Another Fullerton Police Officer Arrested in Connection with Suicide Death of Inmate

2011 wasn’t exactly a banner year for the Fullerton Police Department. Already embroiled in scandal surround the death of a transient named Kelly Thomas that resulted in the arrest of multiple Fullerton officers on charges ranging from second degree murder to involuntary manslaughter, another Fullerton officer has been charged with two misdemeanors related to the death of an inmate who committed suicide while in lock up.

Vincent Thomas Mater has been charged with one count of destroying evidence in a death investigation and another count of vandalism. His criminal defense attorney denies any wrongdoing.
The incident that led to the arrest stems from a DUI arrest that Mater made in April of last year. After arresting a subject on suspicion of DUI, Mater attempted to download a recording of the arrest to his computer. Fullerton police are required to record all public contacts. According to Mater, he struggled to download the recording, and out of frustration threw his recorder against the wall, causing it to break.

An internal investigation by the Fullerton Police Department determined that the recorder did not break in the way that Mater described, and they turned the case over to the district attorney’s office. The internal investigation suggests that Mater intentionally destroyed his recording device and went so far as to remove the recorder’s motherboard after learning that the man he had arrested committed suicide in his jail cell.

If convicted on both misdemeanor counts Mater faces up to 18 months in jail.

For the Fullerton Police department it is just another black mark on their public perception that has already been dealt a huge blow following the Kelly Thomas case.