2 former Rohnert Park police officers, Sonoma County deputy facing possible decertification

A Sonoma County correctional deputy facing possible state decertification was charged last month with possession of an assault weapon, following a January domestic violence incident, records show.

Adam Marlowe, who was issued a temporary suspension on Feb. 15, is among 20 law enforcement officials from across the state who may be decertified by California’s law enforcement accreditation body, a move that would strip them of a license to carry a badge in the state.

Two former Rohnert Park officers also are on the list, which was recently issued after California became the latest state to implement a process for decertifying law enforcement officers for serious misconduct.

The legislation was enacted in 2021, and authored by state Sen. Steven Bradford, D-Gardena, who said it was needed to prevent police officers who are fired or resign during misconduct investigations from moving to another police agency.

Unless they are cleared by a Commission of Peace Officer Standards, or POST, investigation or succeed in an appeal, the officers accused of serious misconduct including sexual misconduct, fraud, excessive force and abuse on duty will not be able to work as sworn officers for any California police agency. This is an additional punishment to whatever actions prosecutors or their own departments take against them.

In most cases on the list, the officers were suspended pending the completion of an investigation by POST investigators.

A POST advisory board will decide the officers' fate. A temporary suspension can last up to three years. Officers convicted of a felony will be barred from working as a peace officer again in California.

On March 20, the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office charged Marlowe with one count each of felony possession of an assault weapon and transporting or manufacturing an assault weapon.

The matter stems from a Jan. 7 report of domestic violence at the Windsor home of Marlowe’s girlfriend, according to information filed by the Petaluma Police Department.

The Petaluma agency investigated the matter as a third party, due to Marlowe’s employment with the Sheriff’s Office, which provides public safety services in Windsor.

An investigation began Jan. 13 after Marlowe’s girlfriend filed a restraining order against him. She claimed he yelled at her and held her against her will in her bedroom for about 10 minutes on Jan. 7.

Investigators confiscated several guns, including a rifle that was singled out in the document filed by police.

“The rifle itself was a black, white and gray camo-color. And there was no visible serial number,” officials wrote.

Marlowe denied the allegations when interviewed by police. He’s scheduled to be arraigned April 11 in Sonoma County Superior Court.

In Rohnert Park, former officer Joseph Huffaker has had his certification temporarily suspended and has been charged with extortion after he was accused of illegally seizing cannabis from drivers during traffic stops and later falsifying records to cover up his actions. He has pleaded not guilty.

A former sergeant who led Rohnert Park’s troubled drug interdiction team, Brendon "Jacy" Tatum, was convicted of three federal charges for being the ringleader in the traffic stops where cash and cannabis was taken and has been deemed ineligible to serve. He awaits sentencing, which has been scheduled for April 26.

Other law enforcement officers on the decertification list include police from San Bernardino, San Francisco, Stockton, and Redwood City, as well as San Diego, Kern and San Bernadino counties.

Some of the other temporary suspensions are for allegations of serious crimes.

San Francisco police officers Kevin Lyons and Kevin Sien have been temporarily suspended after they were arrested last year in connection with the destruction of evidence. They're accused of destroying credit cards, identification records and suspected methamphetamine discovered in the luggage of a person staying in a hotel.

Lyons and Sien allegedly told staff that cataloging the evidence would take too long and instead disposed of the credit cards and IDs in a shred bin and flushed the drugs down a hotel toilet, according to federal court criminal complaints.

The Los Angeles Times and the Associated Press contributed to this report.