Coast to Coast: Casualties and causes
A Rialto Police Department SWAT officer was shot and killed during a raid, according to this article in the Press Enterprise.
Sergio Carrera Jr, 29, died after being shot during a raid into a residence executed by a narcotics unit.
(excerpt)
Carrera, a four-year veteran of the department, was shot about 7 a.m. along the 100 block of West Cascade Drive, a dead-end street where SWAT teams from Rialto and Colton were serving a search warrant at several residences.
"There were two big bangs and that was it. It sounded like a shootout. And then the street was flooded with cops," said Antonio Martinez, who lives a half-block away on Riverside Avenue.
The police raids began about 6:30 a.m., with police knocking down doors and putting some residents in handcuffs, said Myrtle Bush, who has lived on West Cascade for four years.
After a series of smoke bombs went off at the apartment complex, she heard two loud shots, she said.
Neighbors said a medical helicopter landed near the scene and flew the officer to a hospital. He was pronounced dead at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton.
More information on the shooting emerged as the day stretched on, with several press conferences being given by police and civic leaders on the incident.
More links on the tragic incident are located at the home page of the Press Enterprise including videos of the press conferences.
The San Bernardino Sun also did this article which includes links on the shooting.
(excerpt)
We've suffered a great loss today, not only the city of Rialto and the police department, but the community," said Capt. Raul Martinez, pausing periodically to control his emotions. "I can't put it into words. It's tragic."
A helicopter landed on Cascade Drive and transported Carerra to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, where he was
A four-year veteran Rialto Police Officer was shot and killed this morning while serving a felony narcotics search warrant, he and other members of the SWAT team were serving felony narcotics search warrants in the 100 block of Cascade Drive in Rialto, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2007. rushed into surgery. He died moments later.
The man who struggled with police was detained but not arrested. Neighbors said he lives there with a girlfriend and three kids. Though neighbors said they were surprised that police would knock on his door, some said the man's apartment was shot up early Sunday morning.
Rialto police declined to confirm or deny that the man's apartment was shot at earlier this week.
"We heard a lot of explosions and then the police swarmed," said Josophe Pruett, 46, who lives next door to where this morning's shooting occurred. "This really surprised us."
More coverage:
More links and coverage at the San Bernardino Sun this morning.
The Los Angeles Times did an updated, fairly indepth article including witness accounts inside the house where Carerra was shot.
(excerpt)
Nashalla Bell was in the house with Thomas when the shooting occurred. She said she heard the front door jiggling and was worried it was the same people who did a drive-by shooting of the house Sunday morning.
Bell woke Thomas moments before police burst through the door, she said. Her 3- and 5-year-old sons ran from the kitchen where they were getting ready to eat breakfast. She said the police ordered everyone to the floor at gunpoint.
"I couldn't see anything after that, but apparently my boyfriend got up and ran to the back and another officer went after him," she said. "I heard the shot, and I heard them say, 'Officer down.' "
Neighbors reported seeing a police officer kneeling beside Carrera, crying and embracing him.
Bell said she couldn't believe Thomas shot the officer but said he had been on guard since the drive-by shooting. "I think he probably thought the same thing I thought -- that the people who shot on Sunday was coming back," she said. "I don't think he realized it was the police."
Bell said she could not see who fired the gun or whether her boyfriend had a gun. She said police told her later they recovered firearms from the house. Martinez would not say whether Thomas was armed.
ABC-7 News
(excerpt)
A couple of members of the police department became involved in a struggle with a person that we have detained ... during the course of the struggle, one of our officers sustained a gunshot wound," Capt. Raul Martinez, of the Rialto Police Department, said.
Fellow officers and paramedics did everything possible at the scene while waiting for the sheriff's department helicopter to take the injured man to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center. But the wound proved fatal.
On Thursday afternoon, family members and a long procession of law enforcement vehicles accompanied the body to the San Bernardino County coroner's office.
The investigation into what happened is still going on. The question - did the suspect shoot the officer?
"We have not ruled out anything and that's what the investigation is all about. Until the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department shooting team determines how the actual incident occurred, we're not ruling anything out," Capt. Martinez said.
There's been speculation throughout the day that the incident may turn out to be an even more tragic incident, involving friendly fire.
Later in the day, arrest was made according to the Press Enterprise.
(excerpt)
Police Chief Mark Kling forcefully stopped those rumors at a 9 p.m. press conference in front of the Rialto police station, saying 32-year-old Jaranard Thomas, of Rialto, had been arrested on suspicion of shooting Carrera.
