Dear City Council Members, Commission Members, City Manager, and Others,

Thank you for your continued interest in, and commitment to, public safety in Richmond.  Despite a busy first quarter of the year, the Department is ready for the warmer weather as well as being prepared for several important festivals in the community, like Cinco de Mayo and Juneteenth.  What follows are summaries of some the activities and calls for service officers have recently handled—as well as information on how we are dealing with spikes in gang violence.  Hopefully you find this information useful.  Please feel free to share it with others who might be interested in the Police Department.  As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.

Chief Chris Magnus  

Monday, April 23, 2012, 8:10 a.m., 6th St. & Chanslor--Officers responded to Lincoln Elementary School for an auto/pedestrian collision involving a seven year old victim. Upon arrival, Officers Baggett, Sanchez, and Kaiser learned that the victim was in stable condition with minor injuries.  Officers were originally told the driver of the involved vehicle had fled the area.  The officers quickly gathered information at the scene and broadcast a possible vehicle description.
            Because school was not yet in session, there were a large number of students and parents present at the scene of the accident. The officers handled the chaotic scene professionally and with compassion for the traumatized students. The involved driver returned to the scene and she was positively identified.  The investigation revealed that the parent of the victim let the child out of his vehicle, causing the child to cross the street unsupervised.
            In speaking with the principal of the school, it was determined that this unsafe practice routinely occurs when parents are dropping off children in the morning.  Officer Sanchez volunteered to work with the school faculty and create an informational bulletin to be distributed thru the school to parents to warn them of this unsafe practice.  Officer Baggett is completing the investigation.

Central District Substation Update:  We occasionally are asked about what level of use our substations receive from the public.  Captain Gagan supplied the following update on community groups and organizations that utilize the Central District Substation, located in the Iron Triangle at 1000 Macdonald Ave.:
·         Building Blocks for Kids (BBK)—planning for 2nd Annual Bicycle Fiesta, held job interviews for potential employees, conducted Community Health and Mobility Program
·         Alliance for Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE)—planned community events around the issue of preventing foreclosures
·         Contra Costa Interfaith Supporting Community Organization (CCISCO)—organized a block clean-up, conducted Safe Returns outreach, met to review and provide feedback about the Police Department’s proposed tow policy
·         St. Mark’s Church—organized a march to Sacramento related to proposed cuts to the State Education budget
·         Richmond Main Street Initiative—numerous meetings related to cleaning up the lower Macdonald Corridor
·         Urban Tilth—meetings to incorporate Community Gardens for probationary community service, discussions about increasing availability of healthy foods for children
·         Richmond Progressive Alliance—meetings to discuss community issues
·         Eastbay Center for the Performing Arts
·         Iron Triangle Neighborhood Council—event planning meetings and dedicated space for files/records
·         Bay Area Legal Aid—meetings with clients
·         Pogo Park—planning meetings
·         Richmond Spokes
·         The California Endowment
·         YES

Juneteenth Events in Richmond Approaching Soon!--Juneteenth is only a short time away! Mark your calendars and make sure you let your friends know about Richmond’s cultural festival of this event that shares history, community information, and art with Richmond as well as the broader community.  
            Juneteenth commemorates the ending of slavery in the U.S. and celebrates the unique contributions of African-Americans as well as the resiliency of the African-American spirit over oppression.  It promotes a message of hope in the face of economic and social adversity.  
            On June 16, the National Brotherhood Alliance and the City of Richmond honor this legacy with the Annual Juneteenth Family Parade & Festival including special guest, the father of P-funk, George Clinton.  The Richmond Police Department is an active partner in Richmond’s Juneteenth celebration.
            As with any event of this kind, community support is needed—especially during these tough economic times.  There are several ways you can help launch a grassroots campaign to support Juneteenth:  1) Post the link below to your website; 2) Spread the word to friends and family, as well as business associates through social media and e-mail; 3) Encourage your friends and family to make a donation.  A gift of $10 or more supports the youth outreach component of Juneteenth and keeps the legacy of education and culture alive.  For more information, use this link:   https://rally.org/eastbaynhs/donate/0Tts9N7lYwY

Monday, April 22, 2012, 4:45 p.m., 1000 block of Lucas--Officers responded to the 1000 block of Lucas on the report of a group of males playing dice behind the building.  Officer Barbara and Officer Moczulski arrived and observed a group playing dice and exchanging cash.  When they approached, one 17 year-old subject stood and tried to walk away.  He was ordered to stop and was confronted by two other officers approaching from the opposite direction.  Officer Barbara detained this subject and noted the presence of marijuana in plain view on the ground around the dice game.  During a pat-search, Officer Barbara recovered a loaded .32 cal semi-auto pistol in the suspect’s waistband. Another individual was also arrested and transported to RPD for possession of marijuana.

