California correctional officer placed on leave amid investigation related to guard’s death
A California correctional officer has been banned from the grounds of a state prison in Folsom amid a misconduct investigation related to another officer’s death.
A California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokeswoman said the department has placed one officer on administrative leave while it investigates, but declined to identify the officer.
An April 20 memo obtained by The Sacramento Bee states Officer Daniel Garland, 42, of Folsom, is no longer allowed at California State Prison, Sacramento.
Garland worked in the prison’s Investigative Services Unit with Valentino Rodriguez Jr., who died of an accidental fentanyl overdose at his home in West Sacramento on Oct. 21. Rodriguez was 30.
The Sacramento Bee published a story on April 15, based on text exchanges left on Rodriguez’s phone, showing how he was affected by repeated harassment and hazing from other officers inside the unit, including Garland.
Rodriguez also alluded to whistleblower violations and other workplace misconduct in notes left on his phone.
Garland didn’t respond to a voicemail on Friday.
Rodriguez’s family filed a complaint with the corrections department shortly after his death and provided a thumb drive with information from the phone to CDCR’s Office of Internal Affairs, according to Rodriguez’s father, Valentino Rodriguez Sr.
Corrections department spokeswoman Dana Simas said in an email that an investigation by the Special Investigations Unit within the department’s Office of Internal Affairs is “being handled expeditiously” and will result in an investigative report that will form the basis of any disciplinary action.
“CDCR takes any incident or allegation of misconduct or workplace harassment very seriously,” Simas said in an emailed statement. “Staff found to have engaged in such conduct are held accountable and subject to discipline up to and including termination.”
She said the Office of Inspector General, an independent watchdog agency, is monitoring the department’s handling of the case.
“This is a deeply troubling case, and we extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Rodriguez,” Simas said in the email.
This story was originally published April 26, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "California correctional officer placed on leave amid investigation related to guard’s death."