As Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies evacuated residents during last year’s Station fire, a trainee with the department noticed one of her superiors acting strangely. The deputy was stumbling, then he fell over.
He later admitted he was drinking vodka concealed in a Gatorade bottle during the deadly blaze. That incident and others are detailed in an oversight report released Tuesday that highlights the department's struggles with employees who drink on the job or whose drunkenness results in problems off the job.
Alcohol-related incidents involving department employees have increased this year, according to findings released by the Office of Independent Review. There were 33 incidents since January, more than all of last year, including several cases in which deputies were found drunk on duty.
Sheriff Lee Baca acknowledged Tuesday that the report shows the ineffectiveness of recent department efforts to crack down on drinking. In 2008, Baca announced plans to bar deputies from carrying firearms while intoxicated. . . . .
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