Sunnyside police officers, heavily engaged in a campaign against street gangs, have for the first time, endorsed a candidate for city council.
The Sunnyside Police Officers Guild is supporting Jason Raines, a former Army officer who now teaches school.
Police Guild President Robert Layman writes: “In a community that has had a large impact from criminal organizations and actions, Jason is intent on making this a place to raise a family and be safe while doing so.”
Raines has been a consistent advocate of the newly-created “Gang Unit” and the “Gang Elimination Strategy” mapped out by top police commanders.
The two-officer Gang Unit, working with the newly-hired Crime Analyst, have made numerous arrests in its first few weeks of operation. Many of these arrests of alleged gang members involved firearms and drugs.
KCBS reports on the rapidly rising murder rate in San Jose, California. The city’s nickname is “Capital of Silicon Valley.” Households in the city have the highest disposable income in the United States for cities over 500,000. (1)
SAN JOSE (KCBS) – The homicide rate has reached a 20-year high in San Jose, and authorities point to gang activity as one reason for the soaring crime rate.
There were 20 homicides in all of 2010. Even before reaching the halfway mark of 2011, San Jose’s homicide rate had already passed that figure. Police attribute more than a dozen of the 2011 homicides in January through June to gangs.
“That’s what’s really troubling,” San Jose councilman Pete Constant reacted. “Because I believe it’s the gang-related homicides that we do have the ability to intercede and prevent if we can put enough resources on the street.”
On February 8th, Mayor Jim Restucci made a public apology to Council Member Don Vlieger in an interview televised on the local NBC affiliate. The apology came shortly after this blog published a post that was critical of some comments made by the Mayor at last Monday’s workshop meeting.
A blog reader was kind enough to Email me information related to the story that aired on the local news. As I do not generally watch much television, I was unaware of the interview. The local TV news typically does not send anyone to cover City Council meetings, so I was not actively looking for the story.
I appreciate the Mayor showing some class in making his apology. Although we do not agree on issues from time to time, I have found that he is generally responsive to his constituents. In addition, he is good at responding to questions from reporters and is usually available to answer questions from this blog.
It appears that the friction that heated up to a near boiling point at the workshop meeting has now been abated. However, the seriousness of the issues confronting the city has not. The City Council will be meeting Monday, February 14, 2011 at 6:30 PM. Please attend this meeting, and let the Council know by your presence, that you consider crime a serious enough issue to warrant immediate action.
Last night, at a Sunnyside City Council workshop, Mayor Restucci rudely belittled the work experience of a Council Member. It happened during a discussion about recommendations from the Public Safety Committee to the City Council. Pablo Garcia questioned the proposal to hire additional police officers. Don Vlieger chimed in, and mentioned that he had seven years of experience in law enforcement working specifically with gang suppression. Mr. Vlieger said that we need to strengthen the suppression side of enforcement at this time.
In this exchange, Mr. Vlieger argues for making suppression a bigger part of enforcement in Sunnyside, followed by the Mayor belittling his experience.
Mayor Restucci interjected and said “and when was that, about twenty years ago?” Mr. Vlieger replied in the affirmative, and then Mr. Restucci sneered: “Well, I want to hear from our police chief.”
Listen to this clip which runs just under two minutes:
Mr. Vlieger was the subject of a Los Angeles Times newspaper story on May 11, 1989, entititled: ‘Deputy Don’ is the first to be assigned to full-time anti-gang counseling and policing duties on campuses of the ABC Unified School District. A link to this article is at the bottom of this post.
I bring this up to point out that even though it might have been a few years ago, Mr. Vlieger was a pioneer in using both prevention and suppression in fighting gangs. Mr. Restucci’s claim to fame is that he has voted to cut police officers, and prevention, while spending $500,000 of money, not in the budget, for city attorneys in a single year. His misguided attempt to belittle Mr. Vlieger is out of line for what the City Council calls a “workshop” that is meant to facilitate discussion of issues.
