Lawsuit Filed Over Dropped Convictions

Attorneys on both sides said they hope to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit filed in connection with a series of drunk-driving convictions that were dropped early this year when it was discovered that former Ventura County Sheriff’s Deputy Christopher Williams filed false information in his arrest reports.

The federal case, filed on behalf of 11 people who were arrested by Williams in 1994 and ‘95, requests reimbursement from Williams and the county for fines and other out-of-pocket expenses they incurred as a result of the cases.

According to plaintiffs’ attorney Richard Hamlish, those costs included alcohol abuse classes, increased insurance rates, reinstating lost driver’s licenses, and in the case of one nurse, the cost of being chauffeured to and from her job because she could not drive.

Thirteen convictions were dropped in February when the district attorney’s office discovered that then-Deputy Williams, stationed in Thousand Oaks, used a computer to insert the same text over and over again into his arrest reports in order to save time. The charges were dropped even though many of the defendants had pleaded guilty.

Attorney Alan Wisotsky, representing Williams and the county, said that because the plaintiffs admitted driving under the influence of alcohol, he does not see how the prosecutions violated their civil rights, as the suit alleges.

Williams “may not have been the perfect specimen of an officer that you would want,” Wisotsky said. “But these people were breaking the law.”

Hamlish countered that the plaintiffs weren’t necessarily drunk at the times of their arrests, saying that the Breathalyzer evidence could have been tampered with.

Wisotsky said he had proof that the fines had been reimbursed already, but added that he would be willing to look at the request for reimbursement of the other associated costs, once they were proven.

Williams, a seven-year veteran, was dismissed in August. He has filed an appeal with the Civil Service Commission, and the hearing is expected to begin Dec. 9, according to Noel Klebaum, litigation supervisor for the county counsel.

Klebaum said he expects the commission to uphold the dismissal.

“The Sheriff’s department had good and sufficient reasons for terminating [Williams’] employment.”