Disciplined San Luis Obispo police officer sues the city

February 23, 2025

By KAREN VELIE

A San Luis Obispo police officer who was docked pay and demoted following allegations of excessive force, retaliation and poor decision making is suing the city for violating his right to due process, according to a Jan. 13 lawsuit.

In regards to three separate cases, the city suspended Blake Etherton for a total of 124 hours and “removed him from all specialty and collateral assignments including SWAT, Rangemaster, and field training officer.” Etherton appealed the third case while arguing past misconduct should not have been considered, according to Etherton’s lawsuit.

Arbitrators then suggested overturning some allegations and adjusting the discipline. The SLO City Council rejected the arbitrator’s suggestions and upheld the original discipline in an action Etherton argues violated his “right to due process.”

Etherton accused of taking unnecessary risks and endangering others

Over the span of a day and a half in June 2020, Mason James Lira shot a San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s deputy, an Arroyo Grande police officer, a California Highway Patrol officer and a Kings County sheriff’s deputy. On June 11, 2020, Etherton was involved in a shootout in Paso Robles in which Lira was shot and killed.

On Dec. 8, 2020, police administration placed Etherton on paid administrative leave while they looked into allegations Etherton “took unnecessary risk when using force” during the shooting in Paso Robles, according to the investigation report.”

Investigators determined Etherton used poor decision making and took unnecessary risk while he fired at Lira. Multiple law enforcement officers and deputies were located between Etherton and Lira while he shot at the suspect.

Etherson accused of using excessive force

On Oct. 28, 2020, Etherton participated in the arrest of Uhunoman Ighodaro. The suspect was charged with two counts of resisting arrest.

In Dec. 2020, police administration informed Etherton he was under investigation regarding allegations he used “disproportionate and excessive use of force during the arrest of Ighodaro,” according to Etherton’s lawsuit.

The investigation determined Etherton violated use of force rules.

San Luis Obispo Police Chief Rick Scott recommended Etherton receive “temporary pay reduction equivalent to a 40-hour unpaid suspension,” and to be “removed him from all specialty and collateral assignments,” regarding both the Lira and Ighodaro incidents.

Etherton accused of retaliating against a videographer

A video of an officer hitting a man repeatedly on the temple in San Luis Obispo during an arrest on July 21, 2022 went viral, leading to accusations of excessive force.

“SLO County Observer,” also known as Gabriel Rosas, live streamed and uploaded the video on YouTube. While multiple commenters accused one of the three unnamed officers of brutality, others blamed the suspect for resisting arrest.

Four days later, on July 25, 2022, Etherton and his partner Paul Sisemore responded to a dispatcher’s call of a woman screaming at the top of her lungs at a Food 4 Less on Higuera Street.

As they headed to Food 4 Less in separate patrol vehicles, Sisemore texted Etherton that he intended to pull over and ticket Rosas should any traffic violation involving Rosas’ vehicle occur,” according to Etherton’s lawsuit.

Instead of responding to the call, both Etherton and Sisemore decided to follow Rosas.

Sisemore later headed to Food 4 Less, but could not locate the woman. A call then came in that a man was challenging cars and throwing metal pipes onto the street at the intersection of Madonna Road and the Highway 101 off-ramp. Sisemore informed dispatch that both he and Etherton would respond to the call.

Even so, while Sisemore headed to Madonna Road, Etherton pulled Rosas over and cited him for not properly using his turn signal at the intersection of Higuera and Pismo streets.

However, Rosas did not turn at the intersection and was not required to activate his turn signal, video of the incident showed.

Rosas accused Etherton of retaliating against him while the officer asserted they were just headed in the same direction.

On July 22, 2022, Chief Scott sent an email to Rosas saying he also had concerns about the citation, and that he planned to review the allegation Etherton was retaliating against the videographer.

Nearly a year later, on June 19, 2023, Chief Scott gave Etherton a disciplinary notice that included, a temporary pay reduction equivalent to 100-hours unpaid work suspension and an order to “attend at least 16 hours of remedial training in ethics and tolerance, emotional intelligence, traffic enforcement, and review and acknowledge understanding of all applicable San Luis Obispo Police Department Lexipol policies.”

In his lawsuit, Etherton argues that no punitive act “shall be undertaken for any act, omission, or other allegation of misconduct if the investigation of the allegation is not completed within one year.” He also contends that the city’s decision to “sustain the discipline, despite the arbitrator’s findings and recommendations, is unfounded and violates Petitioner’s Constitutional right to due process.”

Etherton is asking the court to rescind the discipline imposed on him, reimburse him for loss in pay, and award court costs and attorney’s fees.

Because we believe the public needs the facts, the truth, CalCoastNews has not put up a paywall because it limits readership. However, we are seeking qualification as a paper of record, which will allow us to publish public notices, but it requires 5,000 paid subscribers.

Your subscription will help us to continue investigating and reporting the news.

Support CalCoastNews, subscribe today, click here.