Opinion ID: 1630402
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: ALLEGATIONS AGAINST YBARRA (a) D.G.

Text: Prior to attending law school, Ybarra worked as a police officer with the Scottsbluff Police Department from December 1997 to March 2003. During this time. Ybarra had an intimate relationship with a woman who will be referred to as D.G. The relationship ended in August 1999. In August 2001, D.G. twice filed a petition for a protection order against Ybarra. The petitions were denied. In an affidavit in support of one of the protection orders, D.G. reported incidents of Ybarra's harassing her. On April 22, 2001, Ybarra arrested D.G. for driving under the influence (DUI). According to D.G., Ybarra was sitting in his patrol car outside a bar when D.G. left the bar. Ybarra followed her for more than a mile and turned on his patrol car's overhead lights when she stopped at her sister's house. D.G. was not concerned at first, because Ybarra had previously pulled her over on a number of occasions to talk to her and ask her to go to lunch. Instead, Ybarra administered field sobriety tests and then arrested D.G. After she posted bond and returned home at 4 a.m., D.G. found Ybarra waiting for her. Ybarra then entered her house without permission. She asked him to leave, indicating that if he did not, she would call the police. Ybarra said, `I am the police' and left. He subsequently called D.G. from his patrol car. She told him she had nothing to say and hung up. D.G. said she believed Ybarra was using his authority to intimidate her. Ybarra told a different version of the events of that evening. Ybarra said he was on patrol when he saw a vehicle make a wide turn. He followed the vehicle and determined it was speeding. Ybarra stopped the vehicle and then learned D.G. was the driver. Ybarra arrested D.G. for DUI and transported her to a police station. Ybarra said he went to D.G.'s home at her request to inform her mother that D.G. had been arrested. He claimed there was a problem with the telephone in the jail. Ybarra said he went to an automatic teller machine to get cash for D.G.'s mother to use to post D.G.'s bond. When he returned, D.G. was present because her bond had already been posted. A patrol sergeant with the Scottsbluff Police Department testified that the bar D.G. left before being arrested by Ybarra was not on Ybarra's assigned beat on that night. The sergeant did not think it was feasible for Ybarra to have seen D.G. make a wide turn from the point where Ybarra said he was parked at the time. The sergeant said he used the telephone in the jail that night and had no problems. He said he could not believe that an officer would actually bond out his own prisoner. He said there had been several complaints against Ybarra because Ybarra parked at that bar and followed customers after they left. D.G.'s driver's license was temporarily revoked as a result of the DUI charge. After an administrative license revocation hearing, the revocation proceeding was dismissed by the hearing officer. Ybarra had previously testified in a number of hearings before the same officer. At Ybarra's hearing before the Commission, the revocation hearing officer testified that Ybarra exercised horrendous judgment by going to D.G.'s mother's home at 3 a.m. to loan her money to post D.G.'s bond. The officer stated that Ybarra was not credible at the revocation hearing. Ybarra had encouraged the officer not to dismiss the revocation proceeding because it would affect Ybarra's reputation and because he thought the dismissal would jeopardize his credibility as a police officer. The revocation hearing officer said he thought Ybarra was acting as a rogue cop and that it appeared Ybarra had been scorned and was trying to get revenge on D.G. The second incident between Ybarra and D.G. occurred on July 22, 2001. When D.G. called police to her home for a domestic dispute, Ybarra was the first officer to arrive. D.G. said she tried to walk away from Ybarra, but he got in his patrol car and cut her off by driving in front of her. Ybarra grabbed her arm and said he wanted to talk, but D.G. refused and asked to speak to another officer. D.G. wrote to the Commission to express her concerns about Ybarra. She stated her belief that the protection orders were denied because Ybarra was a police officer. She reported to the chief of police incidents of Ybarra's contacting her without permission, but the complaints were initially ignored. D.G. said she moved out of Nebraska to get away from Ybarra. She believed Ybarra was dangerous, and she feared he would use his authority to his advantage if he were granted a license to practice law.