Sheriff’s office scrambles to staff Castle fireworks show amid deputy shortage

How bad is the deputy shortage in Merced County?

It’s so bad that the sheriff himself and his top command staff from the Merced County Sheriff’s Office will work security at the Fourth of July firework display and celebration at Castle Commerce Center on Tuesday, Sheriff Vern Warnke said.

The sheriff, undersheriff, a captain, two lieutenants, two sergeants and a deputy will be on hand Tuesday evening to ensure the thousands of attendees are kept safe and sound.

The top brass at the sheriff’s office is giving up their free time to work the event, otherwise it may have been canceled, Warnke said.

“With no law enforcement presence, there’s no way we can hold that event,” Warnke said. “It’s such a longstanding tradition for Atwater, it’s a big deal. That’s why we’re buckling down.”

The top law enforcement officials stepped up because the sheriff’s office is short on patrol deputies as it is and can’t spare any for an extra event.

For three years, Warnke has pleaded with the Merced County Board of Supervisors, asking for deputy raises in an effort to recruit new staff as senior deputies leave to other agencies for higher pay.

The department currently has more than a dozen vacant positions. Four new deputies are in field training, and there are about a half-dozen who have yet to start training. Plus, not every deputy currently is working because of work-related injuries or other issues, Warnke said last month.

Each year, deputies with the sheriff’s office volunteer to work the special event in place of their assigned patrol. Atwater Police Department already committed resources to work the parade in the morning, Police Chief Samuel Joseph said, leaving the city with no extra officers to staff the evening celebration. UC Merced’s police department also couldn’t help out, Warnke said.

The sheriff’s office also has other officials volunteering extra hours to help assist the dispatch center for extra calls that come on in Independence Day.

“It’s not in our scope of duties at all,” Warnke said. “We have a clause in all our contracts that includes ‘all other duties as assigned,’ and this falls under that.”

Event organizers for the Fourth of July fireworks display and county parks and recreation officials could not be reached for comment on Monday.

This story was originally published July 4, 2017 at 1:50 PM with the headline "Sheriff’s office scrambles to staff Castle fireworks show amid deputy shortage."