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Police chief accused of sexually assaulting her officers

January 26, 2012

Lisa Solomon

By KAREN VELIE and DANIEL BLACKBURN

Law enforcement officers have names for the girls offering them sex on the beat: Badge Bunny. Holster Sniffer. Uniform Jumper. Handcuff Hugger. In Paso Robles, brethren in blue have one more: The Chief.

A flurry of complaints and mounting grievances alleging sexual misconduct, illegal management practices and retaliation have been lodged against Paso Robles’ first female chief of police, Lisa Solomon. Those known to have made accusations against the chief include five current and former police officers, as well as a growing record of non-sworn police department personnel.

The criticisms against Solomon include allegations of sexual assaults, many committed in the presence of others, repeated affairs with a list of subordinates, and bearing a child out of wedlock fathered by a former lieutenant in the department.

The city has retained the services of an outside investigator to look into the numerous complaints, officers say. Solomon, 43, is married to a San Luis Obispo police officer. She has not responded to detailed emails from CalCoastNews asking for comment.

Numerous officers and department staffers contend that crossing Solomon is dangerous. They say their boss threatens them with trumped-up criminal charges if they rebuff her advances or question her management practices.

After Officer T.J. McCall reported to the city claiming Solomon grabbed his penis while he sat in her car, city officials hired an outside investigator to interview officers about other allegations of unwanted sexual contact.

Former officer Dave Hernandez said he told the investigator of an instance in 2007 when Solomon also touched him inappropriately. In August, Hernandez and another officer in full uniform entered a saloon then called the Crooked Kilt, to do a bar check.

Solomon, who had been out on the dance floor, approached Hernandez in a room full of people and allegedly pushed the officer’s face into her breasts.

“She grabbed my head and pushed it between her breasts,” Hernandez said. “I was shocked.”

Last month, the investigator asked Hernandez why he had not reported the incident back in 2007. He told the investigator he was afraid Solomon would have had him fired if he told, Hernandez said.

“Her MO (method of operation) is to make criminal charges against anyone who crosses her,” Hernandez said. “She will do whatever she can with her power.”

In June 2011, Hernandez, then the union steward, said he complained to City Manager Jim App that Solomon had hired another sergeant at a time when the department was low on officers and heavy in command staff.

In what officers say is typical in the North County department, the chief and several of her top level officers allegedly retaliated against Hernandez and began writing him up for issues such as speeding while transporting a drunk man who was bashing his feet against the back of his seat to the San Luis Obispo County Jail.

In this case, Solomon set out to charge him with negligent operation of a vehicle and being discourteous to a member of the public. Hernandez resigned Jan. 11 and is contemplating filing a civil lawsuit suit against the city.

In 2008, Solomon required all members of the command staff to attend a team-building workshop at the Carmel Valley Lodge during Super Bowl weekend. While there, Solomon allegedly sexually assaulted two officers, according to four officers who told CalCoastNews they were present at the time.

The men, several of whom first told reporters of the incident more than two years ago, have asked to remain unnamed, fearing retaliation.

During the Super Bowl, the officers put work aside and watched the game. After drinking heavily for several hours, Solomon said it was time to get back to work and ordered the seven attending officers to the hot tub for a mandatory meeting, the officers related.

Shortly after they suited up and sat down in the tub, Solomon said, according to the men, “You wanna see boobs?” She removed her top and allegedly rubbed her breast in a commander’s face, officers said.

She then scooted up close to Sgt. Brennen Lux, slid her hand into his shorts and grabbed his penis, the officers said. Lux quickly got out of the hot tub and jumped into the unheated pool.

Solomon then reportedly turned her focus on Lt. Tim Murphy, whom she also groped, the officers said.

The following day, Solomon reportedly warned her command staff that information about the incident was not to leave the conference room they had rented at the retreat.

After Lux rebuffed her advances repeatedly and began questioning the chief about her policies, Solomon began taking actions against him, officers said. She wrote up her former “golden boy” for issues such as speeding to a report of a three-month-old who was not breathing, and speeding to assist another officer who was grappling with a suspect. Lux was a combat Marine and 15-year law enforcement veteran.

In Nov. 2011, Solomon terminated Lux for allegedly committing battery, use of excessive force, and unlawful detention during the arrest of a combative suspect.

