Oceanside settles two lawsuits with its police officers by increasing pay for dog handlers and giving most rank-and-file officers extra paid time off.
For the canine officers it means a little more money to care for the dogs. The officers will also be compensated for back pay.
The other suit was brought by officers who said they should have been paid for work related chores they did off the clock, like getting into and out of uniform and prepping patrol cars before shift.
They will get the paid time off, 10-precent of which they can cash in each year.
The City Council approved the settlements by a vote of 4-to-1. The North County Times spoke with Councilman Jerry Kern who agreed some of the points in the case were silly but that the case needed to be settled quickly.
Since the lawsuit was filed in 2006, the Police Department has changed its policies, assigning cars to officers and giving them 10 minutes at the beginning of each shift to get ready for work.
