PD officials have not responded to allegations of misconduct

By Doug Spoon, Editor

City of Menifee and Menifee Police Department officials have not responded to requests for comment from Menifee 24/7 regarding our exclusive report on Tuesday about allegations of misconduct and abuse of power by police leadership.

Menifee 24/7 has learned that an emergency meeting was held at police headquarters Tuesday night, but no announcement was forthcoming and details of that meeting were not immediately available. This news outlet’s question of whether there would be an investigation into the allegations was left in messages for City Manager Armando Villa, Police Chief Chris Karrer, Mayor Ricky Estrada and Mayor Pro Tem Bob Karwin.

A source within the police department said officers were told that Karrer was out on emergency medical leave. The only one of the four administrators who responded was Karwin, who wrote in a text message, “Since this concerns personnel issues, I can’t comment on it publicly.”

Menifee continues to seek access to a survey of officers that sources say was approved by management but covered up because of the negative comments about leadership. Menifee City Attorney Jeff Melching and Villa maintain that the document is not a public record, with Melching citing a government code which says the document is exempt from public view because “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.”

After the news article was posted, Menifee 24/7 was contacted by four more former Menifee PD officers who wanted to tell similar stories alleging intimidation, policy violations by leaders and manufactured disciplinary actions by high-ranking officers in attempts to ruin officers’ careers. Some of the incidents date back to the first month of the department in July 2020.

Michael Poole said he was one of the first officers hired by the department. Then a Menifee resident and police officer with the City of Rialto, he attended the City Council meeting in which the Menifee PD was approved. He expressed interest in moving to the new Menifee PD and said Police Chief Pat Walsh asked him, “Who wouldn’t want to work in Menifee?”

Poole was given Badge No. 25 and began his probationary period. He was terminated within 30 days. According to Poole, leaders supervising an exercise teaching how to take down a suspect questioned his technique as being too aggressive. Asking for guidance, he told a captain in attendance that he would do it the way they wanted. The captain, he says, replied, “Don’t worry about it.”

The next day, Poole was called into the chief’s office, where two captains told him he was being terminated. There was no explanation or documentation of anything he had done wrong. Poole was told that at a staff briefing later that day after he left, Walsh told officers, “There’s no room to discuss or argue this. Poole has been released. He has left and it is not to be talked about.”

“I had guys reaching out to me, coming over to my house. One guy was crying about it in my back yard,” Poole said in a phone interview from Houston, where he now works as a journeyman lineman. “There was no evaluation, no remediation. I left Rialto in good standing. I won an aerial command award. I had no past history of violence.

“When the incident in the training happened, I talked to one of the sergeants who was there. He asked the captain, ‘What policy did he violate?’ The captain said, ‘There’s no policies to violate. We don’t have any yet. He did something. Find it and put it in his file.' ”

The sergeant who was told to "find something" to put in Poole's file has confirmed that this took place. The next day, Poole was fired.

“I was so disillusioned by the whole thing, I decided to hang up my belt and do something else," Poole said. "I heard about your story this morning when my wife sent it to me and said, ‘Look who’s in the news again?’ I’m not mad that they fired me; I’m upset that Pat Walsh didn’t do it himself and let his minions do it instead.”

Another former officer recalls an incident in the first month of the department’s existence. He accompanied a lieutenant and others on a call for service about a person playing loud music at 2 a.m. The officer, who we’ll call Larry, asked that his real name not be used because he is afraid it could affect his future job endeavors.

He said the resident, whom police had encountered before, refused to answer the door. He was known to have violent tendencies. Larry said the lieutenant said they would need to force entry, adding, “I don’t care if he gets hurt or we get hurt. Do it.”

Larry said he replied, “I can’t do that. We don’t have a search warrant. I refuse to do it.” He said the lieutenant replied, “Then I’ll find someone else to do it.” And they did.

The next morning, Larry re-emphasized his position to a superior, saying, “I’m not sending my officers into a situation like that.” He said he walked out of the superior’s office and was greeted by another new officer, who had overheard the conversation.

“Thanks for doing what’s right,” the other officer told him. “I’m outta here; this is ridiculous. I’m putting in my papers today.”

Menifee 24/7 will continue to follow this story and seek public records that are being withheld by city officials.