Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "police"

Ask Officer Michelle - Officers Using Cellphones While Driving

2012-02-05T20:08:43Z

Posted by cyd evans

I saw an officer talking on a cell phone while driving a marked car yesterday. Don’t the same rules apply to police officers as the general public regarding only using hands free devices?

Dear cyd evans,

Police officers are to abide by the same rules of the road as citizens. However, there are some exceptions to these rules – for instance, when talking on a cell phone while driving, California Vehicle Code Section 23123 (d). This section does not apply to an emergency services professional using a wireless telephone while operating an authorized emergency vehicle, as defined in Section 165, in the course and scope of his or her duties. This translates to, if the officer is using the phone for official business then this law applies. If they are talking to their spouse about non-police business for example, then they are in the wrong.

Police do a lot of business on their cell phones, and our cars are like our offices. We use the computers and cell phones for every call for service. We coordinate with other units, with dispatch, records, get additional information from victims, talk to citizens, Deputy District Attorneys, supervisors, and coordinate with outside agencies all on the cell phone. Thank you for your post.

Officer Michelle

Ask Officer Michelle - What To Do About a Friend Who's Using Drugs

2012-01-08T19:02:36Z

Posted by MartinM

Hi,I suspect that my friend Is using drugs,I am almost sure he is using some kind of drugs.Should I report him? After all I am not 100% sure,but he has had some problems before.

Thank you.

Dear MartinM,

It sounds like you have some concerns about your friend using drugs. You may be right. Have you discussed this with your friend? He may need help and police involvement may not be the best route. Your friend may need some intervention from friends and family. There are many drug and alcohol clinics in Sacramento and in the outlying region where your friend may seek help.

If your friend is selling drugs or furnishing the drugs to others, then you should call the police. Being under the influence of a narcotic or drug is a misdemeanor in this state. If they are operating a motor vehicle, or are involved in caring for children while under the influence, it could be a felony, especially if it your friend gets into an injury accident.

If your friend is on probation or parole, his agent should be notified. It is a violation of the conditions of the probation/parole if the subject uses illegal drugs during the time they are on this status.

Your friend may also have a mental condition such as bi-polar. People with this condition may act strange, have mood swings, have disrupted sleeping patterns, and change their social behavior which may present much like a person on drugs. They may distance themselves from their friends and family. I am not a physician, but I do work with people with mental illness every day, and have been working with them for 21 years, so I do have some exposure.

Several years ago, I did a series on our blog entitled, "Drug Trends and Teens." I laid out some the different types of drugs that are often abused. Attached is the link: http://blog.sacpd.org/2007/02/09/drug-trends-and-teens-2/ You may want to read the article and familiarize yourself with the different types that fit the behavior of your friend. I hope you will be able to help your friend. Keep me posted.

Officer Michelle

Tales from the front lines: Working on Christmas

2011-12-24T03:38:59Z

On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, when most folks are sitting down to enjoy dinner with family and friends, public safety officers, doctors and nurses and others in service industries still have to work. It’s not always easy – crime and accidents don’t take a break on holidays.

The Sacramento Press asked some of them to share their holiday work experiences. These are their stories.

FIRE DEPARTMENT:
“(Christmas) is a pretty loaded day,” Doug Bruce, an engineer with Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District, said Friday. “There is a lot of last-minute things going on, so there is a lot of traffic out. We keep busy.”

Bruce said calls to the fire station can be strange no matter what the day, but during the holidays, you really never know what you’re going to get.

“A lot of times there’s the unfortunate call where something crazy happens involving the holiday spirit and it touches off a structure fire,” Bruce said. “On the other hand, there may be a call where a life is saved or property is saved and things end on a brighter note. It’s really a mixed bag.”

Being on duty on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day is not boring by any means, Bruce said – but it’s not lonely, either.

“We have a lot of people who stop by and bring treats and baked goods,” Bruce said. “We just finished a toy drive, so we have a lot of folks that bring toys for that, too.”

Throughout the year, fire personnel are thanked for their work by random people who come up to say hello now and then, Bruce said.

“When someone who came through an incident that could have had grave circumstances comes back and says thank you, that really means a lot,” he added.

Bruce spoke of a woman who had been out on the town one Christmas Eve a few years ago and choked on some food during dinner.

“We arrived and she was down – she wasn’t breathing,” Bruce said. “She went into a coma for a while, but she came back and survived.”

Bruce said the woman comes by the station about twice a year to visit and bring treats to say thank you to the firemen who saved her life that day.

“When they take time to come and see us and say, ‘You did this for me back when,’ you think to yourself, ‘Wow. That’s great.’ Those are special days,” Bruce said.

For those who have to work at the fire station on Christmas, it can be hard to be away from the family, Bruce said, but many stations try to make the best of it by hosting dinner for the crew’s families.

“Some (stations) invite everyone to the station, and they’ll put on a big spread and feed everyone well,” Bruce said.

POLICE DEPARTMENT:
The police are busy year-round with calls from robbery to murder to car theft, but the holidays seem to add just a touch of excitement even to that score, according to Officer William Cho of the Twin Rivers Police Department.

“A couple of Thanksgivings ago, we got a call because someone had left a turkey on in a school oven,” Cho said Wednesday.

When Cho and his partner arrived on the scene, Cho said, they thought the building was on fire because the place was thick with smoke.

“I don’t know how long it had been in there, but the bird was shrunken, mangled and burned to a crisp,” Cho said. “The people who called us were like, ‘Oh, sorry – guess we forgot to take the turkey out.’ There can be calls like that now and then.”

Officer Arnel Agdipa, also from the Twin Rivers Police Department, said he and his fellow officers feel gratitude from the community in some unexpected ways.

“There was one Christmas out in Woodlake when the community members had a dinner set up for us at the old fire station off of Arden,” Agdipa said Wednesday. “They had food and stuff all laid out for all law enforcement and fire personnel, and we could come and go and eat when we had time. It was great having the community get together and do that for us.”

POST OFFICE:
Gary Campanale, a former express mail deliverer for the U.S. Postal Service, said Friday that working Christmas Day had its ups and downs.

“A couple of times (when delivering on Christmas Day), I was invited to share Christmas dinner,” Campanale said.

The USPS Overnight Express mail is delivered 365 days a year, Campanale said, so every year there is a chance to work on holidays.

“(Customers) were usually so appreciative that they invited me in to share cocoa or lunch or something,” Campanale said. “They were so hospitable. Even if it was for just 15 or 20 minutes, I’d take my break and go in.”

Of course, mail delivery on Christmas has its downside, too, Campanale said.

“Believe it or not, sometimes you’d be there delivering on Christmas Day, but (the package) was guaranteed for the day before – Christmas Eve – and people would be so irritated,” Campanale said. “They’d want their money back and chew your head off even though you’re working Christmas.

“This time of year it’s a crapshoot if mail is going to get there on the exact day, and sometimes it just didn’t,” he said.

HOSPITAL:
Amanda M., an emergency room nurse in the Sutter Hospital system in Sacramento, said patients who arrive in the E.R. on holidays run the gamut from psych patients who think they are superheroes to families with food poisoning.

“Sometimes we get Batman heading out to save people,” she said, “or they think they’re Superman and try to fly off things – it’s surprising.”

Cooking-related injuries around Christmas time are common, too, she said, especially during the night shift after dinner.

“We’ve seen injuries from turkey explosions,” Amanda said, “and burns from deep-frying turkeys. We’ve even had people on oxygen that get too close to flames and set themselves on fire. It’s nuts.”

And then there are the people for whom accidents happen in the most unexpected ways.

“Once, before Christmas, a guy came in who had been putting lights up on his house,” Amanda said. “He got all tangled up in them – like a Chevy Chase Christmas movie – and fell off the roof. He came in with fragments of light bulbs in his skin all over him.”

It took two people nearly two hours to dig out all the shards of glass, she said.

The work of an E.R. nurse on Christmas doesn’t always go unnoticed, however. Sometimes, Amanda said, there is an occasional showing of gratitude.

“We get a lot of patients that bring back cookies or bake cakes for us,” Amanda said. “Or someone will send a card that says, ‘Thank you for taking care of me on Christmas Eve – I was the drunk guy.’

“Whatever it is, the gesture is always appreciated,” she added.

Whether it’s a thank-you card or a plate of cookies – or the occasional $10 bill tucked in an envelope – the people who work on Christmas so others can enjoy the holiday with their families deserve a hearty “thank you” during the holidays.

As Bruce said, “It’s always nice to hear.”

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Preventative measures in gang violence discussed a year after barbershop shooting

2011-12-21T04:53:01Z

Additional efforts will be made by the Sacramento Police Department and Sacramento Sheriff's Department to prevent youth involvement in gangs by promoting interactions between police officers and the youth. The mayor is calling this approach a paradigm shift, and it will be part of Sacramento's first comprehensive plan for gang prevention, Mayor Kevin Johnson announced Tuesday at the Boys & Girls Club on Lemon Hill Avenue.

The emphasis of the program will be heavy on prevention and intervention instead of just enforcement and incarceration, according to the mayor.

Johnson said the program will focus on school literacy enrichment, strengthening the relationship between the Sacramento community and law enforcement, supporting workforce readiness programs and job training, and promoting regional collaboration.

The COPS (Community Oriented Policing Services) program provided funding for additional deputies in taking on this task.

Undersheriff Mark Iwasa said that community interaction and youth level intervention is important in solving the gang problem.

Deputy Chief Dan Schiele said that every contact law enforcers have with the public is an opportunity to be a role model and that youth interaction is one of the priorities.

"I grew up in Oak Park, and anytime we saw a police officer, we ran, because we always thought we were in trouble, even though we're not in trouble," Johnson said. "You don't want a community living in fear."

He said that, through the program, he will challenge law enforcers to be proactive in interacting with the youth, and make sure the first interaction with them is not negative, in order to build trust.

A vigil was held outside the venue after the press conference in commemoration of Monique Nelson's death anniversary, a gang-related death that was known as the barbershop shooting.

"There is nothing we can do to bring back her life," Johnson said. "But we made a commitment that her death won't be in vain."

He said that within the four-month period after the shooting, all four shooters were arrested. He added, "Justice was served."

Nelson’s brother, Richard Anthony Nelson was at the press conference Tuesday and said, “Hopefully we can stop this (gang violence) in our area, because it really destroys families.”

In the next couple of months the mayor said that the Gang Prevention Task Force he formed will put an implementation team in place that will be in charge in making sure that the program’s goals are achieved within the next three years.

Ask Officer Michelle - Unusual Use of ATM Card after a Night of Drinking

2011-12-18T20:18:16Z

Posted by dram13

Hello,

I went out Friday night with some friends and had a bit too much to drink. We took a taxi from the bar and the next day I find out from my bank that over $700 was taken from my account. I had zero money in my wallet and it was shown that money taken out from multiple ATMS before I got home. There are three possibilites I see happening. A) I was guided by the people I was with to take money out while I was intoxicated B) People took my password and card out of my wallet while I was asleep and took money out C) Taxi driver did either A or B. I know that under the law if a girl is intoxicated and a male sleeps with her, it can be considered rape since she was not in the right frame of mind; can the same logic apply to my scenario? My bank is willing to reimburse me but I have to file a police report. Is it reasonable that I do so, at least to find out what happened?

Dear dram13,

There are so many reasons not to get so drunk that you lose control of your faculties – especially for a female. I am glad that you are alright.

Go online at sacpd.org and file a police report. Some banks can provide footage of the ATMs where your card was used, thus exposing which one of your acquaintances used your card. You will also want to annotate the cab company that you used and any specific information about the driver if you can remember, in your report.

Taking advantage of a person who is incapacitated is morally wrong, but it sounds like you don’t have any recollection of the night at all. Do you know if you gave consent to use your ATM card, or did you draw money out before you became impaired? You may regain some of the memories of the evening and hence be able to put some pieces of the puzzle together. Thank you for your post.

Officer Michelle

Ask Officer Michelle - Concerns About Kidnapper out on Parole

2011-12-11T19:11:38Z

Posted by cherylwin

Can I complete a restraining order on someone without providing my location? This is a person who was in prison for kidnapping me years ago and is now free and off parole as of yesterday.

Dear cherylwin,

It must be unnerving for you knowing that the man who once victimized you is out. Here’s what you should do. His parole agent should have already put those conditions on his parole prior to getting out of prison. You may want to call Parole and make sure the condition to stay away from you was added. He must only know your name and you don’t need to supply your address. If you see the man anywhere near you, call the police. If he attempts to contact you via telephone, mail, or text, call the Police Department and his parole agent. He will be detained and his parole agent will promptly be called and his parole will be violated thus sending him back to jail.

In the meantime, let your neighbors know about your situation. They can be a lookout for you when you aren’t there. You might also want to invest in an alarm system. Keep me posted on this.

Officer Michelle

Ask Officer Michelle - Suspicious Abandoned Vehicles

2011-12-04T22:46:26Z

Posted by bmclemons

Hello Michelle.. Question.. I’m aware of a vehicle which obviously hit something when the driver was drunk not sure if it was a pole or something, but was able to make it back. The car is sitting in an apartment complex garage now for over 3 months and is completely totaled. Shouldn’t this be reported to either DMV or the authorities?

Dear bmclemons,

You could call the police department in your jurisdiction and report it as a suspicious vehicle. The dispatcher will ask you what the license plate is. It may be a stolen vehicle, or a vehicle involved in a crime. If it doesn’t have a plate attached to the vehicle, an officer can still be sent out to check the vehicle identification number (VIN). The VIN will contain all of the vehicle data information.

If it is not listed as stolen, it would be the duty of the property owner to have the vehicle towed from the premises. If it was reported as stolen, the registered owner would be called, and the police would have the vehicle towed to a tow yard from the rotational list.

Thank you for your post.
Officer Michelle

Ask Officer Michelle - Camping Ordinance In Front of Stores?

2011-11-28T18:37:40Z

Posted by Jib916

Good Morning Michelle.
I had a question regarding how you plan on handling the occupiers/campers camping in front of best buy and other big box retail stores for black Friday.

If Sacramento has a no tent policy, isn’t it only fair that these peoples camping equipment shall be confiscated, just like the protesters? After all the law is the law.

Any response would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You
Justin Buell

Dear Justin,

The “no tent” policy you are speaking about refers to occupying a camping space on city/county property. When people camp in front of stores in anticipation for stores to open or to get prime tickets at a box office, they are occupying space on private property. We typically don’t enforce the city ordinance on private property unless the business owners have an issue with individuals causing a specific problem. We will enforce the law if the store owners have a “no loitering” sign posted.

There are other issues that go along with the camping ordinances. Sometimes, people bring their children out to camp out. If the conditions are such that it is posing an unsafe environment for a child, officers can enforce the 273 code of the California Penal Code which is basically the code referring to child endangerment. I mean, have you seen the news footage where some people are nearly trampling each other to get inside the store when it opens?

I know that some of the stores are only allowing an allotted number of people in every 15 seconds to alleviate this problem. Thank you for your concern.

Officer Michelle

Ask Officer Michelle - Police Arrest Two in Connection with Beating a Mentally Challanged Woman

2011-11-20T22:26:31Z

Posted by ron_lopez2011

Please extend my personal thanks to the officers involved in the arrest of Rasaan Zawadi. I hope you get his accomplices too. That story just bugged me to the core; thank you for what you guys do.

Dear ron_lopez2011,

Thank you Ron! For those of you who aren’t familiar with Rasaan Zawadi, he was one of two bullies who were shown in a viral video taunting and punching a handicapped woman in front of a South Sacramento store. Zawadi was seen harassing and punching the female victim several times. Another suspect, 19-year-old Donnell Wade, who was seen punching the female in the face and knocking her out, was also arrested for the crime.

According to a recent press release, “We received calls from throughout the country inquiring about the investigation. Detectives assigned to the case discovered that patrol officers had responded to an assault call on October 1, 2011, at approximately 12:11 p.m., near Center Parkway and Mack Road. The officers arrived, finding that the suspects had fled the scene and the victim, a 42-year-old female, did not wish for prosecution at that time.”

On November 12, 2011 police were called to the area of Omaha Court and Seyferth Way in South Sacramento regarding a weapons call. Upon arrival Donnell Wade began to run from police. He was taken into custody without incident for his involvement in the attack. The weapons call was not related to Donnell.

The Sacramento Police Department urges anyone with information pertaining to this suspect to contact Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP (4357) or text in a tip to 274637 (CRIMES). Enter SACTIP followed by the tip information. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.”

City first quarter finance report: revenues down, expenditures up

2011-11-08T05:38:45Z

After the first quarter of the fiscal year, city revenues are only about half of what was projected, but city finance officials said they aren’t ready to panic yet. The negative balance for the city budget is not just related to lower-than-anticipated revenues – a large part of the imbalance is due to greater-than-anticipated expenditures.

The $812 million city budget is running negative at the moment – “typical” for the first quarter of the fiscal year, according to the most recent report from the city Finance Department.

The first quarter financial report will be presented to the City Council Tuesday.

Of the six main sources of revenue for the city – property tax, utility user tax, sales tax, business operations tax, public safety tax and transient occupancy (hotel) tax – two sources have not been on par with projections made when the budget was approved in June.

Property tax – which at 34 percent of all general fund revenues is the largest source of revenue for the city – appears to be at about 2 percent of projections, but that number can be misleading, according to Dawn Holm, acting budget manager for the city Finance Department.

Property tax revenues are received by the city in late January and late May, so the current report doesn’t reflect revenue beyond June.

Once the city receives property tax revenues in January, the general fund ledger will be adjusted to reflect a new balance.

The new result still may not be as good as was expected when the budget was passed in June, however.

Property values continue to decline at a higher-than-expected rate throughout the state, according to a County Assessor’s Office property tax update given to the city Finance department earlier this month.

Initially, property tax revenues for Sacramento for fiscal year 2011-12 were projected to be close to $126 million – about 1 percent less than the totals received in 2010-11.

Taking into account the county assessor’s projections, though, the actual year-end number could wind up being down 2 or even 3 percent, Holm said.

“It’s really too early to tell with any precision,” Holm said.

The good news is sales tax revenues may take up the slack and balance out the potential property tax shortfall.

According to a city staff report, taxable sales in California are expected to increase by 1.7 percent in 2011, and Sacramento is currently projecting a 4 percent increase over the 2010-11 budget.

Sales tax results that come in better than anticipated will offset the decline in property taxes, according to the staff report.

Four areas of general fund expenditures that are already in the red – and may go deeper – include department spending for fire, police, convention and leisure, and parks and recreation.

The Sacramento Fire Department is facing a projected $2.3 million shortfall by the end of the year due to overtime spending required to restore two formerly browned-out stations and the costs of hiring 27 people as part of a federal grant program.

The city accepted a federal grant that will pay for the new staffers, but grant money doesn’t come in until the positions are filled, Holm said, and when the money does come in, it cannot be used to reimburse overtime spending.

One option the department is considering to manage the budget shortfall is potential funding from Medi-Cal transport reimbursement, which is allowed by the recently passed AB678.

“The alternative would be to direct the department to implement the two additional brownouts again,” Holm said. “We’d still be in the hole, but not as much as we look to be in right now.”

Fire department representatives could not immediately be reached for comment.

The police department’s projected deficit of $3.1 million is due to unfunded employee services benefits, additional overtime because of staffing reductions and unexpected reductions in grant and contract service reimbursements, according to the staff report.

When the Convention, Culture and Leisure Department transfers golf maintenance to a private contractor in January, the city will incur one-time expenses associated with the transfer that had not been budgeted, according to the staff report.

“Part of contracting out (golf maintenance) is going to be letting go of some staff,” Holm said. “When we let go of any employees, we have to pay for unused sick leave, vacation and overtime.”

Holm said those costs are paid out as lump-sum payments to employees when they leave city service.

“That is never budgeted for,” Holm said, “so when you have a large group leaving, it’s a hit to the department.”

In this case, it is a $229,000 hit to the Parks Department budget, according to an Oct. 25 report to the City Council.

Golf maintenance included 58 positions, and contracting out the service eliminates those positions.

Fifty of those positions were filled at the time that the City Council approved contracting out the service.

The city’s fiscal year runs from July 1 through June 30. Until this year, the City Council received semi-annual reports from the Finance Department: a mid-year update and an end-of-year final report.

Since coming to the position in September, City Manager John Shirey has instituted a quarterly report to council members to provide the most timely information regarding the city’s current financial condition, Holm said.

“He felt that every six months was just too long,” Holm said. “He wants everyone to have an understanding of where things are going on a more regular basis.”

The next quarterly financial report will be presented to the City Council at end of January or first week in February. Meanwhile, Holm said, department staff will continue to work toward meeting budget goals.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Ask Officer Michelle - Reporting Suspicious Subjects

2011-11-06T17:11:12Z

Posted by ted bas

Greetings! I enjoy reading these archive articles. Thanks.
In my neighborhood, I suspect 3 individual who are, I believe, are in constant plans to rob empty home. One of them daily eye on certain vehicles which would have left their residence. I believes he communicates this to his partner and then determines who else is left behind on a house they plan to steal from. Yesterday I went out to the area where he usually observes. when he saw me, we walked away like guilty for some reason. Today, he is out there but in a more secluded area, eyeing or in a look out for some vehicle while he talks to his friend in the cell phone. Need your advice. I am willing to help to prevent any crime. Thank you for your help. Incidentally, I usually call the non emergency number, however, this may be trivial. Thanks.

Dear ted bas,

What you should do is call the police department and report a suspicious subject. Be ready to describe the subjects to the dispatcher from head to toe, (ie., height, weight, race, hair color/style, clothing description, etc). If there is a vehicle involved, be ready to describe the car as well. It would be optimum if you had a license plate, but try to get it without putting yourself in any kind of danger.

If there has been an increase of home burglaries in your neighborhood lately, let the dispatcher know that as well. You are probably right. These subjects are doing what we call “casing.” They’re looking for opportunities to victimize people. By calling us, you may be preventing a crime-in-progress. You are to be commended for being such an astute neighbor. If you don’t already have an established Neighborhood Watch group, I would suggest that you start one. There is information on our website at www.sacpd.org on how to establish a Neighborhood Watch.

Officer Michelle

Ask Officer Michelle - Shared Duplex Debate Over Medical Marijuana Smoke

2011-10-23T16:38:22Z

Posted by logsmom08

Hi Officer Michelle!

I am a renter in the Sacramento area. I live in a duplex and share the other half of the house with someone who has a ‘medical card’. My neighbors and I share a garage wall in our duplex and I am assuming that they smoke in their garage because when I walk in my garage, the stink about knocks me over. Do I have any rights to ask them to stop smoking in the garage or anywhere where I and my family can smell or be effected by it?

Dear logsmom08,

The best thing you can do about that is to speak with your landlord. Some landlords have their renters sign a marijuana smoking clause now. The law about smoking marijuana regardless if it is for medicinal purposes is that it can’t be smoked in a place where the public has access. Now, even though the garage is a part of his/her residence, it is still a common area to you and your family. If there are children who live in your or your neighbor’s residence, that could also change things.

Medicinal marijuana can be ingested in different ways as well as not to have the smoke permeate into your home, or linger in the garage. If you are on good terms with your neighbor, you may want to ask them to smoke it when you are not home, or suggest that he/she ingest it a different way. Keep me posted.

Officer Michelle

Ask Officer Michelle - Citizen Concerned About Neighbors' Pitbulls

2011-10-16T17:43:23Z

Posted by neighborwatch

Hi Michelle,
We recently had new neighbors move in the house behind ours. They have a few dogs, 2 of which are large pit bulls.
The first thing we noticed were the dogs barking for extended periods of time, all hours of the night. The tenants are home, but seem to ignore the barking. Recently we’ve witnessed 3 instances where the largest dog is attacking the other dogs/other possible animals in their backyard. Vicious attacks which leave their deck stained with blood.

The most recent incident involved the woman trying to separate the dogs, and she was thrown to the floor and screaming. I called 911 as I felt her life was in danger. Unfortunately I don’t know what happened next because the police never came to question me. It looks like the dogs may have been taken in by animal control, but I’m not certain.
My big concern is what happens if they return? I have 3 small children who I no longer allow to play in the backyard for fear that the dogs could breach the fence. I am terrified after witnessing a woman being attacked by her own dog.
What type of recourse do I have?
Another factor is suspicious activity surrounding the basement area of their home. Shady characters are lead through their back door to an area of the backyard which I cannot see from my vantage point. We can’t figure out if dog breeding is going on, or drug activity or what? I’m feeling a little out of my league here :)
Any suggestions are appreciated.

Dear Neighborwatch,

It sounds like Animal Control handled the situation. You were right in calling 911 on them. Chances are that once Animal Control takes the dogs, they won’t be coming home. You can call Animal Control (dial 311) and voice your concerns. Since the dogs have already exhibited aggressive behavior, you don’t want to take any chances with 3 small children. If you believe that they are illegally breeding and selling dogs, you would also express that to Animal Control.

As far as the suspicious behavior, you need to be more specific. If you think your neighbors are involved in illegal narcotics, call our Narcotic’s Tip Line at 808-5796. Are there any suspicious smells like chemicals emitting from the residence? Are there people coming and going at all times of the day and night? Have you seen any drugs, scales, packaging materials, money transactions?

It sounds as though you have really strong instincts about this residence, and may very well be right.
Thank you for your post.

Officer Michelle

Second suspect in viral video assault identified

2011-10-15T01:18:15Z

Sacramento Police Department press release:

The Sacramento Police Department is searching for the second suspect, 19-year-old Donnell Wade, in the unprovoked attack that was captured on video.

On October 12, 2011, the Sacramento Police Department was made aware of a video, showing suspects assaulting a female, which had gone viral on the Internet. We received calls from throughout the country inquiring about the investigation. Detectives assigned to the case discovered that patrol officers responded to an assault call on October 1, 2011, at approximately 12:11 p.m., near Center Parkway and Mack Road. The officers arrived and determined the suspects had fled the scene and the victim, a 42-year-old female, did not wish for prosecution at that time.

Based on the newly discovered video evidence of the assault, detectives continued to pursue the identity of the involved suspects. After officers saw the video image of the suspects and with crime tips that came in from the public, detectives were able to identify the suspects seen in the video. The first suspect that hit the victim was identified as 21-year-old Rasaan Zawadi. On October 13, 2011, Zawadi was taken into custody without incident. The second suspect that hit the victim was identified as 19-year-old Donnell Wade. Efforts to locate Wade have not been successful. The Sacramento Police Department is releasing Donnell Wade’s photo in hopes of receiving information as to his whereabouts. Wade currently has a warrant for assault with a gang enhancement.

Arrest made in viral video assault case

2011-10-13T23:50:34Z

Sacramento Police Department press release:

The Sacramento Police Department arrested 21-year-old Rasaan Zawadi for the unprovoked attack on a female that was captured on video and believed to have been posted by the suspects.

On October 12, 2011, the Sacramento Police Department was made aware of a video of an assault on a female that had gone viral on the Internet. We received calls from throughout the country inquiring about the investigation. Detectives assigned to the case discovered that patrol officers had responded to an assault call on October 1, 2011, at approximately 12:11 p.m., near Center Parkway and Mack Road. The officers arrived finding that the suspects had fled the scene and the victim, a 42-year-old female, did not wish for prosecution at that time.

Based on the newly discovered video evidence of the assault, detectives continued to pursue the identity of the involved suspects. After officers saw the video image of the suspects and with crime tips that came in from the public, detectives were able to identify one of the suspects seen in the video hitting the victim. The suspect was identified as 21-year-old Rasaan Zawadi (first suspect to hit the victim). Detectives working with the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office obtained an arrest warrant for Zawadi and were preparing to look for him, when a Sacramento County Sheriff’s deputy stopped him near German Drive and French Road this morning on an unrelated incident.

The Sacramento Police Department arrested Zawadi for assault with a gang enhancement. Detectives believe that the assault was gang related. Detectives are continuing their investigation into the second suspect involved in the assault.

The Sacramento Police Department urges anyone with information pertaining to this crime to contact Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP (4357) or text in a tip to 274637 (CRIMES). Enter SACTIP followed by the tip information. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

Occupy Sacramento protesters want exception to city camping law

2011-10-12T05:42:42Z

After 35 arrests in six days for violating a city camping ordinance, a group of Occupy Sacramento protesters marched to City Hall Tuesday to ask City Council members for an exception to the law so they can have 24-hour access to Cesar Chavez Plaza for peaceable demonstration.

“This is a fundamental constitutional issue,” said Sacramento resident David Whitfield, speaking on behalf of Occupy Sacramento. “Individuals are exercising their First Amendment rights, and no legislative body can abridge those rights.”

