Former cop, fire chief gets 3 years probation

January 11, 2006

A retired police officer and fire battalion chief from Petaluma was sentenced to three years probation Jan. 4 after pleading guilty to misdemeanor drunken driving and child endangerment charges.

James Sullivan, 61, a resident of Petaluma who served as a San Francisco police officer and firefighter, was arrested on Sept. 5 after Petaluma Police spotted his vehicle swerving and going 50 miles per hour on North McDowell Street. His blood level was .21, well over the allowable .08, and his twin, 5-year-old children were in the car.

Deputy District Attorney William Brockley was hoping that Judge Dean Beaupre of Sonoma County Superior Court would follow the Sonoma County Probation Office's recommendation by sentencing Sullivan to six months in jail. Sullivan's attorney, Walter Risse, wanted the felony endangerment charges reduced to misdemeanors, and sought probation.

Beaupre delayed sentencing Sullivan so that he could contemplate an appropriate sentence. Beaupre eventually decided that Sullivan put his twins and the general community at too great a risk to reduce the child endangerment charges to misdemeanors, but felt that considering his contrition and family support, a prison sentence wasn't warranted.

Beaupre plans to review Sullivan's probation progress in a year, and said if he complies with the required terms, including no alcohol use, he would consider reducing the child endangerment charges to misdemeanors.