Pomona K-9 Saves the Day

Three cheers for K-9 Officer Willow and her human partner, Officer Joe Hernandez, for tracking and finding a missing child in Fontana!

Here's a link to KTLA's story.

SeeClickFix -- Citizens Communicating to Cities

Listening to a huge backlog of podcasts, I found myself zoning out given many of the reports no longer felt timely. My ears perked up, however, as NPR's Melissa Block introduced a story about citizens using technology to communicate concerns to the city.

I'm now "watching Pomona" using a very cool service titled seeclickfix. It is available as a website and a smart phone ap. And, you can follow the service using the various social networking tools like Twitter and Facebook.

Here's how it works...

1. Residents post concerns--and photographs, when available--about the city to the site. The more specific the better, in my humble opinion. For example, we can report a big ol' pothole at a particular intersection, an out-of-commission street light in a given park, an ugly banner hanging out of a window at a specific address.

2. Other residents "vote" to indicate they, too, are concerned about the issue and would like the issue fixed. If you would like to lend your voice to the process by endorsing items for fixing of leaving comments, consider setting up an account (though it looks like you can also just enter an e-mail address -- I'm guessing the address wouldn't get displayed, but I'm not sure, hence the recommendation for an account). It looks like it is also possible to text in your vote. Ingenious.

3. Everyone keeps an eye out for the municipality to fix the concern. Once the issue is resolved (e.g., a pot hole gets filled in), users can indicate that the concern has been fixed.

4. And -- this is very cool -- once you submit an issue, the site will automatically generate a flier you can print out with the details of your concern. Talk about making things easy!

According to the NPR story, this tool has really taken off like wild fire in some areas. I'll be curious to see how well it works here in Pomona.

I'm trying to figure out how to add a tool to this blog that will allow us even easier access to voting and reporting on issues. The seeclickfix website generated the script, but I'm not sure how to get the widget to appear as a stable feature of the page (it appears below as an element within this post). Any ideas?

Four Pomona men sleeping in garage with stolen property to face burglary charges

Hoodlums from outside our city often come to Pomona to do their illegal deeds. This is, of course, is annoying. Equally annoying are those residents of Pomona who disparage our fair city by committing crime. This just in from the LA Times...

Four Pomona men sleeping in garage with stolen property to face burglary charges

Posted using ShareThis

No more "Acting"

Congratulations to Pomona's new Police Chief, David Keetle. Keetle was sworn it at this evening's City Council meeting. Celebratory cake to boot!

Prostitution in Pomona

Congrats to the Pomona Vice Squad for a successful sweep. As someone whose home looks onto east Holt, I'm very appreciative of your efforts!

From the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin:

Girl, 13, arrested in Pomona prostitution sweep

By Melissa Pinion-Whitt

Created: 08/14/2009 06:41:09 AM PDT

Nine suspected prostitutes, including a 13-year-old old girl, were arrested during a police sweep Thursday in Pomona.

The four-hour sweep took place at various locations along east and west Holt Boulevard starting at 7:30 p.m.

An undercover Pomona police officer solicited suspected prostitutes for sex acts in exchange for money.

The people arrested included women from as far away as Compton and Long Beach. They ranged in age from 13 to 46-years-old, police said.

One of the suspects was a parolee who was wanted back into custody. Police discovered one of the suspects was in possession of methamphetamine.

PD Budget Cuts

Below is an excerpt from a story by Monica Rodriguez, which appears in Thursday's Contra Costa Times. I'm curious to know how the grounding of the Pomona PD's helicopters will impact the PD's ability to police the city.

Take a look at the full story for a list of other cuts (including library cuts). The story reminds us, yet again, of the importance of buying from local businesses when possible -- sales-tax revenues matter.

[Begin quoted text]

Police: The Police Department will take one of the biggest hits in terms of personnel reductions. It will need to eliminate a total of 34 positions, 16 of which are non-sworn and 18 sworn. The 18 positions are vacant spots that will remain unfunded, but could be filled if economic conditions improve, Chamberlain said.

Among the sworn positions cut are an assistant chief post and a lieutenant in charge of internal affairs. The responsibilities would be shifted to the chief of police.

A number of the non-sworn positions have made it possible for sworn personnel to concentrate on policing activities, and losing those positions will require officers to pick up some of those tasks and give others to remaining civilian personnel, acting Police Chief Dave Keetle said.

Efforts are under way to sell the older of the department's two helicopters.

A newer air craft, which was purchased last year, would be grounded to save money, Keetle said.

Another option would be to reduce costs by having the city become part of a regional program designed to provide police helicopter services to various departments, he said.

