Dan Ast, a former police lieutenant with the Santa Maria Police Department, won’t be rehired by the city, according Alison Bernal, one of Ast’s attorneys working the case.
City Manager Rick Haydon overruled a decision issued in January by Sacramento-based arbitrator Catherine Harris, who found no wrongdoing by Ast in a scandal that led to the 2012 shooting death of Alberto Covarrubias Jr. by fellow SMPD officers. The events also preceded the resignation of then-Police Chief Dan Macagni.
Shortly before the shooting, Ast and two other colleagues, Norm Come and SMPD Lt. James Ginter (who is still employed with the department), alleged to city officials that some of their co-workers were engaged in misconduct.
Some of the allegations included officers being drunk on the shooting range, officers falsifying official documents, and alleged statutory rape of a 17-year-old Police Explorer by Covarrubias.
Current SMPD Chief Ralph Martin fired Ast, blaming him for what he considered a bungled attempt to arrest Covarrubias.
Ast challenged his termination in a public hearing that took place at City Hall in June and July of 2014. He alleges that the firing was retaliation and has since filed a lawsuit against the city in federal court.
Bernal said the lawsuit will be amended to include damages for his termination.
Although Haydon decided to not rehire Ast, the city must still reimburse him for the expenses incurred by the arbitrator. The cost runs in the “several tens of thousands of dollars,” according to Bernal.
Santa Maria Public Information Officer Mark van de Kamp said he couldn’t comment on the case because it’s a personnel matter.
Ast is a 23-year police veteran, having worked for the Santa Maria and Lompoc police departments. Bernal said that her client’s retirement benefits are a part of the damages being sought in court. The trial is slated to start Dec. 1, Bernal said.
Bernal said it would be difficult for Ast to find a job as a police officer elsewhere because he was fired.
“He felt very vindicated by the hearing officer’s decision,” Bernal said. “But hearing the news from the city was a setback personally.”
This article appears in Mar 26 – Apr 2, 2015.