Hernandez, the watch commander at the time, said he saw the video of the arrest and contends that Solomon trumped up the charges in a failed attempt to have the officer charged with a crime. And while Solomon sent reports of the alleged assault to the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s office, charges were never filed.

Lux is also contemplating filing a civil lawsuit against the city and Solomon.

Several former employees said they informed city management of the alleged problems in the department during exit interviews, but their concerns were ignored.

City Manager Jim App declined to comment on the alleged investigation. He also demurred when asked why Solomon was not on administrative leave, a question several of her officers are also asking.

When City Attorney Iris Ping Yang was asked if she was aware of an investigation into Solomon’s behavior, she said, “I can’t tell you. I have no comment to make.”

Mayor Duane Picanco said he was surprised by the assertions: “That’s news to me,” he said. “And I mean that.”

And while most of Solomon’s threats of criminal charges against her employees are never filed, or result in the district attorney’s office refusing to prosecute, several employees have been criminally charged after crossing Solomon. Officers say Solomon and a few top-level commanders regularly search videos of employees they are looking to get rid of in an attempt to claim excessive force, and check the employee’s computers for unlawful access of driving records, a misdemeanor.

In 2010, Solomon was allegedly looking to get rid of Officer Jeff Bromby. After the district attorney’s office rebuffed attempts to have the officer charged with theft for helping his girlfriend remove items from an elderly relative’s home, she was successful in having him charged with unauthorized access to driving records.

A few years ago, dispatcher Deleena Rankin began making mistakes at work. Though unknown at the time, she was suffering from a brain tumor.

Solomon went to the dispatcher and asked her to resign or face criminal charges for pulling the driving record of a former boyfriend, Rankin said. And while officers contend Solomon would usually follow through on her promise to not file charges if the employee agreed to resign, in this case Solomon asked the district attorney to file charges on the dispatcher after she resigned. The court sentenced Rankin to one year of probation.

“It was common practice (pulling driving records without a legal reason). Sgt. Dave Buffard looked his son up, and the chief also had her son looked up,” Rankin said. “I had been a dispatcher for 29 years.”

Officer Jon Tatro, the current police officer association president, recently filed a lawsuit against the department regarding the chief’s implementation of illegal ticket quotas.  Ticket quotas are illegal under state law because they can pressure police to write bogus tickets to meet the goal, something Tatro refused to do.

Union officials are currently considering a vote of no confidence against the controversial chief.

Solomon was appointed chief of the 30,000-resident city in 2007. She was the first woman to hold positions of sergeant, lieutenant and captain in the department.

During her 20-year career in Paso Robles, she has been past president of the North County Women’s Shelter and chair of the San Luis Obispo County Sexual Assault Recovery and Prevention Program.

Clarification: The incident with Solomon allegedly touching McCall occurred in her car, not his. The incident was reported to the city, but not through a formal grievance. Jon Tatro’s Los Angeles attorneys sent the lawsuit for filing and have not yet received confirmation.


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According to the PR city web site, the next council meeting is Tuesday, February 7, at 7:30 p.m.


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Thanks hub.


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Thursday February 1st at 7:30 is the next city council meeting. Since this item is not on the agenda, 3 minutes per speaker is allowed at the beginning of the meeting for discussion. Don’t be surprised if the council does not reply to any comments or requests. This is obviously a tight lipped issue. However, if they see a lot of support to at least put her on ad. leave like she should have been, something may happen. This is starting to be an embarrassment for the city and hopefully they will do something.


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No, there are two things that are embarrassments to the city. 1, that you have a completely ineffective mayor that doesn’t pay attention to what’s going on in your town. Please when you go to that meeting try to keep him focused and on point. Try to make sure that he’s not eating or sleeping through the meeting. 2, whats also embarrassing is how so many people have already convicted Solomon. Those are the truly embarrassing issues.


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The Lisa Soloman story is not a new one.


Her antics in the bars of san miguel prior to her police dept chapter was common knowledge.


She had no business being considered for police chief in the first place.


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Dancing on the tables while everyone could see up her dress, in case anyone is wondering what pasojim is referring to. Conduct you would expect from a drunk 18 year-old on spring break….. just disgusting. ZERO ethics. She is a slap in the face to every officer out there wearing their badges proudly. Keep your heads held high officers, we are here to be the voice that you weren’t able to be. This time “WE’VE GOT YOUR BACK!!”