[End quoted text]

The New Dog in Town

The Daily Bulletin shares two exciting points in this article.

#1. There's a new member of the K9 unit. Welcome, Baco! (Do we think it is a long 'a' or short 'a'?)

#2. The Fraternal Order of Eagles hosts a weekly taco night; proceeds go to support the acquisition of dogs for the K9 unit. Monday nights at 6 PM. Eagles Lodge, 954 W. Mission Blvd. Sure, twist my arm; I'll feed my face with tacos to support a good cause. I'm so there. Who's with me?

New K9 training for patrol in Pomona

Dog is company's gift Monica Rodriguez, Staff Writer Posted: 04/14/2009 12:03:05 PM PDT POMONA - Baco, the newest member of the Police Department's canine unit, is in the fourth week of training and getting ready to begin patrol duties with his handler. The 3 1/2-year-old Belgian Malinois has shown he's energetic, alert, brave and sociable with his handler, Officer Theo Joseph. "He's just shown he's going to be a very good patrol dog," Joseph said. Baco replaces Buddy, another Belgian Malinois, who was euthanized early this year after being diagnosed with cancer. Buddy's death caught everyone by surprise, said Sgt. Mike Ellis, who oversees the Police Department's canine program. Because the dog's death came suddenly, no one was able to plan for a replacement, Ellis said. The department's canines are purchased with donations from local business clubs and fraternal organizations. One such group is the Fraternal Order of the Eagles, which holds weekly taco nights to raise money to purchase dogs for the Police Department. However, none of the organizations was prepared to purchase a dog, nor was the Police Department, which has little money to spare due to budget reductions, Ellis said. With the need for a full canine-handler contingent, the Police Department approached Canidae All Pet Food Products and explained the situation. Canidae representatives listened and assisted by providing the $10,300 needed to purchase a new dog, Ellis said. "This is the first dog we've purchased," said Robert Bemis, sales manager for Canidae, though it's not the first time the firm has worked with law enforcement. The company supports some law enforcement agencies by providing food for their canine programs, Bemis said. The company's aid came at a critical time, but now the Police Department must prepare for the forthcoming retirement of another dog, Rocky. Rocky will retire in about three months after 11 years of service, Ellis said. People interested in contributing toward the purchase of Rocky's replacement can attend the Eagles' taco nights, which begin at 6 p.m. Mondays at the Eagles Lodge, 954 W. Mission Blvd. Checks can also be made out to the "Eagles K9 Fund" and mailed in care of Sgt. Mike Ellis to the Pomona Police Department, 490 W. Mission Blvd., Pomona, CA 91766. Donations will be forwarded to the Eagles. Joseph said canines are a valuable resource to officers, helping in the search for suspects, evidence and weapons. Once Joseph and Baco complete their training together they'll work in patrol for about a year. Then Baco will begin training in another field of police canine work such as narcotics searches, an area Buddy was trained in, Joseph said. The area in which Baco and Joseph will train will depend on factors that include the officer's preferences and the Police Department's needs, he said. In the meantime Joseph is looking forward to working with Baco. "I'm hoping it'll be for a long while," he said.

Web-cam crime fighting

Taking a break from my to-do list, I decided to check cnn.com. There I found an intriguing article about web-cam crime fighting. A home owner had installed a web cam at her home after the home was burglarized. One day while watching the camera feed from her workplace, she witnessed two men robbing her again (they also grabbed a snack from her fridge). She called the police and they busted the perpetrators.

Here's a community policing idea -- what if we install web cams around the city's trouble-spots and then distributed the feed via the city's web page. We could all pitch in to monitor happenings around town. Whenever a resident is curious about activity happening across the street -- say, the shadows moving in the dark over in the park after it is closed -- she or he could log onto the site and get a look. If something fishy is going on, a call could be made to dispatch.

I know, I know -- this idea sounds rather "big brother." But, if the city posted notices (e.g., Notice: This public space may be monitored by video surveillance) and the cameras focused only on public spaces, I think I'd be comfortable with the idea. I might even give up my trashy reality TV shows to watch the realities of our streets.

What do others think? What would be the hardware and software needs of something like this? Are there wireless web cams that would make it possible to move the cameras wherever they are needed? What about legality?

Pomona's Finest

I must say, with the exception of one really awkward call to dispatch a few months ago, all of my interactions with the Pomona Police Department have been tremendously positive. And now this -- an off-duty Pomona police officer tackles a man who was assaulting a woman. Thank you, dear officer, whoever you are. Just one more piece of evidence that our police officers know their stuff.

