SERVING OUR COMMUNITY A MONTHLYM E-NEWSLETTEREWSLETTER FROM YOUR POLICE DEPARTMENT AN ACCREDITED LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY AUGUST 2014 VOLUME VII -ISSUE 6 IT SEEMS TO BE GET- TING MORE DANGER- OUS OUT THERE It has been my privilege to lead this organization for the last 10 years. During the first five, the agency thankfully was not visited by any officer involved shooting incidents; yet in the last five years, there have been four (details of each incident are on page 2). While the crime rate plummets in Centralia (down 43% since 2005) and is declining nationwide, the instances of officer involved shootings locally and nationwide seem to be increasing. There are not nationwide statistics kept regarding officer involved shootings. The F.B.I. does keep data on law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. So while we know how many law enforcement officers are killed and assaulted each year, we only have anecdotal evidence as to total officer involved shootings. About 400 people are killed each year in "justifiable homicides" by law enforcement, according to FBI statistics. This count only includes people who were shot in the commission of a felony, and excludes individuals shot but not killed or persons who were wrongly shot by police. While overall use of force incidents by CPD officers are down (56 year to date) from 2013 (74 year to date), the incidents when firearms were displayed by officers in arrest situations as a percentage of all use of force incidents is up about 6%. Other chiefs and sheriffs have told me that the nature and aggressiveness of those being arrested is changing. Not sure if that is the reason but the number of police officers being killed in the line of duty is up significantly thus far in 2014 (see Fast Facts at right). So what happens when a Centralia Officer is involved in a shooting? We have a very transparent investigative process. First, if a CPD officer does shoot someone, that officer has committed either an assault or a homicide, depending upon the condition of the person shot. Therefore, the matter must be investigated as if it were a criminal event. That investigation must be completed and reviewed by the prosecutor before any other review of the incident is done. A police officer is like any other citizen and has rights against self incrimination, so the department must wait to question the officer as to his/her actions. If a death is involved, the criminal investigation will be conducted by an outside law enforcement agency or agencies. When the investigation is concluded, the information is forwarded to the county prosecutor for review. The county prosecutor determines if criminal charges are to be filed in the matter. If no charges are filed by the prosecutor, then that assault or homicide becomes justified under the law. If there are no criminal charges filed, then the incident is again investigated and reviewed under department use of force policies and procedures. That review board is comprised of at least two outside law enforcement command level personnel, one commander from within the CPD and one peer representative of the officer involved in the incident. That board makes their findings and a recommendation to the chief (CONTINUED - PAGE 4) Fast Facts As of June 30, 2014 Do you have a question about the law, police procedures, policing tactics? Send it in - we will pick questions e-mailed to us and provide an opinion, answer, department procedure practice, or what the law says. E-mail your question to cpd@cityofcentralia.com. Centralia Police Department PO Box 609, 118 W. Maple Street Centralia, WA 98531 www.cityofcentralia.com / cpd@cityofcentralia.com 1-800-748-6422 or 740-2726 Our Mission Work in partnership with our community to protect life and property, reduce crime, and enhance the security and quality of li fe in our city Sixty-seven law enforcement officers (64 male, 3 female) were killed in the line of duty, a 31% increase for the same time period as compared to one year ago. Firearms related incidents were the second leading cause of officer fatalities (25 officers). Officers killed in firearms related incidents was up 56% year to date compared to last year. City and County law enforcement officers accounted for 47 of the law enforcement officers killed during the first six months of this year. As in 2013, traffic related incident\ns were the leading cause of officer fatalities thus far this year with 26 officers killed, a 37% increase. In the first six months of 2014 more police officers (8) were killed in California than in any other state.
