A man who worked as an assistant fire chief for the La Habra Heights Fire Department pleaded no contest Friday to a misdemeanor count of impersonating an investigator during a traffic stop in Whittier.
Timothy Peel, 37, was required to surrender his license as an emergency medical technician that allows him to be a firefighter and to write an apology to a fellow La Habra Heights fire employee whom he stopped in 2021, according to Deputy District Attorney Casey Higgins.
Peel is also expected to complete 26 psychological counseling classes and perform 240 hours of community service, according to the prosecutor.
Three felony counts of perjury by declaration are expected to be dismissed at Peel’s sentencing next January if he completes the requirements, Higgins said.
“The circumstances leading to the filing of this charge involve a 2021 encounter between Mr. Peel, who at the time was an assistant fire chief with the La Habra Heights Fire Department, and another male employee from the same fire department,” Peel’s attorney David Borsari said in a statement released shortly after Peel’s no contest plea. “The two men knew each other and had worked together.”
Peel’s attorney said his client was “dressed in his fire uniform during the entire encounter and did not possess any firearms.”
“During the encounter, the two men had a conversation as each sat in his own vehicle,” Borsari said. “Mr. Peel never attempted to issue a citation or arrest the employee. However, during the encounter the employee has stated he did not feel free to leave.”
Peel is “currently employed by the city of La Habra Heights,” according to his attorney.
Peel was arrested in January 2022 following an investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Public Corruption Unit into allegations against him about a series of traffic stops, authorities said.
Peel allegedly used a white 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD pickup truck equipped with lights and a siren, Deputy Alejandra Parra of the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said shortly after his arrest.
He was released from jail after a $100,000 bond was posted.