Demonstrators representing a wide range of ages and walks of life have gathered for more than six days in Cesar Chavez Plaza at Ninth and L streets to participate in the Occupy Sacramento movement.

The movement, which includes public protests, marches and organized demonstrations, began as a “show of solidarity” with similar protest movements that have cropped up across the nation in recent weeks, said Sara Beth Brooks, one of Occupy Sacramento’s coordinators

The effort calls for demonstrators to “occupy” a public space continuously during the protests – but, by doing that, Sacramento demonstrators have run afoul of a city ordinance prohibiting overnight camping in public parks.

The ordinance was enacted to keep public streets and parks “clean, sanitary and accessible” to residents and the public at large, according to the city code.

Brooks said that participants in Occupy Sacramento are not camping, however – they are exercising their First Amendment right to “peaceably assemble.”

And they will continue to exercise their right, Brooks said, “indefinitely.”

“There is no set end to the statement we are making,” Brooks said. “We are committed to seeing this through and having our voices heard.”

More than 300 people attended the council meeting Tuesday. Fifteen people spoke during public comment at the meeting to describe the nature of the occupation demonstration and to ask for an exception to the law.

According to the city code, the city manager may issue a temporary permit to allow camping on public property in connection with a special event. The code does not specify a maximum length of time for the exception to be valid.

According to police spokesman Andrew Pettit, interactions between police officers and the demonstrators over the past week have been “peaceful,” and the demonstrators have been “very cooperative.”

“The purpose of this (occupation) has been educational awareness,” said Ari Rashid, one of the coordinators of the Occupy Sacramento movement. “We want to discuss the issues that plague our society and our nation.”

Rashid and other speakers told council members that the extended demonstration has been carried out peacefully and largely without incident.

“We are not a public nuisance,” Rashid said, “and we are nothing less than peaceable. We want to keep the occupation going in Cesar Chavez park.”

Brooks said in an email Tuesday that 20 protesters were arrested Thursday, one on Friday and 14 Saturday.

All were arrested for unlawful assembly, Brooks said.

“This is the first time in my 24 years of life that I’ve experienced direct democracy,” Rashid told council members. “These (protests) are happening because people feel like they aren’t being heard. I’m here tonight to be heard.”

Councilman Steve Cohn told audience members that he had visited with demonstrators at Cesar Chavez Plaza on Monday evening, and he noted that the group was “definitely peaceful.”

The City Council could not take action on the request for an ordinance exemption at Tuesday’s meeting because it was not an item on the agenda. If the council took any action without proper public notice, it would be a violation of the Brown Act.

Eileen Teichert, Sacramento’s city attorney, confirmed that the city manager has authority to grant an exception to the camping ordinance, however, it would still be an action requiring public notice.

The Brown Act requires that the public is notified at least 72 hours in advance of council meetings which matters will be on the agenda for that meeting.

Cohn asked city staff to add an item to the next council meeting agenda to discuss changing the current policy on camping as an exception for this demonstration.

“Demonstrations are happening in Seattle, Portland, San Diego and Washington, D.C.,” Cohn said. “I feel like this city ought to be able to figure out how to make this work, too.”

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Ask Officer Michelle - Video Taping Police on Duty

2011-10-09T14:46:22Z

Posted by GARYA73

Is it illegal to video record an on-duty peace officer?

Dear GARYA73,

In the State of California, it is legal to video tape a peace officer, if you are in public and have a legal right to be there. You must not impede the officer in any way while they are in the course of his/her duties. If a crime scene has been established, members of the public may not cross it, even to film. This may lead to contaminating evidence within the crime scene.

This happens all the time. Everyone has a camera phone or a video recorder and officers are constantly being scrutinized. The other issue is that people often post their videos on social media networks.

I am of the philosophy that if you are doing what you are supposed to be doing, it is not a problem. I however, don’t want to be on a media website without my consent. Public perception is very important, but what people have to understand is the whole picture. Say I get a call for service about a man who is aggressively panhandling and harassing citizens downtown. Say this person is a repeat offender and they have an extensive background with the police. I contact this subject and begin asking him questions about his identity and what he is doing. Say he gets indignant and begins talking about his rights and police harassment. Say a bystander starts taping at that moment before they know the whole situation. This is what concerns me. When things are taken out of context, the public’s perception of the police, based upon the video, is biased.

If the public is going to video a cop while they are in the course of their duties, it should at least be done responsibly.

Thank you for writing.

Officer Michelle

Occupy Sacramento continues after 20 protesters arrested

2011-10-07T23:50:31Z

Authorities said 20 protesters were arrested at about 12:45 a.m. Friday when they refused to leave Cesar Chavez Plaza, the site of the Occupy Sacramento demonstration.

Both police and protesters described the arrests as peaceful.

“They went without any problems or issues,” said Sgt. Andrew Pettit, spokesman for the Sacramento Police Department. “They were booked for failure to disperse after a lawful order.”

Anthony Bondi, a spokesman for Occupy Sacramento, agreed.

“It was completely violence-free,” he said Friday afternoon. “The protesters laid down and chose to be arrested.”

Despite what some protesters said they think was an overbearing police presence, Pettit said units involved were either on patrol already or “flexed” their hours to take part in the arrests.

“We had two SWAT teams, the entertainment team and three graveyard teams,” he said, noting that about 40 officers were involved.

The entertainment team is a unit that normally deals with drunken driving and enforcement of laws associated with entertainment venues such as nightclubs, he added.

The protesters who were arrested were booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail, and Bondi said supporters marched to the jail Friday morning.

“Everyone is out now,” he said. “A couple have come back (to Cesar Chavez Plaza).”

Officers making arrests donned riot helmets, which Bondi said seemed excessive.

“I do believe that the police were a little bit overkill with the riot gear,” he said. “I mean, you can’t get less violent and more peaceful than (the demonstrators) were.”

Pettit acknowledged the nonviolent nature of those arrested but said wearing the gear is a standard procedure to ensure the officers are protected in case the situation turns violent.

“It was a precautionary measure,” he said. “They were nonviolent, but it’s to protect our officers in case someone else comes in and gets aggressive.”

He added that officers carry their riot gear in their vehicles at all times, so no specialized units needed to be called in.

The occupation has been in place since Thursday morning, when Sacramentans took part in the nationwide trend.

One of the common questions raised by those observing the occupation has been what the activists’ objective is – and that’s a question the activists themselves are pondering.

“The general consensus here – and I know it’s incredibly broad and vague – is change,” Bondi said. “Even in the Wall Street protests, over a week or two, there was no definitive list of demands.”

Bondi described Occupy Sacramento as a democracy where no one person is a leader, and objectives are being worked out.

“We’re trying to get more organized at this point,” he said. “I just hope people stick with us.”

Pettit said police will continue to enforce the city’s listed park hours and “no camping” ordinance.

“We are anticipating to stay there and do the same thing again,” he said. “We’ll see if the same people want to be arrested. It’s up to them. Our primary concern is keeping the peace.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Sacramento gets $19.4 million from feds to rehire peace officers

2011-09-30T01:37:48Z

Sacramento city and county were awarded a total of $19.4 million in federal funding grants Wednesday – enough to put 25 police officers and 25 sheriff’s deputies back to work for the next three years.

The Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Hiring Program is a competitive grant program through the U.S. Department of Justice that provides funding to state and local law enforcement agencies to hire, rehire, or retain police officers.

This year, 2,712 law enforcement agencies requesting more than $2 billion to fund the hiring of 8,999 officers were considered for COPS Hiring Program funding, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Selection for awards was based on an applicant agency’s overall need for federal assistance, local crime rates, current commitment to community policing and their proposed community policing plan.

The Sacramento Sheriff’s Department received an award of $11,306,450 – the largest single award in the nation under the COPS program this year.

The Sacramento Police Department received $8.1 million in grant funds. It is the largest COPS grant the city has received in the three years that Sacramento has been selected for an award, and was the third highest COPS grant awarded in the nation this year.

Each grant provides funding for the salaries and benefits of officer positions for three years, with the requirement that agencies maintain the positions for one additional year at the end of the grant funding period.

The Sheriff’s Department grant will fill 25 deputy positions, department spokesman Jason Ramos said Wednesday. Those deputies will be assigned to a new youth and gang violence unit in Sacramento county.

Sheriff Scott Jones said in a press release Wednesday that his department plans to take a “comprehensive approach” to combating youth and gang violence by expanding enforcement efforts of gang unit detectives, adding a school component with school resource officers and partnering with youth-focused community organizations.

“It feels like Christmas in September,” Mayor Kevin Johnson said in a press release Wednesday, referring to the $8.1 million grant award to the Sacramento Police Department.

Huge budget cuts to the police department forced the city to lay off 46 sworn officers in July. The new COPS grant will allow the city to rehire 25 of those officers.

Representatives for the police department and the Sacramento Police Officers Association could not be reached for comment.

"We had to watch officers turn their badges in for the first time in our city's history,” Johnson said. “Now we have an opportunity to pin those badges back on our officers and get them back on the street."

Johnson declared the award “a big win” for Sacramento and emphasized that public safety must continue to be the top priority for the city.

Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-Sacramento) called the grants “wonderful news” for Sacramento residents in a statement released Thursday.

“This federal funding will strengthen our community’s law enforcement’s ability to keep us safe, and ensure that budgetary shortfalls do not eliminate these critical positions,” Matsui said.

Only 238 of the 2,712 grant requests were ultimately funded – roughly 9 percent of the total number of applications – for a total of $243,398,709 in grants, funding 1,021 officer positions nationwide.

In all, the Sacramento region – including $19.4 million for Sacramento city and county and a $2.58 million award for Placer county – was awarded the largest combined dollar amount in the nation.

Grant funds will be available to the Sacramento Police Department after the City Council formally accepts the grant at the next council meeting.

The Sheriff’s Department grant is expected to receive formal acceptance by the County Board of Supervisors in early October.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Crime rate down 18 percent in Sacramento

2011-09-22T00:50:50Z

Despite budget reductions and recent layoffs in the police department, serious crime in Sacramento has dropped 18 percent over the last three years – the second largest decline in California among cities of similar size – according to a report that Sacramento Police Chief Rick Braziel presented to City Council Tuesday.

Braziel told council members that the core mission of the Sacramento Police Department hasn’t changed since 2008 when he took charge. The mission, he said, is still “reduce crime, engage the community and provide excellent service.”

What has changed, however, is the number of police personnel – 81 sworn officers were laid off in July – and a department budget reduced by $12.2 million this year.

Over the past four years, police department budget reductions have resulted in $35 million in cuts and a loss of 372 positions, according city staff reports.

Still, Sacramento crime rates have been on a downward trend since 2007, Braziel said Tuesday.

Braziel’s report to the City Council included crime rate information compiled from department records and annual crime statistics from the FBI.

Braziel attributes the numbers to a “more focused effort” to achieve department goals, and an emphasis on working as efficiently as possible with the resources available.

“We have really focused on our 911 (call) center and operations in the field,” Braziel said. “We actually have more people answering the 911 line than (we had) three years ago.”

Braziel said staffing for field resources – patrol officers, traffic officers and officers on the streets responding to calls for service – has gone down 15 percent since July.

The investigations staff has been reduced by 35 percent, Braziel added.

“Those reductions are what necessitated a change in our dispatch protocols,” Braziel said.

In his last report to City Council in June, Braziel told council members that, with such a reduction in staffing, the department would no longer respond to some types of service calls, such as “cold” burglaries, where the suspect was no longer on the scene and the victims weren’t in danger.

“However, if we find a pattern or a series (of incidents) or something unique about an incident,” Braziel said, “we dispatch reports out to officers in the field and a patrol will go out to the scene to follow up.”

By prioritizing responses to nonviolent crime calls, Braziel said he is able to streamline operations and focus personnel where they are needed most at any given time.

Councilman Jay Schenirer told Braziel he was pleasantly surprised by the report.

“With budget cuts and an economy that is bad as it’s been in 40 or 50 years,” Schenirer said, “to see crime (in Sacramento) go down, that’s great.”

Schenirer said he would chalk it up to how well Braziel is running the department, and the continuous development of new ideas to reduce crime that are coming from the department.

Braziel told council members that violent crime is down 20 percent, and property crime is down 17 percent over the last year. All crimes together – excluding homicides – year-to-date crime rates are down 12.5 percent from last year.

“We are definitely continuing to trend down,” Braziel said.

The police department was able to bring back 35 laid off officers due to a grant waiver the department received in July.

One more grant request is pending, Braziel said, and he expects to have a result by the end of September or early October. If the city receives the second grant, it will restore another 35 officers to the police department.

“It’s a credit to the (police) department, and to the men and women on the front lines, so to speak, working every day and doing more with less,” Councilman Rob Fong told Braziel after hearing the report. “We obviously have very good people working on the force.”

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Ask Officer Michelle - A Personal Assistance Shady Request

2011-09-18T18:01:33Z

Posted by gigglebabe

this may be silly but need some info
My daughter looking for summer work decided to place a ad on craigs list. she received a replay from a guy and said he needed a personal assistant she was all caught up in making her on money she said she would do what ever it was he needed long story short her first task was to take these money orders and cash them , then western union the money, thought it was weird but told her the bank or post office would be able to tell if they were fake well they were, i just want to know that she wont be in trouble for taking them to the post office (they kept them and said they would be turned over to the investigators) and should we contact this person and tell them we got them cashed I for one would like this person caught and dealt with.

Dear gigglebabe,

It sounds to me that your daughter was caught up in a possible counterfeit/money laundering scam.

Personal assistants pick up dry cleaning, groceries and run errands; they do not cash money orders. This man was taking advantage of your daughter. What will happen now is that the postal inspectors will contact your daughter to get more detailed information and corroborate what she told them. They will continue their investigation from there. Since the US Postal Service is now involved, this is a federal investigation and your daughter must be truthful and tell the postal inspector what she knows. I don’t know the extent in which your daughter is involved, the status of this case and I am only responding to information you are giving me.

Meanwhile, if your daughter needs a job, there are more legitimate companies who look to hire personal assistants. Be wary of ads in the back of local free newspapers that advertise for personal assistants or personal escorts. They are often fronts for prostitution. Word of mouth is best, or tell your daughter to place applications marketing her skills to legitimate businesses.

It is great that your daughter is motivated about trying to earn her own way. Hopefully your daughter has learned from this. Thank you for your post.

Officer Michelle

City encourages employees to mentor local kids

2011-09-16T00:53:56Z

Teaching kids to read and helping college students navigate college requirements are just two of the ways city employees spend the 40 hours of paid leave they are given to do volunteer work each year.

The Volunteer Mentor Leave program started in 2009 and offers those 40 hours of paid leave for city employees to act as mentors in Sacramento public schools, said Mary Lynn Perry, volunteer coordinator with the city’s Human Resources Department.

Perry said volunteers can use an hour per week of their work time helping local kids who need guidance and encouragement.

“Right now, there is a push for literacy (in the city),” Perry said, “so (employee) volunteers read with schoolchildren of all ages.”

The mentoring leave program has certain restrictions, but city employees can mentor through any qualified program they choose or ask for an assignment through the Human Resources Department.

Perry said that as many as 50 employee volunteers have signed up for mentoring leave at any one time – and the number increases during the holidays.

Pat Flaherty, risk manager for the city of Sacramento, has twice participated in the mentoring leave program with the city – experiences that motivated him to volunteer again this year.

“I get to work one-to-one with a student on life skills,” Flaherty said, “and kind of open his eyes to what the world has to offer.”

It’s more than academic assistance, Flaherty said. It’s also sharing knowledge and interacting with kids as a role model that they may not have at home.

“Some people may be a little hesitant to (volunteer) because they have to get out of their comfort zone,” Flaherty said. “And, it takes them away from their desk when they may have a lot to do.”

Still, Flaherty said, it’s worth the effort and he hopes other city employees will join in.

Jovy Navarro, a technician in the Human Resources Department, said her department tries to coordinate volunteer efforts with the length of the school year – especially since Sacramento City Unified School District is their biggest partner group.

“In these financial times when our revenues have declined so much, we rely on volunteers more and more,” said Janet Weeks, communications director for SCUSD.

Weeks said the partnership that SCUSD schools have with volunteers has had a deep impact on students.

“(Volunteers) encourage kids to get excited about books and excited about reading,” Weeks said. “They get a lot out of having (volunteers) here.”

Sacramento City Police Sgt. Andrew Pettit volunteers as much as he can each year, sometimes doing three or four school presentations or in-class discussions with students of all ages.

“Kids love it when we come in and do a show and tell,” Pettit said Thursday. “It’s easy to talk to (kids) about what we do (as police officers).”

Pettit said that, when he speaks to younger kids, they really get a kick out of seeing all of the equipment officers carry.

“I see kids light up and get excited about even simple things like our hexagonal flashlight,” Pettit said. “All the little things that we take for granted are the biggest things in the world to them.”

Pettit said the older kids in junior high ask the toughest questions, but he doesn’t mind being put on the spot from time to time.

“Sometimes, depending on where (officers) volunteer, (the kids) have only seen a policeman in a negative light,” Pettit said. “(When we go to schools), it’s a positive experience for the kids.”

Pettit said Sacramento police officers take on a variety of volunteer efforts – everything from handing out stickers to kids they come across on patrol to giving PowerPoint presentations on gang prevention at local high schools.

The effort pays off, Pettit said.

“A lot of (officers) grew up here,” Pettit said. “I’ve had officers come in and say, ‘I remember when an officer came to my school,’ and they want to do the same for local kids. We have a motivation to give back to our community this way.”

At local high schools, mentors offer activities with students during the lunch hour, including bringing in speakers or giving presentations about college.

“Our volunteers are working with kids who aren’t necessarily failing, but aren’t excelling,” Perry said. “They have different things going on on their lives that make it hard to concentrate on schoolwork or even to stay in school.”

Mentors also help kids with career development and researching job training and job opportunities, Perry said.

“These are kids whose parents or counselors maybe hadn’t talked with them about college yet,” Perry said, “but the kids had aspirations of going to college.”

Perry said students who were mentored through the program since 2009 were evaluated afterward, with positive results.

“(The evaluations) showed that their attitude toward school changed and they started thinking about their future and thinking about college,” Perry said.

Some of those students end up being the first person in their family to go to to college, Perry said. “Mentoring makes a huge difference.”

Look HERE for information about Reading Partners.
Look HERE for information about various police volunteer activities.
Look HERE for information about volunteer opportunities with the city of Sacramento.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Ask Office Michelle - Dealing with an Unpredictable Neighbor

2011-09-11T22:30:15Z

Posted by Rocky427

We’ve own our home for 4 years and know almost all our neighbors very well. We get along with almost all our neighbors. The homeowners that lives across the street are a very kind and elderly couple who has 2 or 3 adult sons (in their late 30s to early 50s) that live with them. We’ve said “hello” to the family in passing, and has never had any problems with them. We’ve seen the police at that house late at night occasionally, and learn that there are problems between the family members.

Last month, one of the sons (who is in his 50s) was pacing in front of his house. As we were coming back from our walk, he became very paranoid. He wanted to know why we were talking about him, and quickly came towards us to fight. We got away and no one was hurt. We have NEVER spoken with this son prior to this incident except to say hello in passing. We don’t know anything about him. We later found out that he was a “problem child” and had a history of extensive drug abuse in high school. We didn’t speak with that family about this incident because we weren’t confident that the elderly parents can do anything about this. We felt that confronting them with this could make him more paranoid and more dangerous to us. We also didn’t report this incident to law enforcement because we’ve never had a problem with this individual in the 4 years that we’ve lived there. We thought this might be an isolated event.

Today, as we were driving down the street, the same son was on his driveway. When he saw us, he glared at us and threw both arms in the air as if to challenge us to a fight. I’m not sure what to do at this point. I feel like I should report it to start documenting his behavior, but I’m afraid he’ll become more paranoid and violent if the cops are involved. Should I have reported the incident the first time? What do I need to do now to protect my family?

Dear Rocky427,

Definitely start documenting these occurrences. If you feel threatened by this man like you did when you were driving into your driveway, call the police. The police can stop and detain him, speak with him and evaluate whether he is being a danger to himself or others. Don’t handle this guy by yourself. He is obviously unstable and therefore unpredictable.

If you happen to see this man’s parents, you may want to mention something to them. I’d be interested to see how the parents are doing. Are they being over –run by their three adult sons? I’ve seen this before. Let me know, and keep me posted.

Officer Michelle

Are you Prepared for an Emergency? September is National Preparedness Month

2011-09-08T16:23:26Z

The City and County of Sacramento remind Sacramento residents to take time this month to prepare for emergency situations including extreme winter and summer weather and flooding.

Residents and businesses should have emergency plans and kits ready. Everyone should build a kit including all items necessary to sustain them through a disaster.

All Sacramento area residents and businesses are encouraged to purchase a flood insurance policy, even if it is not required. Homes and businesses are often the largest investments that you have and homeowner’s policies will not cover flooding damages caused by heavy winter rains or levee failures. Flood insurance policies can be as little as $350 per year, are available from your insurance agent and take 30 days from the date of purchase to become effective.

Quick Tips to Prepare:
• Plan ahead before an emergency
• Review your flood insurance needs
• Make an emergency kit
• Adopt a communication plan
• Plan together with neighbors
• Prepare for seniors and people with disabilities
• Learn First Aid
• Learn how to be prepared for all types of emergencies
• Know how to keep your pets safe
• Download an “Are You Prepared” Guide
• Sign up with the nation Next of Kin Registry
• Get additional help on the Federal Be Prepared page
• Sign up for Reverse 911 at http://www.sacpd.org/stayinformed/reverse911/

The City and County of Sacramento offer a variety of tools and information to help prepare and plan for emergencies at www.sacramentoready.org and other tools including:
• Subscribing to email alerts with the County or with the City at https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/CASACRA/subscriber/new
• http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/City-of-Sacramento-CA/273440976015340
• http://twitter.com/#!/SacCountyCA
• http://twitter.com/#!/SacCityPIO

Additional information can be found at www.ready.gov. Preparing for emergencies is everyone’s responsibility.

Ask Officer Michelle - Getting Possessions Back From an Ex

2011-09-04T22:14:36Z

Posted by kvv2002

I have a friend who recently broke up with her ex and she would like to get her stuff back out of his mother’s house. Both the mother and son are being uncooperative and all my friend wants is her stuff. How can she go about getting her items, if they are unwilling and ‘playing games’?

Dear kvv2002,

This is a pretty common dilemma. She can either set up a meet time which is convenient for her ex and his mother to get your belongings or she can take the her ex to small claims court to get her belongings. The latter may be a long and expensive process but she could mention it if she gets resistance.

Depending on what possessions were left there, it may not be worth the hassle. If your friends’ belongings consist of a vehicle, or official documents, it would be worth her while. If it is a duffel bag of clothes, non-essentials, let it go. Perhaps in time, your friend will be able to have a more civil relationship with the ex. The only other concern I had was whether your friends’ ex has a restraining order against her. That is a monkey wrench that complicates matters. Have your friend contact me so that I can get specifics. Thank you for your post.

Officer Michelle

Surveillance cameras help prevent crime on Regional Transit

2011-09-03T02:18:23Z

The new cameras that were installed at several Sacramento light rail stations in May have helped prevent crimes and improve passenger safety, according to Doug Voska, a Sergeant with the Sacramento Police Department.

“People want to feel safe when they ride transit,” said Voska, who has a contract position with RT. “If they don’t feel safe, they’re not gonna do it.”

Because the cameras were primarily funded by the federal Department of Homeland Security, their main focus must be on terrorism prevention. But according to Voska, this has many crossover benefits when it comes to crime prevention and passenger safety.

“Even without a uniformed police officer, somebody is keeping an eye on things,” he said. There are officers monitoring all the cameras at the stations, and Voska said he hopes that by the end of the year, there will be people monitoring the cameras on the trains and buses as well.

Voska said that the cameras have helped officers solve numerous types of crimes, from graffiti to robbery.

The videos are often used for prosecution purposes, and the police department even uses the cameras to locate suspects who have fled from a crime scene via bus or light rail. Still, he maintained that “crime is not that high on RT, so they are primarily used for crime prevention.”

But the amount of surveillance on RT is causing some outcry among personal privacy advocates. Cres Vellucci, a member of the board of the Sacramento Chapter of the ACLU, said he is concerned over what he sees as an Orwellian affront on privacy rights.

“Pervasive video surveillance does threaten privacy rights,” he said via email. “The U.S. has … been proud to proclaim that we are willing to give a little bit in security if need be to maintain our unique freedom ... Fear, however, can make us do some terrible things.”

According to Linda Lye, a staff attorney with the ACLU of Northern California, everything from data retention to the cost and effectiveness of the cameras has ACLU members worried. “Why are we investing scarce public safety dollars on methods that invade our privacy but don’t make us any safer?” she asked.

“If the government is going to implement measures that do invade our privacy, we want to be sure that they’re actually making us safer, and the data hasn’t really shown that with respect to video surveillance cameras,” Lye said.

She cited studies done by the ACLU in 2007 and by UC Berkeley in 2008 to support her claim that cameras do not make a big enough impact on crime. “The hard research shows that these (methods) don’t make us safer,” she said. “The thing that we find frustrating is this false dichotomy that’s often posed between safety and privacy.”

“There are far more effective, and much less expensive crime prevention tools,” wrote Vellucci, who recommended alternatives such as better lighting, community policing, and job and youth programs to “reduce crime and also help the local economy.”

Despite the ACLU’s opposition, Voska said that he believes the public generally supports the cameras.

“I’ve heard people say that they like the camera surveillance because they do feel safer,” he said. “Since we can’t afford to have a police officer on every train, we try to keep an eye on what’s going on … as efficiently and as effectively as we can. RT is not in a position to violate anybody’s rights.”

Like all other technology, the cameras are in constant need of upkeep. “Everybody who has a camera system has to deal with malfunctions,” Voska said. This includes everything from technical problems to issues with shrubbery growing into the cameras’ fields of vision.

Vandalism has also had an effect, albeit a small one. One camera has been stolen, and several of the cameras have been lightly tagged with graffiti, Voska added.

But Voska insisted that the cameras are worth the trouble. “It’s an overwhelming desire on the part of the passengers to feel safe,” he said. “Sometimes we don’t have any (officers) there, so that’s when we keep an eye on it through cameras.”

Here are links to the studies cited by the ACLU:

UC Berkeley Study: CITRIS Report

ACLU Study: Under the Watchful Eye

Ask Officer Michelle - Buying Used Police Cars and Impounds

2011-08-28T15:49:49Z

Posted by jmccloskey81

Im looking for a new car. I was told about auctions at impound lots and was wondering how I can locate one of these auctions

Dear jmccloskey81,

The Sacramento Police Department doesn’t have any involvement in the selling of our vehicles. If you are talking about old police vehicles, there are auctions in the Bay Area that sell used law enforcement vehicles. One of the companies that sells these types of vehicles is called “National.” Hope this helps. For vehicles police have impounded, you might also trying calling some of the many tow companies in Sacramento. There are dozens of tow companies on the police tow rotation list and they would be able to tell you how they dispose of impounded vehicles that are not claimed by their owners.

I have to disclose that a used police car has been beaten. It goes through 3 shifts, 7 days per week. Police cars are utilized in pursuits, and driven hard by every officer on patrol. I would bring a mechanic with me if I were you. Good luck!

Officer Michelle

Law enforcement, firefighters box for charity

2011-08-22T05:31:59Z

Law enforcement and correctional officers, military personnel and a firefighter went toe to toe in the boxing ring Saturday night, raising money for charity in the Battle of the Badges Fight Series: Road to the Championship.

Held in the intimate courtyard setting of Liquid Nightclub in Citrus Heights, the well-attended event benefitted charities including the Armed Forces Foundation, Firefighters Burn Institute and Sacramento Sheriff's Toy Project.

Battle of the Badges Fight Series events are a lead-up to the title fight at Battle of the Badges VIII. Last year's Battle of the Badges VII was held in August at Memorial Auditorium.

All bouts had a three-round limit, and on the card Saturday were 10 preliminary matches and one main event, featuring heavyweights Bryan Williams (Fresno PD) vs. Mike Gomez (CDC-CSP Sac).

Highlights of the evening for the crowd included a lights-out KO of David Richardson (CDC Solano) by Chris McElroy (CDC CSP Sac) and a brutal pummeling of Mike Hernandez (El Cerrito PD) by Noel Montes (CDC-CCPOA) that went the full three rounds and left Hernandez's face covered in blood.

All boxers were ranked by the United Combat Association and the matches were officiated by the California State Athletic Commission. Visit the Battle of the Badges website for information on upcoming bouts.

