Man killed in Nipomo collision suspiciously played with children

November 14, 2012

Christopher C. Tietjen

The man identified as the victim in a fatal roadside collision in Nipomo had garnered attention from law enforcement for acting suspiciously around children.

San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Christopher C. Tietjen in 2010 following a report of him playing on a playground behind a Nipomo elementary school despite a court order not to associate with children. Tietjen, arrested in 2008, also for inappropriate behavior with children, allegedly played on a slide with kids between the ages of one and five during the 2010 incident.

Tietjen died Monday at the age of 24 after a Prius struck him while he was walking on the shoulder of Thompson Avenue in Nipomo. CHP is still searching for the driver of the Prius.

Tietjen did not appear on the California list of registered sex offenders.


Loading...
13 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Is this the guys obituary? That he was a troubled person, who on some occasion behaved inappropriately? They man is dead…let him RIP


Wow, now mr Bird is sanctioning murder for the simple reason this guy might have ‘played with children’.


I like to play with children, what sane person doesn’t? They are fun, honest, have no psychological baggage like so called adults and are full of wonder. They don’t hold grudges, they have simple desires and (until polluted by their parents) are not racist, agist or sexist. They remind me of dogs, or vice versa. Does anyone know a ‘grown up’ that possesses most of those qualities?


If they ARRESTED you for “inappropriate behavior with children” I would feel the same about you. I don’t care who you are, there is no excuse for inappropriate behavior when it comes to little children and he was arrested so obviously he had issues. I think we are all making assumptions about his behavior, you, in that you think he was a simple minded 24 year old who just liked to play with children even through his conduct was inappropriate and me because I have children and I will protect them and all children to the end of this world if someone is/was inappropriate to them. Inappropriate legally is inappropriate.


Trouble is none of us know what the article, cops or you mean by inappropriate behavior, or what he supposedly did. In our current climate of manic fear there are many possible permutations.


I feel the same as you, I like to think I would do anything to protect any child, yours included. But is showing interest illegal, or improper? It all depends on the climate of anxiety society holds at the moment, we are certainly getting much more anxious these days. But protecting our kids from the benefits of petting a strange dog, or meeting a stranger, or risking a skinned knee from playing too hard is certainly a debatable subject. Over protection can do harm as well. I would not want my kids to grow up in a cocoon of protection, not knowing the joys of experiencing new things and people.

In this case we do not know what happened.


This is exactly the kind of trash disguised as “reporting” that reminds me not to look at this website.


This story has no bearing on the incident (as far as anyone can tell now) and is in extremely poor taste considering this guy lost his life.


This is Calcoast true colors.


I find it unfair and in poor taste to present a suggestive head-line story about an individual who was killed and was mentally ungifted. His comfort zone likely was well below his age and it is not uncommon for those individuals to seek their social age level. I’m very sad for the parents and the unfortunate aftermath.


“His comfort zone likely was well below his age and it is not uncommon for those individuals to seek their social age level”


Reminds me of “Of Mice & Men” Steinbeck


And we know how that ended.


Yeah, hooray hit and run diver who killed someone who was mentally disabled and apparently has never been convicted of anything!


Maybe he was never convicted because he was mentally disabled. That is no excuse for his behavior around children. PROTECT THE CHILDREN AT ALL COSTS! Obviously, at least from 2008 – 2010, and probably ongoing he had issues with children. I will make no excuse for protecting children from adults who pursue them, regardlesss of their situation. Ask the families of the six people who have been killed in this County in the past years due to mental illness. It is a painful situation but inexcusable regarding the children.


He was arrested for in 2008 for “inappropriate behavior with children.” What does that mean?


He then violated a court order (“not to associate with children”) and played on a slide, on a playground, behind an elementary school. Dana Elementary is near the county park in Nipomo. Was the playground on Dana Elementary property, or on the County property?


Santa Maria times indicates that in 2010 the victim was arrested “on suspicion of annoying children under 18 after he was reportedly seen loitering in a school yard and talking to small children.”


The victim was regularly and frequently seen by his caseworker, “at least four times a week,” according to the caseworker.


I’m all for protecting children from pervs, but, considering the fact that the victim was mentally disabled, I just wish there was more definitive information for the jump from “annoying children” to “acting susiciously” enough that he warrants the assumption that he had any ill intent towards the children, and certainly there is no indication that he touched or threatened any child.


Finally, the victim was hit and left there to die for a long period of time. That is an act of supreme cowardness and inhumanity on the part of the Prius driver. I don’t want that reality to be put aside because the victim was on probation for “annoying children.”


My comment, by the way, was meant to be a response to the nitwit SLOBIRD and not a stand-alone comment.


Thank you, prius driver, you have probably saved many a little children from being a victim of this man’s immoral behavior. One for the taxpayer’s!