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That’s why Paso needs to go back to square one and go over the hiring procedures with a fine tooth comb. Something is very wrong when a person like this can get hired as police chief! It makes a mockery out of the PD. At the very least, as some have already asserted here, the Chief should be placed on administrative leave to prevent her from doing any more damage and to properly investigate this.


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The reason that Solomon seems to be already convicted is that many, many residents have seen Lisa Solomon acting and dressing inappropriately around town: wearing a low cut blouse (not her uniform) to a DARE meeting at an elementary school, wearing pants with JUICY written on the rear, and of course, the dancing, the drunkeness at local bars, the loud arguments in public places with an ex-husband, and so on and so forth. She’s been a loose cannon for years.


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I heard Karen V. mention the Juicy sweats, I thought that was really looking for something to complain about, pretty lousy to even bring it up IMO. I used to have a pair of Juicy sweats and trust me if you knew me you’d see that I dress pretty conservatively and I’m very very very old to boot. That is a very popular brand and many moms and daughters wear it, I think that makes the argument look stupid. Those other things, I see what you’re getting at but male cops have acted like this for a long time. Not all of them but cops can party pretty hard. None of this is reason to convict her yet. But if she did do things that she’s accused of doing to these fellow cops then she needs to go.


When I read your post it made me think of the blond on Reno 911. I love that show and still watch the reruns. As a matter of fact it sounds like that show might have been inspired by the PRPD.


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She wore the sweats while commanding an hours-long standoff with an armed felon holed up in a PR house.


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Maybe she was out and about and couldn’t go home and change. I hope that if I call for an emergency that the officers don’t run home to change first.


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AS THE CHIEF OF POLICE she should not have be wearing such garb in public anywhere where she might be recognized. Yes, this means even when she’s not on duty.


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So does that go for a man as well. If he goes to the gym or just wants to be comfortable while off duty he shouldn’t wear sweats in case he gets called to an emergency?


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This is not a gender issue. This is one of dignity. Solomon flunked the test…


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The point is she is a police chief

of She has a staff to run things she doesn’t have to be hands on (no pun intended) in a dangerous situation. She should have put something more professional on. Have been practicing law in this county and in the bay area for 35+ years and I have never seen a police chief act so blatantly unprofessional.


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The “JUICY” sweats are just another indicator that she should never have been appointed as chief. If she was wearing them at home (her private business in that case) and received an emergency call she should have taken 30 seconds to change. If she was already out-and-about wearing the sweats in public (even on her own time), she was wearing clothing that is unbecoming any police chief. Very bad form. Those that don’t grasp that are part of the problem.


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Unbecoming to who? That is your opinion. I see no difference between those sweats and other sweats, it’s not like she was wearing daisy dukes that showed her butt or a plunging neck line showed off her girls. Geez, I’m old but my goodness this is just so backwards, you sound like my grandfather. So you want to decide what clothes cops wear when off duty? Wow, that’s pretty bad. As I said above, if I call for an emergency I’d rather they come right away as opposed to stopping to change. Wearing Juicy Couture is not the same as running out in her Victoria Secret undies, they are not more obscene than Nike sweats. So if an off duty cop shows up with Nike on his arse are you going to complain? It sounds like there’s enough on this lady without going after the brand name of her sweats.


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Actually no, it’s not simply “my opinion.” You’re wrong about that. The position of chief of police demands many quality, one of them being dignity. Wearing “JUICY sweats” is not dignified no matter how you try to spin it. When you or most others wear “JUICY sweats” it has little consequence. When a chief of police does in public, it negatively impacts the entire community she serves. Your inability to recognize that fact means that like Solomon you’re not prepared to be a chief of police.


When someone accepts the responsibility (and pay/benefits) as a chief of police they’re virtually on call 24/7. They need to have the wisdom and maturity to always act in a manner worthy of their hire. Solomon is trash. I am stunned she was not arrested and jailed years ago. I’m actually more stunned that she ever became chief to begin with…


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You’re right, I’m not prepared to be a chief of police but that’s not because of my clothes.


