{"id":37877,"date":"2020-10-23T15:09:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-23T15:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/sheriff-deputies-claim-ignorance-in-evidence-scandal\/"},"modified":"2020-10-23T15:09:00","modified_gmt":"2020-10-23T15:09:00","slug":"sheriff-deputies-claim-ignorance-in-evidence-scandal","status":"publish","type":"sermon-illustrations","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/sheriff-deputies-claim-ignorance-in-evidence-scandal\/","title":{"rendered":"Sheriff Deputies Claim Ignorance in Evidence Scandal"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As part of a grand jury inquest, two Orange County sheriffs testified that they didn&rsquo;t know it was against the law to falsify police reports. To virtually no one&rsquo;s surprise but their own, these deputies were fired and prosecuted.<\/p>\n\n<p>Bryce Richmond Simpson and Joseph Anthony Atkinson Jr. were caught up in a department-wide evidence scandal that was unearthed in 2019. The two were asked to account for discrepancies in their daily police reports; their reports showed them submitting evidence, when in reality they&rsquo;d failed to do so.<\/p>\n\n<p>These two were part of a group of 17 deputies investigated for failing to adhere to proper chain of custody protocols regarding evidence collection. The investigation was sparked by an internal audit, which revealed that over a two-year period, 27% of the deputies were found to have delayed evidence submissions by at least 31 days.<\/p>\n\n<p>Sheriff&rsquo;s Department spokesperson Carrie Braun told reporters that the investigation has prompted new requirements and more robust testing protocols. Braun wrote, &ldquo;Evidence booking protocols now require deputies to include confirmation of the booked evidence in their report, which is then reviewed by a supervisor before being signed off. The Department also conducts randomized spot checks every month &hellip; to ensure evidence is booked as documented.&rdquo;<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading is-style-article-subhead2\">Possible Preaching Angle:<\/h2>\n\n<p><em>Christians ought to be known for a commitment to honesty and integrity, especially if we occupy positions of power; otherwise, our witness is compromised.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"template":"","tax_ctp_audience":[],"tax_ctp_authors":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[165],"tax_ctp_format":[171],"tax_ctp_illustration_types":[411],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[],"tax_publications":[140],"tax_ctp_tags":[3372,3458,3745,3800,3889,3901,3957,4164,4264,4351,4368,4411,4546,4821],"tax_ctp_topics":[395],"class_list":["post-37877","sermon-illustrations","type-sermon-illustrations","status-publish","hentry","tax_publications-ct-pastors","tax_ctp_tags-accountability","tax_ctp_tags-authenticity","tax_ctp_tags-deception","tax_ctp_tags-dishonesty","tax_ctp_tags-ethics","tax_ctp_tags-evidence","tax_ctp_tags-falsehood","tax_ctp_tags-honesty","tax_ctp_tags-integrity","tax_ctp_tags-leadership","tax_ctp_tags-lies","tax_ctp_tags-lying","tax_ctp_tags-news-that-illustrates","tax_ctp_tags-responsibility"],"acf":{"scripture_references":[{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null}]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Sheriff Deputies Claim Ignorance in Evidence Scandal - CT Pastors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/sheriff-deputies-claim-ignorance-in-evidence-scandal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sheriff Deputies Claim Ignorance in Evidence Scandal - CT Pastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As part of a grand jury inquest, two Orange County sheriffs testified that they didn&rsquo;t know it was against the law to falsify police reports. To virtually no one&rsquo;s surprise but their own, these deputies were fired and prosecuted. Bryce Richmond Simpson and Joseph Anthony Atkinson Jr. were caught up in a department-wide evidence scandal Read more...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/sheriff-deputies-claim-ignorance-in-evidence-scandal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CT Pastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CTPastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/12\/ogimage.png?resize=1200,628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@CTpastors\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/sheriff-deputies-claim-ignorance-in-evidence-scandal\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/sheriff-deputies-claim-ignorance-in-evidence-scandal\/\",\"name\":\"Sheriff Deputies Claim Ignorance in Evidence Scandal - CT Pastors\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-10-23T15:09:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-10-23T15:09:00+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/sheriff-deputies-claim-ignorance-in-evidence-scandal\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/sheriff-deputies-claim-ignorance-in-evidence-scandal\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/sheriff-deputies-claim-ignorance-in-evidence-scandal\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Sheriff Deputies Claim Ignorance in Evidence Scandal\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/\",\"name\":\"CT Pastors\",\"description\":\"Timeless wisdom for pastors with forward-thinking solutions\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Christianity Today\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/08\/logo_ctpastors_black.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/08\/logo_ctpastors_black.svg\",\"caption\":\"Christianity Today\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CTPastors\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/CTpastors\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Sheriff Deputies Claim Ignorance in Evidence Scandal - CT Pastors","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/sheriff-deputies-claim-ignorance-in-evidence-scandal\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Sheriff Deputies Claim Ignorance in Evidence Scandal - CT Pastors","og_description":"As part of a grand jury inquest, two Orange County sheriffs testified that they didn&rsquo;t know it was against the law to falsify police reports. 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