LA CHP Officers Suspected Of Faking Overtime; Dozens Suspended

LOS ANGELES, CA — Dozens of California Highway Patrol face possible criminal charges for allegedly putting in for unearned overtime pay, the department announced Friday. The employees, who are stationed out of East Los Angeles office, have been suspended during the ongoing investigation.

The employees are suspected of defrauding taxpayers of $350,000 in overtime pay. The officers allegedly padded their overtime, claiming to be working longer hours on Caltrans protection details during freeway work, investigators said.

“Our supervisors were complicit in this,” Chief Mark Garrett, who oversees the CHP Southern Division, told the Los Angeles Times. “I am extremely disheartened by the actions of these employees.”

Results of the CHP's internal investigation are being shared with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, officials said.

"I have been made aware of the ongoing investigation into overtime abuse in our East Los Angeles Area office, and I am frankly angered and appalled by the actions of those involved," according to a statement issued by CHP Commissioner Warren Stanley.

Stanley said the issue appeared to be restricted to the East Los Angeles office.

"However, out of an abundance of caution and to ensure something like this doesn't happen elsewhere, the CHP has put additional safeguards in place to prevent it," Stanley said. "The public expects to less."

According to the Los Angeles Times, about 110 people work at the station, and the agency was shifting extra staff to its Southern Division to cover for the suspended officers.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report; Photo: Shutterstock