Post panel recommends decertifying Orange County deputy after division finds repeated dishonesty, DUI and unsecured firearm

The Peace Officer Standards Accountability Division recommended revoking the POST certification of Deputy Jared Nathaniel Bertain of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department after investigators concluded he gave dishonest statements in four internal affairs interviews, drove on a suspended license following a DUI conviction and left a loaded handgun unsecured in a rental vehicle.

Division law enforcement consultant Paul Nanfito told the Police Officer Standard Accountability Advisory Board that the division found “clear and convincing evidence” that Bertain committed multiple acts of serious misconduct under penal code section 13510.8 and related commission rules. Nanfito said the case spans two internal affairs investigations and 17 months of events between June 1, 2022, and October 5, 2023.

The division’s presentation said Bertain was stopped by the California Highway Patrol on June 1, 2022, and later pled guilty in Orange County Superior Court on Oct. 7, 2022, to two misdemeanor DUI counts and admitted a blood alcohol concentration greater than 0.20. The division presented a DMV order of suspension dated Oct. 14, 2022, showing the respondent’s driving privilege was suspended…