While Mr. Restucci may feel that the Sunnyside Police Department does not need more officers, he should not be denigrating the relevant work experience of one of his colleagues. That was out of line, and I told the Mayor the same following the meeting. He replied saying, “I am the Mayor, I chair the meetings, and I didn’t think we needed to hear any more from him.”
The Sunnyside I-Watch has called a meeting for Monday night, 7:00 PM, at the Lutheran Church on the Hill. A flier being distributed by the group mentions that a local resident received a death threat at the local Bi-Mart parking lot on Sunday (today).
This YouTube video of a Missouri police raid has been viewed over 1.3 million times. It is also the subject of a column by Radley Balko, in the August/September 2010 edition of “reason” magazine.
A SWAT team served a drug warrant obtained after a tip from a confidential informant. Police shot and killed a family pet with children present. Afterwards, the person arrested was charged only with possession of a small amount of marijuana, which was later dropped. The arrested man did plead guilty to the charge of possession of drug paraphernalia. He paid a $300 fine.
In fairness to the police, many times drug dealers do use vicious dogs for protection. The dog shot and killed was a pit bull. Unfortunately, the animal was a mere house pet, and did not pose any real threat. In addition, a bullet ricocheted and hit the family’s other dog, a corgi. Fortunately, no one else was hurt in this incident.
The mother told Balko in an interview that she was in a bedroom reading to her child when the police entered the home. Despite police announcing themselves prior to entry, the occupants of the house were unaware of their presence until they were inside, and the shots were fired. This is also a common occurrence, as police can also exercise search warrants without announcing their presence ahead of time under different circumstances. If a suspect has a history of violent behavior, or is likely to destroy or move evidence, the police can receive permission to enter a home without knocking first.
Our local police in Sunnyside use AR-15′s, the civilian version of a military M-16 rifle. The police in this video have carbines, which are favored by many departments because of their shorter barrel. Many members of the public, myself included, are still not used to seeing “peace” officers exercise tactics like these. Perhaps that is why the video has been viewed so many times. However, this is our new reality. The situation with gangs and drugs has escalated to the point where our police must be prepared to respond like an Infantry squad, or fire team.
While some are critical of using police force, and sometimes police officers themselves, I find myself being sympathetic to their situation. They have no way of knowing what threat they will encounter when responding to a call, or when exercising a search warrant. It could just as easily have been a home with multiple armed gang members, with vicious dogs, and an ensuing gun battle.
In warfare, collateral damage sometimes occurs. In the war on drugs, it will occur as well. Until our citizens start behaving in a more civilized manner, we will continue to see an escalation of military-style police tactics employed. This is just as true in Columbia, Missouri, as it is in Sunnyside, Washington. As a former soldier, I literally hate this. However, after visiting the scene of multiple recent shootings in our town, I want to see an aggressive response on behalf of those whose neighborhoods are victimized by this senseless violence. Let the SWAT team roll.
Warning: This video is extremely violent, and has extreme language. If this were a motion picture, I would expect it to have an “R” rating.
Monday night, the Sunnyside City Council will be considering a Crime Free Rental Housing Program. According to information provided in the proposed ordinance, such crime-free housing programs exist in 43 states, and 1700 cities nationwide.
It is refreshing to see the City Council stepping up to the plate to try new things in fighting the out of control gangs, drugs, and gun crime we are facing in our city. I am sometimes asked why I am supporting this ordinance, when I generally oppose new regulations, and expansion of government. The answer is simple. The priority of our local government is public safety. Everyone has a right to be safe. This is in keeping with the belief that all of us are entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. When stray bullets are injuring innocent people, and causing property damage to neighboring residences, we have a situation where the citizens are being denied those basic rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Because these fundamental individual rights are being infringed upon, it is necessary for our local government to step in to help protect all of us. We can not allow our city to deteriorate as gangs and drug dealers increase activity in our midst. We must stand our ground, and beat them back.