I disagree with you, I think it’s just a bunch of backwoods BS. As I said, I bet you’d have no problem if a good boy had Nike or Abercrombie Fitch on his butt. 100 years ago when I used to body build in the little non commercial gyms around here I used to see male cops in one of those gyms and their behavior was rediculous and the stupid things they wore were never even considered. I finally stopped going to that gym as when I came in they acted like juiced up steroided animals that had never seen a woman, they made me feel very self-conscience. It was common knowledge that this is how they acted. Granted, I don’t know if any of them at that time where high ranking but I’m sure that if they were that they would have gotten a pass.


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1.) It’s your shortcoming if you cannot understand the difference between the public wearing Nike/AF sweats and sweats with “JUICY” emblazoned across the derriere.


2.) We can discuss the behavior/garb of other cops as a separate topic but it in no way mitigates (nor is it related to) Solomon’s behavior or her choice in inappropriate garb for a chief of police in public.


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So really what you’re saying is that the brand ‘Juicy’ is what bothers your. I guess it’s how you take it. I don’t take it as meaning anything dirty or inappropriate. I feel that’s totally unfair to try and stop someone from wearing a certain brand because in your mind it means something inappropriate especially a pair of sweats which is a very popular brand and other than apparently in few minds there’s nothing wrong with them,,,I guess to some they mean something dirty or obscene but I don’t believe that most people would agree with that. I wonder how many women here feel that the Juicy brand is obscene or dirty. My gosh Juicy make little girls clothes and I don’t feel it’s obscene. This conversation sounds a bit Talibanish. Perhaps we should have men with sticks that smack women of power if they feel their clothes are inappropriate, perhaps a burka would be more in order.


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Wow, two typos from me. Tuesday, Feb 7th is the next date. So very sorry. I must have been typing way too fast.


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Officer Hernandez reports being assaulted by the Chief at Pappy McGregor’s/The Crooked Kilt. Isn’t that the joint where the Corona Crowd, aka the Paso 13 Gang hangs out? What in the world is the Chief of Police doing partying in a place like that? How can she command respect personally or command respect for the Paso Robles Police Department? It is no wonder that the town is succumbing the gangs and riffraff.


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I don’t know what everybody is worried about.


I remember a while ago Dwayne Picanso Called an illegal city council meeting and broke the rules of the meeting for public comment and approved the city hiring a legal firm that represents the biggest corrupt city governments (any body remember BELL calif.).


It was so popular with our city council memebers a few didn’t both to show up for the meeting.


I am sure our city employees have our best interest in mind


Aren’t career polititions wonderful.


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Yep, you’re right. The City of Paso Robles hired “the same attorney firm that signed off on the lavish salaries of city of Bell officials and employees.”


That’s disturbing to read that councilman Picanco claim he doesn’t know anything about the department heads that report to him and his council pals? (“Mayor Duane Picanco said he was surprised by the assertions: “That’s news to me,” he said. “And I mean that.”) REALLY?????? WHY NOT? WHY ARE MATTERS OF THIS GRAVITY NEWS TO YOU?


And why does the city have attorneys who are from outside the area? There’S lots of local talent they could hire. Yang’s expertise first and foremost is redevelopment? I thought there were no more redevelopment agencies anymore. Why does the city pay a redevelopment attorney to represent them?


Big picture: city council doesn’t seem to know anything about who and how the city is run. The city manager hides in the shadows and behind a city attorney whose expertise is redevelopment (and those agencies have had the plug pulled on them), and the city is represented by “the same attorney firm that signed off on the lavish salaries of city of Bell officials and employees.” http://calcoastnews.com/2010/08/paso-robles-hires-bell-attorney-firm/


Every last one of them should be on administrative leave while a full investigation is conducted. Doesn’t seem anyone is doing the job they were hired to do, except the council did take a big political leap and stand to protect the plastic bag from extinction. Wow!


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“What in the world is the Chief of Police doing partying in a place like that?”


That’s an excellent question. LE has no business hanging out in bars. Period. That is extremely dangerous for them to be doing that, first of all. It also sets a bad example for other LE personnel. It also reflects badly on the image of the PD. It gives the appearance at least, that discipline is going to hell. In fact, that appears to be what is happening at the PRPD; discipline going to hell. And it appears that the chief perpetrator is the one at the top. The chief perpetrator should be on the hot seat right now answering tough questions about what she and her officers have been up to.


