Jordan Cunningham brings back police misconduct bill inspired by Paso Robles officer
The Central Coast’s state assemblyman is making a second effort to pass a bill inspired by a local case that would make records of police misconduct and shootings public, even if an officer involved resigns before an investigation is complete.
Republican Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham, a former San Luis Obispo County prosecutor who manages a Templeton law firm, introduced the bill Wednesday.
This is the second time the legislator has submitted such a bill. A similar effort ended in the state Senate Appropriations Committee late last year.
According to Cunningham’s office, AB 718 would require law enforcement agencies to complete misconduct and officer-involved shooting investigations even after an officer resigns.
In addition, the bill would also require that the investigating agency share the findings of the investigation with the officer’s new agency, should the former officer find employment with another law enforcement agency after resigning.
“Government officials, including police officers, should not be able to resign in order to avert responsibility and keep potential misconduct hidden from the public’s view,” Cunningham said in a news release. “Bad actors must be held accountable if we are to restore the public’s trust in our institutions. Completing investigations into claims of officer misconduct is an important component to rooting out those who wish to abuse their positions of power.”
Under a law passed in 2018, an officer’s investigative and personnel records can only be released to the public if an investigation makes a “sustained finding” of a specific misconduct allegations.
But — as was the case with former Paso Robles police Sgt. Christopher McGuire — most local jurisdictions do not complete their internal investigations into an officer’s misconduct after the accused officer resigns.
If there are no criminal charges filed against the officer, under current law, records about their misconduct are shielded from public scrutiny.
Cunningham has previously told The Tribune his efforts towards transparency are in response to the McGuire case, following his own frustration at the inability of Central Coast newspapers and media outlets to obtain critical information regarding McGuire, who was accused by three women of sexual assault.
McGuire allegedly used his position of power to forcibly rape one of the women.
But despite a San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office investigation finding McGuire should be prosecuted for forcible rape, attempted forcible rape, and assault and battery, as well as DNA evidence proving a sexual encounter took place, county District Attorney Dan Dow announced that he would not pursue any charges against the officer, who resigned from the Paso Robles Police Department before the city’s investigation concluded.
Because McGuire was a Paso Robles employee, the Sheriff’s Office’s recommendations of criminal charges did not count as a “sustained finding,” officials previously told The Tribune, and the city argued that they were prevented from releasing any records into the former officer.
Cunningham was one of only four Republican state assembly members to vote for the the landmark 2018 law, and has previously said the additional legislation would close the legal loophole that prevented public disclosure in the McGuire case.
It is unclear whether McGuire, who has since left the area, has pursued law enforcement employment elsewhere.
The state Attorney General’s Office opened a review of the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office’s handling of the McGuire case in April 2019. The status of that review was not clear Wednesday.
Cunningham, who won a third term in November, represents the 35th Assembly District, which encompasses all of San Luis Obispo and northern Santa Barbara counties.
This story was originally published February 17, 2021 at 1:34 PM.