The proposed program will require landlords to participate, or pay fees to the city if they choose not to. Repeated incidents of criminal activity will enable the police department to compel participation by identified problem locations. Failure to comply with the ordinance could potentially lead to fines, imprisonment, or the loss of a license to rent property in Sunnyside.
The police department will provide, free of charge, copies of incident reports to area landlords. This means that landlords will receive notification anytime police are called out to their properties. In addition, the police will also provide free background checks to landlords, for prospective tenants.
City officials are targeting gang members and drug dealers specifically in the crafting of this ordinance. However, landlords that knowingly allow criminal activity on their property may get themselves in hot water as well. In addition, tenants who allow guests to engage in unlawful gang activity, or drug dealing, may find themselves losing their place to live as well. The people signing the rental agreement will be held responsible for what goes on under the roof they are renting.
Landlords will attend training once, at least every two years, conducted by the police department. This will help strengthen the relationship between police, landlords, and tenants, in making our community a better place to live.
Wednesday night, Sunnyside residents had yet another shooting incident compliments of our local gangs. This time two people suffered injuries, one of them an innocent victim caught in the gunfire. The shooting happened on Cascade Way. The innocent victim was inside their own residence just down the street, and had stray gunfire hit their home. At one point, there were 10 law enforcement officers on the scene, as Washington State Patrol and Yakima County Deputies responded in assistance to Sunnyside Police.
A responding Sunnyside Police car inadvertently winds up inside the crime scene area that is taped off after officers determine what happened.
Sunnyside Police are continuing to investigate the scene as of 2:30 this morning. The house that was apparently targeted is known to police as a hangout for local gang members. Despite previous calls to this location, and previous arrests of gang members, it does not appear that the tenants are being evicted. In my opinion, this is yet another example of why the City Council needs to adopt the crime free rental housing ordinance that is being proposed. Irresponsible absentee landlords are contributing to this problem. Last night, an innocent person was hit by a stray bullet. We are fortunate that they did not suffer a fatal wound.
Evidence markers by vehicles on Cascade Way following the shooting incident in Village Park.
Have you had enough yet?
The City Council should not only approve the landlord ordinance, but even consider having a Special Meeting to get it passed sooner, rather than later. With three shootings in three days, our police are stretched to the breaking point.
If you have information related to this latest shooting, please call the Sunnyside Police at 509.836.6200.
Sunnyside Police Scrambling To Deal With Increasing Shootings
Monday night, there was a shooting incident at 13th Street and North Avenue, resulting in a Zillah resident being treated at our local hospital with a gun shot wound to his ankle. The so-called victim is 21 year-old Justin Cavasos. I call him a “so-called” victim, because the police are indicating that no witnesses are willing to talk about what happened. (See the Sunnyside Police Department Nixle Alert for more information.) For me, if someone fires a shot at my ass, I would want the police to go after the shooter. What about you?
Is the “victim” the same Justin Cavasos that was arrested by Toppenish Police on December 13, 2009 for unlawful possession of a firearm? See the KIMA story for info on the Toppenish Police arrest that resulted in a teen being brought up on murder charges. That incident was gang related, but the Sunnyside Police Department didn’t mention if the shooting that just took place here was gang related. What’s up guys? Too scared of the gangs to be blunt about what’s going on in our town? Maybe Justin Cavasos is just a common name for those caught up in gun crime in the Lower Valley. If this isn’t the same guy, my sincerest apologies go to the non-cooperative “victim”.
These shootings are starting to really tick me off.