Fight results:

1. Brent Burkhart (CDC-DVI) defeated Gary Mungia (Army)

2. Jed McNamara (Dept of ABC) defeated Jose Hermosillo (Williams PD)

3. Dru McDonald (Sac Fire) defeated Craig Hamblin (CDC Solano)

4. Fracnsico Flores (Stanislaus County Sheriff) defeated Neil Tremethick (Army)

5. Brenden Reavis (CPS) defeated Javier Banuelos (CDC CSP-Sac)

6. Ruben Jones (CHP) defeated Eduardo Barajas (Williams PD)

7. James Davis (CDC-Folsom) defeated Craig Colosimo (CDC - Mule Creek)

8. Chris McElroy (CDC CSP Sac) defeated David Richardson (CDC Solano)

9. Chris Martinez (Avenal PD) defeated Orlando Rivera (Border Patrol)

10. Noel Montes (CDC CCPOA) defeated Mike Hernandez (El Cerrito PD)

11. Bryan Williams (Fresno PD) defeated Mike Gomez (CDC CSP Sac)

All images copyright: Steven Chea

Sacramento City Councilmember Ashby joins District One for National Night Out Celebrations

2011-08-02T20:19:28Z

On Tuesday, August 2, 2011, City of Sacramento Councilmember Ashby will join residents of District One in celebrating the 28th annual “National Night Out” against crime.

Over 20 neighborhoods throughout the district have events planned such as block parties, ceremonies, BBQs, ice cream socials and other neighborhood social activities. These events allow neighbors to get to know one another, so that together they can fight to keep crime out of their communities. Public Safety is a community and team effort. Councilmember Ashby encourages neighbors to get to know each other and work together toward safer communities. Let’s send a message to criminals that crime and illegal activity in our neighborhoods will not be tolerated.

Tonight, Councilmember Ashby along with Sacramento Police Officers and other City representatives will be out visiting these neighborhood celebrations as a show of support for their efforts. Please see the schedule below of celebrations that the Councilmember will be attending (staff from the District One office will be visiting other celebrations within the district throughout the evening):

Time and Location:

6:00-6:15 Witter Ranch Park

6:25-6:40 Heritage Park

6:45-6:55 1900 Kane Ave

7:00-7:10 Vestry Ct.

7:20-7:35 801 San Juan Rd.

7:45-7:55 Tanzanite Park

8:15-8:30 3235 Spinning Rod

8:45-9:00 1400 E Street #A

We encourage all residents of the City of Sacramento to remain diligent in protecting our communities. Please remember to call in all suspicious activity all the time, and stay informed on what is happening in your community. To stay up to date on the current events out of the District One office, please call (916) 808-7001 or visit: www.angeliqueashby.com

Angelique Ashby is a mother, business owner, neighborhood leader and first-term Councilmember. She represents Natomas and Downtown Sacramento.

Sacramento participates in National Night Out

2011-07-29T00:54:21Z

More than 50 neighborhood parties will be held Tuesday as Sacramento participates in the 28th annual National Night Out.

It’s about crime prevention, said Sacramento Police Department spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong. “The idea is you get out, get to know your neighbors and show you’re visible to prevent crime.”

Leong said the block parties allow neighbors to get to know each other in a fun way, and that helps with building a stronger community.

There is no specific criteria that needs to be followed for a National Night Out event, since it is about getting neighbors together and having a good time.

“It can be as simple as an ice cream social or a bunch of neighbors hanging out together,” he said.

Police, Fire Department and elected officials make the rounds of events registered with the city, and Leong said it’s a good way to build relationships with local officials as well as help connect with officers in a relaxed manner.

To register an event, click here. Events registered by Friday will have the best chance of getting an official visit, Leong said.

LaTisha Lawson, a board member for the Oak Park Neighborhood Association, said National Night Out is a great way for residents to meet each other and start working toward bettering their communities.

“It’s an opportunity for residents to get out of their houses and take back the streets in a positive way,” she said. “They can meet each other, and then they can get together and take it to the next level and make a positive change.”

She added that many National Night Out events are formed by neighborhood watch groups, and having police and public officials come by is helpful.

“Residents and public officials can really talk about the issues in their neighborhood and really get that kind of face time with elected officials,” she said.

She added that she has written grants through the California Endowment to bring more activities – such as face-painting and music – to make the events even more fun.

City Councilman Kevin McCarty said this will be his eighth year participating in National Night Out as an elected official, and it’s one of the highlights of the year for him.

“We get out in a casual setting, and we get to talk about the neighborhood,” he said. “That certainly gives you a leg up as far as being able to address any challenges you might be facing.”

He said the events are usually small in size, with between 20 and 25 people attending, and it allows for more-intimate conversations.

“(On National Night Out), it’s not about them coming up to the council dais and talking in a formal setting,” he said. “It’s nice to just have a conversation about their street and their neighborhood.”

McCarty said he usually makes it to abut five parties in his district per year, spending about 45 minutes at each one.

Mayor Kevin Johnson mentioned National Night Out at the City Council meeting Tuesday, saying he is looking forward to having a good time visiting the different events, as he did last year.

Leong said the events are easy to start and don’t require any complex organization.

“If you haven’t heard of anything in your neighborhood, really that’s your chance to knock on a couple of doors and say, ‘Hey, it’s National Night Out and we’re getting together to barbecue some hot dogs out front. Come on over,’ ” he said.

In his North Natomas neighborhood, where a neighborhood watch group is forming, Leong said he sent an email out to the list he had for neighborhood watch.

“We’re just going to have it out where a lot of people pass by so the ones who aren’t involved can stop by and say hi,” he said.

Since National Night Out events are not organized by the city or any official group, the times vary according to whatever each event organizer thinks is best, Leong said, though most tend to start around 5 - 6 p.m.

To read about two Sacramento Neighborhoods that participated in National Night Out last year, click here and here.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Ask Officer Michelle - Receiving Suspicious Money Orders

2011-07-24T20:40:19Z

Posted by smcnamee

I have received money orders from someone I don’t know. Could I bring them to the police station to be verified "Legal Tender" so as not to be caught up in a possible fraudulent scheme?

Dear smcnamee,

It may be a fishing expedition. Crooks that partake in these expeditions send out mass mailings in the hopes that one or two people will bite on their lure. You’re wise to be cautious. Unfortunately, this often works, and it is hard to trace the originator.

You can call the Financial Crimes Unit in your jurisdiction and speak to an investigator about your situation. If you live in the city of Sacramento, the telephone number is 808-0650. Our investigators are doing more with less so it may be a few days before you get a response. They will be the point of contact to give you the best advice on how to proceed. Thank you for your post!

Get in the know and subscribe to City Express, City of Sacramento’s first citywide eNewsletter

2011-07-19T17:58:27Z

The City of Sacramento is pleased to announce the first edition of the new citywide eNewsletter: City Express. This quarterly newsletter will contain information that has relevant topics and in depth information from the City’s perspective that businesses or residents would find interesting and helpful. You can find this newsletter at: www.cityofsacramento.org/cityexpress.

“We wanted a citywide newsletter that was useful, dynamic and another way for the City to stay connected with its residents, businesses and customers,” said Amy Williams, City Media and Communications Officer. “Communicating with the public is a top priority and City Express is another key tool in that effort.” The City also has an active social media presence and encourages anyone to join in on facebook and/or twitter. To learn more about the City’s social media pages, visit: http://www.cityofsacramento.org/mediaCenter/index.html.

Each newsletter will be representative of news across all departments and will include calls to action, links for more details, webpages or videos and photos with captions. Other standing features to the newsletter will include topics about sustainability, volunteering, milestones/accomplishments, seasonal information and upcoming meetings and events. The newsletter was created and developed in house with the help of many City staff with no impact to the General Fund.

Ask Officer Michelle - Suspicious Subject Hanging Out in Midtown

2011-07-17T15:17:42Z

Posted by kendell

Hello Officer Lazark; The problem I have is a homeless guy hanging out across the street. I have reason to believe that this guy participated in a theft from my backyard last year, then he went to jail for 6 mos for I am not sure what, rumor it was sex assault. I believe he is scaring off potential buyers of a vacant house next to me. Is there any rule about a person fresh out of jail spending time at a Megan’s list location? Thank you.

Dear kendell,

I ran the address you gave me on the Megan’s Law website which is a public information site. I discovered that there is a registered sex offender registered at this residence. He is in compliance with his registration.

If you have witnessed someone doing something criminally specific, you can report him. If you go to www.meganslaw.ca.gov, there is an option to report the person. You will have to type in a synopsis as to what the problem is. If he is merely hanging out in front of his residence, then there is not much you can do. If he is making comments, intimidating people as they walk by, panhandling, trespassing, or doing anything else illegal, you may also call the police and have an officer dispatched to check out a suspicious subject.

You may also discuss this gentleman with his landlord. If there is anything illegal going on in the residence, he or she may want to know about it.

A lot of potential buyers of properties now look at the Meagan’s Law website before purchasing. This is possibly one of the reasons why the house remains vacant. Thank you for your post.

Officer Michelle

Ask Officer Michelle - Neigbor's Children Causing Havoc

2011-07-10T21:21:57Z

Posted by bambam05

I at a loss and don’t know where to turn. There are some people renting a house across the street that have a zoo living there. They do not supervise their children who damage my property and toss trash in my yard. I made the mistake of confronting to bad child and now a parent appeared who then yelled at me for telling his kid what to do. so my question is…what can be done with this kids that ride bike in the middle of the street, run and scream at the top of the lungs 24/7 (and yes I work from home) and destroy my and disrespect my property daily? Is this really a police thing or a CPS thing or do I call thier landlord? How do I get thier landlord info if that’s the way to go? Pleaes help. This was a nice place for the most part.

Dear bambam05,

It sounds like you have the normal sounds of summer vacation! It may be annoying to you while you work from home, but the children have a right to play and ride their bicycles outside. As long as they are wearing bicycle helmets if under 18 years of age, not blocking the street, and they are being supervised, there are no police or CPS issues.

I would speak to the parents of these kids and explain to them that you do work from home and that you would appreciate if they can speak to their children about respecting your need for them to turn down their volume. Some parents become particularly upset when adults address their kids directly. Discuss your concerns about throwing litter into your yard, and the fact that they are destroying your property. I’m not sure of the extent of the damage. If you are talking about skid marks from their bikes in your driveway, or trampled plants, discuss with the parents. If however, you are talking about broken windows, or dents in your car, that is another issue. If the parents don’t respond or become indignant with you, then it is time to speak to the landlord. Ownership records are available through the County Assessor’s Office. You can start here to research: http://www.assessor.saccounty.net/OwnershipInformation/default.htm
Give the parents a chance to right wrongs. You also must remember that there must be a compromise between neighbors, especially in a situation like this when children are on summer vacation. Good luck.

Officer Michelle

ABC liaison officers: know the rules, follow the rules

2011-07-02T04:51:11Z

Despite losing 42 sworn police officers this week due to budget cuts, the Sacramento Police Department was able to keep one officer whose job is enforcing liquor license regulations and making sure licensees know the rules and follow them.

A $75,000 grant was awarded to the city of Sacramento from the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC), allowing the city to fill the second of only two ABC liaison officer positions in the Police Department.

ABC liaison officers play a vital role in keeping bars and restaurants in compliance with liquor laws, said Lt. Gina Haynes of the Sacramento Police Department’s Metro Division.

According to city staff, Sacramento has more than 1,000 ABC-licensed establishments, with an average of 25 per square mile in the downtown area.

“We’re a capital city, so we really have a responsibility to make sure that we have a nice, orderly city, with venues that people are going to want to frequent in their social time,” Haynes said.

Having so many places to socialize and drink has caused some challenges for the city, however.

Haynes said alcohol-related problems, including underage drinking, are a big concern to city police because of the number of young adults and minors attracted to the many entertainment venues in the city.

In March 2010, Sacramento was ranked 20th of the Top 100 Drunkest Cities in America by Men’s Health Magazine.

Also in 2010, police statistics reported a total of 32 traffic fatalities in Sacramento, 13 of which were alcohol-related, and six of which were hit-and-run, which may have been alcohol-related.

“We would be in a whole world of hurt if we didn’t have (ABC liaison officers),” Haynes said.

Haynes said ABC liaison officers provide law enforcement and education and prevention programs for liquor license holders throughout the city.

“I would consider preventing or reducing the number of alcohol-related fatalities to be vital in the way of public safety,” Haynes said.

There are only two ABC liaison officers employed by the city of Sacramento, according to police spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong.

At the same time, the city processed 900 applications for liquor licenses last year alone.

ABC liaison officers answer complaints of every color: from alcohol being watered down to people selling alcohol out of their homes to retailers operating without valid licenses.

“It goes on and on and on,” Haynes said. “Anywhere there is the possibility of making money, there is the potential for breaking the law. Liquor laws are no different.”

The officers also perform compliance inspections, decoy operations, conduct DUI checkpoints and maintain ABC compliance at special entertainment events.

“They are really the go-to resource when it comes to ABC license regulations,” Leong said. “We’re trying to change the negative numbers in relation to alcohol-related crime.”

The one-year grant award for the liaison officer position extends to June 30, 2012.

After that, the city will have to apply for another grant in order to continue the liaison officer position.

“We absolutely cannot afford to let those positions go away.” Haynes said. “They do a good job, and we need them.”

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Start of fiscal year means end of jobs for some

2011-07-01T01:04:59Z

Friday marks the first day of the new fiscal year for the City of Sacramento – and the last day of work for more than 200 city employees, including 42 sworn police officers.

The final city budget, which passed on June 21, included deep cuts to parks, libraries and public safety agencies and filled a $39 million budget gap.

The budget did not pass without contention, however.

Council members Angelique Ashby and Steve Cohn and Mayor Kevin Johnson each went against the budget, calling the cuts to public safety “drastic” and creating a 6-3 split vote.

“These cuts to public safety are too big. They’re way too big,” Ashby said. “Why would we cut more than we have to?”

During the proceedings at the June 14 council meeting, Cohn proposed a motion to use nearly $4 million earmarked for other purposes (including shoring up the city’s anemic reserve fund), in return for matching concessions from police and fire unions to restore cut positions.

That proposal failed 3-6, with the only “aye” votes coming from Ashby, Cohn and Johnson.

Critics of the new budget, particularly the Sacramento Police Officers Association, (SPOA), have said that Cohn’s motion was an effort at showing good faith toward the labor unions and would have eased the way to talks between union and city representatives for alternatives to layoffs.

Ashby, Cohn and Johnson agreed.

“We found a way to save as many (positions) as possible,” Ashby said during the council meeting. “I don’t understand why this council would walk away from that opportunity.”

Johnson said he feels the city has done everything it can up to this point.

“We’ve cut $200 million from our general fund over the past four years, and we can’t keep cutting,” Johnson said at a press conference Tuesday.

Johnson encouraged police and fire unions to consider concession discussions and said that “if some of our (police) officers can be saved, we should look at (Cohn’s proposal).”

Cohn said he believed his proposal was “reasonable and necessary” to restore dangerous cuts to public safety without jeopardizing the city’s contingency reserve funds.

“(It) also called for shared sacrifice,” Cohn said, “by making these funds contingent on permanent, ongoing labor concessions.”

Cohn added that his proposal relied on “added savings” developed during the budget process including keeping management staff on furloughs to pay for the public safety restorations.

“Unfortunately, a majority of the council did not agree, so I was on the short end of (the) vote,” Cohn said.

“Our police department is comprised of intelligent, compassionate people. They know how much we value them,” Johnson said. “We’re reaching out to them to have real discussions going forward.”

Although Ashby, Cohn and Johnson were not supportive of the final budget, Johnson said at the press conference that, now that the budget is in place, “We are all committed to find solutions.”

The city faces some serious financial problems over the next few fiscal years, according to a city manager staff report, including a “structural deficit (that) will persist unless additional permanent corrective actions are implemented.”

A structural deficit is when the budget has more expenses than income.

2011-2012 will be the fifth year in a row that the city has faced a budget shortfall, despite major reductions in prior years to services and personnel.

Cohn, however, is trying to stay positive.

“I’m encouraged by possible talks with SPOA and local 522 (the firefighters union),” Cohn said. “Stay tuned.”

Mayor talks about pension reform as budget solution

2011-06-29T01:08:49Z

Mayor Kevin Johnson spoke about the need for representatives of the Sacramento Police Officers Association (SPOA) to meet with the city to explore ways to save police officers from impending layoffs at a Tuesday press conference.

“All of us on the council – the six that voted one way and the other three of us that didn’t – are reaching out to the SPOA asking for a meaningful dialogue,” Johnson said.

The City Council passed a budget on a 6-3 vote on June 21 that included more than $12 million in cuts to the Police Department and paved the way for more than 40 sworn police officers to be laid off July 1.

“We are at a difficult crossroad,” Johnson said. “(The City Council) said public safety is a priority ... and here we are now in a position where 108 (officers and civilians) are being laid off.”

Johnson said the city is not asking for SPOA to open up its contract, rather to “reboot and recommit to looking at opportunities that we have before us.”

The greatest of those opportunities, Johnson said, is for SPOA and the city to come to terms with a pension imbalance and make gradual changes to the current system that will lead to cost savings for the city in future years.

“We have to acknowledge that (SPOA) were the first ones to come to the table before,”Johnson said. “They gave us labor concessions, and they feel the city didn’t do its part, and I can respect that.”

Still, Johnson said the need for discussion about pension reform cannot be ignored, and the City Council has opened the door to discussion once again, if the union is interested.

“If (SPOA) are having honest discussions with their membership and no one is interested (in coming to the table), then we have to just cut officers and move forward and talk about pension reform next year or the year after,” Johnson said.

For most city employee positions, contributions to the employee retirement system come from both employers and employees.

Currently, however, city police officers do not have to pay a percentage of their earnings to their retirement benefits. Instead, the city picks up the full cost.

Johnson said that “pension reform is not the end-all,” however.

“If the police contributed 9 percent, that’s a $5.2 million savings (to the general fund). That doesn’t solve all of our problems.”

While noting that changes to pensions are necessary, Johnson emphasized that the city is not looking for the SPOA to “contribute it all back at one time.”

“If SPOA contributes their share, over time, we believe as a city we can still do our part and continue to be fiscally smart and move forward where everyone wins,” Johnson said.

Johnson said the City Council sent what it felt were “key points of discussion” to the SPOA, and he hopes the union is considering those points and talking to its membership about engaging in discussions about pension reform.

So far, Johnson said, he’s waiting for a response from the SPOA.

“I think it’s unrealistic to think that, in this economy, that there’s not going to be real discussion about pension reform,” Johnson said. “There HAS to be.”

Det. Mark Tyndale, SPOA representative, responded in a telephone interview Tuesday, saying that the SPOA is “constantly in conversation” with its membership, but the relationship with city leadership is strained right now.

Tyndale said the council members made their intentions toward the SPOA clear with the vote on the budget, and now there is a real sense of mistrust from the police union toward the council.

“We’re not unwilling to go (into a discussion),” Tyndale said. “We just don’t feel like we will be treated with good faith.”

It’s going to take more than a simple “please come talk” invitation from Johnson to bring the SPOA to the table, Tyndale said.

If the City Council as a whole – and Interim City Manager Bill Edgar – were to come together to discuss pensions with the SPOA, “I’d be in that room,” Tyndale said.

Ask Officer Michelle- The Best Way to Thank an Officer

2011-06-26T17:46:11Z

Posted by billalbertson
What is the best way for me to thank officers. I want to send a letter of thanks to the officers and their supervisor, with a bcc to the local newspapers. Is it appropriate to do that and name them, or could there be privacy concerns regarding the officers involved if I bcc the local papers?

Dear billalbertson,
Your desire to thank helpful officers is much appreciated. Unless they are working undercover, officer’s names are public information as seen on the name badges that are part of their uniforms!

The best way to thank police officers is to send a letter to the chief (you may want to send copies to the officers and the press if desired). This ensures that the letter makes its way down through the officers’ chain of command. In the case of our officers, you can address your letter to:
Chief Rick Braziel, 5770 Freeport Blvd., Suite 100, Sacramento, CA 95822.

Thank you,
Officer Michelle

City Council passes final budget

2011-06-22T06:51:12Z

More than 300 city positions will be eliminated in the coming year after the City Council passed a finalized city budget Tuesday night.

Despite impassioned pleas from members of the Sacramento City Crime Scene Investigation unit and local union representatives, the 14-member CSI unit and 45 sworn police officers are on the chopping block.

The budget passed on a 6-3 vote, with Council members Angelique Ashby, Steve Cohn and Mayor Kevin Johnson each voting against the measure.

The new budget incorporates $4.6 million in one-time resources to close the gap for fiscal year 2011-12. It also funnels $3.36 million into the city’s economic uncertainty reserve fund.

Betty Masuoka, assistant interim city manager, noted that discussions with labor organizations to work toward concessions are under way, however no concessions have been formalized that would impact adopting the budget.

“The budget before you is balanced, and we are asking the council to adopt it tonight,” Masuoka told council members.

According to city manager staff reports, the budget meets the City Council’s goals of developing a sustainable budget plan, carefully using one-time resources and balancing the impact of any layoffs with the benefit of service level decisions.

Masuoka said the city manager and the finance department staff will meet with the council over the next few months to discuss policy questions and strategies that arise from implementation of the budget.

The nearly 70 people in the audience were silent when the council took the final vote.

“I’m just appalled,” said Marcia Mooney, representative from the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 39. “This really hurts our CSI people and, in the end, the City is going to be worse for it.”

City Council, police union at a standstill

2011-06-21T00:55:36Z

Approval of a final city budget that includes $39 million in ongoing cuts and the elimination of 320 city positions is expected at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, but Police Department personnel aren’t holding out hope for an 11th-hour save from potential layoffs.

“The council is firm on its decision,” said Det. Mark Tyndale, Sacramento Police Officers Association (SPOA) vice president. “And we are firm in ours.”

On June 7, City Council members urged SPOA representatives to consider contract concessions for its members in an effort to relieve the burden of deep budget cuts that will have a significant impact on the Police Department and public safety personnel.

The SPOA has not made any move toward the negotiating table, however, and, according to Tyndale, union representatives have no desire to do so.

“We expect a last-minute call from the council or the city manager’s office, but it’s a not a phone call that we are going to make,” Tyndale said.

Referring to concessions the Police Department made during budget negotiations in 2009, Tyndale said that, “two years after the fact, the council has shown that they aren’t going to back up what was promised back then.”

In 2009, the union made concessions on delaying raises for department personnel for three years. Those concessions resulted in approximately $12 million in savings for the city, Tyndale said.

“We don’t believe the council will approach us (now) in good faith, and we aren’t going to open our contract to be betrayed again,” Tyndale said.

During discussion of potential department cuts at the June 7 council meeting, Councilman Steve Cohn offered a motion that would allow the City Council to use one-time funds from the Economic Uncertainty Reserve (EUR) to match pay and benefit concessions from the police and fire departments up to a total of $4 million.

The motion failed on a 6-3 vote.

“It wouldn’t have solved the problem,” Tyndale said of Cohn’s motion, “but (SPOA) would have seen it as a good-faith effort.”

Tyndale said that union members were more disappointed in how the vote was divided than the fact that the motion failed.

“Council Member Darrell Fong’s vote stings the most,” Tyndale said. “He came from our department. He knows us. He said he’d be there for us.”

Fong, the District 7 representative and a former police captain, responded in an interview Monday that, although he understands that SPOA members are upset, he stands behind his vote against the matching funds motion.

“Cohn’s motion was to give both police and fire money from the emergency reserves fund,” Fong said. “Hitting the one-time reserves isn’t something I want to do. We have to show some restraint.”

Fong, who said he will direct his City Council salary for the 2011/2012 fiscal year to the Police Department’s budget, ~~declined his $60,800 city council salary when he was elected to the council in 2010,~~ was quick to point out that both civilians and sworn officers will be laid off if this budget is approved.

“It was a tough decision I had to make,” Fong said. “I made it clear that everyone – not just police, not just fire, but everyone – needed to come together to resolve the deficit we face.”

Fong said that, going forward, he’s looking for changes that will restructure the city and avoid future deficits.

“Services have to survive, even if they’re reduced,” Fong said.

The City Council will meet Tuesday at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 915 I St., to finalize the budget for 2011-2012.

Read the City Council meeting agenda here.

Editorial Note: A correction has been made to this story after it was published. The incorrect information has been struck out and the correct information has been added.

Team SacPD gearing up for RAAM

2011-06-17T07:15:48Z

Oceanside, CA | Part of Team SacPD (Sacramento Police Department's new cycling team) arrived in Oceanside Wednesday evening for registration in the Race Across America (RAAM) event.

Six people affiliated with Team SacPD headed to Oceanside Wednesday in two vans; fourteen more crew members and racers traveled Thursday to join them. The relay teams for RAAM will start on Saturday at Oceanside Pier. Other RAAM races began Tuesday. The race finish is in Annapolis, Maryland between June 24th and 27th at the City Dock. Fourteen additional Team SacPD members head to Oceanside Thursday.

You may have never heard of “Team SacPD” before, and with good reason; the team was recently assembled and this is their first major undertaking. “As the name of the team may suggest, we are all police officers here in the City of Sacramento. While our day-to-day jobs vary from patrol officer to the Chief of Police, we do share one hobby… cycling! When we heard about another local team (Donate Life) who participated in the event, we decided to see if we, too, could compete in this incredible race. When we later learned that there had never been an all-police team, we were sold. It didn’t take long before we had assembled a team, picked a worthy cause (to recognize and pay tribute to fallen officers) and started preparing for the epic ride. We have no idea how this adventure will end, but we welcome you to share the journey with us,” the team states on their website.

Per RAAM, Racers must traverse 3000 miles across 12 states and climb over 170,000 vertical feet. Teams will ride 350-500 miles a day, racing non-stop.The 2011 race will be the 30th edition of RAAM.

Chief Braziel states, “The Sacramento Police Department is embarking on a unique adventure that will bring national attention to the nearly 19,000 law enforcement officers who have been killed while protecting the communities of this nation. Starting June 18, 2011, the Sacramento Police Department Cycling Team will be the first law enforcement team ever to compete in the Race Across America. The race is a 3,000-mile bicycle race from California to Maryland.”

You will be able to track the teams live location and progress via the “My Athlete Live” interface. On the right, you can scroll down to the teams and select “Team Sacramento Police”. Their GPS tracker will appear on the interactive map and the timeline that also shows the elevation they are racing at.

Our Kati Garner is embeded with TeamSacPD and will be with them for the entire race. As we can, we will continue to bring you regular updates on the team’s progress and developments.

Ask Officer Michelle - Working with Multi-curtural Diversities

2011-06-13T18:03:44Z

Posted by kaptanhook

Developing a community-partnership is difficult sometimes. What are some of the difficulties or problems that an officer might have with the different cultural microcosms of sacramento? And how do you overcome them?

thanks, its for school
kaptanhook

Dear Kaptanhook

The biggest issue that officers face is the lack of trust by some cultures that have experienced corruption in their countries, dealing with their governments and law enforcement agencies. Of course the second issue is communication, when officers and community members can’t speak to each other. The Sacramento Police Department does a number of things to overcome these issues.
First, because of our community policing efforts, we have many officers working in our neighborhoods building trust with community members. We have a number of programs that also address issues such as our Cultural Community Academies, our Community Recruiter program, and our language line services. To learn more about these programs go to http://www.sacpd.org/citybeat/citybeat.asp. Once on that site, look for City Beat videos #18 and #15. That should give you a lot of information for your school project.

Officer Michelle

In-depth look at proposed police layoffs

2011-06-10T01:05:21Z

Sacramento Police and union officials warned Thursday a spike in crime is expected if 81 cops are laid off when the City Council approves a budget.

Police officers – angered over the likelihood that dozens of them are about to lose their jobs – are vowing to take action come election time, said detective Mark Tyndale, vice president of the local police union, the Sacramento Police Officers Association.

On Tuesday, the Sacramento City Council tentatively voted to make deep budget cuts that would include slashing $12.2 million from the police department's budget and laying off 81 sworn officers and 68 civilian police employees. If the council approves the 2011/2012 budget with a final vote as expected June 21, the officers will be laid off July 1.

Police Chief Rick Braziel on Wednesday announced losing that many officers would force the department to reduce services. The department would eliminate more than a dozen specialized units, including gang crimes, narcotics, high-tech crimes, traffic, marine, mounted, bike and foot patrols.

The department would shift its focus to core services, mainly handling emergency calls and investigating major crimes required by law including murders, rapes and robberies. Bad guys will commit more crime because citizen crime reports will drop. That will provide police with fewer tips that can help stop criminals earlier in their careers, Braziel said Thursday.

