SFPD Officer Arrested On Suspicion of Rite-Aid Robbery

A longtime police sergeant has been placed on unpaid leave following an arrest at a Rite-Aid pharmacy, according to San Mateo and San Francisco law enforcement officials. 

Davin Cole, a 27-year veteran assigned to SFPD’s field operations unit, was arrested and booked in San Mateo county on Nov. 3 on suspicion of robbery, according to the San Mateo Police Department.

The incident occurred at a Rite-Aid at 666 Concar Drive in San Mateo at approximately 6 PM, and Cole was later booked at Maguire Correctional Facility on suspicion of first-degree robbery and resisting arrest. He posted a $57,500 bail bond and was released on Thursday, according to San Mateo District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe.  

A voicemail to Cole was not immediately returned. 

Wagstaffe told Here/Say that charges have not yet been filed, but that Cole is expected to appear in court in the coming weeks. Wagstaffe speculated that the alleged robbery was motivated by substance dependency rather than financial gain. 

“Very often with law enforcement it’s drug addiction,” Wagstaffe said. 

Cole joined SFPD in 1994 and was promoted to sergeant in 2015, according to a Linkedin profile. He served as a supervisor in the department’s homeless outreach unit through HSOC (Healthy Streets Outreach Command), a cross-agency effort that seeks to address homeless encampments. 

In a statement, SFPD spokesperson Matt Dorsey said that Cole was placed on unpaid leave on Nov. 4 pending an internal investigation.