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Placer County Sheriff's Deputy, 2 Correctional Officers Arrested

AUBURN (CBS13) - Three members of the Placer Sheriff's Office have been arrested after an investigation into alleged excessive force at the county jail.

Placer Sheriff Devon Bell announced the arrests of Deputy Robert Madden, Correctional Officer Jeffrey Villanueva, and Correctional Sgt. Megan Yaws on Wednesday.

Jeffrey Villanueva, Robert Madden, and Megan Yaws (l-r)

Bell says the three were arrested after an investigation into allegations of excessive force used on inmates at the Placer County Jail.

The investigation was sparked after a supervisor was reviewing video footage at the jail. Management reviewed the video and other incidents and deemed the actions of the officers unreasonable.

After a joint investigation with the district attorney's office, the three were arrested.

"Please hear me when I tell you, under no circumstances will unethical or illegal conduct be tolerated under my watch. The culture of our organization is founded upon public trust," said Sheriff Bell in a statement about the arrests.

Deputy Madden is facing four counts related to excessive force and three counts of falsifying an incident report. Correctional Officer Villanueva is facing one count related to excessive force and a count of falsifying a report. Investigators later added two additional charges of assault under the color of authority. Sgt. Yaws is facing one count of falsifying a report.

The three officers have been placed on administrative leave.

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