Three sheriff’s deputies promoted, including first Punjabi sergeant

Three veteran Merced County Sheriff’s deputies on Wednesday were promoted to sergeant, making the rank the highest position in the department held by a Punjabi man.

“Today’s a pretty cool day,” Sheriff Vern Warnke said. “The sheriff’s office is definitely coming out a head on this deal.”

Steve Bassi, Clint Landrum and Mark Taylor took their oaths and received their badges during a ceremony Wednesday morning.

Bassi, 29, becomes the first Punjabi man to be promoted to the rank of sergeant in the history of the office, officials said Wednesday.

He has worked for the department for nearly a decade as a patrol deputy with a K-9. He described himself as a first-generation American, born in Merced and raised in Livingston. His family moved to Merced County from the Punjab region in India in the 1980s, he said.

“It’s very humbling,” he said. “I’ve been blessed to have a very supportive family that’s stood by me.”

Encouraging diversity among the office’s management ranks was a much discussed topic during the last campaign for the sheriff’s office in 2014.

In 2014, Delray Shelton became the first black sergeant in the department’s 160-year history.

Taylor, 49, has worked in the department since 1994 and said he pursued the assignment as a way to give back to the department.

“I’ve been so happy where I was that I never wanted to pursue it,” he said. Working patrol on the north end of the county alongside a K-9 officer and his original field training officer, Taylor called his job the “best beat in the county.”

Landrum, 35, said when he started his job with the sheriff’s office in 2005, one of his goals was to become a sergeant.

“I’ve been here many years, and I’ve seen the department go through a lot of changes,” he said. “This job is not about the things you do day to day. It’s about the people. I’m blessed to be in a career where I’m surrounded by terrific coworkers.”

The three make a total of sergeants who supervise nearly 100 deputies in the sheriff’s department.

This story was originally published May 31, 2017 at 5:17 PM with the headline "Three sheriff’s deputies promoted, including first Punjabi sergeant."