Chino, CA – Following an external investigation completed by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s
Department, Matthew Solano, a Chino police officer who until recently was working as a resource officer in the Chino Valley Unified School District this week was taken into police custody following allegations of inappropriate conduct involving two students enrolled at Magnolia Junior High School.
Solano has been removed from his duties as a Chino Valley Unified School District school resource officer and placed on paid administrative leave. That action came following the district’s immediate report to the Chino Police Department that it had received statements of misconduct with a student.
According to the police department, to ensure a thorough and impartial investigation, the department’s leadership contacted the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department to request that it conduct an external investigation of the allegations.
During the analysis of the case, deputies identified a second juvenile victim. Following the completion of the investigation last week, the Sentinel has learned, the case was forwarded to the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office for review where Solano was charged with lewd and lascivious acts with a child and child annoyance.
With Solano now on administrative leave without pay, the Chino Department has initiated its own internal
investigation into the matter.
Chino Police Chief Mensen stated, “We hold our officers to the highest standards and condemn these alleged actions in the strongest possible terms. The safety of our community, especially our youth, is our highest priority… We are conducting a comprehensive review of our internal policies related to school resource officers, including selection, supervision, and training protocols.”
Following Matthew Solano’s arrest, Chino Valley Unified School District Superintendent Norm Enfield,
Ed.D., said, “It is an extremely unfortunate situation to learn about this breach of trust with one of our
school resource officers. While we are greatly disappointed with former Officer Solano’s actions, we
are grateful for the Chino Police Department’s swift response to the allegations of inappropriate conduct,
and we appreciate their continued commitment to working with the district to ensure Chino Valley
students are safe and protected. I am grateful for the immediate response and transparency demonstrated by Chief Mensen and his staff. While Officer Solano’s conduct is a direct violation of our trust and extremely unfortunate, I believe that it does not represent the outstanding character of our Chino Police Department. the Chino Police Department leadership and personnel have continuously collaborated with the Chino Valley Unified school District School Board, executive cabinet, and school staff to ensure the safety, wellbeing, and education of our youth.”