Cop breaks into students' home
Officer left apology note for residents, saying he was drugged
A court date has been set for a former Williams police officer who allegedly broke into the house of three Chico State students in the early morning Jan. 29.
Dustin Stephenson, 26, will be arraigned Feb. 27 at the Butte County Superior Court on misdemeanor charges of forced entry that caused property damage.
Stephenson resi
More..gned from his position as police officer for personal reasons.
Stephenson allegedly broke into a house on the 400 block of West Fourth Street, according to police.
He was arrested without incident about 2:40 a.m., said Lt. Linda Dye of the Chico Police Department.
The night of the break-in, junior Emily Silvers, who lives in the house, hid with her roommates in the second level as the suspect made his way up the stairs, she said.
Silvers and her roommates are used to loud noises on their street because of fraternities and other college students, but she knew something was wrong when the pounding at her door got increasingly louder, she said.
Stephenson shattered the glass panel on their front door and went through it, Silvers said. When police arrived, they broke through the rest of the door.
Silvers doesn't think he was coming in to steal anything, she said.
"I think he was just wasted," Silvers said.
Although police do not yet know his motive for breaking into the house, they do know alcohol was a factor, Dye said.
Stephenson had only been working for the Williams Police Department for seven months, said Chief of Police Jim Saso, who did not expect any issues with him.
"He successfully completed all phases of tests," Saso said. "We felt comfortable hiring him at the time."
After the incident, Stephenson left an apology letter on the students' door, Silvers said.
Stephenson wrote that he was at a bar and started to feel funny and had no idea why he was at Silvers' residence, Silvers said. He wrote that he thought he was drugged.
"Me and all my roommates think he was just drunk," Silvers said. "If you're roofied, I don't think you can walk or punch in a door."
Junior Shaun Ketchersid thinks that although most police officers are good at their jobs, their superior officers could be better at training their officers and representing their departments, he said. Because of the student population, Chico police officers are often held to a higher standard.
"They definitely come under scrutiny a lot," Ketchersid said.
Dye also thinks Chico police officers are under more pressure to perform because of the demographics of the city.
"In general, the Chico PD tries to hold officers to a higher standard," she said.
When an officer does make a mistake, it can draw negative connotations for law enforcement in general, even if the officer came from a different county, Dye said.
"I think it puts an ugly eye on law enforcement," she said.
Mike North can be reached at
mnorth@theorion.com
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Added: Mar 2 2009 In: news_politics
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