TRAPPED

San Francisco Officer Gets the Boot After Allegedly Poaching a Deer

An officer with a string of misconduct complaints was removed from the force after he allegedly lied to a game warden about poaching a deer on a neighbor’s property.

A San Francisco officer with a string of misconduct complaints retired from the department after being accused of drunkenly lying to a game warden about poaching a deer on private property near Lake Berryessa. Officer Christopher Damonte “separated from the department while disciplinary charges were pending before the Police Commission,” according to a July memorandum obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle. Damonte, who was recorded as saying the September 2018 incident in which he was caught shooting deer on a neighbor’s property was “possibly a mix-up,” admitted to making misleading statements to a warden with the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife when questioned, according to internal investigation documents obtained by the outlet. “The way (Officer) Damonte conducted himself on September 23, 2018 brought discredit to the department as Warden White felt there was sufficient evidence to have him arrested, (and) suggested an addition charge of resisting/delaying/obstructing,” the internal affairs report said, according to the Chronicle.