SLO Police Chief Leaves Gun In Fast Food Restaurant Bathroom, And Man Walks Out With It
Photo: Skeeter Carlos Mangan
SAN LUIS OBISPO – It started off as lunch at El Pollo Loco for Police Chief Deanna Cantrell on July 10th. She went into the restroom and then inadvertently left her personal firearm in the bathroom stall.
When she realized this, she returned to the restroom but her firearm was missing. Video footage from the restaurant showed a man entering the restroom after Cantrell, then identified as a “person of interest.”
The next day a man called the San Luis Obispo Sheriff’s Office to report that his brother-in-law had the chief’s weapon and that he would bring his relative in to return the gun.
30-year-old Skeeter Carlos Mangan was identified as the man who had the gun. He admitted to finding the gun in the restroom, putting it in his pocket and walking out.
On July 17 the SLO City Manager issued a statement after an independent investigation that listed “two unintended policy violations –
- San Luis Obispo Police Department Policy 311.3.5 Authorized Secondary Handgun(d) that states: “The Handgun shall be carried concealed at all times and in such a manner as to prevent unintentional cocking, discharge or loss of physical control.”
- San Luis Obispo Police Department Policy 339.5.10, Safety (a):“Failure to observe or violating department safety standards or safe working practices.”
Chief Cantrell must undergo training in firearm safety practices and pay a pay-reduction fine of $1,598, “equivalent to a two-day suspension with documentation in her personnel file.”
