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Thief steals Arroyo Grande chief’s badge and gun

July 9, 2013
Steve Annibali

Steve Annibali

A thief stole Arroyo Grand Police Chief Steve Annibali’s badge and gun from his unmarked car Sunday night. [KSBY]

Annibali said that the thief smashed the passenger side window of his car around 11:30 p.m. Sunday outside his Arroyo Grande home.

The thief took Annibali’s response bag, which contained his identification, badge, gun and other emergency supplies.

Annibali said he locked the car and did not place the bag in view, so he believes the person who broke into the car was looking specifically for the stolen items.

The Arroyo Grand Police Department is investigating the case and has yet to identify any suspects.

Annibali said that in retrospect he should have taken his response bag out of the car.

He said he wants the public to know what happened, so everyone is aware that this type of crime could happen to them.

 


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Pathetic excuse for chief of police! Law abiding citizens expected to call police when they are in danger better hope this clown has his gun when our hero comes to save their asses from an armed intruder!


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Here is some language from a past Arroyo Grande press release. Priceless!


“Conceal valuables from sight, preferably locked in the car trunk. If you stop overnight, remove luggage and other valuables from your car. Try to park your car in well-lighted motel or hotel parking areas near entrances to the building. Always lock your car when leaving it even for a short time and immediately after entering it.”


http://www.agpd.org/static/notices/press-releases/police/06/08/2010/vacation-safety-tips-part-2.pdf


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“When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.” Errr … uhhh … More like when idiots are allowed to have guns, then only outlaws will end up with them.


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Was Annibali’s stolen gun was registered? When Lisa Solomon’s gun was stolen, it was discovered that it was her unregistered “drop-piece” that she left loaded in her unlocked police car. That didn’t stop Atascadero PD from returning it to her and the DA conveniently declining to enforce gun registration laws.


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Karma is a bitch.. That’s what happens when you do not reply to citizens complaints.


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LOL, care to share?


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He should be walking a beat soon!


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If there is anything good by this is that the chief does not think like a thief. I hope he never does and just chocks this up as a learning experience for all.


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Learning experience…Jorge?


What happens if his pistol is used in a crime and someone is k-illed because of it…? ? ?


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Or chalks it up to experience?


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Well at least he didn’t give it to the Mexican crime cartel like Eric Holder.


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Holy mother-of-pearl. The stupidity boggles the mind.


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Anybody leaving a gun in a locked vehicle has to be questioned regarding the lack of good judgement. Some law enforcement agencies require that take home vehicles to be secured in a garage if there are firearms in the vehicle. This is a very clear case of a lack of good judgement, the gun and other articles should have at least been in the locked trunk. Now we will see if the reprimand, if any, is equal to that of what a lower ranking officer would receive.


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Well the news tonight said the stuff was in an unmarked police car and Gee I think they normally have trunks. Plus he left the car parked on the street because of landscaping being done. The city says he has to park the car in his driveway, so he will get his hand slapped MAYBE.


He expects us to follow the letter of the law, yet he can not follow the protocol the city told him he should follow. And we wonder why the police in AG do what ever they want, they have a chief who feels he can do what he wants.


Were any other vehicles broken into on his street or was his the only one?


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I’m in no way trying to defend Annibali but why do you think parking the vehicle in a locked garage would have made a difference? A criminal (who seemed to know where to find what they were looking for) was willing to break into a police vehicle. Do you honestly know that parking the car in a garage would have made a difference? No, you don’t.


Had he taken the bag inside of his house and had it been stolen from that location, people would be whining that it should have been locked-up in a safe — which wouldn’t necessarily be too prudent for a law enforcement officer to do, particularly if there were no children in the house.


Had the gun been locked inside of a safe that was inside of the house, there would still be people carping away that guns have no place in neighborhoods, that he should have secured it at the station, etc.


He placed a firearm in a bag and placed it out of view in his unmarked police vehicle. He then locked the vehicle. Like it or not that action was not wrong.


