‘Reprehensible, egregious’: Policing experts not surprised by Sacramento officer’s arrest
News of an extensive internal investigation that led to the arrest of a Sacramento police officer charged with two felony counts of filing a false police report was not surprising to some law enforcement experts.
They said the alleged misconduct in the case against Alexa Palubicki, who is accused of providing false information in a gun possession arrest last year, strikes at the core of police work and invites warranted scrutiny on every other case she was involved with.
Ed Obayashi, a Plumas County sheriff’s deputy and an expert in law enforcement ethics training in California, said ethical standards have always been important in police work, now more than ever. So, he wasn’t surprised at the way the Sacramento Police Department responded to these allegations.
“I can’t think of a more reprehensible act of misconduct,” Obayashi said about alleged false police reports. “There’s nothing more fundamentally valuable to the criminal justice system. We’re talking about the integrity of the criminal justice system.”
In a news release Thursday, the Sacramento Police Department announced Palubicki’s arrest after being alerted to potential problems by other officers. Police officials said the department launched “a thorough audit of all arrests and associated supplemental reports” Palubicki submitted in the three years she’s worked for the department.
The Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office filed two felony counts against Palubicki, 26, late Thursday. Prosecutors conducted an audit to identify any pending case in which Palubicki participated. Prosecutors have since dismissed cases in which her participation was “material and necessary for prosecution,” according to a statement issued Thursday by the District Attorney’s Office.
Internal police investigation documents obtained by The Sacramento Bee show that the investigation into Palubicki’s alleged misconduct included numerous search warrants, high-tech computer searches and the lockdown of the officers’ lockers.
Obayashi said a law enforcement official filing a false report is extremely rare, and he’s not surprised that these allegations have already resulted in dismissed criminal cases. He said these type of allegations “require this type of scrutiny and this level of investigation.”
“If these allegations are accurate, this was the worst ethical lapse for an officer,” said Obayashi, who also is a licensed attorney.
Retired Sacramento County Sheriff John McGinness said he was not surprised to learn fellow officers would report the alleged misconduct to department officials. During his time in law enforcement, he said more than 90% of internal affairs cases were generated by reports from fellow authorities.
“It’s not as rare as some people believe; the so-called Blue Wall that people talk about,” McGinness said.
But he found the allegations against Palubicki “troubling,” considering the effect it may have on any other case she participated in. He said the allegation of a police officer filing a false report is serious. It reminded McGinness of an old law enforcement axiom: “If you lie, you die.”
“It’s bad news that this happened,” McGinness said. “The good news is that they’re doing the right thing.”
Timothy Williams, an expert on police procedure and formerly a 29-year member of the Los Angeles Police Department, said the fact that the officer has been arrested on felony charges and the other officers have been suspended shows that these must be shocking allegations. He’s also not surprised about the outcome of the investigation, considering the allegations.
“This would have to be at the egregious level for this happen,” said Williams, who operates a Los Angeles-based private investigations firm working on criminal and civil cases.
This story was originally published May 7, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
