SLOPD makes no recommendation on charges against Mission Prep administrator

The San Luis Obispo Police Department has finished its investigation into an alleged assault involving a Mission Prep administrator but it will leave it to county prosecutors to decide if a crime occurred, a department spokesman said Monday.

Capt. Chris Staley said Monday that the department finalized its report late last week on its investigation into whether Mission Prep director of student life Russ Griffith assaulted an unnamed student on Nov. 3.

Staley declined to discuss his investigators’ findings, but said their report was forwarded to the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office with evidence it had gathered but without a recommendation as to whether they believe criminal charges are warranted.

Assistant District Attorney Lee Cunningham said late Monday that he had not yet seen the report.

It is unclear whether Griffith remains on the job. Mission Prep Principal Mike Susank has declined repeated requests for comment, saying he’s “not at liberty to ever discuss private matters involving members of the Mission College Preparatory Catholic High School student body or staff.”

Before moving to Mission Prep, Griffith served as a San Luis Obispo police officer; his LinkedIn page lists that he was with the department from 1993 to 2015, and that before that he worked for the Los Angeles Police Department starting in 1988. His page also lists that he was the president of the San Luis Obispo Police Officer’s Association from 2013 to 2015.

While officials have not confirmed even basic details of the allegations against Griffith, Staley said last week the investigation was the result of a complaint of a physical assault.

This story was originally published November 20, 2017 at 6:10 PM with the headline "SLOPD makes no recommendation on charges against Mission Prep administrator."