The San Mateo County District Attorney's Office announced earlier in the day that the deputy taken into custody last month for alleged timecard fraud shouldn't have been arrested in the first place and that an investigation into the matter by the Sheriff's Office had been "extraordinarily limited."
Deputy Carlos Tapia was arrested Nov. 12 on suspicion of felony grand theft by false pretenses, and was later released on bond.
Tapia shouldn't have been arrested, and the case is closed, the district attorney said.
Tapia is the president of the San Mateo County Deputy Sheriff's Association union and has been a vocal critic of embattled Sheriff Christina Corpus's administration.
The union along with the San Mateo County Organization of Sheriff's Sergeants said Tapia's arrest was retaliation for being a whistleblower.
Corpus has come under fire in recent months for allegedly retaliating against Sheriff's Office employees, using racist and homophobic slurs and giving too much power to her civilian chief of staff Victor Aenlle.
Independent investigator and retired Judge LaDoris Cordell found in her 400-page report that Aenile had an inappropriate personal relationship with the sheriff -- an accusation Corpus denies.
Earlier this month, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors voted to move forward with a charter amendment that would allow them to remove her from office.
The sheriff has repeatedly refused calls for her resignation that have come from the board and local, state and federal leaders such as U.S. Reps. Kevin Mullin and Anna Eshoo, state Sen. Josh Becker, and Assemblymembers Marc Berman and Diane Papan.
