Man accused of removing ribbons placed in honor of fallen SLO police detective, DA’s office investigating altercation
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office is investigating an incident involving an investigator and a man accused of removing memorial ribbons placed in various locations throughout the city in honor of a fallen officer.
According to San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow, an investigator that works for the DA's office confronted a man who he said was removing blue ribbons that lined the street that had been put up in honor of San Luis Obispo police detective Luca Benedetti, who was killed in the line of duty in early May.
The investigator was a former partner of Benedetti, Dow said, and was driving the officer's widow at the time of the incident. The man was carrying a bag of ribbons that appeared to have been removed earlier, the DA's office said.
The investigator confronted the man about the removal of the ribbons which led to an altercation. The investigator, who was in street clothes, told the man what he was doing was "illegal and wrong," Dow said. The man then allegedly threw the bag of ribbons at the investigator. The investigator reached for the man's face mask and pulled it from his face to identify him, in doing so, he left a scratch on the man's face. The incident played out in front of Benedetti's widow, Dow said.
A nearby resident spoke to the investigator and voiced their displeasure with the removal of the ribbons. The investigator then reported the incident to police.
The same investigator said he saw the man again in downtown, removing more ribbons. At that point, the investigator identified himself as an officer and detained the man. Police arrived on scene shortly after. Police described the man as apologetic, saying that he was unaware of the significance of removing the ribbons.
The man was released at the scene and no charges were requested, but the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office said the removal of the ribbons might justify charges for theft or vandalism.
Dow said his office is investigating the matter internally.
Detective Benedetti was killed when he and his partner were fired on by a San Luis Obispo man. The two were serving a search warrant at the man's home when shots rang out. Benedetti and the shooter were both killed. Benedetti's partner, Det. Steve Orozco, was transported to the hospital for treatment and later released. He is expected to make a full recovery, the police department said.
