An 18-year veteran with the San Diego Police Department was recently appointed to a state board that sets selection and training requirements for hundreds of law enforcement agencies across California.
The appointment of Sgt. Nicholas Nguyen — who ran afoul of department policy a few years back when he hung a sexually explicit patch on his wall — still must be confirmed by the state Senate. If approved, he will serve a three-year stint on the 18-member Commission on Police Officer Standards and Training, or POST.
From shaping the material law enforcement hopefuls must master before becoming peace officers to setting standards for continuing training conducted by departments — such as courses on leadership and ethics — the commission has an outsized impact on policing in California.
The choice drew praise from San Diego police Chief David Nisleit and Mayor Todd Gloria when the appointment was first announced last month.
“It is always a point of pride for me to see City employees being selected to help lead at the state level,” Gloria said in a statement. “I want to thank Governor Newsom for recognizing the caliber of officers we have in our San Diego Police Department to serve on these boards.”
Sgt. Nicholas Nguyen
(San Diego Police Department)
Nguyen has been a sergeant since 2014, department officials said. He has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from University of California, Riverside, is the director of the San Diego Police Officers Association and volunteers with several organizations, including as a board member of the San Diego chapter of the Gary Sinise Foundation, which supports veterans, first responders and their families.
Police leaders said Nguyen would bring a wealth of experience to the state board including with critical incidents, de-escalation, training, leadership and problem-solving.
“I can’t speak highly enough about his qualifications, his abilities and what he brings to the table every day,” said Capt. Jeff Jordon, Nguyen’s supervisor.
In 2019, Nguyen was disciplined after police investigators determined the sergeant had committed sexual harassment when he put up an explicit patch in his cubicle. The files were released under a state law that makes some police personnel records public, including sustained findings of discrimination.
The patch, reported by a coworker, was about 3 inches wide and had three sexually suggestive images of naked women embroidered on it — one woman next to each of the words tap, rack and bang. That phrase references actions one can sometimes take if a weapon with a removable magazine fails to fire.
“I could not believe that a sergeant of the San Diego Police Department would depict negative images of a female alongside other law enforcement patches inside of a San Diego police facility,” the person who reported the patch said in department documents.
The patch was one of many — about 300 — that decorated Nguyen’s cubicle, which was in a high-traffic area and often visited by the sergeant’s subordinates, department records say. Nguyen told investigators he hung the patch up about four years prior — around the time he became a sergeant. He also said he understood why the patch violated department policy.
Investigators determined the patch constituted sexual harassment, which can include visual harassment, defined in department policy as sexually suggestive or derogatory posters, videos, cartoons, drawings, documents, writings, electronic mail, texting, staring or leering.
Nguyen was reprimanded and removed from his position on the department’s SWAT team.
When asked about the incident, Jordon noted the discipline occurred more than four years ago and that Nguyen took responsibility for his actions and grew from it. It’s exactly the sort of response the department hopes for when someone makes a mistake, the captain said.
“I view him as somebody who has taken his discipline, learned from his discipline, didn’t excuse it, and doubled down with his work ethic and his desire to make a difference, not just in this department, but in law enforcement, in general,” Jordon said. “And he sought to continue that with POST.”
Still, some community leaders questioned the appointment.
“As the name suggests, (the POST Commission) is a body that advises on the standards of peace officer conduct, so for a candidate, their character and conduct need to be unimpeachable,” said Julia Yoo, a San Diego civil rights lawyer.
Nguyen did not respond to requests for comment on the findings.
The Senate, which has adjourned until Jan. 3, will take up the appointment next year.