"There has been speculation that ... it was a case of a SWAT officer killing another SWAT officer. That's an inaccurate statement. That's inaccurate information," Kling said.
"I'm here to tell you that I am happy as police chief of this city to tell you that we have made an arrest in this case. We will do everything we can to continue this investigation, get enough evidence to bring this person to justice and we are not going to tolerate in this city any resident, let alone a police officer, that's going to be gunned down. It's not going to happen."
Rows of candles and flowers were placed on the steps of the station behind the podium where Kling spoke to about 50 members of the media, police and community members. He spoke for about two minutes and took no questions.
Community reaction in both Beaumont where Carrera was from and Rialto is here.
The Rialto Police Department has struggled in recent years, losing many of its officers including at least six to the Riverside Police Department in the turmoil of events that took place several years ago and led to the ouster of former chief, Mike Meyers and a near takeover of the department by the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. The number of officers had been three short of full strength, according to the city in recent weeks.
Regular updates through the day here and here.
Carrera memorial page is set up here.
A medical examiner in New York City ruled that the death of a retired NYPD detective was not related to toxic dust he was exposed to after the 9-11 terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, according to the Associated Press.
Still many doubts remain.
(excerpt)
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a statement that the chief medical examiner's office is independent, and that staff members there make their judgments based on medical evidence.
"Their determination in this case does nothing to change New York City's commitment to make sure that all who were affected by 9/11 get the health care they need," Bloomberg said.
The detective's father, Joseph Zadroga, said he would meet Friday with officials at the medical examiner's office.
"It's shocking. ... How can they be so callous?" Joseph Zadroga said. He said his son developed a cough in the first weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks while logging hundreds of hours cleaning up the toxic site.
"He had the acid reflux. He had short-term memory loss. ... He was on strong medications for the pain in his lungs," Zadroga said.
Michael Palladino, president of James Zadroga's union, said he was shocked that Hirsch's office would express such certainty, "when in fact they can't tell me what he died from."
"I don't trust it," Palladino said. He suggested that the letter may be related to the city's defense in a federal lawsuit accusing it of failing to adequately protect workers at the site.
The article didn't say what capacity the coroner was working under who did the analysis on Zadroga's autopsy, which is interesting given how many pending claims the city is facing on illnesses and injuries suffered by its workers at Ground Zero on and after 9-11.
The New York Daily Newswrote this article about the challenge made by a police union affiliated with the New York City Police Department against the administration of Breathalyzer tests for officers involved in onduty shootings.
(excerpt)
Patrolmen's Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch said Thursday that the 24,000-member union would challenge the sobriety tests on constitutional grounds, arguing they violate protections against unreasonable searches.
"There is no reason or justification to subject an officer who legally fires a weapon ... to the humiliation and psychological trauma of a mandatory Breathalyzer test," Lynch said in a statement.
The elections to decide which of five candidates will fill three spots on the Riverside Unified School Board actually resulted in several challengers receiving more campaign contributions than the incumbents.
I see Press Enterprise Columnist Dan Bernstein has finally met Jackie who runs a hot dog cart and offers a temporary haven for the possessions people have that aren't allowed in the courthouse.
(excerpt)
More typically, Jackie keeps an eye on nail files, hair spray and perfume (in glass, projectile bottles). "Little old ladies" have been known to surrender crochet needles. Jackie also accepts luggage. She's never been asked to care for a gun.
The executive office of the RivCo Superior Court was, well, dumbfounded to hear of this arrangement. "This is how I find out about things at the court!" said Marita Ford, the assistant exec officer.
The Sheriff's Department, which contracts with a courthouse security firm, had no idea guards outsourced custody to hot-dog carts. But when it found out Thursday, whammo!
"I told the (guard) supervisors to stop referring people there," said Capt. Lee Wagner. "These items are prohibited and sometimes are weapons. We want them as far away from the court as possible."
I almost regret tracking this down. Jackie Villegas figures she makes $6 a day on "locker money." That's $120 a month, close to $1,500 a year.
What is interesting about hearing that a flashlight is considered contraband is that this is coming from a building where if it suffers any more electric outages like it did recently, flashlights might be needed.
In Riverside, Reid Park's renovations are finally finished and the dust has settled as a result.
San Bernardino's Omnitrans bus company has admitted to a Brown Act violation for failure to post agendas properly and promised to fix that.
In Riverside, several weeks ago, the agenda board in front of City Hall was cordoned off by "caution" tape for the three day holiday weekend, leaving its meeting agenda postings inaccessible for three days. When City Clerk Colleen Nichol was notified, she apologized and said that it was only the lobby that was supposed to be cordoned off not the entire front of the building.