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Here is a list of City Officials contact info if anyone needs them.

http://www.prcity.com/government/citycouncil/pdf/CityOfficialList.pdf


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Oto/Giselle, I don’t have time to scroll down and find your post, I looked through two pages and ran out of patients.


You said: “You will notice that CCC tends to block posts which criticize their articles “due to poor”


First of all you seem to keep having a problem with typing the right initials, awhile back you were calling it ‘CNN’ and now you’re calling it ‘CCC’. It’s not the famous national news station and it’s not the California Conservation Corps. It’s ‘CCN’. I understand getting it wrong, on a few occasions I’ve typed it as CNN but you’re starting to get irritating. But the reason I wanted to respond is that I frequently criticize ‘CCN’s articles and I don’t remember any of them being blocked. I don’t agree with the style of some of their articles or how they might be written but in all fairness I only get blocked by the readers, I’m sure of that and it’s not usually when I criticize CCN. I was blocked in this thread and I did criticize CCN but it’s obvious that I was blocked because of the sudden infiltration of Paso cops, their supporters and the usual right wingers who don’t like anything I say, not because of CCN. You are wrong by insinuating that CCN blocks posts that criticize CCN.


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The post isn’t blocked, it can still be read. It say’s it is hidden due to low comment rating but anyone who wants to read it can click the link. That’s what happens when there is an onslaught of thumbs down on a post that the readers don’t like.


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All thumbs


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Reply to Typo:


This Solomon article provides a good example of my observation that the blocked=censored comments are not censored because they are unpopular. If that were the case, ALL blogs which receive a high proportion of Thumbs Down would be blocked=censored as well. But this blog site appears to block only those views which express sympathy for Solomon’s position, or which criticizes the degree of maliciousness that is levelled against her. For example, any comment that favors equality for women in the workplace as it applies to discrimination based on sexual harassment is blocked=censored.


On the other hand, any comment which receives proportionately high Thumbs Down because the criticism is overwhelmingly hostile in terms of the sexual innuendo it infers against Solomon is permitted to remain unblocked=uncensored, even when it now rises to the level of defamation.


Likewise, negative criticism is not only permitted to remain, but the site managers CCC (that’s an abbreviation for a term, like “LOL”) have also greyed out the Thumbs option to prevent voting, thereby affecting the accuracy of the response.


It also causes people to click many times more than they normally would. This gives the site a higher rating, I think. I’m sure you know better than I how the popularity and economic value of a Web site is calculated in the online industry.


Over-clicking also occurs when you try to go through the pages in sequence on this blog and several pages are not indicated in the pagination at the bottom of the article. That’s why you probably had trouble finding my post, in addition to the large number of sexually derisive blogs.


Another problem is the alteration of the date stamps on certain blogs, such as yours to make it appear as if you were answering my blog before the date I wrote it. This is permitted by the managers of the site, according to Go Daddy.


So is editing the text of what was written by a blogger without their knowledge or consent. It’s just an observation. I’m ready and willing to have the alteration of these features explained by a techie. That way, I will know how invasive the software is that connects the site to my computer.


If the site is being hacked in order to detract from its popularity, the site administrators (Dan Blackburn and Karen Velie) should also be made aware of this. Maybe you could pass the info. on to them.


Thanks.


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oto

You don’t read your mail, you don’t respond to your mail.


I explained how it works (the voting) but you don’t understand how it works.


You claim other thing are happening but can’t link to anything or show me anything despite my asking nicely in the mail you won’t respond to.


Anybody with a website can do the things you go on about. We at CalCoastNews don’t.


Your repeated accusations of conspiracy, hacking and censorship on my part, just because some comments were unpopular with the 12,000 people who followed a link to the Solomon story from a huge gun/leo blog (only 65 down thumbs? ).

Again you don’t understand how it works, more traffic sometimes more voting.


So oto you can stop making things up about us, or flame out. Your choice.

Further discussion >> admin@calcoastnews.com


Also why did you call go daddy? We don’t host there. You don’t understand how to read a domain record.


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I guess nobody could,………(JUST SAY NO.),,,,,,, and this must of been an act of god


***,”bearing a child out of wedlock fathered by a former lieutenant in the department.”


**************Why can’t we just not judge and turn the other cheek?*******************


Any way let’s get down to business, could be a lot of people working there need to cover asses?


