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Arroyo Grande tape missing 80 minutes

September 9, 2014
Arroyo Grande City Manager Steve Adams

Arroyo Grande City Manager Steve Adams

By KAREN VELIE and DANIEL BLACKBURN

Surveillance video provided by Arroyo Grande officials showing interior and exterior views of City Hall on July 3 — when a reported late night rendezvous involving two top employees occurred — is missing 80 critical minutes.

The videos were provided to CalCoastNews in response to a public records request seeking additional information on a police response to reports of a missing person. When officers arrived at City Hall shortly before midnight, they discovered City Manager Steve Adams looking “disheveled,” and a partially dressed Community Development Director Teresa McClish peeking from behind her boss’s door. Adams told police McClish was not there, and then became angry with officers, according to officer reports.

On Sept. 2, CalCoastNews made a public records request for a copy of the official surveillance video from five cameras inside City Hall, and three positioned outside the building, spanning an eight-hour period, 4 p.m. through midnight on July 3.

Teresa McClish

Teresa McClish

City Clerk Kelly Wetmore responded by providing a copy that is missing several segments including from 10:07 p.m. through 11:28 p.m., a time during which Adams and McClish were inside the building. (City Hall videos appear to be time-stamped 37 minutes faster than local time.)

Additionally, City Hall camera eight is missing almost an hour, and video from camera six was not included in the city made video.

Wetmore has not yet responded to a public records request for the missing segments, and a request to provide an explanation about the missing segments in the original request.

Arroyo Grande has two sets of surveillance cameras: eight city hall cameras and 10 Blue Watch camera units. In addition to the 80-minute segment missing from the City Hall cameras, a public records request for copies of the Blue Watch surveillance video made from a four-lens camera outside Robert’s Restaurant resulted in a city video that was also missing segments.

In the original tape provided by the city, the video from Camera two skips from 20:59:59 and starts back up at 23:00:00, while video from lens four skips from 20:59:59 to 22:00:00. The other two lenses have no long skips.
An analysis of the video indicates several significant portions of both videos where either delete or not copied.

Chief Steve Annibali explained the missing segments as issues with the wireless feed, and then provided complete video copies taken from the hard drive inside the Blue Watch camera unit, which included the previously missing segments.

Each of the city’s ten Blue Watch surveillance camera units sends a wireless signal to a tower above the city, which is then sent to the police department where a copy of the wireless feed is kept. Another copy not impacted by wireless interference is kept on the hard-drive, Annibali said.

Nevertheless, employees with Security Lines US, the company that installed the cameras, said that segments missing because of wireless feeds would be uniform amongst the four camera lenses on each unit, impeaching Annibali’s explanation.

CalCoastNews is providing portions of the dozens of hours of video received through public records requests. The video includes time stamps that correlate with some of the following times. At the end of the video, note that camera lens four is missing a segment between 8:59:59 and 10:00:00.

At 8:27 p.m., Adams and McClish leave the grand opening of Roberts Restaurant, which is across the street from City Hall, and walk to Rooster Creek for another glass of wine.

At 9:39, McClish walks across Mason Street and gets into her car parked at City Hall.

At 9:46, Adams crosses Mason Street about two car lengths from the brightly lit crosswalk. As he nears McClish’s car, several people leave Roberts Restaurant. Adams then turns and runs back across the street.

At 9:51, the people who departed Roberts Restaurant drive away, McClish flashes her car lights and Adams dashes back across the street towards McClish’s car.

Several segments of the Blue Watch video:


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Chief, you are not following the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics! Your integrity is not shining through in your explanation of the missing tapes. You would not put up with one of your new officers not telling the complete truth, how can you sit there and lie to the public like this! Your explanation sucks and your entitlement and service to the community are headed down hill. I appeal to you to “realize” that you forgot to include the missing portions as it is your duty to provide the recorded tapes which are public property despite them being embarrassing or uncomfortable to you or your associates.


“Chief Steve Annibali explained the missing segments as issues with the wireless feed, and then provided complete video copies taken from the hard drive inside the Blue Watch camera unit, which included the previously missing segments.