Saturday, April 21, 2012,  5:00 a.m., 800 block of Virginia Ave.--RPD personnel responded to a report of a residential burglary in progress (reported by alert neighbors).  When officers arrived, they located a 34 year-old male standing near the victim’s residence acting as a look out for a 50 year-old male who officers located inside of the residence.  The two suspects were stealing copper pipe from inside of the residence.  Both were arrested.  Officer Andretich authored the preliminary investigation.

Saturday, April 21, 2012, 11:10 a.m., 1300 block of Coaling Ave.--Officer Barbara and Officer Radetich responded to a family fight that involved a son striking his mother.  As the 21 year-old suspect was being handcuffed, he resisted, broke free from Officer Barbara’s grasp, and lunged forward at Officer Radetich on the cluttered porch.  Officer Radetich lost his balance and fell backwards. Officer Barbara deployed his Taser to subdue Rosas. Rosas was then taken into custody.

Saturday, April 21, 2012, 3:00 p.m., Ells & Bayview—Det. Anderson and Det. Nelson (working a special Ceasefire Enforcement Operation) made a car stop on a vehicle occupied by 4 individuals. One of the passengers, a 21 year-old male, was found to have an outstanding warrant for “Felon with a Firearm” ($200K bail).  After being handcuffed, and before he could be placed into the patrol car, the suspect broke free and ran from the officers.  He didn’t get far before he was chased down by Officer Nelson and taken back into custody.  While en-route to the station, the suspect vomited in the back seat of patrol car 41.  Advanced Crime Scene Restoration responded within 30 minutes to clean the car.

Friday, April 20, 2012, 9:40 p.m., 2100 block of Nevin—Det. M. Anderson and J. Lopez were on routine patrol as a two-person unit providing violence suppression in the Central area.  They conducted a traffic stop in the 2100 block of Nevin Ave.  After pulling to the curb, the passenger jumped out of the vehicle and fled NB on 21st St. towards Barrett Ave. with a gun in his hand as Acting Sergeant J. Lopez engaged in foot pursuit.  Several RPD Units responded to assist as the suspect widened the distance between himself and Det. Lopez.  Officer Ricchiuto quickly located the suspect, who was running towards 20th St. and Barrett, and attempted to take him into custody. 
            The suspect violently resisted Officer Ricchiuto’s efforts to detain him by fighting and kicking him.  To make an arrest and control the suspect, Officer Ricchiuto gave two distraction strikes with his knee.  The suspect continued fighting until Officer Caine arrived and gave two strikes with his side-handled baton to the back of the suspect’s right thigh.  After the second strike, the suspect finally complied and was handcuffed.
            At this point, the suspect no longer had the gun in his possession.  Units at the scene conducted a perimeter-check of the path taken during the foot pursuit and a gun was found in the 400 block of 21st St. 
            Officer Ricchiuto suffered a knee injury and torn uniform pants as a result of the struggle.  Det. Anderson conducted the preliminary investigation.  Acting Sergeant Lopez completed the administrative memo in reference to the use of force and industrial injury.  Officer Ricchiuto was treated at Doctor’s hospital.  The suspect was transported separately to Doctor’s Hospital and cleared for booking at RPD Jail.

