Files detail alleged misconduct of former police chief

A former Oakley Police Department chief who left under a cloud of mystery in November after just a year on the job was fired after an outside investigator found evidence of persistent sexual harassment, including a relationship with a subordinate whom he allegedly pressured for months until she eventually agreed to have sex with him, according to newly released documents.

The investigation — commissioned by the city and obtained through a California Public Records Act request — painted a picture of a municipal workplace rife with sexual innuendo and rumors of affairs between top city officials and subordinates. The two women who provided statements to investigators said police Chief Dean Capelletti's harassment began just weeks after he joined the department, and included unwanted touching, sexual remarks and innuendo, and lewd behavior.

One of the women said Capelletti reached under her skirt and groped her at work and that she told him to stop, but that he continued making advances, frequently inviting her to a hotel room, until she “gave in” and they began an affair. Both of the accusers initially reported Capelletti's conduct to a police lieutenant, rather than the city's human resources director, because one of the women believed Capelletti and the city's former HR director were having an affair. Neither of the women are named in the documents the city released.

In an interview with the outside investigator hired by the city, Capelletti denied most of the allegations but acknowledged he did make sexual jokes on occasion.

He also admitted to having what he described as a consensual relationship with one of his accusers — though he claimed they did not have intercourse, but only engaged in “stuff teenagers do.” He depicted her as a scorned ex who was “super tight” with his other accuser.

“I will own up to all the stupidities I did, but like some of this crap she's coming up with, it's obvious to me that she is just very angry,” Capelletti said. The investigator, however, determined Capelletti “likely lied” in his responses.

Capelletti could not be reached for comment.

Oakley City Manager Joshua McMurray said it was “concerning” that the women felt they couldn't go to HR.

“As soon as the allegations were brought to my attention we immediately acted,” he said. “It has been my goal since I terminated the police chief to ensure that the culture that was described by the employees that alleged these sexual harassment claims would never happen again.

“And that starts with making sure we have the right leaders in various departments, especially human resources,” he added.

Capelletti became Oakley's third police chief in September 2020, five years after the city ended its contract with the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office and formed its own police force.

Before that, he had an 18-year police career at La Habra, where he was promoted to captain. When his hiring was announced, thenCity Manager Bryan Montgomery praised his ability to “build relationships of trust” and then-Mayor Kevin Romick predicted his “excellent law enforcement and personal skills” would be a great fit for the city.

But soon after he was sworn in, the harassment began, according to written statements both women provided as part of the investigation.

“Within the first 2 weeks of his employment, he began asking me to meet him at his hotel. He was asking me in text messages as well as in person,” one of the accusers wrote. On more than one occasion, she said, Capelletti called her into his office, told her he “had something for (her),” and gestured toward his crotch, she wrote.

Finally, “after months of pressuring me to have a sexual relationship with him I agreed to meet him at a hotel,” the woman wrote. She said when she told Capelletti she was nervous about going there, he told her to wear a mask and glasses so she wouldn't be recognized, and that they later had sexual encounters in his city truck, parked near a Brentwood park.

The woman wrote that their affair ended after she observed Capelletti kissing Oakley's former HR director inside her office on the evening of July 31, 2021. In the heated text message exchange that followed, Capelletti denied having a relationship with the director. The accuser said that Capelletti's sexual harassment continued after her relationship with him ended.

Capelletti's second accuser told investigators that during an event celebrating police promotions, Capelletti stuck his shoe between her legs while she was standing in a dress, and said, “Clearly I didn't shine my shoes well enough today.”

“The next week he rubbed my back around my bra area multiple times,” the woman wrote. She added that Capelletti poked her breast on multiple occasions as well.

Both women came forward with their allegations on Aug. 31, 2021, bringing their concerns to Lt. Paul Beard. When McMurray asked why they didn't go to HR, they said they were afraid of retaliation based on their belief Capelletti and the HR director were having an affair.

The HR director is no longer employed by the city, though the city refused to say whether she was fired or had quit, calling it a private personnel matter. The former director didn't respond to requests for comment. When asked for any documents about potential wrongdoing by the director that are disclosable under state law, the city reported having “no responsive records.”

Capelletti admitted to making some inappropriate remarks, like “taking a survey” with other employees about whether they would let their wives have sex with the former city manager. But Capelletti denied having sex with his accusers.

But the lawyer who conducted the investigation for the city concluded that Capelletti's denials were likely dishonest, noting he admitted to poor judgment and stopped just short of confessing to a sexual relationship with a subordinate.

She noted Capelletti lied in some of his comments, including denying that he ever wrote “Pretty then, pretty now,” to a woman who sent him pictures of herself as a baby and in high school, though investigators located such an email.

Beard — the lieutenant to whom the allegations against Capelletti were initially reported — was sworn in as Oakley's police chief in January, the city's fourth chief in six years.