RECENT CPD OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTINGS JANUARY 25, 2010: Officer Neil Hoium responded to a suspicious person call at the Twin Star Credit Union on South Gold Street in Centralia. Upon his arrival, he approached a female indi- JULY 29, 2010: vidual standing in the doorway of the staff entrance to the facility. Officer Hoium observed that she was only partly visible, partially obscured by a partly opened door. As he approached the victim mouthed the words He s got a gun and gestured with her thumb and index finger. Officer Hoium grabbed her by the arm - and at the same time she jerked herself away from the individual holding her. Officer Hoium pulled the victim across his body while simultaneously un-holstering his sidearm. As he pulled her to his right and to his rear, the suspect presented himself in the doorway, apparently in an attempt to recapture the hostage. Upon seeing him, armed with what appeared to be a black semi-automatic handgun which the suspect was raising up, Officer Hoium fired two shots, striking the suspect twice while retreating with his rescued hostage to a position of cover. The hostage was rescued, the bank robbery foiled, and the suspect was later captured. An internal criminal review of the shooting was conducted by Centralia Police Detectives and the matter was referred to the Lewis County Prosecutor for a review of possible criminal charges. The Prosecutor advised that the shooting was justified under the law. A use of force review board was impaneled involving representatives from outside Centralia Police Department Citizens Police Academy Starts in early September 9 Weeks One Night Per Week Starts September 17 th For Information - Or to Register Call CPD @ 330.7680 Aim for perfection. You may never achieve it but along the way you will find nuggets of excellence 2 law enforcement agencies. That panel found that the officer s use of force was justified and within the policies and procedures of the department. Officer Mike Lowrey was dispatched to a call of a stolen vehicle wherein the victim was a passenger in a second vehicle which was pursuing the stolen vehicle. Officer Lowrey located the stolen and pursuing vehicles in the Edison District of Centralia. The pursuit continued into the area of L Street. At that point Lowrey s vehicle was blocking the stolen vehicle s path. As Officer Lowrey exited his patrol vehicle, the operator of the stolen vehicle accelerated and aimed the vehicle directly at the officer. The officer fired his weapon at the stolen vehicle striking it numerous times but not hitting the suspect. The vehicle was driven a few blocks away from the scene and abandoned at the Skookumchuck River, where the suspect crossed the river and fled. A CPD K-9 unit located the suspect and he was taken into custody without injury. An internal criminal review of the shooting was conducted by Centralia Police Detectives and the matter was referred to the Lewis County Prosecutor for a review of possible criminal charges. The Prosecutor advised that the shooting was justified under the law. A use of force review board was impaneled involving representatives from outside law enforcement agencies. That panel found that the officer s use of force was justified and within the policies and procedures of the department. FEBRUARY 23, 2014: Officer Tracy Murphy was on patrol in the early morning hours near a coffee shop on Mellen Street when he observed a suspicious male subject hanging around the rear of the closed establishment. Thinking that the Learn about your subject may be attempting a burglary, Officer Murphy attempted to Police Department contact him to identify the person and ascertain what he was doing at the back of a closed business during the hours of darkness. As the officer approached the suspect walked away from the building, west to a service station and then across Mellen Street into a parking lot on which a closed restaurant building was located. (CONTINUED PAGE 5)
THE DATA PAGE This page presented for those of you who love looking at the numbers We have changed the manner in which our crime data is presented. The new method provides for greater information on a greater category of criminal events in our community, as well as showing our clearance rate during the month for that specific type of crime. In each issue, we will present data from the previous month, a year to date summary, as well as a comparison to the previous calendar year to date. This will present a wider snapshot of the types of criminal activity occurring in our community. Department Category Jul 2014 YTD 2013 YTD Calls for Service and Complaints: 1969 12403 12269 Traffic Infraction Notices Issued: 64 815 800 Criminal Misdemeanor Citations Issued: 68 387 516 Felony Arrests (non warrant): 18 179 182 Warrants Served (Felony & Misdemeanor): 72 475 452 Summons Requests: 6 34 63 Juvenile Arrests and Referrals: 4 29 44 Traffic Collision Investigations and Reports: 31 232 236 Community Policing Calendar September 17: Citizen s Academy Begins Wednesdays @ 6:00pm October 20-23:Safety City November 19: Tower Crawl December TBD: Tractor Parade/Tree Lighting/ Borst Park Lights December TBD: CPOA Night Out With Santa 3
NATIONAL NIGHT OUT AGAINST CRIME On August 5th the Centralia Police Department joined in the 31st National Night Out event to raise awareness and show appreciation to our local Neighborhood Watch programs. Neighborhood Watch groups are a vital part of reducing crime in our community. Over 65% of burglaries are residential burglaries, and the majority of those occur between 10 AM and 3 PM. National Night Out is an opportunity for local law enforcement to say thank you to the diligent citizens who participate in these watch programs. To get information about starting a Neighborhood Watch group please contact Community Services Officer Allie Carr at 360-330-7680 (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1) of police who makes a determination as to if the use of force was within the policies of the department. If so, the matter is closed. If not, then a third review, called a professional standards investigation is undertaken which will end with a finding as to policy violations and discipline may be imposed against the officer. All in all, our department has a very thorough and transparent process by which such incidents are investigated. Keeping the confidence of the public as we do our job is critical to successful community policing. I just hope it is a long time until next we must deal with incidents like the two this year. 4 BELOW 100 One attempt to deal with line of duty deaths involving police officers is a risk management / safety program called Below 100. It is a nationwide training initiative and safety campaign to reduce line of duty deaths for police officers to below 100 annually. The emphasis to the training consists of five basic principles - all of which are well known to police officers: Wear your seat belt when operating your vehicle Wear your vests (ballistic all the time and when in the street right of way - reflective) Watch your speed (urgent, emergency, and pursuit modes) - including understanding when speedy responses are necessary WIN - What s Important Now - stay in the moment, do not be distracted by extraneous things Remember - Complacency Kills. Below 100 isn t about statistics. It s about each and every officer, trainer and supervisor taking individual and collective responsibility for the decisions and actions that contribute to safety. For those in a leadership position, Below 100 means supporting a culture of safety throughout your department. Make doing the right thing so ingrained in our officers so that it becomes the norm and not the exception. Just as importantly, the police administration needs to hold accountable those who stray outside what should be common sense. Below 100 is committed to providing the tools and resources required to make a culture of safety thrive throughout this department. Finally, Below 100 is a challenge that recognizes each officer death as a tragedy. It s our duty to face down death and protect the innocent when called to do so. It s a fact: Good cops will die each year. But working together and only by working together we can keep our streets and ourselves safer. All CPD Officers, regardless of rank, will attend this four hour training course and recommit to practicing sound officer safety principles on the job. I am pleased to tell you that the officers of this department have an excellent record of consistently wearing the vests, wearing the seat belts, and practicing sound tactics. But we can never be reminded of the importance of these five tenants too often.
