ALAMEDA COUNTY, Calif. — Forty-seven sheriff’s deputies in California’s Alameda County were relieved temporarily of their law enforcement duties on Friday after an audit determined that they earned unsatisfactory scores on psychological examinations dating back six years.

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According to KTVU and KGO-TV, 30 of the deputies reassigned to desk duty worked at the Santa Rita Jail, and 17 were assigned elsewhere across the county.

The reassignments, which account for roughly 5% of the county’s 1,000-member sworn force, applied only to deputies who earned “D. Not Suited” on evaluations dating back to 2016, the TV station reported, KTVU reported.

In the short term, the action means the affected deputies have been stripped of their arresting powers and firearms but will retain their pay and benefits, accirdubg to the TV station.

According to KGO, the audit was triggered by the arrest of Alameda County sheriff’s deputy Devin Williams Jr. in connection with the murder of two people in a Dublin home. Further investigation revealed that the 24-year-old deputy had had a relationship with the woman who was slain and that he had failed his law enforcement psychological exam.

The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office said Monday that psychological testing standards have changed since 2016, the TV station reported, adding that the 47 officers will undergo a new round of psychological screenings.

Alameda County Sheriff Gregory Ahern penned a letter to the affected officers, obtained by KTVU, in which he vowed to schedule the new exams promptly because his intention is to “resolve this issue as quickly as possible” and allow officers to “return to full duty status once you obtain a ‘suitable’ finding.”

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