There’s a lot of things the public doesn’t know about police officers. But if they read this column they’d know about the dire situations the officers are routinely faced with and how they courageously deal with those dilemmas on a regular basis.
But then there’s other times when they are called upon to handle matters they have no control over, where they can be totally outnumbered, and where the outcome is anyone’s guess.
And that’s handling mass demonstrations.
Even veteran officers who have been involved in just about every facet of police work imaginable have concerns when assigned to these events because policing demonstrations is a whole other ballgame.
And why? Because officers know that under these circumstances they are going to have to listen to a crowd usually demanding things the officers have no control over while sometimes the officers may actually agree with the message the demonstrators are trying to get across, but not their tactics.
Secondly, it’s dangerous and unpredictable. While the officers have a chain of command they follow, there is never anyone ‘in charge’ of the protesters so there’s no telling how long the detail may last, whether or not this is this going to be a peaceful crowd or are they going to break windows, set fires, and throw rocks and other items that could cause serious physical injury to the officers as has happened in the past.
It’s a no-win situation for officers on the front lines of a demo. They have no choice in being there.
So it would actually be in everyone’s interests if the cause of the protests could be identified and we could somehow work with our community leaders to rectify the problem before it reached the stage where it could be unmanageable and unproductive for all.
It may take a tremendous commitment on everyone’s part but President Montoya is more than up to the task of negotiating a better process and understanding with all those parties who have a vested interest in resolving whatever differences we have and that would make more sense than continuing with the status quo.
We want The City to succeed and the only way that’s going to happen is if we work together to make whatever changes need to be made and to ensure no one is left behind.
Thanks to Sean Perdomo we now know that the officers from Park Station are keeping busy even with people sheltering in place. Sean was nice enough to drop us a few copies of the outstanding work taking place in the Park District.
Seems that Officer Declan Flannery and Officer Lizeth Lopez were patrolling in the busy neighborhood of Church and Market Streets when they noticed a vehicle driving by with a tab that didn’t match what their computer information was telling them. It was only proper to assume that a quick traffic stop of the 2 aboard should be able to straighten out the confusion. Not quite. Seems that the driver of the car was on felony probation for aggravated assault out of Sacramento with a search condition. He was also driving the car for the 3rd time since his license was suspended, he had no insurance and, yes, the tab on the license did not belong to that vehicle.
It was shortly after this that Officer Jennifer Granuccci, Officer Warren Farinas, Officer Luis Gamboa, and Officer Jason Zamiga rolled by just in case and, as it turned out, it was a good thing they did.
Because Officer Flannery and Officer Lopez had initiated their towing protocol when Officer Lopez, who was performing the inventory search, came upon a fully-loaded, Glock 43 semi-automatic pistol in the front passenger area with a round in the chamber. The driver spontaneously admitted it was his gun and that he carried it for protection
. . . sorry pal, not in your job scope . . . yet.
A while later Officer Declan Flannery was working with Officer Yosul Segundo when they came upon another vehicle without plates with 2 suspicious individuals aboard trying to conceal themselves while parked in an empty lot. The officers made contact with the pair and the one subject gave a name that didn’t match all the other information he volunteered. The officers had to conduct a little deeper investigation into the mystery man and, sure enough, they located an outstanding federal arrest warrant for possession of illegal weapons that, no doubt, he “forgot” about. As soon as they informed their new federal prisoner of his pending fate he tried to run. Both officers managed to subdue him quickly and without incident.
The early line-up briefing at Bayview Station included a subject that was wanted for kidnapping, false imprisonment, domestic violence, violating a court order and a no bail warrant for a probation violation. Officer Roger Moore made note of the information and, within 2 hours had located the wanted subject and placed him under arrest.
The side story to this incident is the Captain’s Commendation prepared by Sergeant Jarrod Yee which read in part, “When Officer Moore entered the Department in 2018, I was assigned as one of his Field Training Officers. It was evident to me then that Officer Moore had a remarkable eye for recognizing criminal activity.”
Sergeant Yee continued, “I am pleased to see that this ability is still as strong as Officer Moore routinely spots wanted criminals always leading to a quick apprehension and arrest.”
Yes, Officer Moore is an extremely dedicated officer mostly because Sergeant Yee is an outstanding role model!
Last month we mentioned the fact that there is an unnecessary delay in the presentation of medals of valor within the Department. Can it be any easier than to pretty much copy what has already been documented, usually in an incident report, and submit it through channels to the Police Commission for consideration?
We don’t think so.
Take, for example, the following incident:
On November 15, 2015, an individual committed an armed robbery of the Big 5 Sporting Goods store in Daly City. The suspect drew a handgun, pointed it at the sales clerk, and demanded a shotgun and ammunition. The sales clerk, fearing for his life, complied. The suspect then left the store and drove off.
The suspect was next seen at the construction site located at St. Luke’s Hospital (3555 Cesar Chavez Street) the same day at approximately 4:00 p.m. Dispatch started receiving numerous calls from people in the area reporting that “the subject was armed with a handgun and a long gun.” One of the callers, a construction worker on site heard the suspect say, “I’m ready to die today.”
A crane operator, forced to remain in his seat with no safe route of escape, nor cover or concealment, notified Dispatch via 9-1-1 that the suspect was pointing his rifle towards the emergency room at St. Luke’s Hospital as well as other populated areas below him.
Sergeant Jeff Aloise, Officer Jeff Camilosa, Officer Andre Garza, Officer Cameron Stokes, and Officer Anthony Surhke responded to the area working with the latest information that the suspect was on the 6th floor of a building under construction – he had taken the high ground tactical advantage.
As the officers responded they clearly had sufficient time to consider the risk the suspect, armed with a long gun, posed with a potentially life-threatening situation at the scene. The incident unfolded in an active construction area adjacent to an operating hospital in a crowded, busy neighborhood, next to a major city thoroughfare (Cesar Chavez St.). Based on the suspect’s actions, his possession of 2 guns, and the reports of witnesses, the offices reasonably believed the suspect posed a threat of death or serious bodily injury to them and/others at the scene.
The officers clearly had time, knowledge and expertise to evaluate the risk that the suspect presented to their personal safety. Each of these officers decided the objective of intervening to prevent the armed subject from causing great bodily injury or death to the public was worth the risk.
In an effort to obtain this objective the officers actively sought the suspect, located him, and placed themselves in-between the suspect and the public. The officers moved as many members of the public away from the scene as they were able to do so. They took up positions close to the suspect in order to issue commands to bring the incident to a peaceful conclusion.
Unfortunately, the suspect’s actions – refusing to drop his weapon and training his weapon on the public and the officers below him, left the officers without any other options other than to neutralize the threat.
The actions of the officers were reviewed by all the necessary departments of inquiry and signed off by each one as proper.
This was a situation that could have had a much worse conclusion had it not been for the intervention of the officers, led by Sergeant Jeff Aloise.
Medals of Valor????
The incident occurred on November 15, 2015
It wasn’t submitted for consideration by the Police Commission for a Medal of Valor until April 13, 2019!!
And it’s still sitting in someone’s office . . . anyone home Commissioners?
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