(CONTINUED FROM PAGE TWO) As Officer Murphy approach the subject advised that he had a gun. One hand was in his pocket and the other was holding a knife. Officer Murphy called for backup and continued to follow the suspect. Officer Phil Weismiller responded and as he arrived Weismiller observed the suspect running from Murphy. Weismiller, in his vehicle, chased the suspect, and upon reaching a barricaded road, exited his patrol vehicle and continued the pursuit on foot into a low light residential housing area. As Weismiller continued the foot pursuit, the suspect ran into the front yard of a residence and ran around the corner of the house, at which time he encountered a six foot fence. Officer Weismiller was rounding the corner of the house as the suspect attempted to scale and cross over the fence. He was unable to get over the fence and he turned, facing Officer Weismiller confronting him with a knife. Officer Weismiller attempted to use verbal commands to gain compliance from the suspect but he refused to cooperate. When it became obvious that the suspect was going to assault him with the knife, Weismiller initially gave ground as the suspect took steps towards him, and when necessary, took the appropriate action to neutralize the threat. A criminal investigation of the shooting was conducted by the Region 3 Multi-jurisdictional Critical Investigations Team and the matter was referred to the Lewis County Prosecutor for a review of possible criminal charges. The Prosecutor advised that the shooting was justified under the law. A use of force review board was impaneled involving representatives from outside law enforcement agencies. That panel found that the officer s use of force was justified and within the policies and procedures of the department. JUNE 29, 2014: Officer Ruben Ramirez (partnered with K-9 Lobo) responded to a reported shoplifting incident in the 500 block of South Tower Ave. As he arrived he contacted a male and female subject across the street from the location of the incident. In the process of interviewing the male subject, Officer Ramirez recognized that the individual was possibly the person wanted for a felony assault with a cutting instrument, a crime that Ramirez had investigated three days earlier. Officer Ramirez requested a second unit and attempted to detain the subject for further investigation as to the felony assault. As he attempted to handcuff the individual a struggle ensued and a second radio call was made asking for immediate 5 assistance. As Officer Ramirez continued to struggle with the suspect and used a remote device to open his patrol vehicle and allow K-9 Lobo to assist him. Officer Ramirez ended up on the ground with the suspect and then heard a scraping sound as the suspect had his arm under his body. Officer Ramirez thought that the scraping sound might be the metal knife from the assault rubbing against the asphalt parking lot. When Ramirez looked to see what was causing the sound he observed the butt of a handgun. As the suspect drew the weapon Officer Ramirez retreated, drew his weapon and told the suspect to drop it and heard a distinct click sound. Ramirez then fired one round to neutralize the threat. A criminal investigation of the shooting was conducted by the Region 3 Multi-jurisdictional Critical Investigations Team and the matter was referred to the Lewis County Prosecutor for a review of possible criminal charges. The Prosecutor advised that the shooting was justified under the law. A use of force review board was impaneled involving representatives from outside law enforcement agencies. That panel found that the officer s use of force was justified and within the policies and procedures of the department. ----------- The only other known CPD officer involved shooting which resulted in the death of a suspect was the shooting of Michael Worthy in 1978. Worthy had escaped from prison and was a suspect in numerous armed robberies in the community. He was armed and located in the Logan District. He was shot and killed in an attempt to escape arrest. The matter was referred to the Lewis County Prosecutor for a review of possible criminal charges. The Prosecutor advised that the shooting was justified under the law. Back to School September 2nd DRIVE CAREFULLY OBEY THE SPEED LIMIT
September is Emergency Preparedness Month Since its inception in 2004, National Preparedness Month is observed each September in the United States of America. Sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) within the Department of Homeland Security, National Preparedness Month encourages Americans to take steps to prepare for emergencies in their homes, businesses, schools, and communities. As of 2009, the Citizen Corps National Survey revealed that only 57% of Americans surveyed report having supplies set aside in their homes just for disasters, and only 44% have a household emergency plan. National Preparedness Month serves to encourage individuals across the nation to take important preparedness steps including: getting an emergency supply kit, making a family emergency plan, being informed about the different emergencies that may affect them, as well as taking the necessary steps to get trained and become engaged in community preparedness and response efforts. Please review the list of items and materials shown below as a template for your own personal and family preparedness. Thank you. The bigger the man s head, the worse his headache - Persian Proverb 6