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I pretty much agree if the story he gave was accurate. However, given contemporary police culture, I am not sure that he wouldn’t lie at least a little bit to cover some carelessness.


I know nothing about Annibali as a person — just that cops are too used to being held less accountable than “civilians” for misbehavior and more inclined to try to dodge consequences as a result. Paul Brown was a relatively rare exception.


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Sure, if he lied about locking his vehicle and/or placing the bag out of sight, the situation drastically changes. If he did what the article suggests, then he did nothing wrong.


Ultimately the point is there are anti-gun whiners that are going to attack guns and their owners no matter how great the precautions taken.


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Sorry Sam … In this day and age, leaving a loaded firearm in a parked vehicle overnight (locked or unlocked) is irresponsible. Period !!!


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Cars are easier to break into than garages or houses. Cars parked on streets are especially easy to break into. That’s why he’s at fault for this. Sure a space alien could beam up his gun from inside his house, but what are the chances compared to having a car parked on a street broken into?


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Samluis I think had he parked the car in the garage, the chief might have heard someone breaking into his house. Since his wife and he are both Law enforcement you would think he would be able to think of how easy it is for someone to break into a car.


The city requires he park the car in the driveway and he did not do that


I know had he parked in the garage or taken the bag in the house I would not have a problem, crap happens. It is the fact he could not follow the rules given to him when he took his position that bothers me.


Someone is quite happy that they now have a badge that is a real badge,lets hope it is not involved in a home burglary or something. Officers are taught to secure their badges and guns and yet the chief did not do that. Uniforms are easy to get ID and badges are not.


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Interesting fact dogeatdog about Annibali and his wife both being LE. Annibali has “used” that excuse of his wife being in LE in a past article in New Times “Accountability and the Chief”. He stated in the article that he understands women in law enforcement because his wife is in LE. The question arises that if you have two people living at a residence that are both in LE, then why was a agency vehicle parked on the street with a gun, badge and ID left inside? There is no good excuse that Annibali can provide to justify this incident.


Another question: Was any other vehicles broken into in the neighborhood? The story does not sound right? Annibali said nothing else was taken or gone through in his vehicle. Doesn’t sound like your average car burglary. And if no other vehicles were broken into during the same time then maybe were dealing with the possibility of a “stage crime?”

I’m not implying any conspiracy theories just some food for thought.


After re-reading the March 2012 New Times “Accountability and the Chief” I found Annibali coming across in a very pretentious and flippant manner in regards to his attitude towards the officers and lawsuits. The article reads as if Annibali wants everyone to believe he is blameless and these decorated and dedicated officers are bad people that he tried to discipline. From past articles, these 3 officers never had any disciplinary problems or citizens complaints and seemed to be squared away officers. Annibali paints the picture of the officers rebelling against his authority, filing blunt against them and the officers having a template of suing their agency. WHAT???


Am I the only one that sees a pattern of Annibali and his good buddy Commander John Hough causing problems at police departments they both worked together ie: Breakenridge and Arroyo Grande? So Police Chief Annibali where’s the Accountability now? Wonder how much the City of Arroyo Grande has paid out in lawsuits against Annibali?


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Changes, I like the old saying “give them the opportunity they will commit the crime” I think Annibaldi just gave them the opportunity.


With Tony Ferrera as Mayor, Steve Adams as city manager and Steve Annibaldi as chief of police it is like the 3 stooges in Arroyo Grande.


To bad nothing will be done to Annibaldi, we did very little when a council member beat the crap out of his girl friend with a metal pipe. It was not until charges of being a child molester came up that the city asked him to step down. I think Annabaldi knows until he does something really bad his job here is safe as long as the other 2 stooges are around.


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So true and so sad. When did we become a society of citizens on the Central Coast where this type behavior of our law enforcement and city management is acceptable or that people just don’t give a damn to do anything about it?


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SamLuis. That action (parking in front of his house) was wrong according to AG police protocol. Besides, it’s always riskier to leave property in a car that is not close to the house or inside a garage. Thieves look for the easy steal.


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