Hot debate, what do you think? This is not meant to be demeaning to others in anyway.


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Chese. I went through the Citizens Police Academy or whatever it’s called back in 2008 with the intent of volunteering with the Community Police Program. It was obvious to me that something was very wrong with the Police Department at that time and I didn’t volunteer. When you have a 10 week program with police officers and no one even mentions the Chief, as if she didn’t exist, you know something is going on. In most police departments, the chief is part of the comradery and part of the direction of the department. Officers talk about the chief and what the chief is trying to accomplish, and what the chief thinks, etc.


Thinking back, it was just like the silence of incest.


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Good observations, Citizen. That says a lot about what is probably going on. I still say that watch dogs need to investigate why she was hired to the last excrutiating detail. Something is not right here. I strongly suspect that those who hired her must share a lot of the blame for all this mess. It really would be in the best interests of Paso that several people on the city council tender their resignations along with the Chief. It would be nice if they would just admit that they made a big mistake and just resign, but since that’s not likely, the residents of the city are probably going to have to get tough and pressure them to do the right thing.


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Amen. But as you say their egos will get in the way and not allow them to do the honorable thing…


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I love you guys, I finally got a super low rating, the whole thing was a joke, I guess a lot of YOU!

Have no sense of humor at all! She is kind of cute, though? Spose nobuddy could just say no!


Just think if she was a man and did this? Men rule the world, wemon rule the men and that’s the way it’s always been. Sorry nothing will happen to her, maybe probe-bation?


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I don’t think the taxpayers of Paso Robles will accept the expected early retirements and/or disability claims from Solomon, App and others who have broke the law with regard to this soap opera. Enough is enough. I think the taxpayers are going to demand actual justice this time. They are going to demand that Solomon, App, etc. al. be treated the same way a typical unprivileged taxpayer would be treated in this instance.


Heaven help the Paso Robles City Council if they try to facilitate “sweeping this one under the rug.” If they tried that I suspect massive public pressure would force their resignations.


Solomon, App and company MUST GO!


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They don’t have a choice in whether or not they “accept” early retirement and disability claims.


The employees are given rights via their personnel policies, and state/federal laws.


You cannot undo what has been done. But the PR voters can start now, AND STAY ON TASK, in getting better leadership for their city.


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MANY times early retirement/disability claims are not challenged as they could be in order to expedite resolution and exposure. I don’t think the citizens will accept that sort of behavior this time around. I think if the city council tries to pay fast and loose on this one that they’ll have a mini-revolution on their hands…


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Letting the perp get away with this stuff would set a very bad precedent for the city. It would destroy morale in the PD, and it would destroy the people’s faith in their city government. Some reputations and careers are going to be destroyed in this one way or another. That can’t be helped due to the stupidity, arrogance, and compulsions of some. I would not pay this woman a dime, if the allegations are true. The trouble with this whole thing is that the city council is probably going to be reluctant to fire her because that would reflect very badly on themselves. If Solomon has to go, maybe they ought to go, too! Are they going to follow that logic easily? Not likely! I look for them to cut a deal with Solomon, and then plea for “healing,” “compassion,” “understanding,” “getting beyond the unpleasantness,” etc. It will be a seamless ploy and gambit for their survival.


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All very true. Particularly your comment “the trouble with this whole thing is that the city council is probably going to be reluctant to fire her because that would reflect very badly on themselves.” That so very true. At the very least Solomon, Jim App and any PD command staff that is in bed with Solomon (no pun) needs to be purged.


I think what’s ultimately going to force the Paso City Council’s hand is $$$. Once the allegations are proven once and for all, the number of lawsuits filed against Solomon, App and the city is going to be awesome.


If a deal is cut with Solomon (which I agree App and the council would much prefer) I think there is going to be bedlam like the City of Bell here in Paso.


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Yeah? Like what the hell are you going to do, sit on your but!


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I sincerely hope that Parkinson is looking at all this and realizing that he probably needs to lend some resources in Paso Robles immediately. When one considers that there is certainly division within the PRPD and it’s ranks, Paso Robles is now in a very precarious situation due to the criminal elements who will seek to exploit the perceived PD implosion for their own criminal gains, and when this many Officers come forward, make no mistake about it, there is an implosion in process. Paso Robles will absolutely require current outside or county assistance to further protect the citizens and local business establishments.