Sergio Carrera Jr, 29, died after being shot during a raid into a residence executed by a narcotics unit.
(excerpt)
Carrera, a four-year veteran of the department, was shot about 7 a.m. along the 100 block of West Cascade Drive, a dead-end street where SWAT teams from Rialto and Colton were serving a search warrant at several residences.
"There were two big bangs and that was it. It sounded like a shootout. And then the street was flooded with cops," said Antonio Martinez, who lives a half-block away on Riverside Avenue.
The police raids began about 6:30 a.m., with police knocking down doors and putting some residents in handcuffs, said Myrtle Bush, who has lived on West Cascade for four years.
After a series of smoke bombs went off at the apartment complex, she heard two loud shots, she said.
Neighbors said a medical helicopter landed near the scene and flew the officer to a hospital. He was pronounced dead at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton.
More information on the shooting emerged as the day stretched on, with several press conferences being given by police and civic leaders on the incident.
More links on the tragic incident are located at the home page of the Press Enterprise including videos of the press conferences.
The San Bernardino Sun also did this article which includes links on the shooting.
(excerpt)
We've suffered a great loss today, not only the city of Rialto and the police department, but the community," said Capt. Raul Martinez, pausing periodically to control his emotions. "I can't put it into words. It's tragic."
A helicopter landed on Cascade Drive and transported Carerra to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, where he was
A four-year veteran Rialto Police Officer was shot and killed this morning while serving a felony narcotics search warrant, he and other members of the SWAT team were serving felony narcotics search warrants in the 100 block of Cascade Drive in Rialto, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2007. rushed into surgery. He died moments later.
The man who struggled with police was detained but not arrested. Neighbors said he lives there with a girlfriend and three kids. Though neighbors said they were surprised that police would knock on his door, some said the man's apartment was shot up early Sunday morning.
Rialto police declined to confirm or deny that the man's apartment was shot at earlier this week.
"We heard a lot of explosions and then the police swarmed," said Josophe Pruett, 46, who lives next door to where this morning's shooting occurred. "This really surprised us."
More coverage:
More links and coverage at the San Bernardino Sun this morning.
The Los Angeles Times did an updated, fairly indepth article including witness accounts inside the house where Carerra was shot.
(excerpt)
Nashalla Bell was in the house with Thomas when the shooting occurred. She said she heard the front door jiggling and was worried it was the same people who did a drive-by shooting of the house Sunday morning.
Bell woke Thomas moments before police burst through the door, she said. Her 3- and 5-year-old sons ran from the kitchen where they were getting ready to eat breakfast. She said the police ordered everyone to the floor at gunpoint.
"I couldn't see anything after that, but apparently my boyfriend got up and ran to the back and another officer went after him," she said. "I heard the shot, and I heard them say, 'Officer down.' "
Neighbors reported seeing a police officer kneeling beside Carrera, crying and embracing him.
Bell said she couldn't believe Thomas shot the officer but said he had been on guard since the drive-by shooting. "I think he probably thought the same thing I thought -- that the people who shot on Sunday was coming back," she said. "I don't think he realized it was the police."
Bell said she could not see who fired the gun or whether her boyfriend had a gun. She said police told her later they recovered firearms from the house. Martinez would not say whether Thomas was armed.
ABC-7 News
(excerpt)
A couple of members of the police department became involved in a struggle with a person that we have detained ... during the course of the struggle, one of our officers sustained a gunshot wound," Capt. Raul Martinez, of the Rialto Police Department, said.
Fellow officers and paramedics did everything possible at the scene while waiting for the sheriff's department helicopter to take the injured man to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center. But the wound proved fatal.
On Thursday afternoon, family members and a long procession of law enforcement vehicles accompanied the body to the San Bernardino County coroner's office.
The investigation into what happened is still going on. The question - did the suspect shoot the officer?
"We have not ruled out anything and that's what the investigation is all about. Until the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department shooting team determines how the actual incident occurred, we're not ruling anything out," Capt. Martinez said.
There's been speculation throughout the day that the incident may turn out to be an even more tragic incident, involving friendly fire.
Later in the day, arrest was made according to the Press Enterprise.
(excerpt)
Police Chief Mark Kling forcefully stopped those rumors at a 9 p.m. press conference in front of the Rialto police station, saying 32-year-old Jaranard Thomas, of Rialto, had been arrested on suspicion of shooting Carrera.
"There has been speculation that ... it was a case of a SWAT officer killing another SWAT officer. That's an inaccurate statement. That's inaccurate information," Kling said.