"I expect crime to go up. You'll see criminals getting away with more because there are just less of us out there," Braziel said by phone. "The ultimate victim in all of this is the community. That's who suffers most."

Patrol officers who have the least seniority in the department are the ones facing layoffs. Detectives would be reassigned to fill those patrol slots or the remaining investigation units, such as homicide, robbery, sexual assaults or general investigations, Police Department spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong said.

The city has the right to lay off officers and would not be violating a contract with the union by doing so, according to Tyndale and Leong.

Such cuts would mark the first time sworn officers have been laid off – for as long as anyone can remember – at least since the 1970s, Leong said.

SPOA members said they believe the council's vote made it clear city officials aren't interested in negotiating any contract concessions in lieu of layoffs. No negotiations have begun, and none are expected before the budget is approved by the council, Tyndale said.

"Everybody's hoping some miracle can occur," he said. "I just don't see (it) at this point."

Morale among police officers is low. Tyndale said union members believe the six City Council members who tentatively approved the layoffs have turned their backs on police. Councilman Steve Cohn, Mayor Kevin Johnson and Councilwoman Angelique Ashby voted against the tentative decision.

According to Tyndale, union members think the six council members created a "mess." Officers are now saying, " 'This (2012) is an election year. You guys are going to pay for this mess you made,' " Tyndale said.

A total of 372 positions have been cut from the department over the last three years. Those were either civilian layoffs, or vacant posts that had been filled by civilians or sworn officers. The officer posts were vacant due to attrition through retirements or resignations, he said.

The total of sworn officers who would be cut now stands at 81 due to a retirement. That would leave 620 full-time officers – of 701 currently – working for the department. The department currently employs 318 civilians. The cuts would leave 250.

In addition, 17 vacant slots would be eliminated under the current budget plan, Leong said.

If that happens, the department won't have the investigation units or number of officers needed to keep Sacramento streets safe, Tyndale said.

"It is going to destroy Sacramento," said Tyndale, a detective with the sexual assault investigations unit who has served with the department 23 years. "It will completely devastate us – the department and the community."

However, 35 officers could be immediately rehired if the department wins a waiver on a federal grant that would provide funding to restore those positions. Police officials don't know when the exemption might be granted, Leong said.

A union representing 1,400 other city employees has been calling for "balance and equity" in layoffs among all city employee groups in order to balance the budget. At Tuesday night's council meeting, a business representative from Stationary Engineers Local 39 described claims about the impact of public safety cuts as "civil terrorism."

"The city can no longer afford to spare any group during this economic crisis," Local 39 official Linda Norman told the council. "I am also speaking out against the city's public safety unions' recent campaign of what I will call 'civil terrorism.'

“Through the use of media announcements, door hangers and lawn signs, these public servants are perpetrating a negative, harmful and divisive atmosphere, saying any reduction of public safety funding will leave our citizens vulnerable and unprotected from increased crime," she said.

SPOA President Brent Meyer later described those comments as unprofessional.

The units that would remain include patrol, crime scene investigation, front counter assistance/security, K-9, helicopter and the criminal apprehension team, as well as the other investigation units mentioned previously. The department's number of detectives would drop from 104 to 71 because some investigators will return to patrol, Leong said.

The crime scene investigation unit, currently staffed entirely by civilians, would be filled only by sworn officers as of July 1.

The department's two full-time SWAT teams, which do a lot of specialized training and assist with investigations and arresting criminals, would become part-time. Cuts would mean they will work on patrol when not doing entries or training.

There will be some cost-savings from laying off administrative clerks or other civilians tied to the units that would be eliminated. However, the units aren't being eliminated to save money. They're being eliminated because there won't be enough people left to fill them once officers are transferred to operational services such as patrol, Leong said.

As a result, officers will be responsible for handling so many cases they won't be able to do as much proactive crime-fighting. And that will lead to a loss of expertise in such areas as narcotics and gang crime over time, he said.

Braziel has been meeting for months with his executive command staff, made up of deputy chiefs and captains, to determine how to reorganize the department if the council approved major police layoffs to help balance the budget.

The chief said he's especially concerned because of the cumulative impact that may result if there are budget-induced layoffs in Sacramento County law enforcement agencies, in addition to an expected upcoming prisoner release, loss of social services and lack of jobs for prisoners.

The layoffs aren't spread out more evenly throughout the department because they must be made based on seniority. The majority of patrol officers are the newest members of the squad.

The announcement the units would be eliminated is not a negotiating tactic to get concessions from the union or City Council, according to Braziel and Leong.

"The police department has followed the direction of council who on Tuesday made it clear their intent is to move forward with the budget cuts, and there is nothing to indicate any foreseeable changes to the budget," Braziel said in an emailed statement.

Sacramento Press staff reporter Kathleen Haley contributed to this report. Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @SuzanneHurt.

Accommodations set for City budget meeting

2011-06-03T06:48:51Z

The City of Sacramento Department of Parks and Recreation presented an oral report regarding their progress on community centers to the Parks and Recreation Commission.

During the report, Parks and Recreation Director Jim Combs provided an overview of the proceedings for next Tuesday’s Council Meeting. The highlight of the meeting will be the report back on the budgets of the city’s parks, police, and fire departments.

“We hear maybe 1000 to 1500 folks there attending this meeting just from the police department,” said Combs. “Then the fire department’s going to have a big crew. We know that the centers and all those communities; we’re going to have more people down there than we had last time. There were maybe 70 speakers.”

The city is taking steps to accommodate what is expected to be an enormous crowd. They are urging people to arrive between 5pm and 6pm; the meeting begins promptly at 6pm.

Each of the groups - parks, police, fire, golf (they are not part of parks), and general topics - will be given a number of passes allowing fair access to seating in the Council Chamber in accordance with required capacity limits.

According to Combs, the Council Chamber will be divided into three sections with police, fire, and parks receiving different color tickets. Each group will receive at total of 100 tickets; the first 100 people for each group gets a ticket.

Speaker slips will be available at all locations and will be submitted to the Mayor for Council’s consideration in managing public comment. Speakers called that are not present in Chambers will be notified and ushered to the podium.

Each group - parks, police, and fire - receives a block of 30 minutes for public comment.

Overflow areas will be provided with meeting audio/video in Historic City Hall, New City Hall Mezzanine, and Outside Plaza Area (Audio Only).

According to Combs, City Council may take stock in the time the public speaking session has concluded and determine whether they wish to go into deliberations on Tuesday night, or adjourn and reconvene on Thursday night for discussion by Council only without discussion from the public.

Combs also outlined actions taken over the past three weeks regarding the Oak Park, George Sim, and Hagginwood Community Centers. All three were slated for closure under the budget proposed to City Council in mid-May, which received backlash from the public.

“We’ve had meetings with organizers,” said Combs. “We’re looking to work with groups that have some capacity to offer staffing or dollars or can bring something to the table to help us organize and run community centers.”

Parks and Recreation held meetings at each of the three community centers.

“We’ve had really great turnouts,” said Combs. “We had twenty-some organizations that showed up for Oak Park. We had a second meeting and had even more organizations show up. So for the Oak Park community, there’s really a lot of outpouring.”

Combs indicated three to four have stepped forward to be the lead group for the Oak Park Community Center.

“We also had successful meetings at Sim Center,” said Combs. “There we have two partners we had obtained through the RFP process that had already committed to being over there. We’re finalizing our agreements with them, and then we have the two neighborhood associations and a couple of other groups that have come in and want to add to the mix.”

The largest meeting was at the Hagginwood Community Center, though Combs expressed disappointment.

“It was disappointing in the sense that most of the folks were seniors and folks that come there for the feeding program and the grandparents program,” said Combs. “They were residents there that didn’t want to see the center closed for their own personal use.”

“It wasn’t really attended by the organizations with capacity that we were hoping to see that were saying ‘we can step in and help you run this’. We did have several organizations there, but most of them were just passionate about ‘keep my center open.’”

Second meetings will be done with both the Sim Center and Hagginwood Community Center prior to the next City Council meeting.

Police move could save money after initial cost

2011-06-03T05:06:31Z

If the Sacramento Police Department headquarters moves from Freeport Boulevard to Richards Boulevard, it could save $500,000 per year, but with it comes an up-front moving cost of $1 million, according to a report released Wednesday afternoon.

This would force other city departments – community development, parking services and code enforcement – to relocate from the building at 300 Richards Blvd. to City Hall, according to City Councilman Steve Cohn.

The idea stems from the Police Department, which has been looking at moving its headquarters from the Public Safety Center on Freeport Boulevard for the past three years to save money, police spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong said.

Being closer to the central city gives the Police Department numerous benefits, Leong added.

The proximity to downtown would allow police to cut gasoline costs for business conducted with the courthouses or the city, and it would be more centralized to the whole city, which would make it more convenient for the community to come for business with reports, citations, fingerprinting and similar activities.

Cohn added that it’s only feasible if there is a net savings, as the city faces a $39 million budget gap for the coming fiscal year. (To read about the budget, click here, and for more information, click on the "Storyline" tab in the linked article.)

“If we can save that kind of money, I think we need to do it,” Cohn said. “Whatever we can do to prevent layoffs, I’d support, but only if it’s an overall savings.”

With a continued structural imbalance with the general fund – having more expenses than revenue – the long-term savings are attractive, but the initial hit to the general fund would add to the current crisis.

“The costs to move would come out of the general fund,” said city spokeswoman Amy Williams. “Any savings we get later on would help the general fund.”

That move would not save any money in the coming fiscal year.

“No savings could be achieved, however, in FY2011/12 given the time needed for evaluation and implementation and the initial costs for moving,” according to the report.

Moving the majority of police operations to Richards Boulevard would fill the entire building, which would mean the other departments have to move.

Cohn said there is room at City Hall to accommodate them, but there isn’t a final plan as to where they would go yet.

“It’s taking a while to figure out all the logistics,” he said.

According to the report, a more detailed analysis will be delivered to the City Council at a later date.

A City Council budget meeting involving multiple city departments – including police, fire and parks – will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the council chambers in City Hall, 915 I St.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Criminal Caught In Church Crime

2011-06-02T17:02:39Z

The Sacramento Police Department has arrested William Castro, 28, for the robbery that occurred on Good Friday at a church in the 700 block of T Street.

On Friday, April 22, 2011, at 5:00 a.m., the victim arrived at church for the early service. When the victim exited the restroom, the suspect robbed him of his wallet at gunpoint. The victim had planned on purchasing a car later that morning so his wallet contained $2000. Later that morning, a good samaritan saw the story on the local news and donated money to the victim.

On Wednesday, April 27, 2011, at 1:36 a.m., an officer stopped a suspicious subject walking in the area of 28th and C Streets in response to an activated alarm in the area. The subject attempted to assault the officer but then fled. Two citizens saw the officer chasing the subject and gave chase as well. An additional officer arrived on scene. The officers and the citizens caught the suspect, who repeatedly fought them before being taken into custody. Officers located a large amount of cash and the gun used in the robbery. The ensuing investigation and subsequent statements led to the arrest of the suspect for attempting to assault the officer and for the robbery at the church.

This is a criminal story with two happy endings: First, the incredible generosity shown to the victim by an anonymous donation and second, the apprehension of the suspect responsible for the robbery. Despite the fact that Sacramento ranks #2 in the state for violent crimes and for property crimes, working together, the Police Department and the community can make a difference.

Ask Officer Michelle - Detectives Asking Questions on the Phone

2011-05-29T19:46:57Z

Posted by Travis

Can a detective interrogate a person over the phone WHO has no part in a crime? And when that person ask’s the detective for his/her department info/badge number, he/she refuses to give it?

Dear Travis,

The answer is yes, and it is perfectly legal because the person detectives are speaking to can hang up at any time. This is not really an interrogation. They aren’t being detained in any way and they aren’t required to answer any questions. Detectives routinely speak to people that are involved in an investigation over the telephone. They needn’t give Miranda warnings when doing so and can ask questions about a crime they may be involved in. Additionally, they may ask questions of others as well. For example, an officer can speak to a roommate of an accused theft subject as a witness or to glean information about the suspect or the crime involved. I don’t know why the investigator didn’t give you his/her name or department information. It is not required, but it is common courtesy. The investigator probably would have received more cooperation had they made you feel more comfortable. I hope you have a better understanding on this topic.

Officer Michelle

Ask Officer Michelle - Citizen Helps Elderly Mom-in-Law with Solicitors

2011-05-22T22:02:18Z

Posted by strandednturlock

my mother-in-law, recently widowed, is having to deal with people she does not know coming to her door, as early as 6:30 a.m. she’s 80 years old and this is freaking her out. is there some way to request extra patrols? She lives on Wakefield Way in South Sac, not a great neighborhood, zip 95822. she’s not answering the door but this has happened 3 or 4 times and we fear she is being targeted. she has a good alarm system. if someone could reply to me with any advice for her, i would appreciate it. thanks, debra

Dear strandednturlock,

It sounds like your mother-in-law is going through a lot right now. The best thing you can do is to look in on her regularly. If she knows and trusts her neighbors, you may want to speak with them as well about checking in on her.

The elderly are often easier targets for scammers because they know of the trusting nature of the people of that era, and the fact that the elderly are often isolated. There was one recent scam whereby a man claimed that he was with the water or sewer company. This man would go to an elderly person’s house with his partner and start talking to the resident. His partner would then go to the back of the home and enter quickly taking valuables and money that were in quick reach. By the time the resident noticed that belongings were missing, the scammers were long gone.

Put your mother on the “no call” list for telemarketers. This will cut down on the solicitor calls. Also stress to her that she should never give personal information over the telephone, unless she initiates the call. If they come to her door, she needn’t answer it. Help her post a “no solicitors” sign by the front door.

Talk to your mother-in-law about this. Tell her that nothing is for free, and if someone makes her an offer where she needs to give up-front money for something, that it is most likely a scam.

The fact that she has an alarm is a good early warning system. Dogs are also good deterrents and companions. If she is open to the idea you may want to look into it. I hope I’ve been able to help you.

Take care,

Officer Michelle

City Council aims to lessen police budget cuts

2011-05-18T15:46:54Z

The Sacramento City Council members made it clear Tuesday night that they do not want to make the $12 million in cuts to the Police Department recommended in the proposed budget. But it’s unclear at this point how the council will lessen the cuts to the department.

A crowd of police staffers and supporters, which swelled to about 400 at its high point early Tuesday evening, turned out for the City Council’s budget hearing.

The city is grappling with a $39 million budget gap for the 2011/2012 fiscal year. A total of 149 department staffers, including 80 sworn cops, would be laid off in the proposed budget, according to police spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong.

The city currently has 701 sworn cops.

“Twelve million (dollars) in cuts is too much for public safety to share this burden,” Councilman Darrell Fong, a retired police captain, said.

At the end of the City Council meeting, which ran longer than four hours, six City Council members voted not to move forward with the current proposed budget of $12 million in cuts proposed by Interim City Manager Bill Edgar and Interim Deputy City Manager Betty Masuoka.

The city manager’s office is responsible for proposing the amounts of budget cuts, while Police Chief Rick Braziel is responsible for divvying up how to make the proposed cuts at the department.

The City Council makes final budget decisions.

Six of the nine council members rejected the proposed budget because three were absent.

Mayor Kevin Johnson was at the NBA draft lottery in New Jersey, representing the Sacramento Kings. Councilwoman Bonnie Pannell was mourning the recent death of her mother and Councilman Rob Fong was in Los Angeles on a business trip, according to Councilman Steve Cohn.

RE Graswich, the mayor’s special assistant, presented the following statement on behalf of Johnson:

“In Sacramento, we’re in the fourth year of a devastating budget crisis and we continue to face difficult challenges. When I ran for mayor in 2008, I said public safety would be my top priority.

“That continues to remain true today,” Graswich said. “Public safety is a core function of city government. It plays a critical role in how we operate as a full-service city.

“It’s critical that as we move forward, we continue to practice fiscal responsibility, eliminate wasteful practices, capitalize on efficiencies and make collective sacrifices to provide the service our residents expect and deserve. I look forward to continuing to work with my council colleagues and finding the best solutions to solving the budget crisis.”

Greg Galliano, a 25-year-old Sacramento police officer, was one of many department staffers who urged the council not to make the cuts. He said the department is currently dealing with “massive call volumes.”

“If we take these cuts,” Galliano said, “we’re going to experience something that we’re not going to be able to protect you from.”

Leong explained the breakdown of the proposed layoffs: Sworn cops, 80; Community Service Officers, 38; Crime Scene Investigators, 14; Supervising Dispatchers, 6; Records Supervisor, 1; Administrative and Clerical, 10.

At a press conference before the City Council meeting, police staffers held up numbers that signified they could be among the numbers of people laid off.

Read the schedule of budget hearings here. Learn about the debate over cuts to the Parks and Recreation Department here.

The City Council is scheduled to adopt the city’s budget for the 2011/2012 fiscal year on June 21.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Ask Officer Michelle - Noisy Generator Leaves Neighbors Sleepless

2011-05-15T14:51:07Z

Posted by DF1955

I have a neighbor behind my home who has started running some kind of generator in his backyard at night. This machine is approximately 30 feet from my home’s bedroom windows. It is loud enough that it can be heard plainly when windows are closed and it disrupts my family’s sleep. As we have had difficulty in the past with this neighbor (loud music at night) it is not an option to ask him to stop running this machine. Quite frankly, the back and front yards are a disaster and the pit bull rushing the fence when we are in our backyard tends to squash any thought of speaking to him face to face. We called the Police at approximately 10:30 p.m. the first night this started and after 3 calls (the last at approximately 11:30 p.m.) we had the Police come to our home so they could listen from our backyard. They said they would speak to the neighbor and find out what the noise was caused by. The machine continued to run all night long, so I have no idea what was discovered or done. The next night the machine did not run, but the night after that it ran again all night long.

When we received no assistance through the Police we sent an email to the 311 contact with the City of Sacramento. The response? To call the Police. This after we stated that we had tried that avenue.

Are we simply going to have to learn to live with this night time noise? Is that really our only option? Is it unreasonable to expect that loud noise cease after 10 p.m. and not start until after 7 a.m.?

We are frustrated with this situation and wish to solve the problem. I would appreciate any suggestion you might offer.

Thank you.

Dear DF1955,

You gave already taken the proper steps. It sounds like your neighbor may be stealing power or needing to generate their own. If they already have electricity, then they shouldn’t have to run a generator….all night long. I know that during these harder economic times that there are a lot of people who haven’t been paying their bill. It is a requirement to have electricity if there are children in the household. They may be running the generator all night to keep a refrigerator going. Nonetheless, there is the noise ordinance that they are violating. Call the police again. Let the dispatcher know that this is an ongoing problem even after we came out, and that the noise is annoying you and your family. I don’t know what the police did the first time they contacted the resident, but usually, the police give an initial written warning. The second time they are dispatched for the noise complaint, the complainant can be fined.

If your neighbor is renting the residence and has a landlord, call them and let them know what is going on. I know how loud generators are, and you shouldn’t have to live with the noise. Keep me posted.

Officer Michelle

Cold case squad solves crime, faces budget cuts

2011-05-12T00:18:16Z

It was a beer can that gave cold case detectives the evidence they needed to make an arrest in a 1987 homicide on Friday.

Detective Peter Willover spends his time poring over homicide and rape crimes committed before DNA became a routine part of police work. He is a reserve officer who previously spent 40 years as a detective with the Sacramento Police Department.

“I’ve probably reviewed close to 100 cases,” he said Wednesday. “We focus on cases that may provide DNA evidence.”

One of those cases was the 1987 stabbing death of 52-year-old Richard Schultz in an alley near 21st and K streets.

At the time, homicide detectives had a vague description of a man who had allegedly stabbed Schultz and another homeless man, who survived his wounds.

When reviewing the report of the case in February of 2009, Willover noted the surviving victim’s statement that he, Schultz and the attacker had all been drinking beer together. That detail made the case a priority for Willover.

“We get a lot of DNA evidence off of beer cans and bottles,” he said.

The can was sent to the crime lab, where DNA evidence was eventually extracted and uploaded into a national database of DNA profiles.

It took more than two years to get a result – a fact Willover attributed to manpower shortages at the crime lab. He said the crime lab is integral to solving cold cases.

“Cases that are going to court get the first priority,” he added.

The Department of Justice’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) database matched the DNA to 48-year-old Gregory Samuel Olguin, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

At 8:15 a.m. Friday, officers arrested Olguin in the 9100 block of Elk Grove Boulevard, and he was subsequently booked and charged with murder, according to a police department press release.

Department spokeswoman Laura Peck said Wednesday that she could not discuss whether Olguin made any statements or confessions, but said he is being held without bail and will go to trial.

The cold case unit at the department is composed of Willover, two other part-time reserve officers and a full-time detective.

While Willover and the other reserve officers are funded by a federal grant set to expire in October, the full-time detective is employed by the Sacramento Police Department, which could potentially lose about 12 percent of its staff, Peck said.

Proposed budget cuts include eliminating 80 sworn police officer positions, which could see the end of the cold case unit, Peck said.

“It’s all up in the air at this point,” she added. “We’re not sure what the department is going to look like.”

Willover said that, depending on the language in the grant, it’s possible that the cold case squad could be eliminated if other positions in the department are lost, including the detective assigned to the unit.

Peck said cases like the one from 1987 would essentially have no one looking into them if that happened.

Willover said there are more than 100 cases from before the early- to mid-1990s – when DNA testing became mainstream – that still need to be reviewed.

Generally, he added, homicide and rape cases top the list, since other crimes tend to be past the statutes of limitations, meaning that even if they are solved, arrests can’t be made.

The department’s cold case unit has been featured three times on the A&E TV show “Cold Case Files,” Willover said.

Most notable was a case shortly after the program was started 10 years ago at the behest of Sacramento County Deputy District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert.

The murder of a young woman, Penny Parker, in 1977 had originally been investigated by Willover when he was a homicide detective. She was a paper carrier for The Sacramento Bee and went missing while on her route, only to be discovered dead several days later, with evidence of sexual assault.

Willover said he had a good idea of who had committed the crime, but didn’t have enough evidence to make an arrest at the time.

In the early 2000s, the case was one of the first he looked at, and DNA evidence placed the original suspect at the scene of the crime.

Willover traveled to Arkansas, where the man was living, and he still denied knowing the woman.

A warrant was obtained, and when police knocked on the door, the suspect killed himself.

“It was a made-for-TV movie,” Willover said.

To read more about that case and Willover, click here.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Ask Officer Michelle - Landlord Faces Code Violations

2011-05-08T18:51:22Z

Posted by worried

Is there a law that requires an apartment to fix broken “security” doors? It’s senior low income tax credit property downtown. Also are they required to keep track of pass card numbers so they can deactivate them if they are lost or stolen? Our “security” pass card system has been broken for over a week and they haven’t fixed it yet and the manager doesn’t seem to care.

Dear worried,

There certainly are code violations. My suggestion is for you to contact our city Code Enforcement Division. You can call 311 and you will be transferred directly to a representative. There really aren’t any criminal elements to what you are describing, but Code Enforcement will cite the landlord or property owners if the building isn’t within code guidelines. The Code Enforcement has a website that you can go to as well for frequently asked questions. You can get there by going to www.cityofsacramento.org/code/

Thank you for your post.

Officer Michelle

Annual Law Enforcement Candlelight Vigil

2011-05-03T00:41:28Z

Sacramento, CA | Sunday night at the California Peace Officers’ Memorial, located at 10th Street and Capitol Mall across from the Capitol, a candlelight vigil was held to honor the memory of fallen Peace Officers, and to add 11 more names to the honor roll.

Peace Officers from around the State and as far as San Diego made the trip not to only pay tribute to those fallen Officers, but to help keep the memories fresh in citizens’ minds, so that these great sacrifices will not be forgotten.

There was an overflow crowd at the event, which not only included fellow Peace Officers and their families, the families of the fallen, but the general public that wanted to pay their respect to those who made the ultimate sacrifice for others.

After the ceremony, many could be seen walking around the memorial to find names of their loved ones, their former colleagues, or that officer that touched their lives.

One such person, who wished to reamain anonymous, found the name of a fallen officer that meant everything to him and his family, as he shed a few tears. “He gave his life protecting me and my neighbors”

Article/Photos: Rusty Kleine, MaverickPhotography.us
Photos: Kati Garner, Maverickphotography.us

MaverickPhotography.us and SacMav.com work in cooperation and collaboration with the Sacramento Press and are the designated photographers for the California Automobile Musem and Just For Corvettes.

visit for general and event photography>>

visit for dynamic action news>>

City program targets problem buildings, slumlords

2011-04-27T00:45:45Z

When buildings become slums and havens for gangs, prostitution and drug use, a little-known city program can force landowners to clean them up or – in extreme cases – be evicted.

The Justice for Neighbors program began in 2006 and allows multiple departments – including police, code enforcement, the city attorney’s office and park rangers – to focus their efforts on some of the worst slumlords and dangerous properties in the city, resolving an average of 17 cases per year.

“Essentially, it’s a public and social nuisance (enforcement) team,” said Gustavo Martinez, supervising deputy city attorney. “We meet every month and evaluate the worst security issues.”

Property owners are required to bring their buildings into compliance and stop criminal activity on the sites, or else they can face prosecution and jail time.

Safety issues are also tackled by the program when property owners refuse to comply with city codes and ordinances.

The program went into effect in 2006 to streamline city services and cut down on the time it was taking to solve the problems, Martinez said. Many times, police and code enforcement officers were working on the same property for different reasons, and the Justice for Neighbors program ensures there are no duplicate efforts – and similarly, no duplicate expenses.

Police Sgt. Matt Young, who is a leader of the south area’s Problem Oriented Policing (POP) unit, said that involving the city attorney’s office when a situation requires it now takes less time than it did previously.

“It used to take six to eight months, and now it only takes two or three,” he said, adding that officers no longer have to repeatedly go to some of the worst places in the city before the problems are addressed.

“It’s been a very effective program,” he said.

One of the program’s success stories is the property at 3132 Third Ave. – a 16-unit apartment complex.

The Justice For Neighbors program started work on it in 2007 due to numerous problems including prostitution, drug sales, sexual assaults and a large number of neighborhood complaints, according to a presentation given to the City Council April 12.

Police were called to the property 90 times in two years, and the property continued to deteriorate, with many of the units lacking running water and electricity.

The property owner was jailed for 30 days, but when problems persisted, the court ordered a receiver to take over the property, and it was sold last June. With its sale, the city was able to recoup $66,000 in attorney’s fees and enforcement costs, according to the presentation.

By February, it was refurbished.

“Now, developers are renting out beautiful units,” Martinez said.

Approximately $500,000 has been awarded to the city through the courts, of which about $120,000 has been collected, Martinez said, adding that some properties, like the on at 3132 Third Ave., have fees attached to them that the city will recoup if they are sold.

A more recent aspect of the program is the ability to order evictions based on certain felony crimes involving guns or drugs.

According to Martinez, Sacramento joins four other cities – Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland and San Diego – in being able to evict tenants for felony gun violations, and five other cities – the same as gun crimes, but with the addition of Palmdale – in being able to evict for felony drug activity.

That authority was granted by the California Legislature as a pilot program in 2009 for guns and 2010 for drugs, and it will expire in 2014 unless extended, Martinez said.

Only a small number of gun evictions have been served, and it is designed to combat gang activity, Young said.

“We recently had one where a gang member had a sawed-off shotgun and was living across from a school,” he said.

Last year, 33 evictions were served for drug violations, and four for gun violations, he added.

Martinez pointed out that the evictions are used sparingly and typically only when landlords or property owners have “had their heads in the sand” and not responded to previous requests to stop illegal activity.

The evictions are in line with a city ordinance that says property owners are responsible for controlling criminal activity on their property, be it a residence they live in or one they rent out, Martinez added.

No special funding is set aside for the program, as it is included in the daily activities of each of the departments involved in it.

Money collected through court orders is slated exclusively for enforcement and is used for things such as purchasing new equipment for police, Martinez said.

“I think it’s a great program,” Young said. “It really streamlines the process.”

Residents aren’t able to call in complaints to the program itself, Young and Martinez said. If there are complaints, they should still call the applicable department – including police and code enforcement – and the monthly meetings held by the program participants determine which properties are the worst based on number of complaints and calls for service.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @brandon_darnell.

Ask Officer Michelle - How to Have a Party and Keep Neighbors Happy

2011-04-24T18:04:15Z

Posted by Baldy286

Hello Officer Michelle,

I need your help!