While the mindset and conduct of gang bangers is just plain ‘STUPID’, they themselves aren’t necessarily ‘STUPID’, in fact some of these gangsters are actually rather bright which is why many of them manage to survive the life style they embrace for as long as they do. The criminals will be out to take advantage of the fractured ‘brotherhood’ and the situation that has recently come to light. The fact that Solomon is still running the department despite the descent within the ranks, lack of trust and a perception of gross incompetence will continue to accelerate the hostile work environment that currently exists. This perception is a breeding ground for outside criminal activity.


Unfortunately, Alps refusal to follow standard BMP and place Solomon on Admin leave coupled with the CC’s inaction in the matter including the problem with their city manager has now placed the entire city of PR at high risk from criminal predators seeking to exploit the system failure. Then of course there is the cost of the legal civil issues and Alps idiotic grand standing which serves to perpetuate a FULL BLOWN HOSTILE work environment, because once the cat is outta the bag, things initially get worse before they get better. All I can say is that Alps is mentally challenged where Solomon is concerned. It must be love……..


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Good point. You know the Sheriff is the Chief Law Enforcement Officer in the County. This includes Municipal Cities.I wonder what he is thinking about all of this. I know for a fact he hasnt had his head in the sand all these years and knows all about Lisa.


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Slowtime. It is really amazing that most people in Paso know about Lisa, except for the Mayor and City Council. They are in the dark and purposely kept in the dark by App. I talked to one of these council men, years ago, when he was running for office. After my rendention of her performance and lewd reputation, he told me that these were all rumors, and that she was able to get grants for the department. I think he actually believed his own fairy tale of hometown girl makes good.


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I know, it is simply unbelievable that the council had no clue “and I mean that” lol. What about Gary Nemeth? He was with SLOPD during most of the “Solomon Years” and had to have heard stuff. He was their union rep for a time too. Nemeth has a sense of right and wrong in a chief, he was going against SLOPD staff for his union stuff. Did he too have a blind eye for Solomon while he was on the Council? I dont get it? Did she really do everyone?


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I doubt Gary played the fiddle with her, but who knows. I do know that she and Parkinson were pretty buddy, buddy while he was running for office. I specifically remember her being in a chamber function booth for “elect parke” for most of the night.


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Good thoughts. Yet the Sheriff cannot just “step in”. Incorporation as a city means independence. Either the city would need to ask for assistance or some very high up authority (state level) would be required to essentially take over.


Government operates not on its own, but by the authority granted by the People. It is only by the People’s authority or operation of law (again the People’s authority) that changes are made. The city manager has ALL of the People’s authority. The city council DOES NOT have authority to run the city–at least directly. The council directs the city manager. If the city manager goes rogue then the council DOES have the authority to replace the city manager, but the council DOES NOT have authority to run the police department directly.


Likewise, if the council goes rogue, the People can replace the council. But that takes a recall, which is cumbersome and slow. The city of Bell remained out of the People’s control for months because of the slow recall process. There is no indication that Paso’s council is rogue in any way.


Hence, it is ESSENTIAL that the People demand the council to make immediate demands of the city manager. As standup posts below, the People need to attend the next city council meeting. If the Sheriff needs to come in, then it must be through proper authority delegated from the People to the council and to the city manager OR through state laws which are also the People’s authority.


Lawsuits and liability are payed by taxpayers because it is ultimately their decision who is in charge. The People are responsible for their delegates’ actions, just like any corporation.


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It is not that hard to replace city council. WE have an election comming up and have two career politicians and an incombant that can be replaced with responsible citizens.


The cesspool on spring street can begin to be cleaned up the next day.


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Actually the sheriff can take over a police department if the department demonstrates widespread corruption or inability to provide basic law enforcement services. The sheriff is a state official as his position is created by the state constitution. The sheriff is elected to serve a county in the same way superior court judges are. The sheriffs authority to disband a police department was upheld by the California Supreme Court in the case of Pitchers versus City of Lynwood. In that case the LA sheriff disbanded a corrupt department and then billed the city for police services. The Court said the sheriff had the authority to do both. In our present situation we have an out of control police chief, this does not merit an intervention by the sheriff; the attorney general or the FBI maybe, but not the sheriff.