"I'm here to tell you that I am happy as police chief of this city to tell you that we have made an arrest in this case. We will do everything we can to continue this investigation, get enough evidence to bring this person to justice and we are not going to tolerate in this city any resident, let alone a police officer, that's going to be gunned down. It's not going to happen."
Rows of candles and flowers were placed on the steps of the station behind the podium where Kling spoke to about 50 members of the media, police and community members. He spoke for about two minutes and took no questions.
Community reaction in both Beaumont where Carrera was from and Rialto is here.
The Rialto Police Department has struggled in recent years, losing many of its officers including at least six to the Riverside Police Department in the turmoil of events that took place several years ago and led to the ouster of former chief, Mike Meyers and a near takeover of the department by the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. The number of officers had been three short of full strength, according to the city in recent weeks.
Regular updates through the day here and here.
Carrera memorial page is set up here.
A medical examiner in New York City ruled that the death of a retired NYPD detective was not related to toxic dust he was exposed to after the 9-11 terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, according to the Associated Press.
Still many doubts remain.
(excerpt)
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a statement that the chief medical examiner's office is independent, and that staff members there make their judgments based on medical evidence.
"Their determination in this case does nothing to change New York City's commitment to make sure that all who were affected by 9/11 get the health care they need," Bloomberg said.
The detective's father, Joseph Zadroga, said he would meet Friday with officials at the medical examiner's office.
"It's shocking. ... How can they be so callous?" Joseph Zadroga said. He said his son developed a cough in the first weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks while logging hundreds of hours cleaning up the toxic site.
"He had the acid reflux. He had short-term memory loss. ... He was on strong medications for the pain in his lungs," Zadroga said.
Michael Palladino, president of James Zadroga's union, said he was shocked that Hirsch's office would express such certainty, "when in fact they can't tell me what he died from."
"I don't trust it," Palladino said. He suggested that the letter may be related to the city's defense in a federal lawsuit accusing it of failing to adequately protect workers at the site.
The article didn't say what capacity the coroner was working under who did the analysis on Zadroga's autopsy, which is interesting given how many pending claims the city is facing on illnesses and injuries suffered by its workers at Ground Zero on and after 9-11.
The New York Daily Newswrote this article about the challenge made by a police union affiliated with the New York City Police Department against the administration of Breathalyzer tests for officers involved in onduty shootings.
(excerpt)
Patrolmen's Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch said Thursday that the 24,000-member union would challenge the sobriety tests on constitutional grounds, arguing they violate protections against unreasonable searches.
"There is no reason or justification to subject an officer who legally fires a weapon ... to the humiliation and psychological trauma of a mandatory Breathalyzer test," Lynch said in a statement.
The elections to decide which of five candidates will fill three spots on the Riverside Unified School Board actually resulted in several challengers receiving more campaign contributions than the incumbents.
I see Press Enterprise Columnist Dan Bernstein has finally met Jackie who runs a hot dog cart and offers a temporary haven for the possessions people have that aren't allowed in the courthouse.
(excerpt)
More typically, Jackie keeps an eye on nail files, hair spray and perfume (in glass, projectile bottles). "Little old ladies" have been known to surrender crochet needles. Jackie also accepts luggage. She's never been asked to care for a gun.
The executive office of the RivCo Superior Court was, well, dumbfounded to hear of this arrangement. "This is how I find out about things at the court!" said Marita Ford, the assistant exec officer.
The Sheriff's Department, which contracts with a courthouse security firm, had no idea guards outsourced custody to hot-dog carts. But when it found out Thursday, whammo!
"I told the (guard) supervisors to stop referring people there," said Capt. Lee Wagner. "These items are prohibited and sometimes are weapons. We want them as far away from the court as possible."
I almost regret tracking this down. Jackie Villegas figures she makes $6 a day on "locker money." That's $120 a month, close to $1,500 a year.
What is interesting about hearing that a flashlight is considered contraband is that this is coming from a building where if it suffers any more electric outages like it did recently, flashlights might be needed.
In Riverside, Reid Park's renovations are finally finished and the dust has settled as a result.
San Bernardino's Omnitrans bus company has admitted to a Brown Act violation for failure to post agendas properly and promised to fix that.
In Riverside, several weeks ago, the agenda board in front of City Hall was cordoned off by "caution" tape for the three day holiday weekend, leaving its meeting agenda postings inaccessible for three days. When City Clerk Colleen Nichol was notified, she apologized and said that it was only the lobby that was supposed to be cordoned off not the entire front of the building.
Labels: City elections, officer-involved shootings, park watch, public forums in all places
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