A San Luis Obispo County resident sued the cities of Grover Beach and Santa Maria, alleging that their police departments colluded to protect an officer with a reported history of misconduct.
In his April 2025 lawsuit, SLO resident Casey Johnston claimed that Santa Maria police officer Jason Zickuhr “assaulted” him using a firearm after an unexplained incident in SLO County in March 2024.
Zickuhr allegedly wasn’t on duty during the incident and was carrying a firearm on his person and in his vehicle.
According to the complaint, he then abused his position as a law enforcement officer to intimidate and threaten Johnston.
“The city of Santa Maria and its agent Santa Maria Police Department have been and were aware of previous use of force, … threats, and excessive anger involving Officer Zickuhr prior to an incident involving the plaintiff in March 2024,” the complaint said. “Despite being made aware of these problems with Officer Zickuhr, the city of Santa Maria has continued to employ Officer Zickuhr as a law enforcement officer.”
A case management conference is scheduled for Jan. 26.
Santa Maria’s city attorney declined to comment due to the active litigation.
Johnston’s complaint said that he reported the alleged assault to the Grover Beach Police Department, which began investigating the incident. He claimed the investigation stopped when the department learned that the accused assailant was another police officer.
For weeks after, Johnston said Grover Beach police withheld a copy of its police report, claiming the Santa Maria Police Department had started its own investigation. He questioned Santa Maria’s jurisdiction over the matter since the reported assault took place in SLO County.
Grover Beach Chief of Police Jim Munro told New Times he couldn’t comment on pending litigation. He added that the department gave Johnston a copy of the report after the incident occurred.
“Plaintiff believes that Santa Maria never took over or produced a criminal investigation, and only conducted an internal investigation once plaintiff filed a complaint with Santa Maria Police Department on Sept. 5, 2024,” the complaint said.
In October 2024, according to the lawsuit, then Santa Maria Police Chief Marc Schneider allegedly wrote in a letter to Johnston that Zickuhr’s use of the firearm was “in policy” and that the department took “appropriate administrative action.”
Johnston’s lawsuit claims that Schneider didn’t specify what the administrative action was. The suit alleges that a few days later, Johnston saw Zickuhr drive by his home.
“Plaintiff believes that this drive-by was done by Zickuhr to illustrate to plaintiff that Zickuhr knew where he lived and to intimidate, harass, and threaten plaintiff in a deliberate manner once the investigation was closed,” the complaint said.
Santa Maria and Grover Beach aren’t the only entities Johnston’s leveled lawsuits against.
In 2019, Johnston, through his business Casey Johnston Construction Inc., sued clients Eric and Jacqueline Blair for allegedly ceasing to pay the full cost of labor, services, materials, and equipment for an interior remodel. The Blairs reportedly shorted Johnston’s constructed company roughly $40,000 in an more than $350,000 total bill.
In 2020, Casey Johnston Construction Inc. filed a lawsuit against Sextant Wines proprietors Craig and Nancy Stoller for similar reasons. The complaint said that the Stollers only paid about $1.2 million of a $1.3 million interior and exterior remodel bill.
Both lawsuits have been dismissed with prejudice, meaning they’re permanently closed, and Casey Johnston Construction Inc. can’t refile the same claims again.
Johnston and his attorney didn’t respond to New Times’ requests for comment. ∆
This article appears in Jan 22-29, 2026.