Deputy District Attorney Ticket Fixing Scandal
Instead of trying to fix the ticket herself, Deputy District Attorney Allison Worden should have contacted Ticket Snipers to get her ticket dismissed the right way.
The San Diego Deputy District Attorney, who also goes by “Debow,” was found guilty of accused in an alleged ticket fixing scandal was found guilty of conspiracy to obstruct justice and alteration or destruction of a traffic citation. Sgt. Friedman, who was also charged, retired before the trial.
The Traffic Stop Incident
Months earlier Worden and Deputy District Attorney Amy Maund were ticketed by Officer James Zirpolo for failing to wear seatbelts when they went through a “Click It or Ticket” checkpoint, which focuses on seat-belt violations.
The Attempted Fix
Worden tried to talk her way out of the ticket by telling the officer that they were Deputy District Attorneys. When that failed, Worden called her friend at the San Diego Police Traffic Division, San Diego Police Sargent Kevin Friedman. Worden accused the officer of inappropriate conduct during the stop, telling Friedman that the officer got into her personal space. Worden then allegedly asked the officer if he could take care of her ticket. According to the complaint, Friedman removed the tickets from an open bin and destroyed them after Zirpolo had left for the day.
Consequences
When Maund, who told Worden not to do anything about her ticket, found out that both tickets were dismisses, told a supervisor at the District Attorney’s office about the incident. The DA then placed Worden on administrative leave while the police conducted an investigation. The police sent their investigation findings to the District Attorney, prompting the Attorney General to file misdemeanor charges against Worden and Sgt. Friedman, who was placed on administrative desk duty. Maund did not face any charges. Worden’s employment was up in the air at the time of the guilty verdict.
The San Diego Police Department is no stranger to ticket-fixing scandals. Twenty-six years ago the chief and assistant chief were part of a widespread practice of fixing hundreds of tickets for colleagues, friends, relatives, influential civic figures and members of the media. Because the law was unclear, the two were merely issued reprimands. The law is now clear. Since 1987, altering or a destroying a citation has been illegal.
Department Audit
After the guilty verdict was handed down, the San Diego Police Department then launched an audit to ensure that ticket-fixing is not a widespread problem that goes beyond this one incident.