that are evidence of the concern officers have had and their effort to meet with the administration to address them. Menifee 24/7 received a copy of an email sent by Anthony Clay, then President of MPOA, to officers following a meeting with Villa and council members Ricky Estrada and Bob Karwin, and a subsequent meeting with Karrer, in March 2024.

“He (Karrer) promised to do his very best to correct the wrongs and will be implementing three changes immediately,” Clay wrote in the email. “I don’t know what those are exactly. Now let’s be honest, he cannot possibly change everything overnight, but he was extremely receptive. He took three legal pad pages of notes.

“Our PD has been fostering a lack of strong leadership, and he recognizes this. This is from the top to the sergeants. He is asking for some time to make Menifee PD better. We have the city manager’s ear and will be having regular meetings with him. If things don’t change for the better, he is not afraid to make bold moves from his mouth.”

Officers interviewed for this article say they haven’t seen much change. Another key issue in the case is the allegation by multiple officers, backed up by an official complaint, that a lieutenant violated the Police Officer Bill of Rights by using a master key to open all officers’ locked private mailboxes, withdrawing all the contents, and leaving them on desks in the office and on tables in the break room. They say the lieutenant claimed that the action was taken because officers had not cleaned out their mailboxes after being warned to do so.

Items distributed for all officers to see included disciplinary documents, benefits statements and other private documents, sources said.

Villa wouldn’t comment on whether the lieutenant was disciplined or would be disciplined for that action.

“We’re working through the discipline with the POA,” he said in an earlier interview. “The officers feel it was an invasion of privacy. We don’t see that.”

John said the POA filed a grievance and that no discipline has been taken that he is aware of.

“All we wanted was to hear, ‘We F’d up,’” He said. “Instead, they told us, ‘F you.’ The chief said nothing was done wrong.”

Asked for other examples of misconduct, Joe discussed ongoing instances of favoritism regarding everyday events.

“If for an example, when an officer will cuss at someone, like, ‘Hey, get the (expletive) on the ground.’ Officers that are ‘in the know’ will not be reprimanded. But another officer that says the same exact thing will be reprimanded. And when you're reprimanded, that goes to Internal Affairs.”

Officers say they are afraid to say anything negative about the misconduct because a report to IA stays on their record and could affect their chances of getting hired elsewhere.

“When we get into vehicle pursuits, there's a lot of policies in the vehicle pursuit,” Joe continued. “And we're talking minimal stuff, like not wearing a seat belt when you start the pursuit or not calling the pursuit off fast enough.

“Two officers can do that. One who’s in the know, one who’s not. The one who’s not in the know will get the book thrown at him. He’ll get like 17 policy violations. They are sent to IA. The other officer will just get a simple talking to, and it'll be nothing official ever.”

Menifee 24/7 made a public records request seeking information about grievances filed in some of these cases. The request was denied.

"Once you're showing that you're disgruntled, they throw the book at you"

“Once they get wind that you are sniffing around to leave, once you’re showing that you're disgruntled, they throw the book at you,” Joe said. “And you know what happens when they throw the book at you? You can't leave because you're under internal investigation. No department will hire you.”

Another result of the vacancies created by the departures is the extra pressure put on those left behind to fill those roles.

“The OT is incredible, they are so understaffed,” John said. “The City is willing to take that liability. What if an overworked officer gets in an accident?”

A text message from one officer obtained by Menifee 24/7 states, “They can barely get people to work OT anymore. There’s been teams running on four people for the shift, which is absurd.”

Karrer said in an interview in April that a normal shift includes 8-11 officers, plus supervisors at the station.

In addition, it was reported in the City Council agenda May 21 that in closed session, council members and staff discussed a liability claim by Jason Adams, a sergeant who left the department on Dec. 20, 2024. When asked if there was anything to report out of closed session, Melching said there was no reportable action. A source familiar with the situation said Adams is considering a lawsuit based on a claim of harassment.

There are many more reports by these unnamed officers of misconduct by their superiors. Menifee 24/7 has made every effort to get more quotes on the record with real names used, but these are officers who fear that their careers will be ruined. We believe this situation must be reported and we stand by our story – even if we face possible retaliation ourselves.

“Let me give you a very, very quick safety concern for you,” Joe told this reporter. “When you wanted to talk to the chief the last time and you sent an email, [two PD leaders] looked into it. I don't know what they did, but they looked into you. That is illegal as (expletive). They're using their powers. That's not supposed to be. We are not supposed to use our police powers to look into civil matters.”

On May 23, this reporter emailed Karrer, asking seven questions about some of the allegations mentioned in this article. Some were questions that have been asked before. The only questions he chose to respond to concerned whether he felt the department’s response to the allegations has been sufficient.

“Our administration remains dedicated to fostering a positive and supportive work environment that promotes teamwork and unity,” Karrer wrote. “Initiatives such as the open-door policy and the wellness program are key examples of this commitment. These efforts have contributed to a strong organizational culture, reflected in our city's recognition as one of the top 20 safest cities in California and a steadily declining crime rate. Cultivating a positive culture has consistently been a priority for our leadership.”

Two days after his final email response to Menifee 24/7, Karrer sent an email to all PD employees. Menifee 24/7 obtained a copy of that email.

“I want to let you know that an article may be published in the local paper in the next few days, mentioning these anonymous comments, which allude to challenges such as poor leadership, favoritism, lack of trust, and poor communication within our police department,” the email said, in part.

“These are serious concerns for any organization, and if not addressed, they can indeed impact even the strongest teams. While I am limited in what I can discuss regarding personnel matters, I want to assure you that our management team and I are fully committed to the continued efforts of strengthening relationships and fostering an inclusive, value-driven culture.”