Henry K. Lee
10/31/06
A San Leandro police officer surrendered Monday on charges that he touched two women inappropriately while on duty, one in the kitchen of her apartment and another during a traffic stop.
Officer Greg Cannedy, 42, declined to comment at the Hayward Hall of Justice as he awaited a court appearance on two felony counts of false imprisonment, three misdemeanor battery counts and a misdemeanor charge of sexual battery by restraint.
Cannedy, a five-year veteran, is on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the criminal case, said Lt. Marc DeCoulode, a spokesman for the San Leandro Police Department.
Michael Rains, Cannedy’s attorney, would not discuss specifics of the case but said his client intends to plead not guilty.
“He has performed very capably, and I think he is well thought of as a police officer,” Rains said. “People know him and respect his skills.”
Cannedy surrendered at the Hayward Police Department, where he was booked and released on $27,000 bail, Rains said.
On Sept. 12, Cannedy allegedly leaned over a woman in her kitchen and began kissing her neck before grabbing her hand and putting it on his crotch, San Leandro police Sgt. Rick DeCosta wrote in a statement that outlined grounds for Cannedy’s arrest. Cannedy forced the woman to rub him over his clothing, DeCosta wrote.
“She did not feel she had the ability to leave her apartment because suspect Cannedy held her while hugging her,” DeCosta wrote.
Sometime between May and December 2005, Cannedy allegedly assaulted a female motorist he had pulled over, the statement said. As the woman tried to close the door to her car, the officer leaned inside and pulled her toward him to try to kiss her neck, DeCosta wrote.
“Under the circumstances of the traffic enforcement stop, the victim did not feel she was free to leave,” DeCosta wrote.
The woman from the September case told another San Leandro officer about what allegedly happened, and that officer reported it to his supervisors, DeCoulode said.
“We investigated this as soon as it came to light,” he said.
