POST panel recommends revocation for Orange County deputy after division finds repeated dishonesty, DUI and unsecured firearm

The Police Officer Standards Accountability Advisory Board voted 7-0 Thursday to recommend that the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training revoke the POST certificate of Deputy Jared Nathaniel Bertain of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department after the division told the board it found clear and convincing evidence of repeated dishonesty and other misconduct.

The division’s law enforcement consultant, Paul Manfito, told the board the investigation covered events from June 1, 2022, through Oct. 5, 2023, and included four administrative interviews. Manfito said the division’s findings include dishonesty during internal‑affairs interviews, driving while suspended on multiple dates and leaving an unsecured handgun in a rental vehicle that was later driven by another citizen. Manfito told the board the respondent’s blood‑alcohol content in the June 1, 2022, arrest was “greater than 0.2” and that the California Highway Patrol observed the deputy driving at about 104 miles per hour prior to that traffic stop.

Why it matters: A recommendation from the advisory board carries the case to the full POST commission and, if sustained after a contested evidentiary hearing, would bar Bertain from serving as a certified peace officer in California.

What the division presented

Manfito said the division obtained a DMV order of suspension dated Oct. 14, 2022, that stated the deputy’s privilege to operate was suspended effective Oct. 7, 2022, and would not be reinstated before April 7, 2023. The division also obtained a verbal notice of actions dated Dec. 20, 2022, that lists two suspensions and which Manfito said the respondent signed at the DMV on Dec. 20. Manfito told the board that body‑worn camera and traffic camera footage show Bertain driving on at least 18 dates during the period the division says his license was suspended and that the division’s review of patrol schedules and time sheets made it “very improbable” a trainee could have driven him for all of those shifts.

The division also described a Dec. 28, 2022, incident in which a citizen renting a black Ram 1500 found a loaded Glock 19 under the front center armrest; Anaheim Police determined the firearm belonged to the respondent. Manfito told the board the firearm had a 15‑round magazine with one round in the chamber and that the truck had been rented to another citizen after the respondent returned it.

Respondent’s statement and board questioning

Bertain addressed the board and said, “I completely own the mistakes that I have…