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San Diego scandal cause for new Paso chief withdrawing?

January 4, 2013

Manny Guaderrama

The San Diego police captain slated to become Paso Robles’ next police chief has withdrawn his candidacy for the position.

Manny Guaderrama, a 29-year veteran of the San Diego Police Department, was set to earn up to $160,000 plus benefits as the permanent replacement for Lisa Solomon-Chitty after city leaders conditionally approved his hire in December. But, Guaderrama, who has received criticism for the perceived preferential treatment of his son by police, withdrew his interest Thursday, citing personal matters.

In August, multiple witnesses accused the captain’s 23-year-old son of a drunken tirade in which he groped two women, hit another in the face and smashed a car window. Instead of arresting the younger Guaderrama, officers allowed him to receive treatment for his cuts and then transported him to a parking lot in La Mesa, where his mother picked him up.

Following the incident, several officers complained to the press about the preferential treatment of a police captain’s son.

Police records showed that witnesses accused Guaderrama of grabbing a woman’s buttocks while waiting in line at a Pacific Beach taco shop early in the morning of August 21. After doing so, Guaderrama got into a fight with the group accompanying the woman. Witnesses said that the capatain’s son then grabbed another woman’s breast and struck a third woman in the face.

After the fight, the three women called a male friend to pick them up. When he arrived, Guarderrama smashed the back window of the car.

Manny Guaderrama never commented publicly on the actions of his son, nor on the reason officers did not arrest him for sexual battery and vandalism. In the past two years the San Diego Police Department has also had more than ten internal investigations into alleged crimes committed by officers.

Guaderrama, who lives in the small San Diego County town of Alpine, told the Tribune in December that he planned to move to Paso Robles once hired and that he, along with his wife, was attracted to the city because of its small-town atmosphere.

Paso Robles must now reopen its search for a new police chief. Acting Chief Robert Burton will continue to head the department until the city makes a new hire.

 


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This story is no longer in the headlines – so my comment is probably of very little consequence; but I would really like to know how MaryMalone sees ‘real change happening in Paso’ and that the citizens should not expect major changes in a short time.


What change has happened – the election of Steve Martin?? Much too early to say this is change,

lets sit back and see what he does over the next 6 months – that ought to enough time to tell if he is even close to being called ‘real change’.


At the rate that ‘real change’ is happening, could you please give us your learned guess as to when the citizens will see such ‘real change’?


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The extraordinary fact that the voters voted for Steve Martin, and Gilman was voted out, is a very, very big change. Yes, it is a single council position, but it is the willingness of the voters to vote for change in the city council which is the important change.


The voters have sent a HUGE message to the city council–they are willing to vote out a council member who they believe does not serve the best interests of the people.


You will have to contact your psychic for predictions on the rate of change in Paso Robles…or anywhere.


I believe that Steve Martin’s performance as a city council member will be important, but it will not be the defining fact as to whether or not change continues to occur at a sustainable rate.


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Mary M. You have to be kidding ! I live in Paso…. and its the same old S##T. Just one new face ! and the brilliant voters entending the Mayors term for another full two years. FRANKLY….. NO CHANGE IN SITE.


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One thing I read in the information in the San Diego media that I don’t think has been mentioned yet is this:


When Guaderrama’s son returned to the scene of the crime, where police officers were present, he proactively approached the police officers and, the first words out of his mouth was the equivalent of “I’m Manny Gauderrama’s son.”


I think this indicates Guaderrama and his son, and the police officers with which Guaderrama works, have an established pattern of letting Guaderrama’s son get away with his crimes.


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I think Mr. Guaderrama simply changed his mind. He impressed me as someone with a lot of personal integrity and a dedicated professional. The hiring process as described seemed very thorough but there’s no way to predict that someone may have a change of heart. It happens in business all the time. It’s not unusual for people to apply for jobs and then decide later that it’s not a good fit.


He probably realized that his son needed him for support now more than ever and leaving town right now was not the best thing for his family. I suspect that there are other issues that created stress for Mr. Guaderrama but he’s not sharing these with the public to protect his family. Moving and starting a new job are very stressful life passages. It was probably easiest to cite his wife’s business as a reason.


Frankly, I think it’s best for the the City of Paso Robles for this to happen before Mr. Graderrama were to take over. We don’t want a police chief who is not 100% committed to the job.


I don’t blame City Council or city staff for this turn about. It’s unfortunate but I don’t think it could have been predicted or avoided.


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I disagree, Pasogal, with your opinion regarding Guaderrama’s reasons for resigning. Clearly, it was the local public pressure that occurred once his problematic professional past in San Diego was outed that soured the deal.


Indeed, based on the timing of the most recent incident of preferential treatment of his son following sexual assaults against two women and vandalism of the car of the man who had been called by the women to come pick them up, I believe Guaderrama’s reason for entertaining working for the PRPD was to “do a geographic” and try to move away from his troubled past.


He would have made a very dangerous police chief for Paso Robles, which has a history of allowing its police chiefs to do whatever they want to whomever they want, including sexually assaulting PR’s police officers and forcing police officers to participate in an illegal ticket-quota system.


I believe the women of PR would have been at risk for sexual assault by Guaderrama’s son–this was not the first event for the son. With Guaderrama’s history of covering up his son’s crimes, and his son getting away with multiple sexual assaults of women, and the lack of oversight from the city council and city manager of PR’s police chiefs, there is no reason to believe that Guaderrama and his son would have changed their dysfunctional and illegal patterns of behavior.


I also strongly disagree with your opinion that there is no blame for the city council and city staff for this police-chief hiring debacle. Between all of the people who had input into the selection process, not ONE of them bothered to do a simple internet search for “Manuel Guaderrama” and “San Diego”? If they had, they would have seen Guaderrama’s lack of ability to carry out his duty to protect and serve the people of San Diego.


And when the issue was multiple sexual assaults–especially after Lisa Solomon’s multiple sexual assaults of her officers–ANYBODY with that type of background should have been immediately been judged as unacceptable for the position of police chief of Paso Robles.


Of course, another issue is that, once again, the City council and city manager wasted taxpayer funds because of their inability to perform the functions of their positions in the best interests of the PR taxpayers.


Worst of all, there is absolutely no reason to believe that the next search will turn out any better than the one that chose Guaderrama for police chief. The search will be led and performed by the same Paso Robles officials and administrators, and will likely use the same LOSER search agency, because cronyism is King in Paso Robles, and cronies will always come first and before the best interests of the taxpayers of Paso Robles.


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When are we the taxpayers going to stand up and quit rewarding negligence and corruption with our government? The Solomon-Chitty incident has probably cost the City of Paso Robles over $500,000. Now we have this episode of which we will never know the cost. And of course it’s just business as usual with no one being made responsible for this waste of taxpayers money. Just here in SLO County it’s so evident that it happens not only in Paso Robles but notoriously in Atascadero and the City of SLO and now in the County. We only have ourselves to blame unless the citizens take action.


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Unfortunately, all too often it is the case that high ranking staff, in business and government, are the result of a specious promotional agenda that consumes within many agencies.


Instead of finding the ‘best’ for a position, the pervasive evaluation structures encourage a corruption of character.


Simply put, it involves butt kissing.


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