Off-Duty Kensington Cop Makes 'Citizen's Arrest' of Town Official, Alleges Assault

In a new twist for this affluent East Bay town known for its political infighting, the manager of the Kensington police district was recently cited on suspicion of assaulting one of his own cops during a heated argument involving the future of the department.

The manager, Tony Constantouros, 70, allegedly made physical contact with an off-duty Kensingtson police officer, Ted Foley, at a meeting Saturday morning where a consultant was making a public presentation about the department. Consantourous denied the allegations when reached Wednesday night, calling them “trumped up.”

Foley then made a “citizen’s arrest” of Constantouros, said Eileen Nottoli, president of the Kensington Police Protection and Community Services District Board. The case is being reviewed by the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office, a spokesman there said late Wednesday. Foley did not respond to an email seeking comment.

“I plan to ask for a full investigation,” Nottoli said in a phone interview.

The argument and alleged assault began during a presentation by a consulting group that is studying whether the police department should be disbanded in favor of contracting for police services from a neighboring agency.

At one point during an informational meeting Officer Ted Foley, in plain clothes and not on duty, yelled at the consultant, Nottoli said, and he and Constantouros were soon arguing.

Constantouros said he confronted Foley after the officer made “deceptive” comments during a Q&A with consultants. He denied any assault took place against Foley or “anyone in my life.” The town manager accused the officer of retaliating against him by serving a citation after the meeting. Foley acted alone, Constantouros said.

“These are trumped up charges. He made a false statement and he fabricated a story to get back at me,” Constantouros said. “I don’t take misuse of police power lightly.”

He continued, “I really think highly of police services and I have deepest respect for all officers.” But, he said, “I do not like intimidation and falsehoods. They way he treated me is just inexcusable.”

The Saturday meeting was put on by the Matrix Consulting Group of Mountain View. It is determining the future of Kensington police, including whether disbanding the unincorporated town’s department and contracting for police services with another agency.

A Matrix study done last year found officers respond to four calls per day on average, mostly to quality-of-life concerns or minor crimes, and recommended officers be more proactive during their downtime. Matrix consultants have held several town meetings over the past two years.

Kensington officials have long fought over their police. Board members even sued residents over a public records request for documents about the department. After reporting in 2015 revealed that Sgt. Keith Barrow’s gun and badge were stolen by a Reno prostitute after they had sex in a hotel, and the sex worker’s pimp accidentally shot himself with the weapon, former Police Chief Greg Harmon was forced out of his job amid a public outcry.

Several months later, former Board Member Vanessa Cordova, who voted for Harmon’s ouster, was pulled over by Barrow and another officer who she said harassed and intimidated her, which the officers denied.

Last month, records released on Senate Bill 1421, the state’s new police transparency law, showed cops used a confidential law enforcement database to look up information on Cordova. That disclosure sharply contradicted statements by Harmon’s successor, former Chief Kevin Hart, who said in 2016 that he’d found only a minor infraction of the use of the database involving Cordova’s records.

Nottoli has also called for an investigation into the database searches involving Cordova. Misuse of confidential law enforcement records can be charged as a felony under state law.

Nate Gartrell of the Bay Area News Group contributed to this report.