I’d like to seek your recommendations/suggestions on the planning of a private party we’ll be hosting at our residence in May 2011. The party will be a 40th birthday party, meaning alcohol will be present, but no children will be present. Also, live music will be our entaininment, however, not after 10pm. We do have a very large backyard and some of the houses surrounding our home is vacant. I really want to be pro-active with preparing of our neighbors and to avoid the possiblity of involving law enforcement because of noise. The thoughts I’ve concluded is possibly passing out a flyer, informing our neighbor’s of a possible annoyance and to please contact us to avoid any confrontation. Please, feel free to contact me for additional information or clarifiy questions.

Thank you in advance for your efforts to help!

Dear Baldy286,

Sounds like fun! As long as you don’t violate the noise ordinance, you should be fine. The only things I though of were to make sure that your guests don’t block neighbors’ driveways when they park. If there are private CCRs attached to your neighborhood, you would have to abide by them although the Police Department has nothing to do with enforcing them.

You sound like you are very respectful of your neighbors. Letting them know ahead of time will alleviate a lot of problems.

The noise complaint calls that I have been on in the past usually involved drunken people with inappropriate behavior. Not a civilized celebration. Have fun and don’t let your guests leave after having too much to drink.

Officer Michelle

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 21st, 2011 at 1:56 pm and is filed under Answers From Officer Michelle. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Attorney General addresses gang problem in Sacramento

2011-04-20T05:38:18Z

California Attorney General Kamala Harris stressed the need to treat the gang problem with a community approach using prevention, intervention and enforcement. Harris was the guest speaker at Mayor Kevin Johnson’s gang forum Tuesday night in Meadowview.

“We have to be smart on crime,” Harris said, eschewing the old notion of the only two choices being to be hard or soft on crime.

She likened the gang violence problem to a public health problem like an epidemic: The best way to prevent it is through inoculations and early treatment, but by the time it is being dealt with in the emergency room, it’s too late, and too expensive.

Harris said combating gang violence should be dealt with regionally, a point that Johnson emphasized in his opening remarks.

“Crime and gang violence doesn’t stop at city lines,” Johnson said. “It goes across multiple jurisdictions.”

Johnson said there are 60 gangs and about 6,000 gang members in Sacramento County, and that students in second and third grade are being peer-pressured into joining gangs.

According to Johnson, the city and school districts will be working together, since the schools oversee youths for seven hours per day during the school year.

They will combine efforts through after-school programs, joint use of facilities and a renewed focus on school safety, he said, adding that benchmarks will be set up so progress can be measured.

One area Johnson focused on was the reading level of third graders, a point he brought up at his State of the City address earlier this year.

“If you can read, you’re not going to jail,” Johnson said after mentioning that 70 percent of incarcerated people are illiterate and only 30 percent of Sacramento’s students are reading at their grade level by the time they finish third grade.

Harris agreed, saying there is a “direct connection” between public education and public safety.

Another aspect of gang and criminal behavior Harris talked about was the “revolving door” of the California criminal justice system.

She said the average prison sentence in California is two years, and 70 percent of people released from prison commit crimes again, highlighting the need for education and prevention programs.

One of those programs is the Ceasefire program through the Sacramento Police Department, which works with gang members to get them out of the gang lifestyle. To read more about the program, click here.

During the question-and-answer session following Harris’ remarks, William Boyer, a resident of Colonial Heights in Sacramento, said police are often viewed as a threat when they come into communities with gang activity.

Harris said that to stop the problem of gang violence, police need to work with the community and the schools and elected officials. She added that witnesses to crimes need to come forward and testify, a problem that plagues gang enforcement, as Sacramento Police recently told The Sacramento Press.

Assemblyman Roger Dickinson attended the forum and said afterward that he agreed with Harris’ and Johnson’s remarks about gangs being a problem the whole community needs to work together to solve.

He also said that he wants to see various state violence prevention programs work more closely together and eliminate some of the redundancies so more resources can go to the actual problem instead of the bureaucracy.

Boyer, who was critical of police presence in the community, said he thinks Ceasefire is a very good program and a great start, but he wants to see more done, especially when it comes to funding to fight the problem.

“They show all these rich people on TV, big cars, mansions and beaches, of course these kids want that, but they’re poor,” he said. “They will get rich or die trying. They need to have more opportunities so they can be educated.”

Gregory King, who works with the Always Knocking nonprofit organization, said the Big Homie Street Team is a program through the nonprofit in which volunteers talk to kids on the streets and show them there are other options. Always Knocking is an organization focusing on ending youth and gang violence.

He said he thinks forums like the one Tuesday night are important, and they are having an effect.

“I’ve been coming to these for years, and each time, there are more new faces,” he said. “People are talking, and people are listening. It’s getting the community together, and people are going to react.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Ask Officer Michelle - Incident at 9/K Streets

2011-04-17T15:52:29Z

Posted by Frank000064

On 4/5/11 just after 2:30pm when I went into the RiteAid at 9th & K, I was told by a cashier that a customer had just been body slammed into the side of the building and robbed, but no one had been apprehended. Do you know if anyone was caught? I work a couple of blocks from there and myself along with other in my building were concerned about what happened. I checked the various news sites but didn’t see anything about it and did not see anything in your crime log either.

Dear Frank000064,

I know exactly the call you are speaking of. I was dispatched to that call myself. The complainant/victim was contacted at the bus stop at 9th/K Streets by a Hispanic male who asked him if he wanted to buy some marijuana. The victim told the suspect that he wanted to see the marijuana first. When the Hispanic male took three bindles of marijuana out of his pocket to display it to the victim, the victim grabbed the marijuana out of his hand and proceeded to walk toward the Rite-Aid. The Hispanic male caught up to the victim and punched him in the face. The Hispanic male then took off on a bicycle. The complainant said that it was his intention to give the marijuana to the police, and that he took it as evidence. Responding officers checked the area but were unable to locate the Hispanic male. The victim was taken to an area hospital for a precautionary examination. Thank you for your post.

Officer Michelle

Lavender Angels keep the peace in Midtown when drunk subject gets unruly

2011-04-16T23:35:15Z

Midtown, Sacramento, CA | A drunk and violent male gets chased down, pepper sprayed and apprehended by a Lavender Angel.

Friday night, a drunk subject smashed the back window of a car in the back lot of Hot Rods near 20th St. and K St. in Midtown. Ashley with the Lavender Angels chased, pepper sprayed and apprehended the perp on 22nd St between J st and K st. after the perp took several swings at her and attempted to take her cell phone while she was contacting police.

Sacramento police officers arrived and took the unruly male into custody. While in the back of the police car the subject started kicking and spitting. Officers had to place a hood over his head and strapped him down.

Paramedics responded to flush the subjects eyes after being pepper sprayed.

Visit the scene and hear from Lavender Angel, Ashley>>

Photos/Video- Ryan Petersen, SacMav.com
Photos/Video- Ed Fogle, SacMav.com

Ask Officer Michelle - Rear-ended by an Uninsured Motorist

2011-04-10T16:02:15Z

Posted by vetta2d

I was rear ended downtown by a driver who was not insured (his dad had insurance on the vehicle, minimal, 5K for damages which will not cover my damages) had no license (only a DMV ID card) and the registration on the car was expired. An officer came and looked at the driver’s info., called it in and left on another call. Why was this person not punished by the law or arrested….he is totally illegal??

Dear vetta2d,

Wouldn’t you know! What an inconvenience. First off, did the officer provide you with a case number? It would have been a number starting with 11- followed with 5 or 6 other numbers. In the case of vehicle accidents, if the parties aren’t injured, the vehicles don’t require tows, and no obvious violations such as DUI drivers, unlicensed or suspended licensed drivers were present, drivers exchange information with each other and report it to their insurance companies. If there are violations, a report must be taken. The officer could have taken a report. If there is a citation to be issued, the officer usually sends the citation to the driver through the mail once the investigation is complete. This may have been the case here and you wouldn’t have been notified. The driver would then have to go to traffic court to clear the ticket, or to receive punishment for the violation. A failure to make the court date would result in a warrant.

The driver may have had a driver’s license. People sometimes drive without their physical licenses. If the driver did have a valid license, it would be depicted in our computer system. He could be cited at a later time for not driving with a license by the officer and the citation would be sent to his residence.

As far as the dollar amount of your damages, your insurance companies will have to hash it out. What usually happens is that your insurance company will cover the difference and then go after the other party’s insurance company for the difference. Good Luck.

Officer Michelle

Gang culture hinders homicide investigation

2011-04-07T00:08:25Z

Almost six months have passed since Victor Hugo Perez Zavala was shot and killed at the September Second Saturday Art Walk, and no arrests have been made.

According to police, gang-related crime like the Second Saturday shooting is hard to solve for a variety of reasons.

“In a nutshell, (the case is) wide open,” said Sgt. Bob McCloskey of the Sacramento Police Department’s homicide division. “We’re still trying to run down every lead we have.”

McCloskey said police are currently investigating leads, but declined to say how many or comment on how good the leads are, given that it’s an active investigation.

“In each case, we’re going to take and fully investigate it,” he said. “On open cases (like this), we use all the resources we can.”

The shooting has been identified as gang-related, but Zavala was not a gang member, nor do police believe he was the intended target of the shooting, in which three others were injured, McCloskey said.

The shooting happened outside a bar at 18th and J streets, where a sizable crowd was gathered, but police Lt. Bill Champion from the special investigations/gang division said that doesn’t mean witnesses will come forward.

“Within the gang culture itself, there’s definitely a ‘you don’t want to be a snitch’ culture,” he said. “A lot of times we’ll go to a gang shooting, and it’s not uncommon for a witness, or even the person who was shot, to say, ‘Yeah, I didn’t see anything.’ ”

He said gang members are “very uncooperative” most of the time, and getting any witnesses – even victims – to cooperate is difficult because gang members intimidate them.

There are ways of getting around that intimidation, including anonymous tip lines and even anonymous text tips through Sacramento Crime Alert. The police general investigations line is 808-0650.

“People can give us information to help us and remain anonymous,” Champion said.

McCloskey added that the governor’s office offers rewards up to $50,000 for tips on some cases, and Sacramento Crime Alert also offers rewards up to $1,000.

“There’s different programs at the District Attorney’s Office where we can take a witness and get the witnesses relocated, because there has been – due to the intimidation factor usually – a reluctance for people to come forward,” he added.

That program works with witnesses to make them secure – sometimes relocating them, even out of state, if necessary, he said.

The best way to combat gangs, Champion said, is to do it as a community.

“We’ve had a lot of success with neighborhood watch programs,” he said. “You have one person that stands up – it’s very easy to get intimidated, very tough to stand on your own – but if you get a whole community to stand up ... that’s the concept behind our Ceasefire program.”

Champion said criminals don’t bother those neighborhoods as much because they know they’re not easy targets.

Many residents in the downtown and Midtown areas have pointed fingers at Second Saturday, saying the event is bringing gang members from out of town to concentrate at the event.

According to Champion, that’s not a problem unique to Second Saturday.

“Sacramento’s gang problem is increasing,” he said. “We’re not talking just Second Saturday, we’re talking citywide. We have contacted a lot of Bay Area gang members at nightlife spots downtown.”

And even Sacramento’s resident gang population moves about.

Champion said gangs in Los Angeles are very territorial, but gangs in Sacramento move about the city, not necessarily laying claim to one particular neighborhood or area.

McCloskey said investigating shootings by territorial gangs can be easier, since it gives police a starting point, but with gangs moving around, it makes it harder to narrow down the suspect field.

Champion gave some statistics for increasing gang activity in Sacramento.

Crime reports related to gangs are up 37 percent over last year and 52 percent since 2008. And even though overall shootings went down 3.6 percent over last year, a higher percentage of shootings have been gang-related, with 18 percent of nonfatal shootings being gang-related in 2008, 26 percent in 2009 and 37 percent in 2010.

Aggravated assaults saw a slight rise over the past year.

Police Department spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong said it’s important to note that the problem can’t be addressed in a reactionary manner.

“It’s a regional issue, it’s not just a Second Saturday issue,” he said. “It’s a long-term effort, and that’s the concept of Ceasefire.”

Recent changes to Second Saturday events, he added, have been intended to bring the focus of the event back to art, but it will take time to see if those changes work out.

“I can’t overemphasize the point that it’s a community problem,” Champion said. “The community needs to respond and work together. That’s how it’s going to be effective ... making sure everyone gets involved, everyone picks up the phone and says, ‘This is what I saw.’ ”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Ask Officer Michelle - Reining in an Uncooperative Teen

2011-03-27T14:41:41Z

Posted by lovechicagobears

I have an 15 yr old who stays out past 10, and has come home twice now under the influence of something. She is/has been violent, and wholly uncooperative. Can she be arrested for being under the influence? If given a cell phone number can her friends be found out where she is getting drugs/alcohol? What does one do with a teen who disregards all instruction, requests.. legally?

Dear lovechicagobears,

This must be a very frustrating situation for you. On one hand you are probably sick from worrying about your daughter, and the other hand, you may feel like going a few rounds in the ring with her. Keep talking with her. Explain the ramifications of her actions. Change her scenery. Get her involved with some volunteer work, sports, let her get a part-time job, talk with her school counselors, find her a mentor or someone other than you to relay the exact same things you are telling her. You may want to look into private psychological counseling as well. She may be acting out because of deeper issues. Look into who she is hanging out with and speak with their parents. They may be just as concerned as you are. Teenage years aren’t easy for you or your daughter. They will pass though, and the drama will subside. I am concerned about the drug situation.

If you suspect that your daughter is doing drugs, and you have a cell phone number of the supplier, you can call our narcotic tip line and leave the information with a narcotic investigator. Their number is 808-5796. Leave them with as much specific information as you possibly can…names, physical descriptions, addresses, anything you can to get investigators started.

Being under the influence of a narcotic is illegal and is a misdemeanor. You are ultimately responsible for her until she is 18. If the police were to pick her up for this, they would call you and notify you of the circumstances. She may either go to Juvenile Hall or be cited and released to you depending on the circumstances. If she is being violent towards you or anyone else, you can call us. We can mediate the situation and be able to tell if she is on a narcotic or drug. Good luck with this situation. I can imagine that it must be very difficult.

Officer Michelle

Ask Officer Michelle - Jaywalking - Illegal and Dangerous

2011-03-20T21:08:18Z

Posted by Daniel

I have a question about Jaywalkers. As a delivery driver I am constantly stopping and slamming on my brakes for jaywalkers, but the biggest problem i saw, was 3 adults were actually jaywalking right in front of a Sac PD Patrol car, the patrol car actually slowed down for them to cross the street, and did nothing about it. My question is "Is Jaywalking still Illegal?"

Dear Daniel,

Jaywalking is still as illegal as it ever was. It is also unsafe and people who jaywalk are taking a chance with their lives. It seems as though I am always off duty driving my kids around when I see people blatantly crossing the streets expecting cars to slow for them and just 100 feet of a crosswalk. I saw a woman pushing a baby stroller with two children inside while jaywalking on a very busy 4-lane road. I rolled my window down and told her that she was endangering her children. She saluted me; and not with a military salute if you know what I mean.

I can’t testify to why the officers didn’t stop the jaywalker that you witnessed cross in front of their car. I can only venture to guess that they had a call with greater urgency and priority that they were going to.

I spoke to our traffic section about jaywalkers. They told me that there has been an increase of vehicle versus pedestrian fatal accidents in the past year. The Sacramento Police Department Motor Unit has been cracking down on jaywalkers in the city limits because of this. Even more reason to use a crosswalk. Thank-you for your concern.

Officer Michelle

This entry was poste

Second Saturday changes coming next month

2011-03-17T01:55:39Z

A few more changes are in the works for the Second Saturday Art Walk in an effort to reduce problems and increase the focus on art, city and business leaders said Wednesday.

The changes will take effect in April, when the event's crowds are expected to grow as warm weather returns to Sacramento. The city's Second Saturday safety team has come up with some modifications in the wake of a fatal shooting in September 2010.

The biggest change is a requirement that vendors, musicians with amplified sound and other street performers who are set up on public property – primarily sidewalks or closed streets – operate from 4 - 8 p.m. Live music is part of a growing music scene that has emerged on Second Saturdays.

City officials want street sales and music that have emerged during the art walk to end earlier to create a "buffer" between Second Saturday crowds and late-night revelers visiting bars and restaurants. The change is expected to make it easier to get minors home by the 10 p.m. curfew and allow art patrons time to enjoy art before crowds grow, said Vincene Jones, director of the city's Neighborhood Services Division.

"The thinking was – on everybody's part, even from the community's side – it will (keep) some of the kids from lingering and just kind of hanging around," she said. "There's not a lot you can stop unless you shut it down. We want it to continue, but we want it to be safe. And sane, so to speak."

City officials will provide an update on Second Saturday and nightlife issues at a meeting of the Neighborhood Advisory Group at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Hart Senior Center, 915 27th St.

The Second Saturday safety team, which has been meeting regularly for years, includes Sacramento Police, the city manager's office, code enforcement, neighborhood services, the Midtown Business Association, parking and transportation department staff. In making the changes, the group used suggestions made at a Sept. 25 forum by city residents, Jones said.

The event traditionally ran from 6 - 10 p.m., but the hours were changed to 5 - 9:30 p.m. after the shooting.

The earlier closing time doesn't apply to businesses with Second Saturday special event permits to serve or sell alcohol, MBA Executive Director Rob Kerth said.

The hours also don't apply to vendors set up on private property, such as parking lots.

The city is also requiring special one-day permits for music and vending this year. The permits will cost $25. Anyone using amplified sound must get a permit and permission from the nearest property owner.

Another change is that the city is now requiring vendors to sell only original, handcrafted items or products made in the region. Nothing that is mass-produced or imported may be sold. Appliances and secondhand goods that were sold by some last year won't be allowed, Jones said.

"We had a lot of people coming out with microwaves they wanted to sell. We don't want it to turn into that kind of flea market," she said. "We want it to be art-related."

Private property owners who allow vendors to sell on their property must get multi-vendor location permits.

Sidewalk vendors must have permission from the property owners and business owners that they set up in front of, Kerth said.

Vendors won't be able to set up on 20th Street between J and K streets, and that block will only be closed to traffic when needed for crowd control, he said.

No serious problems were reported during March's Second Saturday Art Walk last weekend. Police will continue to crack down on problems such as underage drinking, drinking on the street and minors out after curfew, said Sacramento Police Department spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong.

Minors may be cited for violating curfew, which is a misdemeanor, and released, and parents can be held accountable if children are out after curfew, unless the kids are with their parents.

"Parents should be aware that the city has a 10 p.m. curfew," he said. "Their children should be picked up well before 10 p.m."

Other changes may be added in upcoming months if warranted, Jones said.

The city's Special Events Ordinance Review Committee is also considering special events changes that may apply to Second Saturday. The ordinance isn't expected to be brought to the City Council until at least late 2011.

The earlier hours seems like a "smart idea" to help the city and police keep Second Saturday safe and family-friendly, then clear the streets before patrolling for problems with illegal drinking, vandalism, noise and other misbehavior, said Midtown Neighborhood Association Chair Matt Piner.

"I think it's a good idea as a start," he said. "You get bad apples in any crowd. The bigger the crowd, the more bad apples you're going to have."

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @SuzanneHurt.

Ask Officer Michelle - Bully At Light Rail Station

2011-03-13T15:08:53Z

Posted by Dalal1979

Hello,

Today at the Royal Oaks RT station I was verbally attacked by a man. He was verbally attacking his girlfriend who was becoming an ex, after he was done screaming at her in public and in front of another 20 people, I walked to her and handed her a napkin and asked her if she was all right. He walked to me and started cursing and telling me to walk away or he’d F****me up, then he started calling me a terrorist and to go back to my country then he started saying some arabic words to me. He was drunk, I could smell it also he had a bag of white powder in his hand. Then he said I have nothing to do with whites or blacks. The sad thing, every single white person was laughing at me, and every single black person in his group was cheering for him. What about the woman he was verbally abusing while keeping her pushed to the wall? She was hispanic. Her face was dead frozen. What if that woman was hurt or killed by him? I did step up and got in his face and told him that I would call the police, but he and everyone else in his group said" go ahead call the popo on the black people." How far does it have to go before calling police about cases like this? Is it legal to drink and smoke whatever they smoke at the RT stations where kids and other people are waiting to go to their work or schools? How far does it have to get when a man is abusing a woman in public before the police department puts at least 1 or 2 cops out there? I am a SCC student and I use RT everyday, and I have seen enough drunk and drugies on the trains beside men masturbating not to mention half of the people ride for free which means they’re taking someone else’s right of the seat, someone who earned to sit there.

Also, is it too late to report the incident from today? I was told by a woman at Royal Oaks RT station, to walk away or I would get killed. How bad/seriously in danger are we that we can’t even defend others who are incapable of doing for themselves like that hispanic woman today?! Are there any answers? Thank you and have a blessed day.

Dear Dalal1979,

I applaud you for your compassionate nature. Far too often people become complacent or don’t want to get involved to help others for fear of retaliation or retribution. Even with your good intentions, you should not deal with him yourself. You should call 911 the next time you witness something like this. The Sacramento Police Department and the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department have a partnership with Regional Transit (RT). We have designated RT officers to handle such situations. We can deal with “Mr. Mouth” and help the woman as well. The man you dealt with was a bully. If you looked the word “bully” up in the dictionary, his photo could be posted next to the word. We deal with bullies every day.

The light rail is a still a safe mode of transportation. There are officers who ride the trains each day, seven days a week, to make sure there are no such problems on the light rail. That being said, the officers can’t be on every train. That’s why it is so important for citizens to call the Police Department to let the police and RT know when there is a problem. I will also forward your email to the RT police division so that they can be made aware of this situation. Thank you for your concern, and your post. You are a very fine citizen.

Ask Officer Michelle - Fictional Writing About Sac PD

2011-03-06T16:18:42Z

Posted by akshunhiro

Are there legal issues in using the Sacramento PD in a work of fiction? If so what are the boundaries? Assuming all characters and events are fictional and only the setting is based on an actual organisation, that is. There would be no defamatory remarks at all either. Is there someone I can correspond with regarding details and accuracy in my research?

Dear akshunhiro,

I would suggest that you talk to our Public Information Officer by calling 808-0800. Sergeant Norm Leong is the lead Public Information Officer and any questions or concerns involving the media should be directed to him.

I would say as long as you didn’t refer to any officers by actual name and/or badge number, or any suspects by name as to go against their penal interests, you should be fine. If you were to write about a current case that is pending and you articulate certain facts about it that could cause the suspect to have an unfair trial, I could see that as being a big concern. Give Sergeant Leong a call to find out definitively. Good luck with your story.

Officer Michelle

Ask Officer Michelle - The Legality of Videotaping at Work

2011-02-27T18:58:46Z

Posted by odiebrodie1

Hello,

Can an employer videotape me without my permission when terminating me? Also, when I asked if I was being videotaped they did not respond to the question. Is that legal?

Dear odiebrodie1,

This is more of a civil matter than a criminal one. It really depends on your expectation of privacy. Were you captured on a surveillance camera? Did you boss videotape you in public? Were you merely in an office? Did you ask your boss to stop the taping and he or she refused? Did the video taping qualify as an invasion or was it an intrusion? Did your boss post the footage on a social media outlet without your consent? These are all questions that you may want to ask an attorney. This is out of my scope and I am not qualified to give you legal advice. This is an interesting question and I learned a lot while doing research. Read Hernandez v. Hillsides. It is a California case that was taken to the Supreme Court.

Look for an attorney that specializes in this type of law. Good luck.

Officer Michelle

Ask Officer Michelle - Reporting Criteria for Vehicle Accidents

2011-02-20T16:26:36Z

Posted by Toni

I was involved in a auto accident and was rear-ended. At the time I asked the officer if a report would be made. She stated that the incident did not fit their criteria for a report. There were no apparent injuries by either party at the time, I was able to drive off but the other car was in a sad state and had to be towed off. My vehicle was damaged but I was able to drive off. Also, no id, license or insurance questions were asked of us. I am hoping this does not pose any issues for insurance claim process?

So, what is that criteria for a report to be completed and filed?

Dear Toni,

What a bummer. I am glad that you are okay. I don’t know what agency the officer worked for that assisted you, and I’m not familiar with other agency procedures, but I can tell you if your accident was in the Sacramento city limits, the officer gave you the correct advice. In cases where there are no obvious violations, (ie., unlicensed/suspended license, DUI driver, no serious injuries, or if the vehicle is other than a city vehicle, bus, light rail, etc.), it falls below Sacramento Police Department minimum reporting standards. You and the other driver are to exchange information including your names, driver’s license numbers, phone numbers, license plate and your insurance carrier information. You then call your insurance company and give them the details of the accident. Your insurance companies then work out the details. They have internal investigators that deal with this sort of thing.

The Sacramento Police Department can assist people by standing by until a driver gets a ride and for traffic control, but we are no longer required to take a report for a vehicle that needs a tow. An incident number is generated by dispatch just by virtue of the police being called. When officers arrive on scene, they voice the license plate numbers of all vehicles involved. They also run the driver’s licenses for validity.

As for injuries, an ambulance or paramedic is often called in cases of complaint of pain. If there are no serious injuries, it is up to the discretion of the officer whether he or she will take a report. They must assess the situation at the scene. Statistically speaking, your accident was not too bad if you were able to walk away. I’m sorry for the inconvenience, but I’m glad that you are okay.

Take care,

Officer Michelle

Ask Officer Michelle - Women Officers with the Sac PD

2011-02-13T17:12:10Z

Posted by Christina

How many women officers are there in your local city(Sacramento Police Department)?

How many of those women are in supervisory or management positions?

Are any of the women assigned to nontraditional roles such as special weapons and tactics teams, motorcycle enforcement, bomb units, hostage negotiations, or community relations? Have there been incidents of sexual harassment or gender discrimination against women employees? If so how were the cases resolved? has the agency implemented any programs to increase the employment of women, such as flex-time, child care,mentoring, awareness training, or career development? Has the agency been innovative in the recruitment efforts for women applicants?

Dear Christina,

This is a good time for females in law enforcement. Women officers have greatly multiplied in the past 15 years due in part to the first women officer pioneers who paved the way for the rest of us. I show homage and appreciation to them.

We currently have 701 officers with the Sacramento Police Department. Of these 701 officers, 113 are females. As far as females in supervisory roles, we have 13 Sergeants, 3 Lieutenants, and 2 Captains.

I have been with the Sacramento Police Department for 20 years. The numbers have doubled with women in supervisory roles as well as number of females in specialty units. The ratios of female to male numbers in specialty units such as specialty weapons units, bomb technicians, and motorcycle patrol isn’t due to the lack of opportunity, it is usually due to lack of interest in working in the particular unit or for other personal choices which don’t have anything to do with the police department.

There is a misconception in that most people are under the impression that an officer can join specialty teams right after the academy. An officer must work the streets for at least two years before they are even eligible to test for a specialty position. Then an officer must test for the position. Training and experience always plays a large part in the process.

The Sacramento Police Department has a strict Equal Opportunity Policy and they adhere to the policy. A female or anyone else for that matter may generate a discrimination complaint without being penalized. There is even a third party complaint process.

The Sacramento Police Department even has a part-time status that officers can work. I worked part-time for seven years so that I could raise my sons until they started school. I was very grateful for the opportunity, and I was able to go fulltime with no repercussions.

I would encourage any female who is interested in a career in law enforcement to go on a ride-along with their local police department.

Officer Michelle

Ask Officer Michelle - Reporting Stolen Property

2011-01-30T20:04:03Z

Posted by cindy10869

If I know that someone is in possession of my stolen property and refuses to return it…. how do I file a report?

I live in Placer County but the person who is holding onto my stolen property lives in Sacramento County.

This person has knowledge that the items were stolen, has admitted to having them and has refused, both verbally and in writing, to return them.

Thank you for your assistance.

Dear cindy10869,

If this is a straight stolen property case, then the first thing you should do is to report it as stolen by contacting your local sheriff department. There is usually an on-line reporting method for theft. They will want to know the dollar amount and any identifying serial numbers as well.

If this is a situation involving a civil matter, such as a break-up or a parting of ways between roommates and there was a question as to who’s property belongs to whom, then you would have to sue the party to get your belongings back.

When you say that these items were stolen, was this a burglary to your residence, or something along these lines? If so, you would file a burglary report and list the known person as the suspect. You may want to contact this person and tell them that you are considering filing a police report if the items aren’t returned. If the person is holding your property in return for some sort of payment or as collateral, tell them that this is not the way you want to resolve the issue.

If the suspect is a juvenile, call the parents and explain the situation. You may have better luck that way.

