Pubdate: Sat, 21 May 2011
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Copyright: 2011 Hearst Communications Inc.
Contact: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/submissions/#1
Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/388
Authors: Justin Berton and Demian Bulwa
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/corrupt.htm (Corruption - United States)

SAN LEANDRO DRUG COP CHARGED WITH MARIJUANA FELONY

(05-20) 18:19 PDT SAN LEANDRO -- A San Leandro police narcotics 
detective was charged Friday with giving more than a pound of 
marijuana to a confidential informant - a woman who was engaged in an 
extramarital affair with the officer, according to his attorney.

Detective Jason Fredriksson, 38, provided the marijuana to the woman 
so she could sell it, police said. He surrendered Friday and pleaded 
not guilty in Alameda County Superior Court in Hayward to 
transporting and furnishing marijuana for sale, a felony. He was 
released on $40,000 bail.

Outside the court, his attorney, Harry Stern, said Fredriksson was 
guilty only of a lapse in judgment, not a crime, and denied that the 
detective had given marijuana to the informant.

"This is a case of dangerous liaisons," Stern said. "He got involved 
with a person romantically that he shouldn't have."

Authorities did not identify the informant. She has not been charged.

Prosecutors did not say where they believe Fredriksson got the 
marijuana. But San Leandro police emphasized that the case was not 
connected to a drug-theft prosecution in Contra Costa County 
involving a former state narcotics agent who headed a multi-agency 
law enforcement task force.

San Leandro police said Fredriksson, who is married to a dispatcher 
with the department, is also the subject of an internal investigation 
regarding the informant, but declined to elaborate.

A search of Fredriksson's Danville home March 23 turned up evidence 
that led to the charges, Police Chief Sandra Spagnoli said. 
Fredriksson has been put on paid leave, she said.

"The San Leandro Police Department will not tolerate and deplores the 
conduct that has been alleged to have been engaged in by Officer 
Fredriksson," Spagnoli said. "The department takes great pride in 
professional service to the community and places a high priority on 
public trust."

Fredriksson's wife, Sheryll Confreros Fredriksson, was awarded 
Dispatcher of the Year in 2007, according to the department's website.

She has also been placed on paid leave as part of the internal 
investigation, Spagnoli said. She is not part of the criminal probe 
and has not been charged, the chief said.

"Obviously, this is a complicated family issue," said Stern, the 
defense attorney. "My client is in a tough spot, there's no question."

Jason Fredriksson has been on the San Leandro force for nine years, 
and most recently has been a detective in the vice/narcotics unit and 
a member of the 14-person SWAT team. He formerly worked as an Alameda 
County sheriff's deputy.

Fredriksson was the first officer to respond to the July 25, 2005, 
slaying of a fellow officer, Nels "Dan" Niemi, 42, who was shot and 
killed by Irving Ramirez, 23, near Doolittle Drive and Belvedere Avenue.

A San Leandro officer who did not want to be identified because of 
the investigation said Fredriksson wore his blood-soaked uniform for 
18 hours while he helped locate and arrest Ramirez, who had fled on 
foot after shooting Niemi in the back of the head.

The incident earned Fredriksson "the respect of every man and woman 
in this department," the officer said.

According to his Facebook account and other social-media sites, 
Fredriksson is an avid motorcyclist who goes by the handle "Big 
Dirty." He writes a blog that chronicles his two-wheeled adventures 
along the back roads of Northern California.

Fredriksson is due back in court June 14.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom