HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/1/2019 Item Public Comment, Miller
Wilbanks, Megan
From:Joel Miller <
To:Cantrell, Deanna; Staley, Chris; Smith, Jeff; Mickel, Fred; Amoroso, Brian; Bledsoe, John;
Pfarr, Chad; Wallace, Christine; Ellsworth, Melissa
Cc:E-mail Council Website; Harmon, Heidi; Pease, Andy; Christianson, Carlyn; Gomez,
Aaron; Stewart, Erica
Subject:Re: Officer Josh Walsh: Dog Shooter
Chief Cantrell and SLO Police Leadership,
CC: Mayor Harmon, Vice Mayor Pease, City Council Members
I have frequently and publicly defended the actions of our SLO police department and its members.
When negative situations arise I have been on your side to the point of donating to the cause and
writing letters/postings to defend our Officers and the SLO PD. At this point, and after the dog shooting
incident I cannot comfortably defend the SLO PD anymore. Your maintaining of a relationship with such
an unprofessional hothead such as Officer Walsh is unacceptable to me and for our community. Has
Officer Walsh lived up to the professional standards required of an Officer? As you know the facts, the
answer is No.
This dog shooting by Officer Walsh needs IMMEDIATE attention and 100% public disclosure (including
body cam footage release). Full transparency is not what we are seeing today from SLO PD. Even
without shooting the dog this Officer’s actions would have needed investigated for violating professional
standards required of all Officers.
Why did the Officer continue to shoot with such an unsafe back stop? Each shot, remember, has to be
justified. EACH SHOT! The dog was running back, away from the Officer and further into his own
property and home. This was while the over-aggressive officer continued his hunt.
Officer Walsh has made SLO PD and our community look extremely bad. As you know, he has also
shown unprofessional tendencies before. This time Officer Walsh escalated it to the point that he took
the life of a dog, and in the dog’s own area. While doing so he put everybody in the back drop of his
bullets at risk. If this man stays onboard with the SLO PD I have no problem joining the existing efforts to
replace the leadership of our San Luis Obispo Police Department. I will do so just as publicly as I have
defended your organization and its members. The lack of SLO PD getting an actual response out to the
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public makes me cringe. This entire situation is a failure that appears to start with Officer Walsh and is
now continuing into the ranks of our SLO Police Department’s leadership. It is appearing as though you
are tolerant to this misconduct.
Please, take this seriously as Officer Walsh has permanently damaged the relationship SLO PD has with
our community members and now an innocent family has lost one of its members.
Sincerely,
Joel Miller & Family
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