The lengthy investigation centering on 49ers defensive tackle Ray McDonald, who was arrested and accused of domestic violence in August but still has not been charged or cleared, has taken a new turn: The San Jose Police Department has told all officers they are not allowed to do off-duty work with the 49ers.
That dictate was handed down by Chief Larry Esquivel, who told officers in a memo that they’re not allowed to moonlight on any work that involves the team.
“We feel that is in our best interest to suspend all San Francisco 49er secondary employment related assignments until further notice,” the memo stated, via the San Jose Mercury News.
The McDonald investigation has been hampered by allegations that police may have acted improperly in connection with the incident involving McDonald, who is accused of assaulting his pregnant fiancee. San Jose Police Sgt. Sean Pritchard, who did off-duty security work for the team, went to McDonald’s home when McDonald called him personally — before other officers arrived in response to a 911 call. Pritchard was on-duty and in uniform at the time, and an Internal Affairs investigation has been opened into whether it was proper for an on-duty officer to show up at the request of a player who works for the team the officer does off-duty work for.
Pritchard had already been at McDonald’s birthday party a few hours earlier, which has led to allegations that the police are buddies with the 49ers and are giving them preferential treatment.
A police report says McDonald’s fiancee had visible injuries, and he was arrested shortly after police arrived in response to the 911 call. But authorities have still made no determination about whether to charge McDonald, six weeks later.