If you decide to go ahead with the police report, be sure to mention that you have made many attempts to communicate with the suspect and they refused to return your belongings. Good luck.

Office Michelle

Ask Officer Michelle - Police Communications in the Sixties

2011-01-23T17:42:08Z

Posted by djbynum02

How would police departments communicate during the mid 60’s era? I am writing a book about a serial killer who murders women up and down the coast of California.

Dear djbynum02,

I actually learned something while I was researching your question. Interestingly enough, police cars were equipped with car-to-car radios. They would speak to dispatch and each other via the car radios. The police also had call boxes. These boxes were locked metal boxes that contained a telephone. They also communicated with the dispatchers this way.

Usually, police departments had light poles designated for the police department throughout the city. When the light went on, officers knew to go to the nearest call box and make a phone call to dispatch. Dispatch would then give the officers the pertinent information about the call. Some officers would also leave notes to other officers inside the call boxes; a sort of rendition of the modern day text. The Sacramento Police Department still has several call boxes containing telephones. Officers don’t usually use them anymore because everyone has cell phones now; however, they’re still available if needed. Thank you for your post. I enjoyed the history lesson.

Officer Michelle

Ask Officer Michelle - Solicitation of Minor Via the Internet

2011-01-17T04:11:30Z

Posted by mica

I did not mean for this to be a public post, but could find no other avenue for registering this concern. I do very much appreciate your making this venue available.

Yesterday I called the Sacramento Police Department to report an email I received soliciting sex with a 13 year old. The solicitation did not appear to come from the 13 year old. I assumed that adults were exploiting children in a criminal manner. I was not sure who to report this to and whether it was really in the jurisdiction of the Sacramento Police, but hoped to find that there would be somewhere to report this kind of internet crime. I called child abuse and sexual assault first. The person who answered the phone told me to call dispatch -- that they would be concerned that someone was offering 13 year olds for sex. However, when I called dispatch, they immediately assumed it was a prostitution case with the 13 offering his or herself for sex and refered me to the vice line.

Ironically and timely, this column by Bob Herbert appeared in an column in the New York Times yesterday. I am pasting the entire column in here as it is all so relevant. It calls for a change in police attitude about sex trafficking in children and seems almost like it was written in response to what I encountered. I would appreciate your reaction to this.

Mica

WRONG TARGET

... Across the country, young girls by the many thousands — children — are being drawn into the hellishly dangerous world of prostitution. They are raped, beaten and exploited in every way imaginable.

As part of the staggeringly lucrative commercial sex trade, the role of these children is to satisfy the sexual demands of johns who in most cases do not fit the stereotype of a pedophile.

“Many of the guys who buy sex with children would never consider themselves pedophiles,” said Rachel Lloyd, founder of an organization in New York called GEMS that offers help to under-age girls in the sex trade. “They’re not necessarily out there looking for 12-year-olds or teenagers. They just kind of don’t care.

“They feel like they have the right to buy sex from someone, and they prefer it to be someone who looks younger and cleaner and less drug-addicted.”

...

[L]aw enforcement does not always respond in a positive or constructive way. It is common across the country for under-age girls engaged in prostitution to be arrested, which is bizarre when you consider that it is a serious crime — statutory rape — for an adult to have sex with a minor.

If no money is involved, the youngster is considered a victim. But if the man pays for the sex — even if the money is going to the pimp, which is so often the case — the child is considered a prostitute and thus subject in many venues to arrest and incarceration.

“We often see the girls arrested and the pimps and the johns go free,” said Carol Smolenski, the head of Ecpat-USA, a group that fights the sexual exploitation of children. “One of the big problems is that there is this whole set of child sex exploiters who are not targeted as exceptionally bad guys.”

What’s needed is a paradigm shift. Society (and thus law enforcement) needs to view any adult who sexually exploits a child as a villain, and the exploited child as a victim of that villainy. If a 35-year-old pimp puts a 16-year-old girl on the street and a 30-year-old john pays to have sex with her, how is it reasonable that the girl is most often the point in that triangle that is targeted by law enforcement?

A measure of how far we still have to go is the fact that some enlightened officials in the state of New York tried to shift that paradigm last year and failed. The proposed Safe Harbor Act would have ended the practice of criminalizing kids too young to legally consent to sex. Under the law, authorities would have no longer been able to charge children with prostitution, but would have had to offer such youngsters emotional counseling, medical care and shelter, if necessary.

Legislative passage was thwarted in large part because prosecutors made the case that it was necessary to hold the threat of jail over the heads of these children as a way of coercing them to testify against pimps. In other words: If you don’t tell us who hurt you, little girl, we’re going to put you in jail.

It was an utterly specious case, filled to the bursting point with tragic implications and unworthy of a civilized society.

Dear mica

This is a most concerning topic. I have strong convictions against this sort of thing. In fact, I helped produce a whole public safety announcement about this in January 2007, which is posted on our web site at www.sacpd.org. Go to the public service announcement page, and then click on “Cyber Safety.”

The referral to our Vice Division was the correct response. Our Vice team works actively on exploited child prostitution cases. In fact they have been nominated for an award by the FBI for their work on exploited children.

Our Vice officers do not just take the exploited child off of the street, they actively pursue a case against the john and or pimp. We work closely with our Juvenile Justice system and the FBI to find the best placement for the exploited child. In many instances sending the child home is not the best option because of the issues at home.

We frequently receive reports of on line predators. The best thing we can do as parents is restrict access to the computer, put it in a common room of the house, teach our children about these predators, and install parental controls on your computer. Watch the public service announcement for more information. The police take this thing very seriously.

Take Care,

Officer Michelle

Ask Office Michelle - Pitbulls Loose in Church Parking lot

2011-01-09T17:54:31Z

Posted by crawdad5150

Officer Michelle, we have several pit bull dogs running astray in the parking lots at St Paul Baptist Church on 14th Ave. As these dogs are unpredictable, will mace or pepper spray have an affect on these dogs? What can we do to keep the the public safe, on and around the church campus? Thanks.
crawdad5150

Dear crawdad5150,

No dog, let alone a pit bull, should be running astray in a public place. I will forward this email to the City of Sacramento Animal Control Division. Meanwhile, if you need to protect yourself against a dog, mace will not work because dogs don’t have tear ducts. Pepper spray, which includes an oleo based resin, will work on dogs. It makes their eyes burn and causes them to sneeze. Pepper spray is what letter carriers with the U.S. Postal Service carry in case they have an aggressive encounter or if they need to protect themselves from an animal including dogs.

The Sacramento Animal Control Division handles all animal type of complaints within the city limits. Their telephone number is 916-264-5011, or 311 if you live in the city limits. They should get back to you, but if you haven’t heard anything in a few days, call them. If you need immediate attention, or if the situation is in progress and the dogs are aggressive, you can always call 911. Keep me posted on this!

Officer Michelle

Ask Office Michelle - Cutbacks in prostitution enforcement causing painful situations

2011-01-02T17:25:25Z

Posted by justme

On 12/21/2010 the Sacbee ran the article: Prostitution Arrests Plunge Amid
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/12/21/3272246/prostitution-arrests-plunge-a mid.html#disqus_thread

I understand cut-backs and how some things are out of our control. However, I feel this article is helping enable the activity.

My story is, I recently found out my husband visits massage parlors and he finds them on myredbook.com. In their forum, someone mentioned the news article from Sacbee.

Is it true that there are this many escorts, providers, massage parlors so easily available in Sacramento and in my own neighborhood? And no, I don’t live on Watt Ave, Stockton Blvd, or any of the other common locations. These services are advertising for downtown, El Dorado Hills, Elk Grove, Roseville, Greenhaven, Natomas, you name it.

And while I’m at it, the websites advertise “happy endings” and all of the massage parlors in town. Today I spotted 12 parlors in just 15 minutes. How do they get permits and not get caught? Exchanging money for sex is still illegal right? Or did I miss something…..

Sorry for unloading all of this, but I live in Sacramento to get away from this in San Francisco, New York, etc.

Dear justme,

I first want to say that I am sorry. This must be very difficult and confusing for you. I was looking at a free Sacramento publication the other day at a coffee shop and noticed a lot of advertisements for massages that sported scantily clad women posturing in provocative poses. It was fairly obvious that some of these advertisements weren’t for legitimate massages. I am very familiar with the website you mentioned and often see these massage parlors inconspicuously tucked away in lower rent business areas in urban environments.

I can tell you that the Sacramento Police Department still investigates VICE-related crimes. Some of our Problem Oriented Police (POP) Officers work prostitution operations if it has been identified in their areas. If you do know of a specific business in the city limits that is partaking in illegal prostitution practices, you can call the narcotic/VICE reporting tip line at 808-5796. Leave as much detailed information as possible and an investigator will call you back. If you have complaints in the county, you would want to call the Sacramento County Sheriff Department at 874-5115. They may have different procedures and or protocols that you may have to go through.

As far as emotional support, I called Women Escaping a Violent Environment (WEAVE) to see if they had services for women that are in your situation. They have people that you can talk to about this. There is a business line at 443-3715 you can call during regular business hours and a 24-hour support hotline at 920-2952. Finally, you can contact them via the web at www.weaveinc.org. They are there for women who are in crisis; not just for women that are going through abuse, but they are there for support including circumstances like what you are experiencing. I have heard prostitution as been referred to as a “victimless crime.” After hearing stories such as yours from other women as well, it is apparent that prostitution is not victimless at all. Good luck and take care.

Officer Michelle

Downtown burglar caught red handed

2010-12-28T16:13:24Z

Sacramento, CA | Downtown police on patrol catch a suspicious subject to find out he burglarized a local wireless phone store.

Late Monday night, downtown officers spotted a man running with a purse in his hand and a mask pulled part way over his face. Officers gave chase, the subject dropped the purse he was carrying and he was captured a couple of blocks away on the corner of L St. and 4th St...

continued>>

Second Saturday's controversial year

2010-12-28T01:21:51Z

One of Sacramento’s biggest controversies in 2010 centered on the Second Saturday Art Walk.

Initially intended to be a family-friendly arts showcase, it had, before 2010 started, turned into two events – the art walk, and the after party – according to many Midtown residents.

On the morning of Sept. 12, the issue got the attention of the entire city when 24-year-old Victor Hugo Perez Zavala – who police say was not affiliated with a gang – was killed in a gang-related shooting outside a bar on 18th and J streets.

Several others were injured, but it was Zavala’s death on September’s Second Saturday event that brought increased scrutiny to the event.

One Sacramento Press community contributor wrote that Midtown’s concentration of bars and nightlife coupled with an event that regularly brings more than 10,000 people from out of town combined to make the tragedy inevitable.

To read her article in full, click here.

Sacramento Press Editor in Chief David Watts Barton argued that the shooting was not caused by Second Saturday, and the incident would not bring down the art walk or the event as whole.

To read his editorial, click here.

Community members weighed in on The Sacramento Press, proposing a “Second Saturday Synergy 2.0” in which the event would be more focused on art and possibly entail earlier start times, more police presence and other ideas.

To read their suggestions, click here and here.

More than 100 community members met with police and city officials Sept. 25 to discuss options for what might be done to both preserve the event and make it safer. Among the discussion topics were parking, enforcement of the 10 p.m. curfew for minors and better management of the event.

To read about the meeting, click here.

With the increased attention on the event, some questioned whether Second Saturday would go the way of the Thursday Night Market that used to take place on the K Street Mall.

The Sacramento Press interviewed several people involved in the Thursday Night Market, and they had differing opinions on how applicable the comparison was. One said that Second Saturday, like the Thursday Night Market, was becoming a victim of its own success while another questioned if there was actually anything going wrong with the event at all.

To read the article, click here.

Another set of comparisons was drawn between Sacramento and Chicago, with Chicago’s large, city-sponsored events.

Click here to read the article.

With October’s Second Saturday event approaching, police and city officials made plans to step up their efforts, and private citizens’ groups got involved as well.

The Guardian Angels and the newly formed Lavender Angels were not founded in response to Zavala’s death, but both groups took to the streets Oct. 9 to do their part in making a visible security presence on the streets.

To read about the two groups of “angels,” click here.

When Oct. 9 came, approximately 80 police department staff members – ranging from uniformed officers to volunteers – were out to ensure the event’s safety.

Police Department spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong told reporters the following day that the event was a success.

To read about the October Second Saturday event and the thoughts of those who attended it, click here.

With the weather turning colder, November and December Second Saturday events were more subdued, but the issue is likely to come up again as the weather warms and more people come to the central city for the event in 2011.

Kevin Johnson photo by Suzanne Hurt, staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Meeting photo by Jon Mortimer. Other photos by Brandon Darnell, staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Top photo taken Oct. 9 is not the Sept. 12 shooting suspect, who reamains at large.

Ask Officer Michelle - Abusive Ex Overstays Welcome

2010-12-27T03:49:08Z

Officer Michelle-

I recently allowed my sons’ father to live with me because he was fired from his job (which was also where he lived) because he had no where else to go. After staying with myself and my kids for about two weeks, I asked him to leave because he became disrespectful and borderline abusive.

He completely refuses to leave and now it has been more than two months. He is not on my lease and I am afraid that I will get in trouble with my rental company for having someone at my residence that is not on the lease.

How do I go about getting him removed forcefully? He is at times verbally abusive and belittling to both myself and my children. I do not want my kids exposed to this.

Any legal information about how to get him out would be VERY helpful as he will not leave when I ask him to.

Thanks, Kjksmom

Dear Kjksmom,

Since your ex is becoming abusive with you and the children, you can go downtown to the County Courthouse and file for a restraining order. Once you get this order, serve your ex with it. He will then have to leave and failure to do so will be in violation of the court order. He is then subject to being arrested by law enforcement.

You have a right to have short term guests in your residence that don’t have to be on the lease agreement, however I would notify your landlord of what is transpiring as well. Two months is becoming a time frame where he is establishing a residency in your home especially if he is beginning to receive mail there. Just give your landlord a heads up. If he or she is reasonable, they will understand, especially if you are taking steps to remove him.

Lastly, I would call Women Escaping a Violent Environment (W.E.A.V.E). Their staff is so helpful and knowledgeable. They can guide you through the entire process. Their web address is www.weaveinc.org. The support line is 920-2952. W.E.A.V.E is not only an organization for battered women, it is an organization for empowering women. Give them a call. I hope your situation works out amicably for the sake of you and your children, without having to resort to more drastic measures. Good luck to you.

Officer Michelle

Roseville Police Don't Sing Hallelujah

2010-12-21T05:59:18Z

Police ejected a flash mob of hundreds of choral singers tonight from the Roseville Galleria mall. The choral singers, many clad in their Christmas clothes, had been anticipating singing an “impromptu” rendition of the “Hallelujah Chorus” in the food court.

The performance was conceived of by the Sacramento Choral Society and over the last few weeks, word quickly spread via email, Twitter and good old-fashioned word of mouth. As the 7:30 performance time neared, dense traffic in the food court came to a near standstill while singers clutched their sheet music for the 4-minute song.

When mall security was unable to redirect the crowd, the Fire Department closed the mall and ushered everyone outside. Denied their chance to sing inside, the crowd collected in the outdoor courtyard and began singing Christmas carols.

Despite repeated Police orders to leave the vicinity, the determined carolers of all ages stayed and at the appointed time, the “Hallelujah Chorus began”. With such a large group, the song was somewhat disjointed but the soprano voices soared above it all and the crowd got what it came for.

As the song finished, a Police helicopter arrived with bright searchlights and bullhorns ordering the crowd to disperse. But, by this time the chorus had been sung and people were leaving on their own, singing “Jingle Bells” and waving merrily at the helicopter overhead.

On a serious note, the impact of closing the mall must have been particularly hard for store-owners who were just recently able to re-open after the Galleria fire.

Ask Office Michelle - Airsoft Guns in Sacramento

2010-12-20T01:41:12Z

Hi Office Michelle,

I’m not sure if this is the right place to ask, but I think it is smart for me to ask and not get to any trouble. I am thinking about buying an airsoft gun. I think going to the shooting range is expensive and paintballing is also expensive. My question is where are you limited to shooting one. I know the obvious public places is out of question. I tried looking up any laws and couldn’t find any. my dad is even worried about shooting it in my own backyard. Would you be able to help with this.

Thanks
Brandon

Dear Brandon,

Let me just say that it is not illegal in California to buy or own an Airsoft gun if you are over the age of 18. It is, however, illegal to use one in the Sacramento city limits except at a licensed shooting range. With regards to shooting the gun in your backyard, refer to the Sacramento City Code Section 9.32.070 which states, “It is unlawful for any person to carry or use any air gun for the purpose of discharging or from which are or may be discharged bullets, shot or missiles of any kind within the city limits, except in licensed shooting galleries. (Prior code § 48.01.008).
Be mindful that there are inherent risks associated with Airsoft guns including accidents and mistaken identity by citizens who call police to tell us that they witnessed a person with a gun only to find out that it was a BB or Airsoft gun. The police don’t know this until they arrive on scene and assess the situation. Many look so realistic at first glance, that unless we see the bright orange tip, we would never be able to tell that it is a toy gun. If you are merely using the gun for target practice, remember that it is illegal to alter the gun, such as painting the orange tip black, to make it look more realistic.

You can find the full City Code, at http://www.qcode.us/codes/sacramento/. Look for Codes 9.32.070 and 9.32.090.

Thanks for writing in and your desire to do the responsible thing.

Officer Michelle

Police seek to purchase new Tasers

2010-12-14T01:18:55Z

The Sacramento Police Department will update its Taser arsenal if an ordinance banning purchases from Arizona doesn’t stop the six-figure deal.

Taser International, based in Arizona, has supplied the department with the less-lethal weaponry for nearly a decade, according to Capt. Scott LaCosse.

“They’re old, they’ve been through a lot of use, and the manufacturer is not supporting them anymore with training or updates or ability to get them serviced,” LaCosse said. “We’ve experienced some situations where they’re not working. They’re electronic devices.”

Police are asking the council to authorize not more than $440,000 to purchase 360 new Tasers, holsters and Taser cartridges, though the actual cost will be closer to $360,000, LaCosse said.

He explained that asking for the larger amount allows the department to account for unanticipated incidental costs such as variations in shipping without returning to the council for adjustments. In this case, he added, the amount to be authorized is higher due to anticipated prices coming in lower than expected.

The funding comes from “seized asset funds” – money generally collected from the sale of items confiscated during narcotics raids.

A city ordinance passed on June 15 orders that "where practicable and where there is no significant additional cost to the City, the City of Sacramento shall not enter into any new, amended, extended, or supplemental contracts to purchase or procure goods or services from any business or entity that is headquartered in Arizona," according to the staff report.

City spokeswoman Linda Tucker said police told her it would “involve a huge expense to replace (the Tasers) with a different vendor.”

LaCosse said there aren’t any other vendors who can supply products of the same type and quality.

Neither Tucker nor LaCosse speculated on what the City Council will decide Tuesday, but the item is on the consent agenda, which is typically passed in one motion without discussion.

In addition to being outdated – LaCosse said the manufacturer recommends a service life of five years – older-model Tasers are bulky and not practical for officers to wear at all times.

Sgt. Norm Leong said the older M26 Tasers are often left in vehicles, while the newer X26 models are smaller and can be worn on an officer’s belt at all times.

The department currently has both models, but pending City Council approval Tuesday night, it will turn in its 288 M26 models and replace them with 360 X26 Tasers.

“Right now, the manufacturer is offering a trade-in of $75 per unit toward a new device,” LaCosse said.

La Cosse said the 360 Tasers will be bought for $810 each, and 360 holsters will be purchased at $20 each. Belt clips for the holsters come in at $9 apiece, and the department will buy 1,800 cartridges for $37,600, and sales tax will come in at almost $30,000.

He added that all sworn officers will have access to the newer Tasers, and that access serves the public by ensuring officers have the less-lethal option of stopping someone at all times.

LaCosse said Tasers have been shown to reduce injuries by stopping violent suspects without officers “getting into wrestling matches that lead to a lot of injuries.”

Photos of the X26 Taser courtesy Taser International, Inc.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Ask Officer Michelle - Citizen Drives Drunk to Get More Beer

2010-12-13T05:03:41Z

Hello Officer Michelle,

My concern is about a neighbor across the street. I frequently see him outside on his driveway, drinking beer and playing loud music with friends. I’m not shy to ask them to lower the volume and most times they comply.

The issue I want to address is that they drive to the liquor store to get more alcohol when I know fully well that they have exceeded the legal alcohol limit based on the number of empty cans that strewn the driveway. Is this something I should report to the police? If so, how would I go about reporting a drunk driver if I do not know their location after they drive away from their home and when they return in only 15 minutes?

Dear Cogsboy,

Currently, there are no laws or city codes that prohibit people from drinking alcohol outside on their own private property unless they are sitting in a vehicle, providing alcohol to minors, or venturing out onto the sidewalk or street. California Penal Code Section 647f deals with people who are intoxicated in public and basically states that anyone who is found in any public place under the influence of intoxicating liquor, or controlled substance in a condition that he or she is unable to exercise care for his or her own safety, or the safety of others, or by reason of his or her being under the influence interferes with or obstructs or prevents the free use of any street, sidewalk, or other public way is in violation of this code.

You can call us out on the noise complaint. It is a lower priority call, but we responded to these calls. We advise the party to turn down the music and give them a warning. If we have to return they can be cited for the noise complaint. If you suspect that your neighbor is intoxicated and driving, what you would want to do is to call 911, and tell the dispatcher what transpired, provide them with a physical description of the driver, and the vehicle, including the license plate number, and the last direction the vehicle traveled. This way they can broadcast the description out to units. The units in the area can check it out and stop the vehicle. It won’t hurt to call, and being called to these types of incidents is our job. You could save someone’s life. Statistics show that most vehicle accidents occur within three miles of your home. Couple that with alcohol, and it is a recipe for disaster. If this guy has done this in the past and continues to drive, it is only a matter of time before he hurts someone.

Take care,

Officer Michelle

Arrest Made in Downtown Gang Shooting

2010-12-08T22:11:18Z

The Sacramento Police Department has arrested a suspect responsible for a shooting that injured a 21-year-old man and a 10-year-old boy.

On November 26, 2010, the two victims were walking to Panda Express in the shopping complex located on 19th and S Street. Two suspects that were also walking in the area got into a verbal confrontation with the victims over gang affiliation. One of the suspects, a 16-year-old male Hispanic, pulled out a gun and shot at the 21-year-old. The shooting resulted in both the 21-year-old and a 10-year-old being shot. Both victims received non-life threatening injuries.

Through a tip, detectives were able to identify the involved subjects and on December 7, 2010, they arrested the 16-year-old suspect without incident. The juvenile suspect will be facing charges of attempt murder, possession of a firearm by a minor with a gang enhancement.

This shooting is a reminder that our community is facing serious challenges with youth involved in gangs. The Police Department is actively trying to curtail gang violence with programs like Cease Fire but we can’t do it alone and continue to need the community’s support.

Police working on surveillance system

2010-12-05T22:49:21Z

The Sacramento Police Department is moving forward with plans to set up security cameras in multiple locations in the city by May 2011. However, the number of cameras the department plans to use and where they will be placed is unclear.

In April 2009, the department announced it would use $615,000 in federal Homeland Security grant funding to purchase a surveillance equipment package. The deadline for the department to buy and put the surveillance equipment into effect is next May, according to department spokesman Konrad von Schoech.

“Equipment has to be purchased and operational by May 2011, but some equipment will be operational before that date,” von Schoech wrote in an e-mail.

The department is making some headway on its plans. The City Council last week decided on a vendor, Southern California-based Absolute Surveillance, for three surveillance trailers. About $245,000 of the Homeland Security grant funding covers the trailers, according to a Nov. 30 city report.

“The camera trailer is intended to be used as a mobile video recording system where a permanent camera system is unable or undesirable to be installed,” von Schoech explained. “The deployment is usually for a short duration, just a few weeks of remote monitoring. There will be one surveillance trailer assigned to each substation.”

He further said that the department will use the camera trailers in the areas of the city’s three substations, which are located in the northern, central and southern parts of the city.

The department has some ideas for where it wants to place fixed cameras, but von Schoech said the department is not elaborating on those ideas because they are not final.

“Some locations have been identified, but not finalized,” he said. “The locations were based upon input from the area captains with input from the City Council person’s office in each district, past crime statistics and current crime trends.”

The Sacramento Press asked von Schoech to describe the process for how the locations will be selected. “There are many factors that will determine where the cameras will be placed,” he responded. “Among those factors are crime rates, crime trends, special events and areas that may present a threat to public safety. The fixed cameras will be placed based upon recommendations from City Council, the Police Department, and the availability of existing infrastructure.”

At this point, it is unknown how many fixed cameras the department intends to use. When the department announced the grant in April 2009, it said it wanted 32 security cameras to be part of the surveillance package. The police department’s request to the state for the federal grant funding also mentioned 32 cameras.

But the department is no longer saying it will use 32 cameras. Spokesman von Schoech said that he could not provide a specific number for the cameras, saying that the number will depend on many factors, including cost.

Meanwhile, the American Civil Liberties Union of Sacramento maintains its position that the cameras represent a privacy violation. The group protested the department’s plans in 2009.

“The ACLU wants Americans to have their privacy respected,” said Debra Reiger, chair of the local chapter.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Tips for deterring bicycle thieves

2010-12-05T16:54:50Z

Bicycle theft in Sacramento’s central city is an ongoing problem, but cyclists can take steps to minimize their chances of becoming victims.

“People come in here every day telling me their bikes got stolen,” said Simon Garcia, assistant manager of City Bicycle Works at 2419 K St. “Every day. I’m not exaggerating.”

The obvious tip for keeping a bike from being stolen is to lock it up, but it isn’t that simple, according to Garcia.

“I consider all locks deterrents,” he said. “(But) if someone wants the bike, the lock won’t stop them.”

Having said that, he added that some locks are better than others, and U-locks like the ones pictured below are the best easily transportable locks for securing a bicycle.

He said a 50-pound steel chain and lock would be stronger, but they are not easy to carry around.

Midtown resident and cyclist Caitlin Mee said some U-locks with cylindrical key holes can be opened by thieves armed with Bic pens.

Garcia said that was a problem on some brands of U-lock produced about five years ago, but new locks are built more sturdily.

“A quality lock these days will not have that problem,” he said.

U-locks cost between $40 and $45 at his shop, Garcia said, and cheaper locks are available as well.

Cable locks are less expensive, running close to half the cost, but Garcia said they are more susceptible to thieves armed with bolt cutters or even a really good pair of scissors.

“With the right tools, anybody is going to cut through it,” he said.

Even bicycle racks at City Hall recommend against using cable locks, as pictured below.

With all locks being deterrents to theft, Garcia said there are ways to make bikes less-appealing targets to criminals.

Those include locks that bind the seat to the frame and pins that go through the wheels and lock so thieves can’t undo a quick-release mount and walk off with a piece of the bicycle.

“The key is to lock as much as you can,” he said. “Run (the lock) through the frame and the rear wheel, and if you can, take the front wheel off and run the lock through it as well.”

According to police, there are other steps to take that will help prevent bicycles from being stolen.

“Try not to leave it in areas that aren’t well-traveled,” said Sgt. Norm Leong, spokesman for the Sacramento Police Department. “Try to keep sight of it as much as possible. The reality is that if someone wants to get it and they’re good enough, they’re going to get it.”

Garcia recommended taking bicycles inside overnight.

“If you can avoid leaving it outside overnight, the chances of a theft go down drastically,” he said.

Leong said bicycle theft is a crime of opportunity, and if your bicycle is stolen, he said it is important to file a police report either online or at one of the police stations so your bicycle can be returned if it is recovered by police.

When police stop bicyclists, they check the serial numbers to see if it has been stolen just like they do for license plates on cars at vehicle stops.

In that case, Leong said, police will contact the rightful owner.

If a report has not been filed, but police determine the bicycles were stolen, the recovered bikes go to one of several places.

“We have programs that help disadvantaged kids within city schools,” Leong said. “Some go to auction, some go within the department for various functions, and some go to other cities’ departments that can use bikes. Others go to the Bike Kitchen as donations.”

Garcia added that though bicycle theft is a problem, it shouldn’t stop people from having them.

“It’s a good sport,” he said. “Don’t let the evil out there deter you.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Facebook page shines light on Midtown bike thefts

2010-11-29T08:10:32Z

Midtown resident Sheila Wages treasured her brand-new bicycle – a seven-speed cruiser her boyfriend had put a lot of effort into picking out for her. She kept it in her back yard, from where it was stolen in August.

