Photo: Marco Pavico
Santa Barbara – Maybe it was the stress of working his way up from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department Explorer program and completing the Allan Hancock College Law Enforcement Training Academy curriculum.
Maybe it was an inability to handle the serious responsibility that comes with being a sworn officer wearing the uniform of the UCSB Police Department. Or maybe it was just another in a series of that department’s embarrassing episodes requiring some serious public relations work to explain the December 17th arrest of Officer Marco Pavico.
It was just after midnight on December 15th when, according to Santa Barbara Police Department Public Information Officer Anthony Wagner, Pavico “was under the influence of alcohol” and became involved in a verbal argument on the premises of a downtown Santa Barbara night club.
Based upon a social media post brought to the attention of authorities two days later, Pavico is alleged to have been unprovoked when he “displayed his badge and firearm” while off-duty to make his argumentative points clear to those present.
At the time of the incident, Pavico had been on the job for exactly five days and was “not yet cleared for field duty,” with his responsibilities limited to administrative functions.
Pursuant to the social media post and ongoing investigation, Pavico was arrested on December 20th. His SBPD badge and gun were seized and he was relieved of any police responsibilities or powers. SBPD Captain Alex Altavilla indicated that his department is “conducting an internal affairs investigation” and that, in his opinion, Pavico’s actions were “highly unprofessional.”
Photo: Courtesy Santa Barbara Police Department
