Some of the relatively small number of students, staff and faculty on campus at Cal State Bakersfield during the summer reacted with surprise Tuesday upon hearing that campus police chief Marty Williamson is on paid administrative leave.
University spokeswoman Jennifer Self confirmed that Williamson is on a 30-day paid administrative leave, but declined to comment further.
Capt. Maricela Gonzalez is in charge of the department during Williamson's absence. This comes after last week's vote of no confidence in Williamson's leadership by the majority of the 13 officers at CSUB.
"I'm a little surprised by this; there must be a reason why the officers feel that way and the university needs to look into that," said Ludy Ortega, a graduate student from Shafter.
"I want to know I'm being protected," said Ortega, who added she generally feels safe on campus.
A key issue officers raise is burnout, claiming they are forced to work as much as 60 to 80 hours of overtime a month.
"That much overtime affects an officer's mental health and he or she can't function properly," said sophomore Janice Brown.
Faculty and CSUB staff hesitated to speak publicly on Tuesday, saying they did not have enough information to render an opinion. Calls and emails placed to Williamson for comment were not immediately returned.