Sheriff Martinez Approved Over 200 Gun Waivers for Deputies, Records Show — Including Jail Guards and Long Guns

San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez has approved more than 200 waivers allowing deputies to bypass California's 10-day waiting period for personal firearm purchases since taking office in January 2023, a sharp reversal from her predecessor's practice following a federal gun-trafficking scandal, newly obtained records show.

The waivers, known as gun letters, were reviewed by the San Diego Union-Tribune and revealed that Martinez approved dozens of exemptions for jail deputies who are not authorized to carry firearms on duty, as well as at least three waivers for long guns — shotguns and a carbine rifle — despite an internal rule limiting the letters to handguns.

"That exemption is lawful, applies only to the waiting period and does not replace the California Department of Justice firearm eligibility process, which remains fully in place," Sheriff's Office spokesperson Lt. David Collins wrote in an email to the Union-Tribune.

Post-scandal pullback reversed

The surge in waivers under Martinez contrasts sharply with the final years of former Sheriff William Gore. After a captain in the department, Marco Garmo, was indicted in 2019 for illegally purchasing off-roster guns and reselling them to non-law enforcement buyers, Gore sharply curtailed approvals. By 2021, when Garmo was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to federal weapons charges, Gore had signed only five gun letters for the entire year.

Martinez, who won election in 2022, reinstituted a streamlined email-based process that puts the waiver decision directly in the sheriff's hands without review by senior command staff or Internal Affairs.

"Sheriff Martinez reinstituted the practice of providing active sworn employees of the department waivers authorizing immediate pick-up of firearms," the department's gun letter request form states.

The records also show that deputies regularly purchase off-roster firearms — handguns that are not legally available for sale to civilians in California.

Jail deputies and long guns

State law specifies that the 10-day waiting period waiver is meant for law enforcement officers who use a firearm in the course of their duties. But Martinez approved waivers for deputies assigned to the county's jails, where they are prohibited from carrying firearms on the job.

"Detentions deputies may also be eligible because they are peace officers and, in certain assignments and circumstances, are required to be armed," Collins said.

At least three waivers approved by Martinez were for long guns, despite the department's own one-page application stating, "The San Diego Sheriff's Office does not approve gun letter requests for rifles — Handguns Only."

Comparison to L.A. County

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department maintains a stricter standard. Its policy manual states waivers are requested by unit commanders and issued only under urgent circumstances. "It is the policy of the department not to provide waivers of the statutory 10-day waiting period," the L.A. manual reads.

The San Diego Sheriff's Office said it recently implemented a new written policy and checklist adding multiple levels of review. "The new written policy and checklist add multiple levels of review," Collins said. "The process also improves documentation, verification and record-keeping to reduce clerical errors and promote transparency."

Collins added the department's review "has not identified a prior denial or a case in which the California Department of Justice later determined that a deputy who received a waiver letter was prohibited from possessing a firearm."