Sunnyside Police Chief Ed Radder and Assistant Chief Phil Schenck Question Residents Of South Hill Apartments Following Tuesday's Shooting Incident
As if that is not enough, we had another shooting incident on Tuesday afternoon outside of the South Hill Apartments. In what appears to be another gang-related incident, two groups of folks got in an argument outside of South Hill Apartments, and someone (perhaps on a Lucky 7 provided bicycle?) upped the ante by drawing down on the others, and firing some shots. Preliminary information received by this blog is that no one was injured in the Tuesday shooting incident. However, it occurred across the street from a preschool operated by the Washington State Migrant Council. The preschool was forced to go into a lockdown. In addition, students of the Sunnyside School District use this area as a bus stop, and were getting off buses shortly after the shooting incident.
While police investigated, many children were ambling up the sidewalk to their homes in the apartments, and in nearby neighborhoods. Some told their parents that they were scared after seeing the large police presence. Is this how we want our children to grow up? Have you had enough yet?
If you are upset by events like these, and want them to stop, take some hope in upcoming actions the City Council will be considering to help our police be more effective. The City Council is due to consider a Crime Free Rental Housing ordinance at their next meeting, which will provide a way for police and landlords to act quickly following gang and drug crimes, to evict the troublemakers, before they can cause more harm. This means that gang members will potentially lose their place to live if they commit these types of acts in our city.
It is time to show some tough love, and hand out some hard discipline to those that are endangering the lives of others, and depriving us of our liberties.
The City Council should adopt this ordinance immediately, and demand tough action by police following these latest shooting incidents.
A combined team of Yakima County Sheriff’s Office personnel, with Sunnyside and Grandview police officers assisting, brought out their AR-15′s (the civilian version of a military issue M-16 rifle), in their effort to resolve a domestic violence call on Wednesday night, just outside the city limits of Sunnyside.
The Sunnyside Police Department dispatch received the call at 10:38PM on Wednesday, 5/19/2010. Sunnyside police were the closest to the scene, and responded first. Grandview police responded to assist as well.
The mobile home behind these cars was the scene of a domestic violence call that required a response from multiple law enforcement agencies.
A male at the residence had reportedly been drinking, and hitting a female in the head and face. Officers were told that he was inside the home, and that children were inside as well. The suspect did not respond to officers’ attempts to communicate. He did not come to the door when they knocked, and he did not answer a telephone that was inside. It was unknown if weapons were inside the home.
Officers attempted to talk to the suspect by approaching a window of the room where they believed he was located. Again, there was no response or communication from inside.
An ad hoc team of deputies and police officers quickly decided to force their way into the home after the woman expressed concern for the safety of the children inside. The officers picked out who would be in the lead, and stacked up on each other in a similar formation to what soldiers might use in urban combat. They established who would be supporting each other, and forced their way into the home.
Fortunately, the suspect was apprehended inside without any further problems. He did not resist the officers as they took him outside, and the children were found to be safe in another room of the home.
The name of the suspect was not made public on Thursday, as charges have not yet been filed.
Lieutenant Max James of the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office was contacted regarding this incident. I asked him why the AR-15′s were necessary in this situation. He explained that it is a higher precision weapon than the shotguns that officers carried in years past. If it had been required for officers to use their weapons, they would be more likely to hit their intended target, without having others in the home being hit as well.
For a former soldier, it was disconcerting to witness the use of long guns by local police. I have nothing but the highest respect for local law enforcement officers, and respect their desire to outfit their cars with such weaponry. Lt. James’ explanation doves-tails with what officers of the Sunnyside Police Department have told me in private conversations about why they prefer to have the AR-15′s in their cars as well.
It was fascinating to watch the officers come together and handle the situation as they did. It would be unlikely to have the same team members respond every time, due to rotation of shifts, and the different agencies involved. All of us are fortunate that the local law enforcement agencies provide effective mutual support and aid in protecting the public in the Lower Valley. Their effective teamwork keeps all of us safer.
The incident number with the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office is 10-08425
Thanks to Sunnyside Police Department Spokesperson Charlotte Hinderlider, and Lt. Max James of the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office for answering questions, and providing additional information on this incident.
Eagle Watch
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