Friday, April 20, 2012, 5:00 p.m., Richmond BART Station—Macdonald Ave.—A group of 90-100 people marched down Macdonald Ave. as part of an “Occupy Earth Day” event.  Despite little advance notice and no parade permit being obtained by the organizers, the RPD Traffic Unit responded quickly and effectively.  Officers provided traffic control and assured the safety of both marchers and drivers in the area.
            These type of events provide an interesting set of challenges for a police agency.  Our Department’s philosophy and goal is to promote a safe environment for the exercise of free speech rights and peaceful protest.  At the same time, it is more difficult to facilitate events of this kind when we receive little to no advance notice, and when permits are not obtained for street closures, parades, or sound amplification. 
            The overwhelming majority of the participants at this “Occupy Earth Day” march were very cooperative, but some yelled insults and curses at the officers, while refusing to comply with simple requests like obeying traffic signals and using sidewalks in heavier traffic areas.  Our officers demonstrated good judgment in their decision not to escalate their response to any of these issues, but rather exercised patience, courtesy, and even humor when confronted with minor acts of provocation.  As a result, there were no problems, arrests, or other issues of significance associated with this event. 
            RPD’s supervisor for this event was Sgt. Ron Carmichael.  The shift Officer in Charge (OIC) was Sgt. Roger Buhlis.  Additional planning and assessment work was handled by Sgt. Joey Schlemmer.   Traffic officers included Officer Middleton, Officer Krug, Office Baggett, and Officer Mendler.  Good work by all of them.

How does RPD respond to spikes in gang violence and retaliatory shootings?  The Department is a committed partner in the Operation Ceasefire—Lifelines to Healing program that is ongoing in our city.  This initiative, based on a national best practices model for homicide reduction, focuses attention on those individuals believed to be most involved in gang-related gun violence.  Captain Anthony Williams plays a lead role representing RPD in Richmond’s Ceasefire efforts.
            Operation Ceasefire involves community organizations, the Office of Neighborhood Safety (ONS), members of the faith community, neighborhood residents, and service providers working with law enforcement to conduct “call-ins” of key high-risk individuals.  During these call-ins, young men are encouraged to stop the shootings and take advantage of programs, services, and community support to make major life changes.  They are also told there will be serious law enforcement consequences if they or their fellow gang members continue to engage in gun violence.
            Over the past several weeks, there have been a number of shooting incidents in several neighborhoods that appear to be gang related and retaliatory in nature.  The Department’s response has been immediate, focused, and effective.  For example, during just the one week period between April 15-22, a collaborative effort involving Richmond PD, CA State Parole, CC County Concord PD, Vallejo PD, Stockton PD, and Oakland PD yielded the following:
·         18 compliance checks of targeted individuals
·         12 arrests (including 2 Ceasefire participants)
·           8   firearms confiscated
·         Various amounts of cocaine and marijuana confiscated
In addition, the Department teams up detectives from our Special Investigations Section with beat officers to step up our presence in known “hot spot” locations where we believe shootings are more likely to occur.  Traffic officers, Youth Services officers, and officers from other sections of the department are deployed to make field contacts and traffic stops with the goal of intervening before violence occurs.    The incident described (above) that took place as a result of a traffic stop in the 2100 block of Nevin is an example of this sort of successful teamwork.
            There is no simple answer to gang violence in our community.  Our department recognizes that we must be focused, nimble, collaborative, and creative in dealing with this challenge.

A cautionary note about burglaries . . . There is solid data that shows residences and businesses that have been burglarized as well as their neighbors are at higher risk for future break-ins.  The reasons for this are fairly obvious when you think about it:  Criminals prefer to commit their crimes in familiar environments.  If they have already been inside or around a home or business, their “comfort level” is higher for a return visit.  In addition, thieves realize that in many cases, property they steal from a home or business is likely to be replaced.  They often figure, “Why not return for a second round of loot?”
            It’s for these reasons, the Department’s Property Crimes Unit sends out a cautionary letter to all burglary victims encouraging them to work with their beat officers and the Department’s Crime Prevention Unit to fortify their homes and businesses, as well as to set up Neighborhood Watch groups in their area.
            Property crimes are up throughout the Bay Area, probably driven in no small part by the economy.  Many of these crimes are preventable through increased vigilance, better reporting, improved lighting, and other steps that can be taken involving minimal cost and effort.  For more information or assistance, residents and business owners are urged to contact RPD’s Crime Prevention Manager, Michelle Milam at (510)620-6538 or through e-mail at mmilam@richmondpd.net.  Crime prevention information is also available on the Police Department’s website at www.richmondpd.net.    

 

Chris Magnus
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