One of the San Luis Obispo County deputies who shot and killed a man driving on Highway 101 last year, was sued four years earlier after he shot an unarmed man in the back. While the district attorney in Los Angeles released its review of the earlier shooting, SLO County officials have denied requests to review its investigation.
In early 2017, deputies Greg Roach and Jonathan Calvert shot and killed Josue Gallardo during a late night traffic stop in Atascadero. In a press release, the sheriff’s department painted Gallardo as a violent transient and Roach and Calvert as experienced officers.
The sheriff’s department failed to mention that shortly before before Calvert was hired by the SLO County Sheriff’s Department, he had shot a man who was running away in the back and in the elbow four years earlier.
On March 18, 2013, a man wielding a gun robbed a convenience store in Long Beach. Officers later determined Matthew Frushon, who lived across the street from the liqueur store, was a suspect in the robbery attempt.
Three days later, Calvert spotted Frushon on the street and attempted to detain him. While running from the officer, Frushon took a cell phone out of his pocket. Thinking Frushon was armed, Calvert shot him in the back and in the elbow, police said.
Following the shooting, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office reviewed the incident and determined Calvert “acted lawfully in apprehending a dangerous fleeing felon and in self defense,” according to a four page district attorney’s office analysis of the shooting that was released to the public.
In late 2013, the Cochran Firm filed a lawsuit against the City of Long Beach and Frushon alleging civil rights violations, battery and negligence. On Oct. 21, 2015, the city and Calvert settled with Frushon. In late 2016, Calvert resigned from the Long Beach Police Department and was hired by the SLO County Sheriff’s Department a few months later.
Shortly after midnight on Jan. 24, 2017, deputies Calvert and Roach pulled over Josh Gallardo, 34, on Highway 101 in Atascadero. Shortly after approaching the vehicle, the deputies fired repeatedly into the car killing Gallardo.
Within hours of the shooting, Tony Cipolla, the sheriff’s department’s public information officer, said deputies had stopped Gallardo after one of the officers recognizing Gallardo’s vehicle from a domestic violence call from seven months earlier.
Sheriff Ian Parkinson
“As the deputies were on patrol this morning, they recognized the vehicle, pulled alongside it as it was traveling southbound on Highway 101 , identified the driver as Gallardo and knew he was wanted on domestic violence charges,” Cipolla wrote in his press release.
But on the night he was killed, Gallardo’s truck was in the shop. He was driving a rental car, according to Gallardo’s wife, Francis Gallardo, and Lee Cunningham, a former SLO County assistant district attorney.
According to the sheriff’s department, deputies Greg Roach and Jonathan Calvert approached the car, Gallardo drew a gun and the officers shot into the vehicle.
Also of concern to Josh Gallardo’s family, is the department claim that he was as a transient and a violent person. Josh Gallardo was a lifelong Paso Robles resident who was working at Kellogg’s at the time of his death. Before that, Gallardo had worked for 14 year at Food 4 Less in Paso Robles. He was a manager when he left Food 4 Less and went to Kellogg’s, his wife said.
Gallardo and his wife were together for 16 years. They have two sons, a 5-year-old and an 12-year-old.
But last summer, Francis Gallardo told Josh Gallardo she wanted a divorce. Josh Gallardo then held a knife to his own throat and threatened to kill himself, Francis Gallardo said.
Francis Gallardo tried to take the knife from her husband, who pushed her away. Francis Gallardo then called 911 and her husband was arrested on charges of domestic violence, she said.
“He was never violent to me, he just pushed me away,” Francis Gallardo said.
After Josh Gallardo violated a restraining order, a warrant for his arrest was filed, Francis Gallardo said. Josh Gallardo then moved into his mother’s home, though he would at times stay in a hotel.
“They are painting him as a homeless guy,” Francis Gallardo said. “He was definitely not homeless.”
Following the shooting, the sheriff’s department initiated an administrative review of the incident and placed Roach and Calvert on paid administrative leave. The department finished its investigation last year and sent its finding to the district attorney’s office.
“We do a review of the evidence and try to make a determination of either justifiable homicide or criminal homicide,” said Lee Cunningham, former assistant district attorney.
Because of concerns regarding the shooting and misinformation from the sheriff’s department, Cunningham said the district attorney’s office planed to make at least a portion of its report and findings public.
However, County Counsel Rita Neal recommended not releasing information from the district attorneys’ investigation to the public, in an email that says the only official statements available to the media are those released by the sheriff’s department.
In the email, Neal said that “all the information that is required to be disclosed has been publicly released in prior press releases issued by the sheriff’s office,” the same press releases that included information deemed false by the district attorney’s office.
