DA investigator, SLO man clash over removal of blue ribbons honoring Luca Benedetti
About a week after San Luis Obispo Police Detective Luca Benedetti’s death, a San Luis Obispo man and district attorney’s investigator had a tense exchange over the person removing blue ribbons posted throughout the downtown honoring officer’s memory.
The man, Alex Catlett, said that he was “attacked” on the afternoon of May 17 by the investigator, whom he said pushed and scratched him while removing his mask.
But the DA’s Office said in a statement that Catlett threw a garbage bag at the investigator and his actions constituted criminal activity of “unauthorized removal or destruction of public property,” noting the investigator’s response arose while he was upset and accompanying Benedetti’s widow, who was riding in the car.
Benedetti was shot and killed May 10 while serving a search warrant, along with five other officers, at a burglary suspect’s home in SLO, sparking an outpouring of community support, including memorials of ribbons and flowers placed around the city.
Another officer, Steve Orozco, was injured by shots fired by the suspect, Eddie Giron, who also died in the incident. Orozco is expected to fully heal.
The investigator, who isn’t being identified by the DA’s Office, was in plain clothes when he first confronted Catlett at a downtown intersection.
“He attacked me is the point I’m trying to get at,” Catlett told The Tribune. “This is the police. This is what they stand for. Protect and serve is trying to protect themselves.”
DA’s Office spokesman Eric Dobroth, however, said in an email: “The investigator was driving Detective Benedetti’s widow in his car when he witnessed a crime that upset him. The man was carrying a 13-gallon trash bag full of blue ribbons similar to those he was observed removing. All of this took place in full view of the slain detective’s widow.”
SLO police were called to investigate and questioned Catlett, but he was not arrested.
Christine Wallace, a SLO police spokesperson, confirmed city officers responded to a call for service from a DA’s investigator related to ribbons being removed downtown.
“Our officers responded and completed a report to document the incident,” Wallace said. “We don’t know who placed the ribbons on the poles, therefore we don’t have a victim and the report is inactive. No criminal charges are being requested against Mr. Catlett at this time.”
SLO man shares his side of the story
Catlett told The Tribune that he didn’t know what he was doing was illegal, but was bothered by the “Blue Lives Matter” message of the ribbons.
“I was just driving around downtown and there’s like a billion blue ribbons,” Catlett said. “I hate to see it, the Blue Lives Matter flags, in my opinion. I don’t stand for that. I don’t agree with it. That’s just blatant racism to me.”
Catlett said a man angrily confronted him, slamming on his brakes, and then began yelling and cursing at him to stop, but Catlett didn’t know he was an officer.
“I turned around and a 6-foot-1, 6-2, 45-year-old man gets out,” Catlett said. “He said, ‘What the (expletive) do you think you’re doing?’ He gets out of his car (expletive) pushes me and grabs my (garbage bag), rips my mask off my face, leaves a cut on my face, saying, ‘What the (expletive) are you doing? You (expletive) punk. Get the (expletive out of here).’”
Minutes later, outside the Victoria’s Secret store after they’d parted ways, Catlett said the man returned and identified himself as a law enforcement official.
Catlett said the man had him sit on the ground and cross his hands behind his back, and then placed one hand on Catlett’s head and kept one hand on his gun, telling him he “(expletive) up.”
He called in SLO police officers who responded and questioned him. He said the SLO officers also were angry at him, but calmer and more “rational.”
Catlett said he explained the situation and told officers he was “picking up garbage.” He said some ribbons were strewn on the street as well.
“The (SLO officers) were pissed at me, but they were like, at least we’re trying to get both sides of the story,” Catlett said. “They talked to me. They were pretty rational about it, and they let me go. They basically said you handled the situation appropriately and you were committing a misdemeanor, so we’re going to call it even, and no charges. And I was able to walk free.”
Catlett said officers told him he could be arrested because the ribbons were considered city property.
Catlett told The Tribune he didn’t know removing ribbons was illegal, and would have stopped if told to do so by police.
DA’s Office officials issue statement
In response to questions from The Tribune, the District Attorney’s Office said the investigator saw Catlett with scissors in his hand “cutting down the blue ribbons that lined the street honoring Detective Benedetti near the area of Osos and Mill Streets in San Luis Obispo” on May 17.
Upset by what he saw, the investigator confronted the man, identified as Catlett, informing him “that what the man was doing was illegal and wrong.”
The investigator was in street clothes and “not readily identifiable as a peace officer,” Dobroth said.
“The man tossed the bag of cut ribbons at the investigator and walked away,” Dobroth said. “The investigator reached for the man’s face covering and pulled it from his face to identify him, leaving a scratch on the man’s face. The investigator then briefly spoke with a different citizen who was also upset over the removal of the ribbons. The investigator called the San Luis Obispo Police Department and reported what he saw.”
Several minutes later, the DA investigator saw the man in the downtown corridor continuing to remove blue ribbons from parking meters.
“The investigator identified himself as a peace officer and detained the man,” Dobroth said. “Officers from the San Luis Obispo Police Department arrived at the request of the investigator. In conversation with one of the responding police officers, the man was cooperative and apologetic, stating that he did not understand the significant impact removing the blue ribbons would have. No charges were requested related to the incident and the man was allowed to leave.”
“The unauthorized removal or destruction of public property may constitute the crimes of theft or vandalism,” said Dobroth, adding the matter would be reviewed by the DA’s Office internally.
“Because this incident involves a personnel matter, the facts as described would not typically be provided to the public,” Dobroth added. “However, the investigator has agreed to allow this information to be released.”
Correction: This story has been updated with the correct spelling of the SLO man’s name.
This story was originally published June 3, 2021 at 4:43 PM.
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