Justin Ramirez
Service Record
Orange County California Sheriff's Department
| Rank | Deputy |
| Dates of Service | Ended December 2022.[1] |
| Salary | $261,805 (2022)[2] |
| Last Known Status | Resigned[3] |
Incident Reports
2019 Death of Chong Tok Rha
On July 15, 2019, Ramirez and Deputy Laurie Schwartz arrested Rha, who struggled.[4]
Rha died while in custody.[4]
Response Timeline
Ramirez was named in a federal wrongful death lawsuit.[4]
The county District Attorney cleared the officers of any wrong-doing.[4]
In October 2021, the county paid $1.5 million to settle the family's lawsuit.[4]
2022 Harmful Materials
On September 2, 2022, Ramirez was working as a school resource officer when he showed pornographic videos to four teenage girls.[3]
One of the girls' mothers reported the incident to the Sheriff's Department, specifically asking that an officer not be sent as she feared it would be Ramirez. The department told the mother that officers from another agency would respond, but Ramirez and another officer were dispatched to take her statement.[1][4]
Response Timeline
The agency investigated and referred the case to the county District Attorney for possible criminal prosecution.[3]
Ramirez resigned.[3]
On February 17, 2023, Ramirez was charged with a misdemeanor count of distributing harmful material to a minor. Ramirez faces a maximum sentence of 364 days in jail.[3]
On April 25, 2023, a judge allowed Ramirez to enter a pre-trial diversion program. The prosecutor did not agree with the diversion.[5]
In May 2023, one of the girls' families filed a claim, which is a precursor to filing a lawsuit.[6]
On August 10, 2023, the state Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) temporarily suspended Ramirez's certification for resigning during an investigation and for "egregious or repeated acts that violate the law".[7]
In September 2024, another girl's family filed a lawsuit against Ramirez, the county, and the Sheriff.[1]
On September 12, 2024, the POST Commission revoked Ramirez's certification.[1]
LEO Ratings
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Sean Emery, Ex-OC deputy accused of showing teens obscene videos faces lawsuit, loses law enforcement license, OC Register, 2024-09-17
- ↑ Justin Ramirez R, Deputy Sheriff, Orange County, govSalaries
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Former Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy Charged with Showing Pornographic Videos to Teenage Girls while Working as School Resource Officer, Office of the District Attorney, 2023-02-17
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Former Orange County deputy charged with showing pornography to underage girl, CBS Los Angeles, 2023-02-17
- ↑ Prosecutors Ask Judge to Reconsider Diversion Program for Deputy, my news LA, 2023-05-12
- ↑ No Jail Time For OC Deputy Accused Of Showing Obscene Videos To Teens, Patch, 2023-04-26
- ↑ Peace Officer Certification Actions, California POST, 2023-08-10
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