Ex-cop Poland to spend 18 mos. in prison
Former South Lake Tahoe police Officer Johnny Poland is going to prison for 18 months.
The sentence came down Wednesday. Poland must turn himself in to the Bureau of Prison on Nov. 6.
Poland had pleaded guilty in May to one count of obstruction of an official proceeding. The maximum sentence he could have received was 20 years behind bars.
Former South Tahoe Officer Johnny Poland receives 18-month sentence. Photo/LTN file
The 45-year-old has been on the other side of the law since June 2007 when he was initially fired by the local police department because of an incident in November 2006 at South Tahoe High school.
He fought that termination and was reinstated in fall 2009.
A federal investigation began in November 2011, at which time Poland was put on paid administrative leave. He was indicted at the beginning of this year.
Poland started with SLTPD in 1998. He resigned after admitting guilt and his position has since been filled.
“Mr. Poland ended his career in law enforcement by abusing his position of trust at every turn,” U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner told the court. “When faced with the consequences of his misdeeds, he then attempted to influence witnesses who were called to testify against him. Such behavior cannot be tolerated. Mr. Poland stands in contrast to the other outstanding men and women in law enforcement who conduct themselves with dedication and honor every single day.”
Court documents, on June 29, 2011, Poland interfered with a federal investigation of a South Lake Tahoe gang member. Poland persuaded the gang member’s girlfriend to conceal and destroy evidence. In October and November 2011, Poland tampered with this witness in an investigation into his own conduct as well as the conduct of the gang member. Poland instructed another witness to conceal and destroy evidence rather than provide it to federal authorities. Poland admitted that he corruptly attempted to alter, destroy, mutilate, and conceal evidence material to an official proceeding.
— Lake Tahoe News staff report
The PD was correct in firing him the first time around and because they were overruled, it cost a lot of time and money to finally investigate him and apply the law and put him away as a now convicted felon, when he should of been fired long ago. This was a case of corruption and law breaking and it is good to see that he is where he should be.
Which prison and under what circumstances? He is getting off easy.
way too soft, punishment-wise. this guy’s corrupt nature cost many locals, including myself, on multiple occasions peripheral to this particular string of abuse of power.
Let’s see if this cat who mistakenly considers himself cool turns himself in at the prison’s doorstep on Nov. 6. One can only hope some kind of collateral has been deposited to guarantee same.
Who on earth was on that review board that reinstated his police department employment? Citizens deserve to know, and remember.
Tom Davis was Poland’s appointee for his arbitration hearing. Though Tom must’ve done a real good job as he even got the PD’s appointee to side with Poland!
Amazing that it takes a felony conviction to remove such a bad apple from our law enforcement rolls! I wish our PD had a higher standard than that!
When there is a bad apple in a Police Department, I am sure that those higher-up in administration, etc., would like to either discipline or fire the offending officer (except maybe in corrupt-central, Chicago….).
But….there are “procedures” to follow, and it takes a lot of time, and, as seen here, sometimes it takes a second+ round.
Rules agreed to by Unions, contracts, etc. (and this is NOT meant to be union-bashing), mean that procedures can be lengthy.
As for where he goes, I haven’t the foggiest. My guess is some lower-level prison facility for non-violent offenders. Law enforcement people who are imprisoned are usually kept segregated from the general prison population, else they be physically injured, or even killed.
Can we get back all the money he was paid when he was reinstated and when on paid administrative leave pending this conviction?
Bob, I believe the delay was at least as much legal as procedural – probably much more so. But thank you sir; I know there are folks who appreciate your support.
Wow! I Thought He Would Do Years For His Conduct As A Police Officer, Too Bad.Sorry For His Family That He Had No Respect For Them.Carma For Him~
When Bill Crawford was serving as a City Council Member he was a very staunch supporter of Mr. Poland and a harsh critic of then City Manager David Jinkens regarding that first November 2006 incident. Mr. Poland had some powerful support by Mr. Crawford and the Police Association/Union which helped aid his reinstatement in the fall 2009.
I would like to hear the union’s side of their defense. Yes, it was the union that did not make it possible for the PD to get rid of a known bad apple. And it was the union that insisted that we continue to pay the corrupt officer. I would like to know if the union or the employee is now going to reimburse the taxpayers…………okay, not going to wait for the response…I know the answer…….as always, the taxpayers are just SOL.
How about his benefit and retirement plans. I know, he probably still gets to keep all that too.
To 4-mer-usmc,
I partially agree with your above statement in regards to the support he had from Bill Crawford. However, I disagree with your statement that the Police Association aided in his reinstatement. As a former Board Member of the Police Association I can assure you that the Police Association was NOT in any way in support of Poland’s reinstatement but we were in acceptance of the finding of the Review Board. Article 1 of the Police Association by-laws states that this Association is formed to protect all of its members. Poland was still a member. He went through a process and whether we as an Association liked the outcome or not, we had to accept the findings which meant reinstatement to full duty as a police officer. As an Association we do not pick and chose who to support and who not to based on popularity. It is based on the processes involved (review board findings)and application to the articles (by laws) of the Association.
I testified against Poland. I sat 10 feet from him, and looked him straight in the eye when I said he had no ethics, no credibility, and he is a liar. I also said he had no business ever wearing a badge and uniform with any agency(regarding testimony of the high school gun incident). All that said, I still believe in the process and did my part. So when Poland was reinstated, his return to work was not desired, wanted or supported by the masses of the Association, but it was accepted. There is a big difference.