Wages started a Facebook page for stolen Midtown bicycles within the next couple of days.

“It started out as a joke,” she said, adding that the Facebook page has since taken on a life of its own, where users will post details of their stolen bikes and possible places to look out for them.

“When my bike was first stolen, I didn’t realize what an epidemic (bike theft) was,” Wages said. “You’ve got to lock them up and take them inside if you can.”

According to Wages, one of the posters on the Facebook page had locked a bike up to a tree, which thieves cut down to steal the bike.

“I didn’t know how serious it would be when I started it,” Wages said of the Facebook page. “At the time, I was just messing around and posting pics and info.”

Recently, the site, which currently has more than 230 friends, started seeing a lot more activity, and Wages said she is considering starting a Facebook Groups page as well as a photo gallery of stolen bicycles, and generally working as something of a virtual neighborhood watch program.

“It might take quite a bit of work,” she said. “I’m open to suggestions on what people would like to see.”

Midtown resident Caitlin Mee had a bicycle stolen several years ago, and she takes every precaution to keep her current bicycle from being stolen.

“I had a big, heavy beach cruiser I left locked up at a Midtown business when I was living in Natomas,” she said.

The shop was broken into, and her bike was stolen. She said it had been given to her by her dad, and it had sentimental value.

“I really would like to still have it,” she said.

Her current bicycle used to belong to her grandfather, and she said she rides it to Davis for exercise, but she is always afraid it will be stolen.

“I don’t take it anywhere unless I can keep it in my sight,” she said. “It’s the most frustrating thing. This is a lot of people’s mode of transportation. It’s like getting your car stolen.”

Mee said she likes the “whole neighborhood watch feel” of the Facebook page, and she thinks it’s a good way to spread awareness of the problem and help serve as a deterrent to would-be thieves.

“I still haven’t given up hope on finding my bike,” she said.

Wages and Mee both filed police reports when their bicycles were stolen, and Mee said she is frustrated with the lack of police investigation into the issue.

Sacramento Police Department spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong said Sacramento has high levels of crime, and other crimes such as murder, felony assault, auto theft and robberies take priority.

He added, however, that police do what they can to stop the crimes, and the department uses “bait” bikes to catch thieves as well as public outreach to help owners protect their property.

“We had thefts happening at sheds in East Sac, and we took a proactive approach,” Leong said. “We went out and showed people their bike’s serial number and did engravings for them.”

Leong said that filing a police report without knowing the bicycle’s serial number or being able to provide a description that makes a bicycle unique makes it very difficult for police to solve the crimes.

Serial numbers are typically located on the bottom of the bicycle’s frame and can be read when the bike is turned upside down, he said.

When cyclists are stopped by police, officers run the serial numbers through computers the same way license plates are during a vehicle stop. If the serial number shows it is stolen, police contact the rightful owner.

“We get a lot of people saying, ‘I know it’s my bike,’ but if they can’t prove it, there’s nothing we can do,” Leong said.

Check back next week with The Sacramento Press for an upcoming article on ways to protect your bicycle from theft and what to do if your bicycle is stolen.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Dead Rock Stars

2010-11-04T10:30:40Z

This Halloween night I did not buy candy for the little trick or treaters. Actually I was not even home to hand out treats instead I went over to Old Ironsides on 10th and S Streets for an evening of music. Old Ironsides hosted their annual Dead Rock Stars Show. It was billed as an evening where musical guests played selections from their favorite musicians, the dead ones.

Jerry Perry, the master of ceremonies for the show, started off by attempting to perform a standup comic routine. Dressed up in Halloween costume he was assisted by his wife dressed up as Poison Ivy. Jerry was dressed up as D. Weed. In regards to his comic routine, one guest put it in perspective by saying “I hope he doesn’t give up his regular job for this.” I agreed. During the evening, and in between acts, Jerry entertained the audience and asked trivia question and also gave out fabulous prizes and introduced the acts for the evening.

Ol' Cotton Dreary started off the night with a tribute to the Doors by starting off with Maggie M'Gill. This was a great starting point for the evening’s musical entertainment. They also played Don’t Stand So Close to Me by the Police. I thought they were still all alive but maybe I missed something while taking a sip of my drink.

After a couple of more songs Perry’s alter ego came back on stage to try more of his humor but alas the Trivia Question might have been funnier (if only I could remember it).

51 Heavy got on stage fairly quickly and were set to go. Many in the audience had just finished watching the 5th game of the World Series as the Giants got one game closer to winning their first World Series in 56 years. On another screen at the Old Ironsides bar the New Orleans Saints had just beaten the Pittsburgh Steelers. Most of the people that remained after the games were there for the music but kept the bar busy.

51 Heavy started off their show with Quiet Riot’s Bang Your Head. I think they did justice to the song. They followed with Nirvana’s All Apologies giving a great rendition of the song. Never Tear Us Apart by INXS was their final song of their set. This was a great start to the musical part of the show.

Jerry Perry took the stage as 51 Heavy was putting their equipment away. “Never host a gig that John Staples turned down” he said and it brought some laughter. I didn’t know what he was talking about but the look on his face made me smile. He kept trying to make people laugh but decided instead to introduce The Onlymen after a trivia question was answered and prizes were given out.

Warren Bishop on guitar and vocals, Todd Weber, playing guitar and doing vocals, Dan Eliott on bass and vocals, and Kevin Gailey on Drums took the stage as The Onlymen. Warren Bishop took to the microphone and declared, “Ladies and Gentlemen we present to you the lost Beach Boys Set”. They came on to play a set of their songs and were finishing up when I came back from the bar.

After another trivia question and prize package was given out it was time for Adrian Bourgeus and Ricky Berger to take the stage. After tuning up Adrian said he was going to do a Led Zeppelin song but we would have to have to sit through 3 ½ minutes of silence before he would do his John Bonham solo since only the drummer has died. So the Dead Rock Stars concept indicates that only one (or more) member of a band would have to be dead. In some cases the audience tried to think of what member of a band was dead. In one case some members of the audience thought Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys was dead.

Ricky and Adrian indicated they had been working on part of their gig the day before the show. I believe they started their set with a nice rendition of Handle With Care by the Traveling Wilburys. Both of them then collaborated to sing Roy Orbison’s Crying. I especially enjoyed Ricky’s tribute to Fred Rogers as she played her rendition of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood theme on the xylophone. Showing her musical talent she played the harpsichord to do a Bach piece. Adrian mentioned that he and Ricky will be playing at the Naked Lounge on November 12. They ended their set with a tribute to Alex Chilton who passed away on March 17 of this year. It didn’t seem like many people in the audience knew who he was. Their Chilton tribute was a good ending to their set for the evening.

The Jet Black Popes started their set with Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Freebird and encouraged the audience to show their lighters. I thought I saw somebody raise their iPod with a lighter app. If I was mistaken maybe that would be a good app for the iPod, who knows it could make somebody some money. They also played INXS’ Devil Inside. The Jet Black Popes finished off their set with a song I did not recognize. Mr. Perry came back on stage to introduce 2 or 3 Guys (the name of the band).

2 or 3 Guys ended up being 4 in number and started off their set with a tribute to one time Folsom (prison) resident Rick James with his song Give it to me Baby. They also included Radio Ga Ga by Queen which I hadn’t heard in years.

A Halloween costume contest followed and my favorite couple dressed up as Mario and the Princess, from Mario Brothers’ fame was eliminated and the winners ended up in a tie.

Breaking Glass turned in one of the best performances of the evening. They started by playing a tribute to the Blonde Bombshell Mick Ronson guitarist for David Bowie (and others). Ziggy Stardust which showcased Mick Ronson's great guitarist skills was the first song in their lively set. They ended their show with a tribute to John Lennon’s (and the Beatles) Helter Skelter. Breaking Glass gave a very energetic show and had quite a following at the event.

The Grand Finale for the evening came by way of I Scream on Sundae. They played a Nirvana tribute starting with Aneurysm. Their rhythmic horn section was a nice touch to this song. Their horn section is one of the things that sets this band apart from all other. Their mix goes well with the rest of the band as well as with their vocals. The whole mix tends to get people out on the dance floor. I’ve seen them perform around Sacramento and they always seem to get the audience moving to their beat.

Another Nirvana song Breed followed suit and I Scream on Sundae gave a great rendition of this song. Heart Shaped Box followed by Drain You ended their set and put an end to a great Halloween musical evening. I was exhausted at the end of their set but nowhere near as much as these guys. A grand finale indeed.

Second Saturday deemed successful

2010-10-11T05:42:52Z

Police called this month’s Second Saturday Art Walk a success, attributing that success to a heightened police presence as well as changes made by the Midtown Business Association and the city.

“We still had a shift in the crowd after the event, with them walking in circles and just hanging out, but the numbers were lower, and some of the problem groups were identified proactively by police,” said Sacramento Police Department spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong.

Approximately 80 Police Department staff – ranging from uniformed and plainclothes officers to volunteers and civilian staff – were on-hand at the event. Last month, it was 29.

“I think we balanced it with the right amount as far as what was visible,” Leong said.

In contrast to the increased number of police, the amount of event attendees was down, though Leong couldn't give estimates on numbers.

“There are slightly less people,” said MBA Operations Manager Aja Uranga-Foster, but she didn’t attribute that to fears about violence. “I think it’s because of the Crocker (opening for its members) and the Sammies. The event is more spread out.”

People interviewed by The Sacramento Press Saturday night generally said the violence didn’t deter them.

“I didn’t think twice,” said painter Chris Barnhart, who set up shop just off K Street between 20th and 21st streets. “In the early hours, there are a lot of people looking at art. We get families down here, but there’s less people this year.”

Bridgette and Marvin Maldonado said they talked about whether to come down, but in the end saw last month’s fatal shooting of a man on the Sunday morning after as an isolated event.

For many, the event is still about the arts.

“More people need to get out and paint and be creative,” said local artist Michael Sawyer. “That would provide people with something to do.”

Another local artist, Daniel Foglesong, agreed.

“We’re just here painting because we love to paint,” Foglesong said. “Most people out here on Second Saturday aren’t trying to cause problems.”

In addition to police, code enforcement officers were out, but they said their job was routine, though they noticed a smaller crowd.

“We’re just out checking for permits (for vendors and musicians), and we also carry a sound meter to make sure they aren’t too loud,” said Code Enforcement Officer Bill Hutchinson. “People have been cooperative.”

Code Enforcement Officer Julia Mason said she has friends who said they weren’t coming to the event because of fears of violence.

“Some people I talked to said ‘forget it,’ ” Mason said. “They would rather stay home and watch TV.”

Fears of violence made 17-year-old John Lamont think twice, but in the end, he came down to hang out with friends around the intersection of 20th and K streets.

“I wouldn’t want to get shot,” Lamont said. “It makes me think about who I’m out with.”

Lamont said he enjoys just being out with his friends, and planned to go home around 9:30 p.m. when the event ended so he would be home before the 10 p.m. curfew for minors.

Nai Saelee was out for a friend’s bachelorette party, and she said she wasn’t worried about gangs or violence.

“I don’t generally come out for Second Saturday, but I’m not worried,” she said.

Saturday was also the first art walk that the newly formed Lavender Angels were present for, and Director Tara Golden said having a small group of volunteers out was a good way to get a feel for the neighborhood and work out some policies.

“We’ve got a good core of dedicated people,” Golden said. “We’re hoping for more volunteers eventually.”

The Guardian Angels were also out, and Sacramento Chapter head Patrick Kent said he and his angels were making their rounds to serve as a visual deterrent to criminals.

“There’s a strong police presence,” Kent said, “but people are out here having fun. I’ve seen a couple of open containers (of alcohol), but nothing serious.”

Police did detain several people throughout the night, but Leong said none of the offenses posed a threat to the event.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

'Angels' working to keep Sacramentans safe

2010-10-07T04:51:29Z

Looking to make Sacramento a safer place after dark, two citizens' patrol groups will be out this weekend.

With their first training Wednesday night, the Lavender Angels will be joining the long-established Guardian Angels in serving as extra sets of eyes and ears for police and providing basic community services.

Now headed by the Gay and Lesbian Center, the Lavender Angels program is designed to make the Lavender Heights area anchored around 20th and K streets a safer place at night.

The intersection has a high concentration of bars and night clubs, and according to police, about 10 robberies per month are committed in Midtown against people out after dark, usually on their own in poorly lit areas.

“It’s a really awesome partnership between our community, the business community and the public safety community,” said Wendy Rae Hill of the Gay and Lesbian Center.

The Midtown Business Association is on board, as is the Sacramento Police Department.

“We’re very excited about this program,” Lt. Mike Bray said to the 15 Lavender Angels present at the training session. “Anytime we can get help doing our job ... the better. It makes your community safer and our job easier.”

Bray discussed the type of information the Lavender Angels could provide to police and gave tips on how to stay safe.

The Lavender Angels made it clear that they are not law enforcement and are mainly there to be a visual deterrence to criminals and recognizable safe contacts for anyone needing assistance.

The Lavender Angels will wear purple uniforms when they are out.

Another group of Sacramentans is part of a larger international organization – the Guardian Angels – which was established 31 years ago.

“Basically, we patrol the street to deter crime and educate people against drugs, gangs and violence,” said Patrick Kent, head of the Sacramento chapter.

Kent, who was also at the Lavender Angels training session, said he wants both groups to work in partnership, and added that he thinks the Lavender Angels program is a good idea and will keep the Guardian Angels from having to patrol the area.

“We generally will patrol once a week,” Kent said. “We don’t always do a set day, like Saturdays between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m., because if we did, then the criminal element would know when we’re out.”

Kent described his group as being “a bit more extreme” than the Lavender Angels, as Guardian Angels occasionally make citizens’ arrests.

The Guardian Angels also cover a much wider area, including patrols down Watt Avenue where drug trafficking and prostitution are problems.

"We pay attention to the news and the problem areas, and we focus our attention there," Kent said.

Their main objective, however, is still working with police and letting professional law enforcement officers handle any problems.

“Our primary goal is just a visual deterrent,” Kent said.

Both groups plan on being out for the Second Saturday Art Walk this weekend, and both groups will check in with police before their shifts.

To contact the Lavender Angels, e-mail lavender.angels@saccenter.org, and to contact the Guardian Angels, go to their website.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Ask Officer Michelle - Reporting Threatening Phone calls

2010-09-27T03:59:58Z

Posted by jamesally1

If threatening messages are coming from a person living out of state, (however they leave their name and phone number and detailed threats, and I know where they live) do I file a report with the police in my area or the area where the offender lives?

How do I get life threatening voice messages off my phone and recorded to press criminal charges against someone?

Dear jamesally1,

The biggest hurdle with most crimes is that the victim does not know who the culprit is. Since you already know the suspect by name and address, you would file a police report with our department and list them as a suspect. Our department will have to work with the outside state agency for follow up. You must be specific about the type of threat. I will tell you that the threats must be credible with a potential of immediate harm. The threats can be either verbal or written. If this is a domestic violence situation and you are fearful that your spouse may hurt you, you should file for a restraining order with Sacramento County.

I don’t know what type of telephone answering system you have. If you have a machine with a microcassette, you could call your phone and attach a microphone to a pocket recorder to copy the message. If you have a digital system or the message is on a mobile voicemail, you can download it onto a computer and copy via a CD. I hope I have been able to answer your questions. Good luck.

Officer Michelle

Sacramento might learn from Chicago events

2010-09-22T06:56:08Z

Sacramento isn't the only city grappling with violence and other problems at special events.

Chicago has had similar problems with festivals such as the Taste of Chicago, the city's biggest special event. The Taste draws about 3 million people to lakefront Grant Park for the 10-day summer festival each year.

The Camellia City can take some cues from the City of Big Shoulders. Chicago Police and the Mayor's Office of Special Events, which runs the event with help from other departments, constantly fine-tune operations for the Taste to handle problems as they emerge.

Several shootings have occurred near the Taste in the last seven years. Three teens were stabbed in a gang fight near the event on July 1, shortly after closing. In 2008, a 20-year-old was killed and three teens injured in gang shootings that broke out in the Loop as a mass of people left Grant Park after the July 3 fireworks.

"You're trying to do something nice for 99 percent of the public and that one percent just makes things difficult," said Cindy Gatziolis, spokeswoman for the Mayor’s Office of Special Events in Chicago.

Some of the Taste's problems — as well as benefits — have come from its popularity, similar to the Second Saturday Art Walk in Sacramento. On Sept. 12, a 24-year-old Sacramento man was killed and three others injured in a gang shooting after the official close of the popular monthly event, which is drawing growing crowds.

This year marked the Taste of Chicago’s 30th anniversary. The event began July 4, 1980, with 36 restaurants selling food from tents after Chicago restaurateur Arnie Morton convinced the city to close a six-block stretch of downtown's Michigan Avenue. At least 150,000 people turned out, leading the city to move the event to Grant Park the next year.

"They thought Michigan Avenue would be great, but (the Taste) was too big," Gatziolis said. "So it was a victim of its success."

Following the recent shooting, Sacramento City Councilman Steve Cohn is hosting a community forum on Second Saturday Art Walks at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Hart Senior Center, 915 27th St.

An estimated 20,000 are drawn to Midtown for Second Saturdays. The event is built around an art walk that's grown into a street festival, with musicians and DJs in parking lots and outside storefronts, sidewalk vendors selling T-shirts and jewelry, and restaurants selling food. The event's hours have been 5-10 p.m., but crowds remain longer in an area with bars, restaurants and house parties.

Responding to complaints, Sacramento Police cracked down on problems at the most recent Second Saturday. They arrested 17 minors for 10 p.m. curfew violations and took them to police headquarters until parents came. Police cited about 40 more people, including business owners, for alcohol-related violations including underage and public drinking, plus public intoxication and urination.

Now billed as the world's largest outdoor food fest, the Taste of Chicago grew to 70 restaurants, though now it is limited to 53. Free music at several stages have led to another description as “the world's largest free mosh pit.” About 300,000 people attend on busy days. Until 2010, 1 million people have gone to the Taste on July 3 for Chicago's legendary fireworks, set off above Lake Michigan next to Grant Park.

Last summer for the first time, the fireworks were held July 4th at three other lakefront locations downtown and on the North and South sides to spread out crowds, cut costs, make management easier and ease pressure on city services including police, fire and paramedics. This year, the city also closed the Taste early on July 3 — at 7 p.m., rather than 9 or 9:30 p.m.

"July 3 was often very overwhelming," Gatziolis said. "I think we decided this was too many people for one spot."

Multi-departmental meetings are held months in advance to strategize for each Taste of Chicago.

The Taste is held in a 24-square-block area centering on Grant Park between Lake Shore Drive and Michigan Avenue. Smaller cross streets are closed to cars.

For the last two summers — since the fatal shooting — the area has been fenced to create a contained area and controlled entrances, where police and private security can watch for disturbances and things that are illegal or might cause problems. Fencing has enabled police and organizers to manage the event more like a concert pavilion than open city streets, Gatziolis said.

Some bands will draw more teens or 20-somethings to the Taste. At entries, security checks bags for alcohol and illegal substances. People 21 or older get wristbands to buy beer and wine at seven booths. Security stationed near those booths guard against people buying alcohol for minors.

The Chicago Police Department's Special Events Unit creates deployment orders for city-sponsored festivals including the Taste and nearby areas as crowds leave such festivals. Special Events may employ uniformed and undercover officers from all units, including tactical officers, gang units and other specialized teams.

Officers are deployed on foot, bikes and horses. Undercover police watch for concealed weapons. Surveillance cameras are also used.

The recent violence has primarily happened after closing, when crowds dispersed on city streets or the "L," Chicago's rapid transit system. After closing, police line some streets and are dispersed around the area, while others patrol "L" trains and stations.

"The overall safety strategy for all festivals, including the Taste of Chicago, is to have a strong police presence in areas where we anticipate large crowds," said Roderick Drew, director of the Chicago Police Department's Office of News Affairs. "This includes public transit hubs and ingress and egress routes for pedestrians."

The city has inscribed all light poles in the area with numbers so safety and health incidents, which can include Chicagoans who've gotten dehydrated or too hot, can be reported and paramedics or police can respond quickly.

To combat Chicago's heat and humidity, the city sets up misting tents, and the Chicago Transit Authority brings out buses with air conditioning. Announcements are broadcast to remind people to drink plenty of water.

Mayor Richard Daley said in late August he's considering privatizing management of the Taste, music festivals and some other city services.

Chicago also hosts 200 to 300 independently organized neighborhood festivals, art fairs and music events each year. For such events, police request site and security plans, designated command posts, security guards or others assigned to monitor patron conduct, and a communications system between monitors and the command post.

Three festivals are held one June weekend in a five-block area in the Old Town neighborhood on the North Side. All three events are held in contained areas. They also keep troublemakers away by charging entrance fees in the form of $5 to $10 donations.

Adam McLain, a mortgage banker headquartered in Old Town, said he's never seen anything more than "a push or shove from drunken people" at any of the festivals he's attended annually for nearly 20 years.

"The reason why Taste of Chicago has problems is because it's free," said McLain, 47.

The Old Town Art Fair has brought artists from around the country to a historic residential district for 61 years. Using 750 resident volunteers, a neighborhood organization called the Old Town Triangle Association sets up booths, a food court, a music stage and a children's art program along four streets in a barricaded area with controlled entrances.

"It's a smaller area, but we pack them in pretty tight," said Emily Rose, general chair for the 2011 art fair. "We can't ask our whole neighborhood to shut down."

The event is built around fine art selling for $500 to $3,000 from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. to draw a crowd — 50,000 in a weekend — that wants to view and buy art or take a garden walk at 50 homes.

"There's not as much day drinking or hanging out to cause a ruckus," Rose said.

Eight off-duty, non-uniformed beat and patrol officers who know the area and the people — and who are permitted to carry guns — are hired to work at each entrance, while six others watch money and patrol. Five guard the site overnight. Association dues and fair proceeds fund the officers.

If something even looks "uncomfortable," officers can escort people out. On-duty officers are called via 911 if there's an incident or suspected incident. The fair hasn't had any violence or major problems in at least 20 years, partly because they "don't mess around" with private security guards, said Dan Baldwin, chairman for grounds and security since 1990.

"I think the word's out with the bad guys that we have real Chicago police," Baldwin said. "My advice is hire the local cops, 'cuz they know who the creeps are. Creeps get 20 feet from the gate and they see the beat cops and they don't come in."

The 36-year-old Wells Street Art Festival draws about 100,000 for art and music, as well as food and drink from booths or restaurants and bars along a six-block or half-mile commercial stretch. The fest is open until 10 p.m., with continuous music from street musicians and a main stage.

The crowd is very social, made up of people who like to hang out at Wells Street bars and restaurants. Booths sell beer and wine. Restaurants with liquor licenses must have private security during the fest.

Chicago Police provide 20 to 25 on-duty officers for the event. Organizers hire 35 more people, including undercover off-duty cops. Recent problems have included "gypsy bands" of four or five well-dressed people who employ someone to engage an artist while cash and valuables are stolen.

A few years ago, cash and jewelry were stolen from an artist's parked car a few blocks away after someone followed her from the festival, said Henry Zemola, head of Special Events Management, which manages the festival.

Affluent Wells Street borders one of Chicago's worst gang areas, connected to the Cabrini Green housing project. Known or suspected gang members will be stopped at the festival’s entrances and asked where they're going and what they're doing, which often intimidates them enough they'll leave. Police will also blatantly tail people through the fest.

"You can bring a nice audience, which we do. We still get the element of undesirables that will come," Zemola said.

The Old Town Merchants & Residents Association has 37 years of experience organizing the event and engaging residents and business owners in a give-and-take process.

“That's a lot of time to figure out what's working and what's not," said John Blick, the association’s executive director. "It's a difficult balance — because you do need the crowds and you do need the enthusiastic people."

Security may be easily overlooked or sacrificed when special events are problem-free, but good security is key to an event running smoothly, Baldwin said.

“You don't need it until something goes wrong,” he said. “What we're trying to do is have an event that’s fun for the artist, fun for the residents, and one where there's not any issues.”

Taste of Chicago photo provided by the Chicago Mayor's Office of Special Events. Old Town Art Fair photos provided by Old Town Triangle Association.

Opinion: Let's drop the ugly equivalence

2010-09-17T00:49:19Z

Let's get a couple of things straight: The shooting at 18th and J this weekend wasn't caused by Second Saturday. And it isn't going to take Second Saturday down.

The shooting was an act of violence by someone who ended up in Sacramento's central city with a grudge and a gun. Sure, they may have been drawn here by the street party atmosphere that has grown around what began as an art walk. But they might have been here on a Tuesday night as well.

Did they come to drink? Possibly. Did having a drink or two cause them to shoot at each other? That's a leap. Alcohol does not make someone a murderer.

It may, however, cause one to hurl. And the ongoing irritation of some Midtown residents with drunken young adults has led the opportunistic to link what is essentially a nuisance with…murder. This linkage is specious, and it is callous. The chorus of "I told you so’s” from some neighbors of the area has been particularly disturbing.

As a former resident of Midtown, and a current resident of the more-challenged Alkali Flat neighborhood downtown, I sympathize with those who have had to wash vomit off their sidewalks, had their fence posts or potted plants broken, or even had to shovel excrement out of their flower beds. I've done it myself. No fun.

But the aggressive exploitation of this tragedy by a handful people with an agenda has been disturbing. Let's be real: The nuisance of immature, drunken people is not comparable to an innocent young man dying in a crossfire. Those who are linking the two together for their own rhetorical gain should be ashamed of themselves.

If anything, the argument could be made that the shooting this past weekend was simply the exception that proves the rule. People got shot. The first thing I thought of was: Wow, most of the time, thousands and thousands of people come to Second Saturday and no one gets shot. And most of the 15,000-20,000 people who come don't even get drunk.

Sacramento, like most large American cities, has a gang problem. It has crime. And despite the histrionic claims of some Midtowners – one recently referred to the lovely Marshall Park area as “a war zone” – the central city actually has less crime than many outlying areas.

I've lived in the central city off and on since 1981. I have never been robbed, mugged, burgled, assaulted or otherwise accosted. I did have my car broken into once. But one friend who lives in a very nice neighborhood in South Land Park had his car broken into three times – in one year.

The snobbery of some central city residents is revealed in such circumstances: the dismissal of other Sacramentans as “suburbanites” and “douches” is just a more acceptable form of prejudice, and may masked deeper prejudices.

And it feeds a new kind of NIMBYism: Gangland slayings are too bad, but I can ignore them if they’re in South Natomas or North Sacramento; they’re tragic if they’re in my backyard.

A post-shooting blog post on sacbee.com noted the other day that statistics show that there has been no increase in crime on Second Saturdays during the last two summers. So again: the linkage of nuisances with violent crime is rhetorical rather than actual.

More police will probably help, but there were cops all over that one block of J Street Saturday night, and they couldn't stop the shooting. There was a crowd of witnesses, and they haven’t yet found the shooter.

Even if Second Saturday were shut down entirely, we'd still have occasional shootings, even in gentrified Midtown. People shoot each other. It happens. It's a crime, and it's a tragedy, but it's the way things are in gun-happy America. Putting police on every street corner and closing down every restaurant and bar at 10 p.m. isn't going to change that.

Midtown does not have a bad gang problem. What it has is a mixed-use problem. Again, like many cities, it has shops next to bars next to apartments next to houses next to hotels next to restaurants. But this is why we like such cities. This is why we like Midtown, isn't it?

Some neighbors of bars take the brunt of nuisances that are the result of drunken, rowdy behavior. And they are within their rights requesting cooperation from club owners, agitating for better street lighting from the city and working to improve their neighborhoods. Perfectly reasonable.

But you can only control the world around you so much. Things change, cities change and neighborhoods change. Most agree Midtown is changing for the better. Shops, restaurants, theaters and, yes, even bars make Midtown a more interesting, more fun and more valuable place. What it may not make it is quieter. Or cleaner.

For people who prize peace and quiet, there's always the suburbs.

Sacramento is changing from a mostly-suburban area to a real city, and we need to learn how to live real city lives, with sometimes awkward, or even challenging, encounters with people who don't share our values. We need to learn to live in a way that is not a dash between our house and our car and the office and the mall.

The young people who come into the central city to party, no matter what night of the week or month, need to learn how to behave themselves. How we can teach that, as a city, is open to debate. People drink. People misbehave. People are "douches." It's just a fact of life.

But the older, settled folks need to get a grip. Midtown Sacramento isn't what it was 10 or 15 years ago. That’s a good thing. When these bars and restaurants that are so reviled by the party-haters close down for lack of business, we'll see how well people like empty (though yes, quiet) storefronts as their neighbors.

