A California police chief is under fire for allegedly commuting hundreds of miles from his home in Idaho.
Eamonn Allen, a San Mateo County sheriff’s office captain, is accused of sleeping in the Millbrae police station in between the mammoth journeys.
Records indicate that Allen moved into a $1 million 3,773-square-foot home in Meridian, Idaho, last summer.
That places him nearly 700 miles and either a 10-hour drive or about a two-hour flight from Millbrae, where he is the chief of police.
‘Not [being] able to return to work on short notice in the event of an emergency is ridiculous,’ Richard Corriea, a retired San Francisco police commander, told ABC7.
‘You’d want a police chief that’s a stakeholder in the community and able to experience the community at a granular level to really understand it and know what’s going on, and also to be present on short notice.’
Calls for Allen to be investigated began after fire inspectors visited the Millbrae police station on October 21 and discovered two rooms being used as sleeping quarters.
City spokesperson Annabelle Acosta told NBC Bay Area: ‘It appears there are two separate living quarters, one with two beds and the other with one bed.
Eamonn Allen, a San Mateo County sheriff’s office captain, is accused of commuting from Idaho to Millbrae, California
Allen has been accused of using the bureau as a part-time residence to sleep in
The city had no knowledge of the dwelling units inside the police station until a routine inspection found them.’
The double bedroom was locked with an ‘in use’ sign.
The single-bed space lacked an emergency exit in case of a fire, but allegedly contained a mattress, desk and what looked like a half-gallon of liquor.
A ‘notice of correction’ was posted outside the Millbrae station: ‘Please stop using rooms for sleeping.
‘Use of bedrooms is not allowed until a permit has been issued, construction has been modified, all inspections have passed, and certificate of occupancy has been issued.’
The correction added: ‘The existing bedrooms do not have emergency escape and rescue windows as required by Section 1031 of the California Building Code.’
When Allen was asked by an ABC7 reporter about the allegations of him sleeping at the station, the police captain demurred.
Allen has refused to answer questions about the allegations, which appeared to violate Millbrae’s code of ethics
The California city had ‘no knowledge of the dwelling units inside the police station’ until a routine inspection
‘We’re not doing tours right now,’ he said. ‘Sorry.’
Millbrae’s code of ethics bars public employees from using ‘city-owned property’ for ‘personal need, convenience or profit’.
‘That needs to be proven,’ Millbrae mayor Anders Fung said.
‘I still need to be able to get the facts of those allegations, and I have not heard from the chief, so that’s important.’
Records said Allen lived in Livermore, California, prior to moving to Meridian – about 11 miles from Boise – last year.
He made $464,100 as a sheriff’s captain in 2024, according to public California records.
David Canepa, who leads the county’s board of supervisors, said: ‘If someone is living out of county or out of state, they have to pay for their own lodging, meaning San Mateo County is not a Holiday Inn.’
Meridian, Idaho, is about 700 miles – either a 10-hour drive or about a two-hour flight – from Millbrae
Allen earned $464,100 as a sheriff’s captain in 2024, according to public California records
He told The Mercury News that, if confirmed, Allen’s living arrangement was ‘not permissible’.
Canepa added: ‘Essentially what you’re doing is you’re having the taxpayer pay for your housing.’
The Daily Mail reached out to the San Mateo County sheriff’s office and the Millbrae Police Bureau for further comment.