The Review Board consisted of Tom Davis (Poland’s choice), former Chief of Police Don Muren (City’s choice), and a neutral outside party. All of the information they considered I do not know, but I do accept that they made a decision based on the totality of the information presented. I did not like their decision, but I accepted it. All of us as Association members accepted it.
Still, this is a black eye for law enforcement and especially for the South Lake Tahoe Police Department. Yet, to reiterate what I have said in the past, “we do clean our own house.” It did take some time but in the end, justice was done.
In my 32 years of law enforcement, I always recalled a saying from an old salt when I was in Los Angeles who said, “Remember kid, with this job, you win some and you lose some but there is always tomorrow.” Well, tomorrow has arrived. This is not meant as a gloating statement, but simply that someone who does wrong will often continue to do wrong in regards to criminal activity and matters of an ethical nature.
I am very proud of the men and women of the South Lake Tahoe Police Department. I am proud to have served the communities I served and especially the citizens of South Lake Tahoe.
For the cops still out there, remember to hold your heads high and know the majority of people out there appreciate what you do for them.
Be safe out there!
I want to clarify a point regarding Poland’s reinstatement. It was I, as a Association Board Officer, following my Review Board testimony and Poland’s reinstatement, who presented the matter to the other Board Members. It was I, who presented the argument that the articles of the Association must be followed and as an Association we do not pick and chose based on popularity. Yes, I told the other members that I did not agree at all with the outcome of the Review Board but I accepted it, just the same as how court proceedings did not always come out in the way I desired. Yes, I told the other members my personal beliefs were struggling with my professional beliefs with accepting the reinstatement. However, as a Board Member, I was elected to represent and protect the masses of the Association and that even included Johnny Poland, who I have great distain. Yet all have the availability of the rights, protections, and benefits of the Association. Poland’s legal fees were paid for by the retainer that all Association members paid into. Yes, ironic isn’t it, that in essence my money was used to defend Poland.
The Association did not get him off. The Association followed a process based on by-laws which have been in place since the Department’s inception.
I know from experience that the bad apples are not just in PD, they are everywhere. Funny how the County, Board of Sup’s, & other agencies will keep the offender, abuser, whatever you want to call them, on the job & get rid of the person who stands up for himself. I loved my career in law enforcement. I met a lot of really good people who were dedicated to the community, the badge and their position. Unfortunately, the bad apples have a lot of power for some reason, and it is next to impossible to get rid of them. Unfortunately, a lot of peoples’ lives are ruined in the wake of their corruption before anything is done. Mr Polland got what he deserved in the end. I wonder how many “relationships” he had with other teenage girls. The process to get rid of a vested and protected public servant is long and often times works out for the offender for many years. Wish I could have seen it work in my case.
You know most members of the PD are good apples! Dedicated to their job & community. But believe me, Poland is not the only bad apple to have been in the PD in recent years! That comes from personal experience AND conversations with police officers!
It’s just unfortunate that the system the Union fights to have is structured so heavily to protecting the bad apples, instead of being focused on rooting them out!
Retired Cop:
Thank you for the thorough clarification; it is very much appreciated. I do not consider this a black eye on the entire South Lake Tahoe Police Department and believe the men and women who continue to serve here have no shame to bear. Cleaning house takes guts. Thank you for your service and I think that South Lake Tahoe has a great Police Department and those men and women are doing an outstanding job.
Retired Cop,
Well said. Most people who post on here are not aware of the process involved in many matters. They are just posting their feelings based on the information presented in the media. Thank you for explaining the circumstances of this particular situation. You gave 32 years of your life to honorably protect all citizens whether they appreciate or hate LEO’s. Thanks for your service. Happy hunting,,, :-)
FAITH or PERSONAL EXPERIENCES : I think some comments here result from people’s faith in police and some comments here come from people’s personal experiences with police officers. Public relations in SLTPD can play a part. I want to point out that faith is often a bad thing. Faith can lead people to believe in lies. To get reinstated Johnny Poland exploited the faith people had in him. This is my point, faith is not necessarily good. Do you have faith in SLTPD ? If you do, ask yourself why ?
FOLLOW UP – – – Police officers have too much power. Of the many people here commenting in what is a good discussion about police officers, I ask this question : How do you stop the criminal misconduct of a police officer ? A lawyer cannot even stop a corrupt officer. Police officers have so much power that it took the FBI years to bring Johnny Poland to justice. I don’t think we should consider any police officer beyond reproach. A GOOD DISCUSSION — MORE COMMENTS PLEASE
I think the local Police Assoc. and Review Board did their due diligence and are a necessary protection for officers who might be falsely accused as well as a tool for weeding out malfeasance-Theres always some punks who get busted and then cry police brutality, incompetence and lying-yea sure-jails are full of these kind of people and some good officers careers can be ruined w/o such protections from these low lifes-It often takes time for the real truth to come out.
There is an old rule that the more rank one has in law enforcement, the more they get away with. It took long years and several elections to try to rid the county Sheriff’s Dept. of a gang called “The Good ol’ Boys” This was a top down gang of corrupt lawbreakers and crooks who rigged their promotions and retirements and directed their IA investigations against anyone who opposed them or spoke up and many paid a huge price. People tried to have investigations started but the Grand Jury was directed away from them by their corrupt judicial plants and the former DA was one of them as were the BOS who backed them. Only the FBI could have done something and they never did. Most of these Gob’s are long gone now although a few are still around and still working, once in a while they resurface, like the former DA, arrested for DUI recently.