By Brian Rokos
The Press-Enterprise
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Three Riverside patrol officers who had disabled military veteran license plates on their personal vehicles were fired Tuesday, April 28, Police Chief Larry Gonzalez said Wednesday.
The officers, Timothy Popplewell, Raymond Olivares and Richard Cranford, were given notices of intent to terminate on Feb. 25. They appeared April 21 at what is known as a Skelly hearing, where they were allowed to argue against termination to Gonzalez.
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Gonzalez said the officers went through the proper process to obtain the plates, but “The issue we had was how they got the license plates. I made the decision after a thorough investigation. It was all based on facts.”
Gonzalez declined to elaborate, citing a discrimination lawsuit the officers filed against the city in connection with the investigation. He also declined to say whether the department offered the officers the option of surrendering the plates to avoid or limit discipline. No other officers in the department have the plates, Gonzalez said.
The Riverside Police Officers’ Association, the union’s attorney and the attorney who filed the lawsuit could not be reached for comment as of midday Wednesday.
The plates, issued in California by the Department of Motor Vehicles, are provided when a healthcare professional certifies that the veteran has severe mobility issues, has lost the use of a limb, has suffered permanent blindness or has been certified as 100% disabled by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
The DMV must accept a VA certification, the DMV website says. The decision to issue plates does not take into account a person’s current employment.
The license plates allow motorists to park in designated handicapped parking spots, along blue (for handicapped) and green (for loading) curbs with no time limit, in areas that require a resident permit and for free in metered parking areas, according to the DMV. The plates also exempt the users from vehicle registration and license fees.
Disabled placards provide the same parking privileges, but unlike the plates, may be moved from one vehicle to another.
Attorney Matthew McNicholas, who filed the lawsuit, said in a previous interview that how the VA determines disability is misunderstood.
“Their disability ratings are not the same as saying, ‘You are disabled for work,’” McNicholas said. “What (the police) are saying is, ‘Well, if you are disabled and you certify you are disabled to get this plate, you must have lied’?”
Popplewell served in the military from 2008 to 2011 and, like the other two officers, joined the department in 2019, according to the lawsuit. He has served in the SWAT team unit. Olivares was in the military from 2013 to 2019. He was in the department’s Honor Guard at the time of the allegation. Cranford was in the military from 2010 to 2014. He has also been a SWAT team officer.
The VA considers several illnesses and injuries — some obvious, some unseen — in calculating a disability rating.
The condition must have been developed during a veteran’s service, from a preexisting condition that was aggravated by the service or be a condition that did not appear until after the service member was discharged but was presumed to be caused by the service.
Physical conditions considered include problems with bones, muscles and joints; asthma and COPD; hearing and vision impairments; and digestive and skin problems. Accepted mental health conditions include PTSD, anxiety and depression.
Popplewell was previously in the news for smashing a resident’s skateboard in January 2025 in an incident captured on surveillance video. He and another officer, who photographed the broken skateboard, were given misdemeanor diversion on a vandalism charge; the charges were dismissed after they paid fines and completed community service.
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