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Pismo Beach officer resigns after journalist outs their affair

July 22, 2022

Sgt. Adrian Souza

By JOSH FRIEDMAN and KAREN VELIE

A Pismo Beach police sergeant resigned last month after an investigation revealed he engaged in sex acts with a local broadcast journalist while on duty, a relationship that allegedly went south after one of the parties, both married to others, wanted more.

The consensual relationship began shortly after Sgt. Adrian Souza pulled over KCBX reporter Angel Russell for a traffic violation in June 2020, according to a complaint Russell submitted to the Pismo Beach Police Department.

During the relationship, Souza and Russell would meet while the sergeant was on duty. They would meet at locations including Judkins Middle School and the Shell Beach tennis courts.

Souza also went over to Russell’s apartment several times while on duty, in uniform and driving a police vehicle. They engaged in sex acts during those instances, according to Russell’s complaint.

On Feb. 15, 2022, Russell submitted a written complaint to Pismo Beach Police Chief Jeff Smith. Russell provided Pismo Beach police text exchanges, photos and videos pertaining to her relationship with Souza.

The following day, Smith ordered an internal affairs investigation and Souza was placed on paid administrative leave.

During the investigation, Souza admitted to having oral sex while on duty, documents show.

At the conclusion of the investigation, Smith notified Souza of his intent to fire him. Souza violated 13 city policies, including neglect of duty, willful misconduct, engaging in on-duty sexual activity and criminal, dishonest or disgraceful content.

Souza resigned on June 10, prior to his termination becoming effective. He is not facing any criminal charges.

On Thursday, the city of Pismo Beach released documents related to the investigation, as well as a statement on the matter.

“The City of Pismo Beach has made available redacted records pertaining to former Sergeant Souza, consistent with California law,” the statement said. “These records and related investigation materials indicate that the former officer engaged in inappropriate conduct while on duty with a consenting adult partner. When first alerted to this conduct, the city took action within hours and proceeded to conduct a lengthy and thorough investigation. The Sergeant is no longer a member of the Pismo Beach Police Department as he chose to resign prior to the conclusion of the disciplinary process.”


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First off Angel Russell is no Angel. Even Amber Heard would call her a vindictive bitch.


13

Let me start by saying that Adrian Souza is a friend of mine. We haven’t been friends for years and years, but long enough for me to say that he’s a great guy, and a great parent, and that he works his fanny off to provide a great place for his kids, and that he loves them deeply. I’m even gonna say that he’s great in his primary relationship, from what I’ve observed. (Please read on, and stop with the opinions for now. I know that some folks are saying, “Yeah, he was great alright. Except that he was blah, blah, blah.” We know.) Also, if it matters, Adrian served his country in the military, and risked his life for others, and in the name of our country. Adrian was a police officer in Pismo Beach for 16 years, and, had he been lousy at the job, I’m guessing that he would have been fired, but that’s another issue. At some point, however, Adrian made a mistake. A big mistake. Biology won out over all the rest. NOBODY is as sorry and disappointed about that as are Adrian and his other half. Let’s shut up with the conjecture and uninformed opinions and allow them to figure out which direction they’ll head now. Is ANYBODY out there honest enough to at least admit that they’ve been there, done that, or at least been tempted to do so? When I read about the church pastor having sex with the 15 year old girl, I see it through a different lens than a consensual adult reltionship like this one. Did Adrian make a mistake? Yes. Did he repeat it? Yes. For a couple years? Yes. Who knows the details of what happened, or how the relationship started, or how it changed over time? I don’t. Is Angel Russell getting off easy? Yes. Is she a scorned woman? I’m guessing that’s what motivated her to report the very thing she was doing (having a consensual sexual relationship) as a bad thing to Adrian’s employer. Should Adrian have been doing that while on the clock? Of course not. Is it fair that Pismo Beach PD lost a solid and experienced cop because of it? I don’t think so, though everybody’s entitled to their opinion on that one. But here’s my two cents on Adrian. He’s a helluva guy, who screwed up. He’ll be fine, because of that. And the people who are fortunate enough to know him will still have a fine friend in Adrian Souza.


6

Showes there are more cops than needed if they have time to mess around on duty.

Also shows a complete disrespect for his profession, should have been fired not given time to resign so he can move to a new community without them knowing what their getting.

Think about it.


24

Not knowing who Angel Russell is I found her bio on KCBX’s website and I note that it states Ms. Russell likes to spend time ” playing guitar and piano, and hanging out with her dog and husband.” Note that “husband” takes a backseat to “dog”


14

KSBY sure has a history of sexual escapades. No big deal, it’s just biologically normal. But it must be quite a sexually charged place to work. Cal Coast News should do an article of all the things that have happened. It would be interesting to read.


20

Now that is undercover investigative journalism! Did she get the piece she wanted?Was it an in-depth investigation or was it simply a deep probe into the misuse of government time and resources by an undercover cop?


17

Shameful and gross. Both of them.


29

A married woman. A mother. A mother of a baby. A well-known local journalist. She has a torrid affair with a police officer. The officer apparently gets tired of her drama and breaks off the affair. And she responds by going to his boss???????????


Is she insane? What does she do in San Diego? What a whack a doodle!


81

To be fair, one article says she was in the process of getting divorced. However, I agree, total whack a doodle!! Just listening to her talk on the video about why she had to turn him in. She has the nerve to say he isn’t respecting the badge, but she was. I wonder if she couldn’t get hired at any police station, and that added to her anger. I hope she ruined her own career too. She’s drama for sure!


45

The fact that she filed for divorce is secondary to me. Review the case: Russell deliberately makes a play for the cop by sending him a “Thank you” note with her phone number. Hops into bed with him and then goes public with the whole affair after he dumps her. That’s the crazy part. Russell gave an interview to KSBY on this whole mess. I don’t care if Angela Russell is divorced–the woman is certifiably insane.


10

I agree with the women posting here. But really gross comments by the men.


-20

How can you determine sex?


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