Here's the story from the Daily Bulletin:

Off-duty officer nabs suspect

Jannise Johnson, Staff Writer

Created: 04/05/2009 06:06:25 PM PDT

NORCO - An off-duty Pomona police officer tackled and detained a man after he attempted to rape a woman Saturday morning and then stabbed a retired deputy.

Riverside County Sheriff's deputies responded at 10:25 a.m. to a business in the 3900 block of California Avenue to a report of a robbery and stabbing.

When they arrived, they found a man suffering from several stab wounds to his hands and legs, according to a sheriff's news release.

That victim turned out to be a retired Orange County Sheriff's deputy who along with an off-duty Pomona police officer ran into the business to help a woman they heard screaming for help.

The incident began when the two men who were in a business next door and heard a woman screaming. They ran into the establishment and found the woman manager being assaulted by a knife-wielding man.

When they ran to assist her, the suspect turned on them.

The retired deputy was stabbed several times during a struggle, according to the release. The suspect ran from the business with the Pomona officer giving chase. He chased the suspect south on California and then west on Sixth Street where he tackled him.

He was able to hold the suspect until Riverside deputies arrived.

The suspect has been identified as Gary Michael Olson, 47, of Eastvale. He was booked into Robert Presley Detention Center on suspicion of two counts of attempted murder, one count of assault to commit rape, one count of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of burglary. He is being held in lieu of $1 million bail.

There was no information on whether the suspect knew the victim or if he is suspected in any similar incidents in the area.

Officials at the Pomona Police Department did not comment on the incident because they have not seen the sheriff's report.

However, the officer involved is a long-time veteran of the department and is assigned to the Patrol Unit, officials said.

The retired deputy was treated at a nearby hospital for his wounds Saturday and released.

Anyone with more information on this incident is asked to call Investigator Boyd at the Jurupa Valley Station at (951)955-9886.

911 wireless in Claremont

Does anyone know if we have this capability in Pomona?

Wireless 911 System Now Operational in the City of Claremont

The Claremont Police Department has been working in partnership with the State Office of Public Safety, Wireless 911 Section, and six wireless service providers to complete the Wireless 911 project in Claremont. This program was funded through a State grant obtained through the Police Department. The program was completed on March 16th, 2009.

When you dial 911 on your cell phone in the City of Claremont, the call no longer goes to the California Highway Patrol communications center; the call now goes to the Claremont Police Department communications center. However, the system is not 100% percent accurate. If the caller is calling from the City boundaries the call could be sent to a surrounding city, additionally if the caller is calling from the freeway, within the City limits, the call is directed to the California Highway Patrol.

The system will provide enhanced service to the citizens and visitors to the City of Claremont. When a 911 cell phone call is made, the call is displayed on the Police Department's communications center screens, giving the cell phone caller information, as well as the latitude and longitude of the caller. This information is computer translated onto a map of the City and an icon appears showing where the caller is located. This wireless 911 system will greatly reduce the wait time for police responses within the City and enhance the availability of Police and Fire Department resources.

From the Claremont PD neighborhood e-watch.

And the "duh" award goes to...

So let me get this straight: Group A provides its address to Couple B so Couple B can come by (with cash?) to purchase jewelry from Group A. Group A robs Couple B. Couple B provides Group A's address to the police. And...drum roll...police find Couple B's stolen property at the address. Isn't there an award of some sort for criminals who demonstrate a decided lack of forethought?

From KCAL News:

"Police are searching for a man suspected of robbing two Perris residents at gunpoint in Pomona Sunday afternoon authorities said.

"The 44-year-old man and a 38-year-old woman were robbed in the 1200 block of West Mission Boulevard about 3:30 p.m. Sunday, said Pomona police Lt. Paul Hitt.

"The pair went to the location to buy jewelry from a potential seller, Hitt said.

"The victims gave police a description of the suspects and the address of an apartment building in the 1500 block of West Mission Boulevard.

"When officers arrived at the location, they found two men and a woman matching the description of the robbers and took Ronald Chavez, 41, Pedro Reyes, 33, and Omara Bautista, 29 into custody, Hitt said.

"During a search of the location, police found the victims' stolen property, Hitt said.

"A fourth suspect, described as an older man, was still at large, Hitt said
early Monday.

"Anyone with information about the robbers call Pomona police at (909) 620-2156."

Sad and scary news

The LA Times reports:

Two Gas Company Workers Found Shot to Death

One of the victims was a resident of Pomona (300 block of East La Verne). The other victim was a resident of Anaheim. My heart goes out to the families of the victims.

UPDATE: Suspected gunman in the two shootings shoots himself. See the LA Times story here.