In Riverside, California, the local police department is embroiled in a legal battle over license plates. They are not plates that belong to citizens, but to three police department officers who are also military veterans, and have state issued disabled military veteran plates on their personal cars.
Those license plates, the department claims, were improperly obtained by officers Timothy Popplewell, Raymond Olivares and Richard Cranford. Riverside Police Chief Larry Gonzalez has moved to fire the officers after questions were raised over how they can be disabled veterans while meeting the demands of being full-time officers on the force since 2019.
“Three Riverside police officers served our country and now their department wants to fire them. They’re ready to work, fully fit for duty,” said attorney Matthew McNicholas, who represents the officers, in a video statement posted online that’s been shared with Military.com. “Their department saw the veteran plates on their cars and suddenly feels their disability status is a problem.”
According to McNicholas, the officers were suspended in May 2025, despite all three being rated 100% disabled by the Veterans Administration. That, in turn, gave them the legal right to apply for and obtain disabled military veteran license plates from the California Division of Motor Vehicles…