Longtime San Rafael police lieutenant on decertification list for 'egregious acts'

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Former San Rafael Police Lt. Dan Fink was put on POSTs decertification list on May 3, 2023.

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. - A longtime San Rafael police lieutenant was put on the state's decertification list for "egregious or repeated acts that violate the law."

Lt. Dan Fink, who held multiple posts over 25 years including serving as the department's public information officer, was placed on the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training list on May 3.

But instead of waiting for a final determination, Fink surrendered his ability to be a police officer in California as of May 18.

Efforts to reach Fink were not successful, as neither the phone number nor the email provided in a public records search worked.

KTVU reached out to the mayor and the police union seeking comment but did not hear back by the time of publication.

In an interview, San Rafael Lt. Scott Eberle would not divulge what Fink was placed on the list for. He said that none of the allegations against Fink are publicly disclosable by law.

He did confirm, however, that Fink resigned last year during an internal investigation into his behavior.

Fink is now one of 44 police officers on the POST decertification list.

As of January, all police officers in California must be referred to POST if they are arrested for a felony, discharged for serious misconduct or separated from their job during a pending investigation into allegations of serious misconduct.

While it's unclear what Fink is accused of doing, some behaviors can be ruled out.

Fink was not placed on the list because he was found to be dishonest, committed sexual assault, was engaged in deadly force or demonstrated bias based on race, religion or gender identity. All those categories have to be made public under two laws, SB1421 and SB16.

POST's definition for "egregious or repeated acts that violate the law" is pretty broad and vague.

The formal definition is "acts that violate the law and are sufficiently egregious or repeated as to be inconsistent with a peace officer's obligation to uphold the law or respect the rights of members of the public, as determined by the commission."

Fink had been well-known in the Bay Area.

As the former public information officer, KTVU had interviewed Fink multiple times for stories on a senior being stabbed, a burglar forgetting his keys inside a crime scene and a murder suspect extradited from Guatemala, to name a few.

In 2012, Fink was invited to the White House because of his active Twitter use. In a ConnectedCops blog that he wrote in 2009, Fink described his newfound love for Twitter and how to use it to inform and engage the community.

"So I did what every good Lieutenant should do, which is to ask his boss if we could join the ranks of Twitter, right??? Wrong!!" Fink wrote on the blog. "I have always been one of those people like to ask for forgiveness instead of permission. Besides for all you cops out there, you know if I asked, we would form a committee to discuss it and then maybe six months later we would get the green light but with too many restrictions. So anyway, I just did it. I am lucky in my position that my Captains and Chief also trust me to deliver our message to the public in whatever form I deem necessary."

Fink started the San Rafael Police Department in 1997, working as a patrol officer until 2001, when he became a financial crimes detective. In 2003, he was promoted to corporal. In 2005, he became a sergeant of the patrol unit, where he and his team worked undercover on narcotics and gang cases. In 2009, he was promoted to lieutenant.

He resigned amidst an internal investigation in 2022.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story was updated on June 15 to reflect that Fink had surrendered his license.

Lisa Fernandez is a reporter for KTVU. Email Lisa at lisa.fernandez@fox.com or call her at 510-874-0139. Or follow her on Twitter @ljfernandez