San Luis Obispo’s city manager announced the actions that will be taken against the city’s police chief after she admitted to leaving her gun in a restaurant bathroom, and the decision has the community talking.
During the city council meeting, there was an outpouring of support for Chief Deanna Cantrell from residents, as she is facing a two-day pay reduction as a consequence, as well as firearm safety training and meeting with other officers.
The decision has created controversy among residents, “I don’t think she should be fired, but boy two days I don’t know if that’s enough,” said Arroyo Grande resident, Kathy Beeby.
However, some agree with the decision, “two days without pay is pretty good, she realized she had messed up and she admitted to it right away and that was very good,” said Santa Maria residents
During the city council meeting, there were several speakers in support of Chief Cantrell without a single person speaking against the police chief.
But when the announcement was made about a two-day pay reduction as a consequence, people took to the internet to share their opinions, with some calling for Chief Cantrell to be fired.
Beeby has lived in Arroyo Grande for about five years and says she loves the police here but does not think this should be taken lightly, “it’s was a little shocking but boy that was derelict of duty to me, very sloppy police work,” said Beeby.
While some say they wanted more of a reprimand for Chief Cantrell, others are offering their support.
“We all do things and so I think it’s fair,” said Robert.
City Manager Derek Johnson said that the incident is a trying time for the community but noted that the chief’s cooperation allowed for a quick investigation.
While residents in San Luis Obispo seem to disagree on the punishment, most people applauded the chief’s transparency throughout the process, but hope something will be done to keep it from happening again.
