Former SLO police officer’s termination upheld
April 18, 2014
The firing of a former San Luis Obispo police officer after he pled guilty to misdemeanor charges of bringing misbranded Mexican prescription drugs into the United States was upheld in court on Thursday.
In his suit, former patrol officer Dan McDow claimed that his rights to due process were violated, the city failed to serve him a copy of its decision to uphold his termination and that the penalty imposed by the city was “patently excessive.” He was seeking to overturn his termination, receive full back pay and reimbursement of all costs associated with his lawsuit.
In 2010, McDow and fellow officer Armando Limon were stopped and detained while reentering the U.S. from the Mexican border town of Tijuana. The officers were attempting to bring more than 800 pills, including both uppers and diet pills, into the United States.
San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Martin Tangeman agreed with the city that McDow’s conduct had been unbecoming of an officer and upheld the termination.
Michael Morguess, McDow’s attorney, argued that the city had trumped up allegations McDow that had a history of department policy violations in addition to the federal misdemeanor conviction. Morguess said his client plans to appeal Tangeman’s ruling.
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