Cash, fun, and a shot at Super Bowl glory.
The San Francisco 49ers had it, and some lucky members of the San Jose police department wanted a piece of it.
E-mails from several San Jose police officers, including the sergeant apparently in charge of determining who could work security for the team, reveal a "close" relationship between the SJPD and the 49ers with little oversight, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
At the center of it is Sgt. Sean Pritchard, who apparently had the authority to recommend officers to be hired to protect the 49ers by an Oakland-based security company.
Pritchard called working for the 49ers a "cash cow," the newspaper reported. It was also Pritchard who, on duty and in uniform, was found to be at the home of defensive lineman Ray McDonald when police responding to a report that McDonald had struck his fiancee, the newspaper reported.
Pritchard was reportedly called there by McDonald prior to police being called, the newspaper reported.
The department has since suspended officers working for the team following that Aug. 31 incident. But other examples persists.
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The newspaper also reported an assistant chief also received free VIP passes to a preseason game courtesy of the team.
