Guadalupe community members will have the opportunity to meet the Director of Public Safety and Police Chief Michael Cash Tuesday.
Cash will have a meet and greet with the community at 5 p.m. in the city’s auditorium at 918 Guadalupe Street.
Cash’s appointment sparked controversy throughout the city because according to San Diego’s Southwestern College Sun newspaper, while he was chief of campus police he was “accused of misfiring police weapons, covering up sexual assaults, misuse of police funds and inaccurate crime log reporting.”
He resigned from the department in 2017.
Even though there was a lot of backlash from residents when the city announced he was a top candidate, Guadalupe council members said he was fit for service.
City officials said the city council was made aware of the newspaper articles and questioned Cash about the allegations.
Guadalupe Mayor John Lizalde said Cash has already started working on building a cohesive team, and that he is confident he will exceed expectations in his new role.
“I am confident that he will exceed our expectation in his new role while bringing new community policing concepts to the people of Guadalupe,” Lizalde said.
Cash said he is grateful for the opportunity.
“Thank you for having faith in me and my capabilities,” Cash said. “I look forward to all the excitement and challenges that lie ahead.”
