News

A Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office deputy who claimed he was sideswiped has resigned after a CHP investigation into his on-duty crash found no other vehicles were involved in the incident near Singley Hill Road and Loleta Drive that sent his patrol car down an embankment.

“The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office has been in communication with the California Highway Patrol regarding this incident. The deputy’s actions are unacceptable and deeply disappointing,” Sheriff William Honsal said in a news release, which state an internal investigation had been underway.
“The actions displayed by the involved deputy are not representative of the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office’s mission, vision, or values, or the nearly 300 employees of the Sheriff’s Office who dedicate themselves to the service of our community every day. We will continue to review this incident internally to identify and correct any organizational shortcomings.”

The former officer, identified in a media reports as Matthew Arellano, crashed his patrol vehicle in the early morning of Aug. 7, with the sheriff’s office posting about his claims of being sideswiped in now removed social media posts. He resigned five days later, according to the sheriff's office.

Read the HCSO release below:

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office was recently made aware of the findings of a California Highway Patrol collision investigation involving a sheriff’s deputy on August 7, 2021.

The California Highway Patrol concluded that there were no other vehicles involved in the crash, contradictory to the deputy’s initial statement provided to investigating officers. Upon learning this information, the Sheriff’s Office acted swiftly to begin an internal investigation into the matter.

On August 12, the deputy involved in this incident resigned employment with the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office.

“The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office has been in communication with the California Highway Patrol regarding this incident. The deputy’s actions are unacceptable and deeply disappointing,” Sheriff William Honsal said. “The actions displayed by the involved deputy are not representative of the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office’s mission, vision, or values, or the nearly 300 employees of the Sheriff’s Office who dedicate themselves to the service of our community every day. We will continue to review this incident internally to identify and correct any organizational shortcomings.”

Due to personnel protection laws, the Sheriff’s Office is unable to disclose more about this matter. Further inquiries about this specific case should be referred to the California Highway Patrol.