FRESNO, Calif. — Correctional officers in Fresno and San Joaquin counties will receive limited peace officer status under a new California law named in honor of a Fresno County officer who died from injuries suffered in a jail lobby shooting.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2004 into law Sept. 14. The measure takes effect Jan. 1, 2027.
In Fresno County, correctional officers will be retitled to correctional deputies, according to the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office. They will be permitted to carry firearms while on duty, and their families will qualify for certain line-of-duty death benefits that were not previously available to them.
The law adds Fresno and San Joaquin counties to a section of the California Penal Code that recognizes certain deputy sheriffs assigned to county correctional facilities as peace officers.
Their peace officer authority will remain limited to duties performed in county correctional facilities, including the care, supervision, security, movement and transportation of inmates.
Fresno County Sheriff John Zanoni said the change will not move correctional staff into courthouse or patrol assignments.
“Their job duties will stay the same. They will continue to work in our custodial facilities, in our jail facilities,” Zanoni said. “You’re not going to see them out on patrol because those individuals are deputy sheriffs who have gone through a six-month police academy.”
Correctional deputies will continue to attend the county’s core academy rather than the six-month academy required for patrol deputies, Zanoni said.
Current employees will undergo updated background checks to meet California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training requirements. All correctional deputies will also be required to qualify with a firearm annually.
Their badges will be changed to read “correctional deputy” instead of “correctional officer.”
The law states that it does not change bargaining units, compensation negotiations or job assignments. It also does not authorize correctional personnel to replace traditional deputy sheriff positions.
California law grants this form of peace officer status on a county-by-county basis. More than 40 counties were already listed under Penal Code Section 830.1(c), and lawmakers have added counties through separate bills over several decades.
Law named for fallen correctional officer
AB 2004 is referred to as the Scanlan Bill in honor of Fresno County Sheriff’s Correctional Officer Toamalama Scanlan.
Scanlan and fellow Correctional Officer Juanita Davila were shot in September 2016 after an armed man entered the Fresno County Jail lobby and opened fire. Davila recovered, but Scanlan suffered severe injuries and died in 2021.
Zanoni said the attack demonstrated the risks correctional officers face outside secure areas of the jail. Although their uniforms closely resemble those worn by deputy sheriffs, correctional officers have not been authorized to carry firearms while moving through public areas or conducting other department business.
“It is a huge benefit to them for their safety, you know, so they can go home at night to their loved ones, their children, their families,” Zanoni said.
The Legislature cited the volatile conditions inside correctional facilities and the role custodial officers play as the first line of defense during jail emergencies as reasons for extending the designation.
The law does not give correctional deputies the same statewide authority held by patrol deputies. Their peace officer authority applies only while they are performing their assigned custodial duties or carrying out agency-directed law enforcement work during a local emergency.
What are the benefits and drawbacks of granting correctional officers limited peace officer status?
