A former Santa Barbara Police Department commander recently surrendered his Peace Officer Training Standard license amid an investigation for misconduct allegations. 

Joshua Morton surrendered his license on Nov. 3, according to the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training. 

Morton had been on administrative leave since January 2023 and resigned from the Santa Barbara Police Department last March, according to City Administrator Kelly McAdoo.  

His resignation then prompted POST to begin its own investigation.

His license was temporarily suspended in May, and the reason was listed as “Separated Pending Investigation for Complaint, Charge, or Allegation of Serious Misconduct,” according to POST.

The temporary suspension was issued to Morton after he separated from the SBPD pending investigation, according to POST spokeswoman Meagan Poulos. 

POST was investigating Morton for misconduct, but his voluntary surrender ended any investigation conducted by the commission, Poulos added. 

“In this case, the officer chose to surrender rather than complete the investigation,” she said.

His surrender forfeits all rights and privileges associated with the certification and his license cannot be reactivated, according to POST.

Poulos said she didn’t know the cause for the complaint, charge or allegation and couldn’t disclose information on the now-closed case.

Lawsuit Alleges Workplace Discrimination, Sexual Harassment 

In December 2024, Morton was named as a defendant in a workplace discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges Morton and former Sgt. Allan Tuazon harassed and discriminated against a colleague. 

Pamela Boucher, the plaintiff, alleges the two of acting in degrading, hostile, toxic and discriminatory conduct, according to lawsuit documents. 

The lawsuit claims the behavior began after Boucher was promoted to another position within the department to handle special events coordination. 

At one point, Boucher claims to have endured sexually harassing conduct and sexual harassment, including allegedly seeing an explicit photo of Morton, her commander, the lawsuit alleges. 

She also alleges Morton and Tuazon encouraged the behavior by turning a blind eye. 

Tuazon medically retired at the end of October, according to McAdoo. 

As for Morton, “The main basis for the lawsuit is not directly related to the POST issue, and the parties are working to amicably resolve the case. For that reason, and to avoid disrupting ongoing progress, we cannot comment further,” McAdoo said.

The next court date for the civil lawsuit is a case management conference scheduled for Wednesday in Santa Barbara County Superior Court.