A city is what it is. It's not about you. It’s about all of us.

And so, we will work this out together. The loudest voices will get attention, but the cooler heads will prevail. There is too much at stake, and there are many ideas being bandied about, and will continue to be, both on The Sacramento Press and at Midtown Monthly's website. Some of them are very good.

But none of those fixes would have prevented a random, gang-related shooting. Life is unpredictable. Stuff happens. Sometimes, that stuff is people messing with your azaleas; sometimes, that "stuff" is someone getting shot.

And in the heated debates about this that will surely continue into this fall, I would like to encourage my neighbors to recognize the difference between the two.

Rumble in the Auditorium: Battle of the Badges

2010-08-31T01:03:55Z

Boxing returned to Sacramento Saturday night with Battle of the Badges VII, an annual charity boxing event featuring correctional officers, police officers and firefighters from the Northern California area.

Fifteen bouts of three two-minute rounds took place in front of an estimated 2,000-3,000 boxing fans at Memorial Auditorium, benefiting such charities as the Firefighters Burn Institute, Sac Fallen Officers Resource Fund, The Sacramento Sheriff’s Toy Project and Sacramento SPCA.

Some agencies represented in the matches included the Sacramento and Vallejo fire departments; the Sacramento, Davis and Woodland police departments; the California Highway Patrol and California State Prison, Sacramento.

There were 14 male bouts and one female bout. The majority of the fighters had never boxed before, but have been training for several months at places like Grimz Gym and LA Boxing.

After weigh-ins and a pre-party at Blue Cue, the prematch action began at Memorial Auditorium Saturday afternoon. Fighters were in many different states of mind as fight time drew closer. Some listened to music through headphones to calm the nerves, and others prepared their muscles by shadowboxing in front of a mirror.

After all fighters had their hands wrapped for support, a meeting backstage was held for the corners and fighters to go over the ground rules of the matches: Don’t hit boxers when they’re down, no hitting below the belt, no “rabbit punches” (hits to the back of the head), and others.

After the singing of the national anthem by Roxanne Devera and a prefright ceremony performed by the California State Prison, Sacramento, and California State University, Sacramento, Army ROTC Honor Guard, the bouts were under way.

Fighters chose the music they walked out to, and the songs were played by DJ A-1 accompanied by Justin Barnes on live drums. For those who are curious, “Gonna Fly Now,” also known as “Theme from Rocky,” was indeed chosen by one fighter, however, "Eye of the Tiger" was not.

The ready-for-action crowd erupted each time a fighter let loose a flurry of punches, as well as when fists connected hard with their intended targets – mainly faces.

The bouts were engaging for the fans, and the crowd was enticed to stay involved between rounds with the help of the Corona Ring Girls.

The event featured its share of blood, sweat and knockdowns. No one was knocked out, but there were TKOs (technical knockouts), and many fights went the distance, and the winner was decided by decision.

One of the most intense moments of the night occurred during the match between Ryan Dodd (Department of Child Support Services) and Raymond “Sugar Ray” Cancel (CSP, Sacramento).

During boxing matches, an indication is made that there are 10 seconds remaining in each round by knocking loudly on a table with a hammer or similar instrument. Saturday night, the 10-second warning was created by slapping the floor of the ring several times with a large, flat instrument.

When the 10-second warning was sounded before the end of the first round for this particular bout, a disoriented Cancel mistook this for the bell signaling the end of the round, dropped his hands and turned to walk to his corner.

His opponent, Dodd, took the opportunity to cock his right fist back and unleash a devastating, unchallenged right punch to the side of Cancel’s now-undefended head, knocking him to the floor and ending the bout with a TKO. A fair punch within the rules, it still elicited a deafening amount of boos from the crowd. Dodd was awarded the Knockout of the Night belt later in the evening.

Battle of the Badges was created in 2003 by correctional officers Israel Montes Jr. and Yvonne Vasquez of California State Prison, Sacramento, to raise money for related charities. Montes said he hopes in 2011 he can bring firefighters and policemen from New York to compete on the 10-year anniversary of 9/11.

Corona Girls model the Championship Belt at the Pre-Party event at Blue Cue.

Shawn “The Rock” Correa (California State Prison-Sacramento) receives a physical before the fights.

Ilya Bezuglov (Davis PD) stares down his opponent after their weigh-in.

Julie “The J-Cat” Williams (San Quentin)

The Championship Belt on display whets the appetites of the boxers the night before the fights.

A fighter gets his hands wrapped before his bout.

Referees go over the rules with fighters backstage at a pre-fight meeting.

Tyrome Johnson (CSP-Sacramento) listens to music in his dressing room before his fight.

Katie “Pacwoman” Hartwig (Sacramento Sheriff ‘s Dept)

Memorial Auditorium

Matt Jameson (Woodland PD), left, appears to dodge a blow from Noel Montes (California Correctional Peace Officers Association).

Corona Ring Girl

One of the judges waits to hand in a decision to the referee.

Cain "The Brawler" Bramasco (Deuel Vocational Institute-Tracy) is victorious over Craig "Ramblin" Hamblin (CSP-Sacramento).

Shawn “The Rock” Correa (CSP-Sacramento), foreground, gets a ten count from the referee after being knocked down by Rich De Los Cientos (Sacramento Sheriff’s Dept).

Before intermission a $10,000 check was presented to the Firefighters Burn Institute.

Tyrome Johnson (CSP-Sacramento), left, takes a blow from James Smith (CHP).

A fighter rests in his corner before the next round begins.

Ralph “Big Nasty” Heredia (CSP-Sacramento), left, cocks a right hook for Ilya Bezuglov (Davis PD).

Julie “The J-Cat" Williams’ (San Quentin) left hook connects with her opponent, Katie “Pacwoman” Hartwig (Sacramento Sheriff’s Dept).

Hartwig gets a pep talk from her trainer between rounds.

A warm reception for Javier Banuelos (CSP-Sacramento) as he enters for his fight.

Banuelos, left, connects with his opponent Gomez’s jaw.

Master of Ceremonies Lance Corcoran

Javier Banuelos (CSP-Sacramento)

A dazed Raymond “Sugar Ray” Cancel (CSP-Sacramento) slowly gets to his feet after being knocked down by his opponent, Ryan Dodd (California Dept of Child Support Services).

A bloodied Cancel is checked by ringside physician Dr. Gary Furness after being knocked down by Ryan Dodd.

A left hook from Carlos Cabrera (Sacramento Sheriff’s Dept), foreground, glances the face of Larry “Pitbull” Fernandez (CSP-Solano) during the Main Event fight.

Cabrera, right, throws a hard right punch at Fernandez.

Cabrera, center, victor of the Main Event.

Photos: Steven Chea

Protesters shut down L Street

2010-08-18T23:59:44Z

About 20 protesters – many of whom were in wheelchairs – were arrested Wednesday afternoon after blocking L Street in front of the Capitol to protest cuts to in-home care services in the state budget.

“Those services provide the means for people to live independently and stay out of nursing homes,” said Peni Hall, who came from Berkeley to participate in the protest but who left the street before officers started making arrests.

About 40 police and CHP officers arrived at the protest, said Sgt. Norm Leong, spokesman for the Sacramento Police Department.

“We were notified of an improvised protest in the middle of L Street,” Leong said, adding that he believed the group had a permit to protest at the Capitol.

Leong said officers asked the protestors to move, and when they didn’t, they were arrested.

At press time, the 20 protesters were being processed, which Leong said would result in their being cited and released or jailed.

The fact that many were in wheelchairs hindered the process, he said.

Leong did not know exactly how long the protest went on, but he said it had been at least a couple of hours.

Officers reopened L Street at 4:15 p.m.

Hall, who sat in her motorized wheelchair with a sign reading, “Cuts Kill,” said the services currently on the chopping block include in-home care providers.

In-home care providers are instrumental in helping disabled – many of whom are elderly – live in their homes by assisting them with getting out of bed and into their wheelchairs and doing household chores throughout the day, Hall said.

“An institution costs three to five times as much as in-home care,” she said, adding that many disabled people can’t afford that, and must live with family.

Connie Barker is an in-home care provider in San Rafael, and she said it is not just her livelihood at stake, but in many cases, “the very lives of the people I care for.”

Barker said she cares for three people, and they have become friends to her.

“The whole argument behind (the cuts) is really just a travesty,” Barker said. “They say it will save money, but it’s just not true...It’s penny-wise and pound-stupid.”

Barker said the short-term cuts will lead to long-term problems.

“A lot of these people can live on their own for a week, a month, maybe a year,” Barker said, “but after that, they’ll be worse off, and possibly very sick.”

Both Leong and Hall said the protesters intended to be arrested.

“It’s the only way to get the message out,” Hall said.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Transient flees when his fire burns out of control

2010-07-28T17:37:03Z

Sacramento, CA Local transient fled the scene when his fire burned out of control Tuesday evening.

Aprox 8:30 p.m. Tuesday evening, SacCity Fire was called to a vegetation fire between the Sacramento River and the bike path off Jiboom by the water treatment plant. On arrival, firefighters found a blaze burning upsloap from the beach area toward the bike path. The fire was brought under control quickly. Witnesses in the area saw a transient leaving the scene. He's described as a white male, mid 30's to to early 40's, aprox 5'8" and dark brown shoulder length hair. He was wearing blue jeans and a small dirty red backpack. SacPD Officer Gunville and area Park Rangers had detained a couple of potential suspects, however they proved not to be the suspect and were immediately released. The suspect was last seen fleeing the area running south on the bike trail from the water treatment plant area. If you have information or see anyone in the area matching this description, you are urged to call the Sacramento Police Department or Sac City Fire.

CLICK HERE TO SEE INCIDENT VIDEO>>

Follow our SacMav News Twitter>>

DUI driver makes wrong turn onto RR tracks, UP trains delayed

2010-07-28T11:57:21Z

Midtown, Sacramento, CA An early morning, wayword, DUI driver, gets his car stuck on the tracks.

Per Sac PD at 2:11 a.m. Tuesday, they responded to a call for a vehicle stuck on the railroad tracks at the 19th and N street railroad crossing. When officers arrived, they discovered a vehicle that had made a right turn onto the railroad tracks and high centered on the tracks, delaying Union Pacific trains until 3 a.m. The driver was arrested for driving under the influence.

Follow our SacMav Breaking News Twitter

Neighborhood Disturbances – What Should You Do?

2010-07-03T23:50:20Z

Neighbors need to be aware of the fact that it’s good to call and report ANY neighborhood disturbances to the Sac PD. This keeps patrols up in our area and could reduce crime activity.

Call the Sacramento Police Department's non-emergency line at 264-5471 if ever you are bothered by unreasonable neighborhood noise, crime, or vagrants in our area. If the disturbance is of an urgent nature, dial 911 (or 916-264-5151 from your cell phone). This will help keep the Sac PD in-the-know about any inappropriate action in our area such as domestic noise, garbage or other scavenging, potential theft activity, vagrants on your property, etc. In order to keep police street patrols active, disturbances must be reported.

Remember that this is our neighborhood and it will only get better with our active voices. Please do not hesitate to report problems & speak out! This is your home and sanctuary, after all.

Braziel: I'm staying

2010-06-10T03:30:16Z

Sacramento Police Chief Rick Braziel announced Wednesday he has withdrawn his candidacy for the chief of police job in Seattle.

The 30-year veteran of the Sacramento force will get an 8 percent pay raise city officials said had been promised to him when he was hired. But Braziel said the extra $15,000 was not the deciding factor for him.

Instead, he decided that living and working in Seattle would not make him and his family happier. He was able to make the decision only after getting far enough along in the process to get to know the city of Seattle and its leaders, including Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, Braziel said.

"I'm staying here. I love the (police) organization and I love this city," he said at a City Hall press conference Wednesday afternoon.

"It goes back to, when you wake up in the morning, where are you going to be the happiest?" Braziel added. "Sacramento is a better fit for Rick Braziel."

Braziel, 50, was among three final candidates considered for the top spot with the Seattle Police Department. He met with interim City Manager Gus Vina Tuesday night to discuss staying in Sacramento. They then notified Mayor Kevin Johnson and Seattle officials about his decision.

Calling Braziel an "out-of-the-box thinker," Johnson said the city's goal now is to keep the police chief here until he retires.

"You don't want to let a good person slip away," Johnson said.

Braziel had initially been offered a 20 percent pay raise when he was promoted to police chief more than two years ago. He "voluntarily" accepted just a 12 percent raise because of the city's financial woes, with the understanding that the other 8 percent would be forthcoming, Vina said.

Braziel would have replaced former Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske, who was tapped by President Barack Obama to become director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy in 2009.

Cities from around the country have come courting Braziel and may continue to do so, Johnson said.

But Braziel said he expects to retire from the Sacramento Police Department in three to four years.

Seattle's mayor said Braziel was "a strong candidate" who has accomplished "remarkable things" in Sacramento.

"I am disappointed Sacramento Police Chief Rick Braziel withdrew his name today from consideration for our city's next police chief," McGinn said Wednesday in a prepared statement. "The people of Sacramento are lucky to have him."

Photos by Suzanne Hurt, a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Lax Oversight Creating A Boomtown For Illegal Medical Marijuana Shops

2010-05-24T22:01:16Z

Written by L.C. Linden, PublicCEO.com

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Sacramento has become a boomtown over the past year for medical marijuana dispensaries, but the influx of businesses may not be a boon to medical marijuana patients or the city in general.

"We don't want Sacramento to become like Los Angeles," which has been overwhelmed by a rampant proliferation of medical marijuana operations, said Don Johnson, director of Unity Non-Profit Collective, a dispensary with 3,100 members that opened in March 2009.

The collective, located in an industrial park off Tribute Road, sells only marijuana that is cultivated by its members and, unlike many other businesses of its ilk, scrupulously follows the state Attorney General guidelines regulating the industry, Johnson said.

Johnson eagerly welcomes regulation. He would like the city to enforce the moratorium that it passed last summer, which prohibits the establishment of new dispensaries and outlaws the expansion and relocation of existing ones. The City Council should renew the moratorium when it expires in June, he said. Enforcing the moratorium would aid law enforcement, stamp out derelict operations and curtail illegal drug dealing, he argued.

What's more, Johnson is calling on the City Council to approve an ordinance in draft form that would regulate the location and operation of the clubs. The proposed ordinance currently includes zoning limitations, keeping the businesses away from schools, parks, drug rehabilitation centers and other areas, and would impose a cap on the number of clubs at 12.

Currently, there are 39 dispensaries registered with the city of Sacramento, and the draft ordinance proposes a lottery to determine which 12 get to remain in business.

Johnson and others say Sacramento should be proactive about regulating the local dispensaries, lest the city become a hotbed of rogue clubs on par with Los Angeles.

In an effort to belatedly quell the chaos, in April the Los Angeles City Council ordered the closure of hundreds of pot clubs as of June. Only 137 will be allowed to remain in business. Consequently, Los Angeles faces an expensive backlash in the form of lawsuits from perhaps dozens of dispensaries forced to shutter.

Approximately 35 California cities, including Redding, Placerville, Citrus Heights, and Oakland, have approved ordinances regulating medical marijuana dispensaries, according to Americans for Safe Access, a nationwide medical marijuana advocacy group. Ninety-six cities in the state have passed moratoriums to date and 129 have banned the dispensaries outright, the group said.

In recent months, Johnson said, dispensaries have swarmed into Sacramento and have hung up their proverbial shingle while flaunting state and local laws and guidelines. The prospect of the cap has spurred a race among dispensaries to set up shop and make as much money as possible before being shut down.

Following state law, Johnson charges sales taxes at his dispensary, but patients have told him that other dispensaries in town do not. He has also heard that other clubs are not requiring recommendations from doctors.

As a result of shoddy practices, standards are lowered and medical marijuana patients suffer, Johnson said. He added that Unity tests all of its marijuana for active ingredients, pathogenic molds and other toxins to ensure it is safe for patients. Patients are recommended marijuana for a wide range of ailments, from insomnia to chronic pain to cancer.

Beyond his concern for the integrity of medical treatment with cannabis, Johnson admits that his competitors who don't play by the rules have affected his bottom line.

"We simply can't compete with operations that cut corners," Johnson said.

Johnson said that, partly due to the political influence of many dispensaries, the City Council is not motivated to regulate the industry-especially not until after the June 8 primary election, if not the Nov. 2 general election.

"Nobody wants to take the bull by the horns," he said. "The issue needs to be addressed and not passed off for another year. City leadership is needed now."

The Sacramento chapter of the ACLU expressed concern about limitations on the number of dispensaries, arguing the draft ordinance, as written, would "frustrate" the needs of medical marijuana patients and their caregivers.

Councilmember Steve Cohn, who represents District 3, said he is not concerned about a prevalence of dispensaries in areas like Central City, which encompasses Midtown and Downtown.

"Medical marijuana patients rely on (public) transit," he said, making it difficult for those people to visit far-flung strip malls and other outlying locations. If a cap on the number of dispensaries is eventually approved by the City Council, Cohn said, the council should devise a special use permit that would provide an exception to the 500-foot zoning rule and allow more of the businesses to locate in Central City.

With this kind of waiver, Cohn envisions the total number of dispensaries in the city exceeding 12. However, Cohn said he would not want the dispensaries in Central City to be located right next to one another. "There are limits," he said.

He said the earliest the City Council would take up the ordinance would be this summer.

Law enforcement groups such as the California Police Chiefs Association have cited increased crime near marijuana dispensaries.

Anita Gore, spokeswoman for the state Board of Equalization, said the agency collects annually between $58 million and $105 million in taxes on the sale of medical marijuana statewide. Gore explained the agency can't proffer an exact figure because many dispensaries don't register as dispensaries as such - they call themselves pharmaceutical sellers or health food stores, for example.

The recession has reinvigorated the cause of legalizing marijuana altogether, with proponents arguing that cash-starved state and local governments deserve to reap the riches of the industry through taxes. There is a marijuana legalization initiative on the November statewide ballot, and San Francisco Assemblyman Tom Ammiano has proposed complementary legislation, set to be heard in an assembly committee this fall.

L.C. Linden can be reached by contacting the editor at jspencer@publicceo.com

A Tragic End to a Former SacPD Officer

2010-05-03T00:34:31Z

I have come to the conclusion that most local new outlets do not commit enough resources to the difficult task our Sacramento Police Department faces everyday: maintaining order in a large modern city comprised of many different neighborhoods. I wouldn’t attempt to postulate if the lack of committed media resources is due to design or a natural evolution, but I have found it lacking for quite sometime, and have begun to use other methods to gain information on local Police activity. Since the first day of it’s inception I have read Sacpd.org’s Daily Activity Log. I have found it to be a fascinating read, full of stories and crimes you may not hear about on the television news. Many times I will see the a story on the Daily Activity Log regurgitated on the Sacramento Bee’s web site many hours after first appearing on Sacpd.org, only to then be copied almost verbatim on the T.V. newscast the next day. Going straight to the horses mouth, so to say, removes the filters that pick-and-choose the most sensational stories to feed to viewers, and allows me to paint a better mental picture of what our city’s fight against crime really looks like.

Another tool I’ve come to use recently is an Ipod app called “5-0 Radio Pro” which allows me to monitor the Sacramento Police Department’s main radio channel. With this tool I have heard numerous fascinating events, as they happen, live over the streaming internet feed; From DUI arrests to Domestic Disturbances, potential probation violations to all-out manhunts. I also listen to the mundane events like traffic control for weekend charity races and numerous other acts of civil service. When I hear “Air-1”, the police department’s helicopter, flying near my house, I turn on my Ipod to find out information about the situation. If I hear sirens coming from the main streets around me, usually I can follow the events as they happen, in real time. I highly recommend this app.However, reading the police blotter the day after an event and listening to the police radio from the comfort of my home is hardly the end of the story.

About a month ago I decided to take the next step and I applied for and was accepted into the Sacramento Police Ride-A-Long program. The Ride-A-Long program is pretty much just what it sounds like: for about six hours I was going to be allowed to sit in a police cruiser with an officer as he or she went about their daily business. This was to be a first-hand look at what our police force deals with regularly. I say “was” because unbenounced to me, the day I was in for was going to be anything but regular.

In the pre-dawn hours of May 1st 2010 I drove myself to the William J. Kinney Police Facility on Marysville Boulevard, the home of the North Sacramento and Natomas Police Districts. My instructions were to arrive at the facility a half an hour before the beginning of the Day Shift, which was to start at six a.m. Once greeted at the facility by an officer, I was told to wait in the roll call room to meet the officers who would be working that shift. The roll call room reminded me of a class room: bulletins on the walls with confirmed gang members mugs shots, charts and graphs displaying statistical crime data, a podium from which the shift commander would address the officers, and tables and chairs facing that direction.

As the officers arrived one by one into the roll call room, a noticeable buzz was in the air. The officers seemed to be a little preoccupied. A few started to speak about the discovery of a gun at a disturbance the night before. Another officer reaffirmed that he had completed a thorough search of the house, and that there was no gun when he searched it. Yet another deducted that the gun must have been hidden in a nearby car that remained unsearched. I was beginning to get a feel for the atmosphere of the room. I was witnessing a genuine and frank discussion of the previous nights events, and the people talking to one another seemed to show a mutual respect and level of professionalism that put me back. I don’t know what I was expected, but I was pleasantly surprised by everyone’s demeanor. Then the lieutenants walked in for the morning briefing.

The topic of the morning briefing was about an former Sacramento Police Department officer who had brandished a gun the night before. Her name was Jeanette Areiz, and in a matter of hours she would be dead at her own hand. Apparently she was arrested the day before for a number of felonies, the most important one being a 273.5, which is Domestic Violence. As the lieutenant went on, a tragic picture began to emerge. Officer Areiz retired from the force a few year prior, after a fall down a stairwell on-the-job left her permanently disabled. A disk in her lower back was injured, and she had to undergo surgery to have a titanium disk implanted. To help with the injury she was on some pretty serious pain-killers, which may-or-may-not come into factor later.

Jeanette and her domestic partner both had prior arrests for Domestic Violence on one another, and officers comments amongst themselves about the “cycle of violence” that comes with that. I felt a sense of helplessness in the officers comments when they discussed Domestic Violence. It seemed like all they could do was react to it, and that there was nothing they could do to prevent this crime. What could they do? It is not an officers job to make sure we’re all in healthy relationships. All they do is pick up the pieces when problems erupt.

After Jeanette was arrested, the lieutenant went on to say, she posted bail within a hour and made her way back home. At that time she contacted a current member of the Police Department and made suicidal threats. That officer, in fear for her friends well being, alerted the department and a call went out to do a welfare check at her residence. Officers were advised that she sounded to be under the influence of alcohol, and to approach with caution. Sure enough, when officers arrived at the scene around 10 pm the night of April 30th, Jeanette emerged from her garage with a gun to her head, and advanced on officers. I got the feeling that if not for the fact that she was ex-SacPD, she easily could have been shot right there. The officers showed an incredible amount of restraint and took their own safety into risk in efforts to defuse the situation, and retreated to fall-back positions to buy time and hopefully allow tempers to calm. Despite their best efforts, this was in vain.

Jeanette retreated to her home, and officers set up a perimeter far enough away from her house to be just out of sight. A morning shift officer took it upon himself to begin writing a warrant so Police could extract her from her home for her own well-being, and because she had committed further infractions of the law by brandishing the weapon in the presence on officers. I could tell that while the officers were worried about Jeanette’s welfare, they feared the outcome would not be favorable. As the warrant was being written, I headed off with my ride-a-long officer to relieve those who were on the perimeter from the graveyard shift. We sat for about half a hour, just out of sight of the house with five other officers nearby.

At this point I was being told over and over again that this was a big part of police work: waiting. We sat and we watched. We hoped that Jeanette was asleep in her home, possibly passed out from drink. The plan was to wait until the warrant was completed and hopefully peacefully take her into custody. I was told that it the warrant could take up to six hours to complete, and that it was going to be a boring day. That’s when Jeanette went and changed everything.

Suddenly a call came out on the radio: “Subject has come out the house with a gun.” I muttered an expletive I can’t repeat here. “Is that right now?” I asked the officer I had been sitting next to, just chatting with mere moments before about the weather and local life. “Yep.” he replied. “You better get out.” I got out of the car and he and the other cops nearby closed in on the house. Jeanette retreated inside her home. The stand-off was on.

Within what seemed like a few minutes, a flurry of police commanders, negotiators, and a SWAT team arrived. Police dogs and even a robot were on their way. A community “Club House” was commandeered and became the police’s tactical center. Everyone seemed focused on bringing the distraught woman out her home safely. Pretty soon word was spreading that she was sending text messages to her loved ones, saying that she was sorry but she “had to do this”. Officials became worried that they were not going to be able to entice her to come out and disarm. The time was about 8:15 a.m.

I have to admit, at this time I felt extremely fortunate. I had signed up for this ride-a-long to see the street work police perform in their cruisers. Instead I was treated to witness a play-by-play account of our cities finest navigate a delicate situation first hand. The coordination between the negotiating team, area commanders and SWAT was truly amazing. We should be so lucky as to have men and women such as I saw working for us in our fair city. Even as police officers would come up to me and apologize for the less-than-standard ride-a-long I was experiencing, I could not help but respond to them by thanking them for allowing me such incredible access to the inner working of a stand-off. These people had nothing to hide and it was evident by the manner they treated me and the amount of freedom they allowed me during this whole ordeal. I was in the shadow of many important figures and not once did I feel unwelcomed or like a burden. I want to thank everyone on the scene that day for that.

Unfortunately, around 11:00 am, after making contact with Jeanette via telephone a sound was heard coming from inside her home that sounded like a single gunshot. Police deployed a robot to her front door and gained entry to the residence. Upon entry the robot camera viewed everyone’s worst fear: it appeared that she was laying on floor , suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. All the efforts of the men and women that morning were in vain, as the pain of one person’s problems became too much. Although she was still alive at the time, Jeanette would die that night at the hospital. The tragic end to a surely complicated story, one that no amount of training or police hardware can prevent.

I signed up for the ride-a-long program hoping to gain further insight to my city and it’s daily tribulations. Instead I bore witness to the end of a citizens life and the amazing efforts of our police department to save it. I walked away from this experience with a deeper respect for of city’s protectors, and the comfort that they are there for us when we need them.

City of Sacramento Warns Residents and Businesses about People Impersonating Utilities Employees

2010-03-19T22:26:09Z

The Sacramento Police Department and the City of Sacramento Department of Utilities are warning residents and businesses about a man, claiming to be a City employee approaching homes in a recent water meter retrofit area and trying gain access.

Residents and businesses are warned that the City does not need to get into a home to test the water or conduct further plumbing work inside the home after a meter retrofit. Typically, City utilities employees do not need to enter into homes and if they do, they will schedule an appointment in advance.

City employees wear City of Sacramento uniforms, ID badges and drive City vehicles. Residents or businesses with questions regarding whether someone is a City employee can call the City of Sacramento Department of Utilities at 3-1-1 or 264-5011.

Residents or businesses who see anything suspicious or who are approached by someone impersonating a City employee should call the City of Sacramento Police Department at 264-5471.

CRIME ALERT: Sewer District Imposter Casing Homes- posted from EGPD Press Release

2010-03-10T18:06:04Z

(This is a direct post from the EGPD Press Release and safety information you need to be aware of)

ELK GROVE, CA – The Elk Grove police department is asking for help from the community in identifying a residential burglary suspect posing as a “sewer district” employee.

Over the last two weeks, the department has responded to three attempted residential burglaries involving an individual who has identified himself as a “sewer district” employee. The unidentified individual has been described as an Asian male adult, 5 feet 3 inches tall, 20 to 30 years of age, wearing a work vest.

In each of the attempted burglaries, the suspect approached residences and knocked on the front door. If there is no response, the suspect would then attempt to gain entry into the residence by using some type of metal pry tool to open the front door. In two cases, the owners were home and confronted the suspect by opening the front door after they heard noises. The suspect then claimed that he was a “sewer district” employee and was looking for the sewer lines. After being confronted, the imposter fled the area in a tan or orange colored Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck.

As a reminder, Sacramento Area Sewer District (SASD) employees wear blue uniforms that clearly identify them as SASD employees. In addition, SASD employees also carry identification badges that display their photos and a Sacramento Area Sewer District logo. The vehicles utilized by the Sacramento Area Sewer District are always clearly marked with the SASD logo and phone number.

Anyone with information regarding this crime is asked to call the Elk Grove Police Department Communication Center at (916) 714-5115 or Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP (4357). Callers to Crime Alert can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.00. Tips can also be sent via SMS text message by entering CRIMES (274637) on a cell phone, followed by Tip732 and the message.