Arcata Police Officer Kevin Stonebarger is no longer employed with the Arcata Police Department. As readers might recall, Stonebarger was involved in a verbal rumpus over a parking space in February 2012, outside Pho Tien Long restaurant in Eureka, where he and other members of the drug task force were having lunch.
APD Chief Tom Chapman would not say whether Stonebarger was terminated or left of his own accord.
An internal investigation into the incident had concluded Stonebarger committed several violations of conduct, including using a badge inappropriately, being rude to the public and overstepping his authority as a peace officer when he threatened to arrest a tow truck driver — who was trying to haul away another agent’s vehicle that occupied the space — and the owner of the parking space — who was lawfully trying to record the events, which were taking place in public. Stonebarger was taken off the drug task force and reassigned.
He filed a claim against the city refuting the conclusion of the investigation and saying he lost his position as a firearms instructor at College of the Redwoods because of the investigation. (The investigation report can be viewed in the claim document.)
The city rejected the claim this January. There was talk Stonebarger would file a lawsuit.
This article appears in HumCPR Rising.
Thank you, Chief Chapman, for keeping APD classy.
After reading the entire claim and accompanying documents I’ve come to the conclusion that Stonebarger is a badge with a little man’s complex and Sweet is a classic cop baiting liberal. The only participant with any sense was the tow truck driver.
Just read the entire complaint.
What disgusting behavior these “officers” displayed. Stonebarger was certainly the worst of the bunch, and in my opinion, not only should he have been removed from the DTF (as he was), but he should also be dismissed entirely. We DO NOT need cops with this kind of attitude on the force!
Massaro should also be disciplined in my opinion. He is the one that parked his vehicle in a private, posted NO PARKING zone so he could go have lunch. This is unacceptable. Sheriff Downey should have written him up and forced Massaro to pay a tow fee to the tow truck driver that came out there on a very legitimate call and ended up getting harrassed and stiffed of his fee.
It is stories like this that make me understand why so many people hate cops.
The one bright spot in the story was the way Chief Chapman handled the situation. Thank you Chief for standing up for what is right and not just covering this up. Thank you for attempting to insure your officers behave with respect and integrity when in the field. We need more you like you Chief!
I met Kevin Stonebarger last year (2017) and have come to know him as a man who thinks he is all powerful, all knowing, and has a overblown sense of self. He’s a liar who is ethically and morally bankrupt. He routinely inserts himself into situations that have nothing to do with him, at all. He works security at AZ Cardinal games and I suspect he has snowed those who employ him. Knowing how unethical he is, I’m certain he will lose his job for something like abuse of power or the like. He has a bad reputation at Phx Mercury games for trying to act like a cop when he’s only a season ticket holder. The arena security supervisors roll their eyes whenever they have to deal with him. Same with the Mercury organization senior management. At times they placate him because he’s such a loose cannon and hot tempered, but they also put him on notice that they know he’s not a cop and to stop acting like it. Behind his back, they laugh at him and think he’s pathetic.