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FYI, The sheriffs department has the responsibility in taking over any local police agency and call in the DOJ if any police department is found to be so negligent.

For your comfort, you can bet Sheriff Parkinson is keeping a close eye on this situation and being up dated on any new developments.

I had posted a comment to this story and related how a San Luis Obispo Police Officer, three total got on the witness stand in open court and perjured themselves.

One had become a deputy with the SLO Sheriffs Department.

One of the very first official acts Sheriff Parkinson performed right after taking office was to fire that officer.

This is not to say or imply Sheriff Parkinson ever knew about what that particular officer had done, but does show patterns have a way of catching up with everyone, only takes the right person to do something about it.


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If you don’t think that the county law enforcement hasn’t already stepped in you are mistaken.

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2011/06/10/1638010/14-arrested-8-cited-paso-gang.html#storylink=misearch

This wasn’t just a one time thing. I have personal knowledge of what started this event. The Sheriff Gang Task Force came in and “took over” (their words not mine) the situation and, has been in town on a regular basis since this initial article was published. I have seen, on several occasions, multiple Sheriff cars in town doing traffic stops. It’s obvious to me that the Sheriff already felt there was some kind of a problem. Paso PD has been very lax on their handling of the drug and gang issue lately. Most likely due to poor leadership.


I was not a Parkinson supporter when he got hired but, I have been converted. I believe that he and his department will do everything in their legal power to keep Paso Robles safe if they are needed.


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Love and madness often go hand in hand. Maybe it IS love, or someone’s twisted view of it. At least there is the strong possibility that a sort of “love” is near the center of this mess. We have all heard of “crimes of passion.” Unfortunately, even the “watchers” need to be watched and monitored. There is no perfect system. That’s why the people need to remain alert and stay involved and ask questions when things don’t look right.


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Since it appears she is receiving favoritism from Jim App, this appears to be based on her being a woman. I don’t think Jim is doing his job effectively at this point. The next city council meeting is a week from Tuesday. It would be nice to see some local folks at the podium complaining about this whole issue.


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WARNING TO MR. APP:


Although I don’t know Mr. App, he really needs to distance himself from the Lt.’s, Capt, and the Chief if he wants to save his job. He must do the right thing and we all know what that is. A change of management in the positions of Chief, Capt., and Lt. If App had prior knowledge of these incidents, especially what has occurred in Carmel he is in danger or possibly losing his job as well.


From what the article has mentioned I see approximately five felony assaults per PC 149, and several sexual assault violations which can be prosecuted as misdemeanors or felony violations, and a looming felony conspiracy charge per PC 182 for the top brass. Many may say PC 149 may not apply but it possibly could, as the Chief dresses in civilian clothing on and off duty. The statute of limitations may have expired on some of these potential misdemeanor code violations but the felony violations have a much longer shelf life.


So if Mr. App wants to keep his cushy 200k job he better hurry up and make the tough yet right decision(s).


What I would really like to see is one or two of the of the PRPD cops go through their policy manual and see how many Police Department Policies have been violated by Chief Solomon, Capt. Burton, and the Lt.s! This would blow everyone’s mind. The majority of the policy violations I see deal with “Honesty” and “Integrity”, which are the foundations of what law enforcement officers MUST possess! If you do not have these qualities among several others, you have no business in this profession!


OK then got to go to the dispensary. It is only open til noon on Sundays!


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What is the dispensary?


Good post by the way, I don’t know what laws apply to the allegations brought against Solomon but I do know that to grope someone without their consent is a sexual assault and this is something that Solomon appears to have a propensity for perpetrating on a frequent basis, especially when she is drinking. No doubt she looses control of herself when she drinks and I don’t know what’s going on inside her psyche’ but one would think that she would have learned to stay sober by now while she works out what the problem is. I suspect that she is a control freak because she has no control and as long as she can control others, she figures her problem isn’t a problem.


One thing for certain is that a double standard exists here. If a male supervisor did this to a female subordinate (or any female), he would be arrested and put in jail as he should be. If I were a cop, I would speak to an Officer that she molested and the witnesses and then I would go make an arrest on Solomon myself.


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Sounds good but if App is fired from being city manager the contract the city council signed for him lets him return to his old job running personnel. There was an article in the paper about it some time ago.


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Thanks for that info.


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