Former Santa Clara County jail union president placed on leave amid vague circumstances
SAN JOSE — Capt. Amy Le, who until recently was president of the Santa Clara County Correctional Peace Officers’ Association, was walked off the job last week and placed on paid leave amid vague circumstances, according to authorities and sources familiar with the case.
The Sheriff’s Office is being tight-lipped, saying in a statement, “In fairness to the employee and the entire Sheriff’s Office, we caution against any speculation and we cannot comment on personnel matters.”
When reached by this news organization, Le declined to comment, citing similar privacy reasons. A law enforcement source said Le was summoned to Sheriff’s Office headquarters Friday and served with an administrative letter. Her badge was confiscated, and she was escorted out.
One jail deputy, when reached by phone, said she was dismayed by how Le was treated given her three decades on the job.
News about Le’s job status surfaced in an ABC7 report Monday, which cites sources alleging she had ordered the construction of a gazebo and barbecue grill at the Elmwood jail complex in Milpitas. She paid for some or all of it and improperly assigned inmates to build it, according to the report.
But multiple sources familiar with the case, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter, said that wasn’t the reason Le was benched. Even if the barbecue grill allegation were true, they said, it would not warrant placing her on paid administrative leave.
Typical circumstances for placing a sworn officer on paid leave include a pending disciplinary or criminal matter, including being involved in an officer-involved shooting or similar critical use of force.
Le gained public stature, both inside and outside the Sheriff’s Office, as an outspoken supporter of Sheriff Laurie Smith’s recent re-election campaigns, when as head of the jail union she steered the organization’s endorsement toward her, as well as over $100,000 in union funds supporting Smith’s candidacy. She was promoted to captain after Smith was re-elected last fall, which ended her eligibility to head the union.
Le took over as union president after Lance Scimeca, an ardent Smith critic, was terminated for his involvement in a prolific exchange of racist and derogatory texts among jail deputies, a scandal that eventually ensnared Don Morrissey, the former president of the Deputy Sheriffs Association that represents the patrol and enforcement side of the Sheriff’s Office.
Supporters of Le have lauded her work in helping institute an array of reforms in the county jail system spurred by the murder of mentally ill inmate Michael Tyree by three jail deputies. She said all that work led to the excessive overtime spending by the Sheriff’s Office that drew scrutiny from the county and Board of Supervisors. A related report highlighted Le as one of the agency’s top overtime earners, which critics called unusual given her supervisory position at the time as a lieutenant.
Sources have also identified Le as one of the supervisors on scene after mentally ill inmate Andy Hogan was severely injured last summer after hitting his head against the wall of a transport van, prompting his family to question whether sheriff’s deputies took proper precautions to prevent his injuries and acted quickly enough to get him proper medical attention.