California cops accused in lawsuit against Oroville police ousted from Chico State jobs
.jpg "Officer Robert Raiter, seen in a 2018 promotion photo, claims in a federal lawsuit that Oroville’s police department was mired in a pattern of improper conduct that reached up the chain to then-Chief Joe Deal.")
Two Chico State University police officers who were placed on leave last week after they were named in a salacious lawsuit over their time with the Oroville Police Department have been removed from their posts with the school, Chico State announced Wednesday morning.
Sgt. Joe Deal, the former Oroville chief of police and fire, and Officer Ray Stott, a former sergeant under Deal, will not return to their jobs in Chico, the university said.
“Effective March 31, Chico State has separated two University police officers from employment,” the school said in a brief announcement. “The officers were originally placed on administrative leave last Friday as the University commenced a review based on information made public in a lawsuit filed on March 22.
“Neither the lawsuit, nor the allegations within it, are related to the officers’ employment at Chico State.”
Deal and Stott were among Oroville officers identified in a federal civil rights lawsuit filed last week in Sacramento by a former officer who alleged widespread wrongdoing in the department, from some officers being encouraged to have sex with girlfriends while on duty, sexual harassment and cover-ups of criminal acts.
Former Oroville Officer Robert Raiter sued Oroville officials after he was pushed out of the department last year where he had worked since August 2015, alleging that he was retaliated against for speaking out on wrongdoing inside the department.
Raiter’s lawsuit alleges Deal had sex on duty, ignored criminal acts by some in the department and pressured officers — including him — to use his wife as their Realtor when they were involved in home purchases.
Stott was accused in the lawsuit of harassing a female officer and of taking artwork from the home of a Black man then hanging it in his office “like trophies” rather than booking it as evidence.
Neither officer responded to requests for comment last week, and Oroville city Manager Bill LaGrone, who is the acting police chief, declined to comment, citing pending litigation.
Deal and Stott were placed on leave last week after The Bee first reported on the allegations in the lawsuit filed by Chico attorney Larry Baumbach.
The school said at the time that the leaves were ordered while Chico State “gathers information pertaining to the lawsuit.”
“While we follow all due process requirements, the alleged acts are of concern and not acceptable for any member of our campus law enforcement,” the university added.