A lot of similarities in PORAC’s posts and this story.
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1992-10-27/news/1992301072_1_scott-barnes-ross-perot-brian-barnes
No there is NO CONFLICT of interest ? if so then all 58 counties Sheriffs Department would recuse themselves from there daily job. No again the AG who does not even like Dow or his antics in his dirty office of malfeasance, has NEVER EVER got a request from Dow’s office to investigate the Jail crimes anyway.
The FBI Investigation is pretty much done, but has nothing to do with our Elected DA to enforce the Law, PC 187 Murder Dow is suppose to investigate even though he is buddy-buddy with the Sheriff.
Answer this why has Dow a right wing breaitbart failed to investigate and bring charges against the many Law Enforcement officials for committing crimes?
Kevin Wadell -SLOPD for Grand Theft of Auto Parts now X SLOPD
Russ Griffiths-SLOPD for Assualt and Battery on a Minor now X SLOPD
The list is long and suspicious at best as all the crooked cops are supporters of Dow,
I know NOT 1 Judge supports Dow nor do they even want him re-elected it is because far too many Wobblers and innocent people have been charged.
Epps-Fake Murder Factually NOT GUILTY how does he get his life, money reputation back.
Dead-Man Walking John Black case
Why did he not discipline Kelly Manderino in his office when the 2nd DCA found her at fault in a case. Why have so many DDA’s left, so many cases fallen apart the most in the past 2 1/2 years in the entire history of SLO DA’s
DDA Linda Dunn’s failed Sex case that the deft. again factually NOT GUILTY. The FBI does NOT use our PC for actions that is Dan Dow’s job and he has failed. The FBI via the AUSA from LA does the case for violations of the Civil Rights Acts and U.S.C.
Then you have the many “Young” girls working for him as Interns who have witnessed wrong doings but are too afraid to speak out until they leave his office. So you can see I do NOT support Mr. Dow nor will i ever , I do NOT like special favors for political gain.
And? Your point?…..
Well since Commander Jim Voge was hired sometime ago as an alleged IA person from LAPD, and he has a somewhat tarnished record he never did a internal probe. He white washed the incident and now Voge is now a full time commander of the Los Osos substation.
NO independent investigation ever took place, thus we need a new Sheriff and new DA it is past time to vote in new and ethical and honest people to these respective positions. Judge Mike Cummins for DA Greg Clayton for Sheriff. Lat night $$$ Fund Raiser for DA Dow exposed his biased for covering up corruption.
Remember the FBI probe into the Holland Murder is a Civil RIGHTS probe NOT a criminal investigations. So the DA who is a close friend of the Sheriff will NOT open a Criminal probe, just like he will not release the ill fated fake investigation into the wasted Tax Payer probe into the Smart case.
As it revealed nothing but animal bones
The DA has a conflict of interest in investigating the jail. The sheriff’s dept and the DA work together on a vast majority of the cases in the county. The state AG would investigate state law violations AFTER the FBI concludes their investigation. Concurrent investigations are not good procedure for a myriad of reasons.
Funny you should mention $$$ as evidence of Dow’s “bias”. What would you call the Holland family’s $25k donation to Cummins? You are being extremely hypocritical. What is the bias that was “exposed” at the fundraiser?
Note to self: Do not hold breath waiting for the “evidence”.
No your incorrect, the FBI is only investigating for Civil Rights Violations NOT any criminal visitations, that would be up to DA Dow under 187 PC who chose not to investigate the murder or any bizarre deaths in his Jail.
You need to fully grasp the rule of law and case law let alone it is up to DA Dow who long ago should have opened a Criminal Grand Jury probe into the ongoing mess in the Jail. Yet he choose not too ? ? A cover up ? why has the county and SLOSO’s failed to submits the final report from both the FBI and the other many agencies involved in the publicity hunt on Cal Poly that cost we locals thousands of $$$ wasted dollars, they found only minimal animal bones NOTHING to do with the Smart matter.
If there is NO COVER UP’s NO Collusion, Nothing to hide then seek a criminal investigation into the many, many problems within the Jail as why do so many Jail staff now have lawyers ? hopefully someone will be indicted in a Civil Rights and Criminal violations.
PORAC, read my post before responding. You obviously aren’t. I addressed all your points and then you responded as if I had ignored them. I also explained why Dow defers to the state AG on criminal investigations. I also explained why they are waiting until the FBI investigation is complete. You ignored all of that.
Still waiting on evidence of bias from the fundraiser…or were you just blowing smoke?