Federal court temporarily bars Sheriff Miller from campaigning in uniform

A federal court has issued a preliminary injunction barring Monterey County Sheriff Scott Miller from participating in political activities while wearing his uniform.

The Deputy Sheriffs’ Association of Monterey County sued Miller and the Monterey County last month, alleging that deputies’ first amendment rights to free speech and expression were being violated. The suit also accuses Miller of violating state law by campaigning in uniform.

The injunction means Miller and the county may not discipline deputies for violating provisions of Policy 1058, which prohibits deputies from “engaging in off-duty speech that may tend to compromise the reputation of the Sheriff’s Office or its employees.”

It also prohibits deputies from identifying themselves “in any way as being affiliated with the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office” when contradicting or supporting political campaigns, social issues, or causes.

The Deputy Sheriffs’ Association claims Miller has subjected deputies to internal affairs investigations for allegedly violating the policy for “merely identifying themselves as deputies or members of the Deputy’s Association in connection with political mailers.”

The organization’s president, Scott Davis, says the policy has caused members of the organization to avoid participating in off-duty political activities out of fear of being disciplined.

(Read the injunction here.)

The injunction prohibits Sheriff Miller from participating in political activities in uniform, and from using pictures of himself in uniform in his campaign materials.