A San Diego Police Department officer was arrested earlier this month by officers in Temecula on suspicion of public intoxication, adding to the list of recent arrests of San Diego-based law enforcement agents.
Officer Martin Palma-Castorena, who's been with SDPD for four years, was taken into custody at around 2:20 a.m. on Feb. 5. Palma-Castorena is one of five San Diego-based agents arrested in a roughly month-long span beginning Jan. 6, 2023.
Palma's arrest followed the arrests of four San Diego County Sheriff's Department deputies.
Deputies Tara Heath and Shawn Kobs were arrested on the same charge as Palma — suspicion of public intoxication — following a bar fight at the Red, Whites & Brews bar in Ramona just after 8 p.m. on Feb. 4. Two other deputies face drug-related charges stemming from separate incidents.
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Circumstances surrounding Palma-Castorena's arrest are not entirely clear, however, the "incident was isolated and not related to a fight or other such event," according to Sergeant Wendy Brito-Gonzalez, a spokesperson for the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.
"The city of Temecula has a dedicated team to policing the area of Old Town. They are highly visible and proactive in enforcing a zero-tolerance focus on criminal activity. This includes being drunk in public," Brito-Gonzalez added.
Despite multiple requests, SDPD has not provided NBC 7 with a statement regarding Palma-Castorena's arrest, however, the department has a history of immediately suspending arrested officers without pay and removing their police powers until an investigation has been completed.