Each of the city’s ten Blue Watch surveillance camera units sends a wireless signal to a tower above the city, which is then sent to the police department where a copy of the wireless feed is kept. Another copy not impacted by wireless interference is kept on the hard-drive, Annibali said.

Nevertheless, employees with Security Lines US, the company that installed the cameras, said that segments missing because of wireless feeds would be uniform amongst the four camera lenses on each unit, impeaching Annibali’s explanation.”


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well with guys like Arlow Guthery ,and Abat&custello as your leaders how can you go wrong!!

Book him Danno!


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The Dude Abides!!!


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It cost $65,000.00 to deter vandalism with camera’s Wow sounds like those City Boys need another grant to keep the city managers button off the switch lol ..


You think that was money well spent? Tell me I’m listening ,I was born at night ,but not last night!! is this thing on ??? I keep hearing clicking sounds ,hello ,hello.. ah oh gotta run now there on to me!!


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So a Wise man pointed out to me, It said that all this started on July3, & on July 4 Steve Adams was in the Building 4 times that day, and the Door was unlocked to city hall, the police were called by someone going in to pay a water bill,

Then 80 min of tape was gone… Where did it go Steve? was you finger on the button too that made the tape go poof too…


In the words of another great Liar ,”I DID NOT HAVE SEX WITH THAT WOMAN” Ok we believe that lie too.. signed nked Phil!


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If No One Did any thing wrong Why do you need to “Reprimand” them..This is starting to sound like ,The Nixon White House Tapes” Remember I am NOT a Crook? ..


This is a case like the story of The Emperors new clothes,Remember that,


So you have Police reports, peoples , clothes part way on, missing tape .. All the members of City Gov, Running from it, Please read from The Arroyo Grande’s Official web site about the city mangers job.. I think you need to Recall them all.


You have Council Kristen ,who does not like people in the market,or gym talking to her about this scandal, and how a few do not make up the masses, well Kristen if you can not stand the heat resign I’m sure ole Pop Chuck can pull an other dummy out of the closet.


I wish Nked phil were here, The whole problem is there is too much ‘Cronyism ” in Arroyo Grande look up that word.. it fit like a Hat Mr. Mayor. ware it with pride!


In this case there is a “smoking gun” its about trust? is there any left? NONE.. honesty ? are you joking..


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Something else that adds to inconsistencies in “the story” is the Open Close Alarm Report for the night in question. The log shows Mrs. McClish opened City Hall at 9:39:33PM (do the cameras catch this?) The log shows the building remains open until Steve Adams closes it at 11:49.08PM.


The alarm is left off during the period on the video tape where Adams runs across the street and McClish flashes car lights (about 20 minutes). The building and its contents are unsecured while the dance takes place.


Are these security systems in sinc? What’s the point, if they’re not?


$65,000 for 40 security cameras to “deter vandalism” that can not be trusted? $18,500 of that was federal Justice Dept. grant money…I want my money back.


For the record, this same Open Close Alarm report reviles that the building was not left unlocked over night. The log shows Adams came and went from the building 4 separate times during the day of July 4. He was in the building with doors unlocked when the police were called (and responded) because the building was found to be unlocked by a citizen intending to pay a water bill and realized it was a holiday and shouldn’t be unlocked.


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So I stated yesterday how I thought the votes would go, and they did. This council can tell us all they want how they are going to get our trust back, your history says other wise.


Were are the tapes, why are the crucial minutes missing? That is why we know this is a cover up.


The police banged on windows, announced themselves,yet were thought to be burglars.


Kristen you are really a piece of work, your statement about all these” people you see in the grocery store, gym ect, those are the people you represent” You are suppose to represent all of us.


I don’t think common sense is dead, but this council would like to make us believe it is.


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You nailed it dogeatdog.

No one who stayed until the end of the meeting was surprised.

Sadly predictable.


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After closed session, two council members gave comments,

Barneich & Guthrie—the two NOT up for re-election.


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