A disgraced former Bakersfield Police detective has been sentenced to five years in prison for bribery, drug dealing and other corruption charges.
Damacio Diaz is receiving a sentence much lighter than the state recommended.
"We are extremely blessed and happy to announce that we are victorious," Damacio Diaz
Diaz admits to lying on reports, taking bribes from drug dealers and himself moving as much as forty pounds of methamphetamine, among other crimes, during his time as an undercover narcotics officer.
For nearly two hours inside a federal courthouse in Fresno, Diaz’s brother, wife, and daughter spoke emotionally about his positive qualities and the potential damage to their family of a lengthy sentence.
In the end, federal Judge Lawrence O’Neill determined that for his crimes Diaz should spend five years in prison.
Diaz will not begin his sentence until December and spoke briefly to the media after the hearing.
“We are extremely blessed and happy to announce that we are victorious. And we are blessed. The judge has sentenced me to a time period we believe is fair,” Diaz said.
Diaz’s wife Courtney painted a picture him as a strong Christian and dedicated family man who in her words ‘became a lost soul alone in the dark’ while undercover. She argued that her husband has learned from his mistakes and should not face any prison time at all.
"5 years in jail for a law enforcement officer is a strong sentence," U.S. Attorney Brian Delaney
“There are two reasons for prison,” Courtney Diaz says, “they are for people who are a danger and those who need rehabilitation.”
“There is a third reason: punishment,” Judge O’Neill responded.
One of Diaz’s children tearfully pleaded with the judge saying she has had to forego her dream of attending UCLA in order to fill the void that will be left by her father’s absence.
Throughout the hearing, Judge O’Neill pushed back on this portrayal of Diaz, at one point saying Diaz was a criminal and that one cannot be a cop and a criminal at the same time.
Diaz’s actions, O’Neill said feed into the mentality of people who are ‘totally hell-bent that all officers are crooked’ and casts a negative image not just on the BPD but undermines trust in police in general. In short, O’Neill says Diaz had to face punishment to show the court takes his action seriously.
The sentence is less than the 17-to-22 years recommended by the prosecution, but U.S. District Attorney Brian Delaney said he is ok with it because of Diaz’s cooperation with law enforcement following his arrest.
“It was a very difficult sentencing. I think a sentence of 5 years is less than what we expected. But it is still a strong sentence. 5 years in jail for a law enforcement officer is a strong sentence,” Delaney said.
Diaz is the first of two officers to be sentenced on the charges. However, in letters written to the court Diaz claims the problems at the department go much further.
The U.S. Attorney insinuated that Diaz will likely be part of any further investigation into the department.
