Kensington Police Chief Greg Harman has succumbed to a bizarre scandal involving one of his officers, a pimp and a theft at a Reno hotel room. The small Contra Costa County community will seek out a new police chief after the Kensington governing board voted that the police chief had to go in light of the scandal and his handling of it. Chief Harman will hold his position until the end of May, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
In May of 2014, Kensington Police Sergeant Keith Barrow was staying in a Reno hotel and had his gun, badge, ammunition and handcuffs stolen while he was sleeping. The thief was an alleged prostitute whose pimp later shot himself in the leg with the stolen handgun. In the months following the incident, Chief Harman investigated the case and left Barrow on the job for more than eight months. Only recently did Harman impose a suspension on Barrow. Many residents of Kensington voiced outrage about the chief's handling of the Barrow incident. Such outcries certainly contributed to the governing board's decision.