Riverside City Hall: Revisions and other visions
Ward Three Councilman Rusty Bailey wants to nix a restaurant row near the Riverside Plaza, in favor of mixed development, according to the Press Enterprise.
Eminent Domain was what the city's Redevlopment Agency had used against local businesses to build the "row". That same land will now under Bailey's proposal be used for "surface parking". Merrill Street which is one of the alternative routes used by fire trucks when Magnolia is blocked by a Union Pacific train looking for a parking space, will still be closed off, possibly even before the grade separation for Magnolia and another possibly for Riverside are constructed.
Public reaction to the planned development was mixed, which shouldn't be surprising. What's not surprise is that demand for parking is as much a factor here as with other development projects in other areas of the city.
(excerpt)
On Wednesday, people shopping or seeing movies at the Plaza offered varying views on how to use the Merrill land.
Antonio Fuentes, 39, a Moreno Valley resident who said he visits the Plaza four or five times a month, said stores and restaurants would be the best mix.
He said he could see an electronics store going in, like a Best Buy or Circuit City. If eateries went in, he would prefer they not be part of a chain, he said.
"Restaurants always seem to be in demand," Fuentes said.
But Paul and Paula Plaster said there are enough restaurants at the Plaza and, in fact, enough businesses altogether.
If the city approves more shops and restaurants at or by the Plaza, "we won't come here," said Paul Plaster, 54.
"I can't stand driving around for 15 minutes to find a parking space."
"Why can't they just keep it overflow parking?" asked Paula Plaster, 46, referring to the Merrill land.
The Plaza is doing well since its renovation, but any more commercial activity would detract from, rather than add to, the atmosphere, she said.
"Sometimes success brings you back to the bottom again," Paula Plaster said.
Giving instructions to try and save lives will be Riverside's dispatchers.
(excerpt, Press Enterprise)
Here's how it works:
The dispatcher enters the type of call -- such as CPR, childbirth, seizures, severe bleeding and diabetic episodes -- into the computer. Based on the victim's age, gender and problem, scripted instructions from health professionals aim to ease the crisis until medics arrive.
Since the Riverside service began, dispatchers have given instructions on neck and shoulder pain, breathing difficulties, uncontrollable shaking and severe stomach pain, Peurifoy said. "It gives us the opportunity to help them, to increase their chances of survival before paramedics or an ambulance arrives," he said.
Thirty-seven dispatchers have been certified to work in the call center in the basement of the Riverside Police Department, Peurifoy said. The next training course, which starts in February, includes learning the computer program, reading medical journals and riding with paramedics.
A Riverside County Superior Court judge declared a former Riverside County District Attorney's office investigator factually innocent after a misdemeanor case was dropped against him involving domestic violence. He's still trying to get his job back through the courts having filed a law suit.
In San Bernardino, a panel there said that the city residents don't utilize the police complaint process already available to them, according to the Press Enterprise.
(excerpt)
"We have a commission set up now, and it's not being utilized," Commissioner Carl Clemons said. "How do people know we couldn't bring answers and solutions to a problem if the problem doesn't come before us?"
But there's at least one major reason for that and it's below.
(excerpt)
Councilman Rikke Van Johnson, who represents the Westside area, said his constituents want more than that. They're calling for a body with the authority to carry out thorough investigations, he said.
A San Bernardino law enacted in 1972 gives the Board of Police Commissioners the power "to investigate and to examine or inquire into the affairs or operation of any division or section of the police department." The law had no funding mechanism for such probes.
A 1991 addendum restricts the board to investigating only general police procedure -- as opposed to the conduct of individual officers -- and only after the matter is closed "by final action taken by the court, district attorney, or the chief of police, as the case may be."
Johnson said that rule "handcuffs the commission."
That's exactly what's been done. What can be said about chiding city residents to utilize a process that essentially has no power, no money invested by the city government to finance its operations? Not nearly enough.
San Bernardino may prove to be an easier setting for establishing civilian review than was Riverside seven years ago but if it's established, it will probably be just as difficult to maintain an independent and transparent form of civilian review as it is and has been particularly lately in Riverside. Westside activists are being credited with leading the quest but residents from all over the city support it as was and is the case in Riverside.
Two stories of law enforcement related domestic violence, one were a police officer is the perpetrator, the other the victim.
(excerpt, PoliceOne)
Domestic violence involving police officers as either perpetrators or victims is a phenomenon that has received little empirical study. It is understandable that police officers, even when promised anonymity, would be reluctant to self-report behavior that could put them in serious jeopardy at work. Denial, rationalization, and minimization of behaviors are normal human responses when “regular” people are questioned about their own bad or maladaptive actions and it is reasonable to expect police officers would be no different.
It is also reasonable to expect domestic violence would be under-reported among police and their families. When an officer is accused of domestic violence it is likely he or she will face consequences both legally and professionally. Unlike most professions, a criminally charged police officer faces consequences ranging from the loss of professional respect up to the loss of employment. The financial ramifications for the spouse are as significant as they are for the officer. The Lautenberg Amendment of 1996, banning anyone convicted of even misdemeanor domestic battery from possessing a gun, can signal “financial sudden death” for an entire family.
Even when the officer’s partner wants to report an incident there will be increased pressure not to, due to the potential consequence, and the victimized spouse risks further victimization. Finally, there are the victim’s frequently expressed feelings that, “No one will believe me” or “No one will take it seriously.”
Many police officers who are victims of domestic abuse are reluctant to report it. Fear of losing the respect of peers and supervisors or of having a troubled home life laid bare before colleagues is enough to prevent an officer from reporting the abuse. Some also report they are afraid they will be falsely accused by their partner or their attempts to defend themselves will cause them to be arrested.
Studies show that domestic violence is four times more likely to happen in police families according to the Chattanooga Times and Free Press.
(excerpt)
Dr. Gary Lee, a clinical psychologist who counsels police officers affected by traumatic on-the-job experiences, described law enforcement as "a way of life."
Police officers routinely must shelve any emotions they may feel, especially when faced with particularly harrowing or dangerous situations, Dr. Lee, of Hendersonville, Tenn., said.
"In order to do what they do on a daily basis, they have to put aside, contain and hold natural human emotional reactions," he said. "They are taught that when they respond they have to keep control of the situation."
Over time, such suppression often makes it difficult for officers to communicate with those closest to them, Dr. Lee said.
"They're not able to talk about their jobs like most people do, so over time the stress builds and becomes cumulative," he said. "They basically shut down and there's not a lot of communication, which causes conflict."
Lt. Dunn, who serves as the Southeast Tennessee coordinator for the state's Critical Incident Debriefing Team, said he believes that extremely traumatic situations can trigger such behavior in almost anyone. However, he said, even the day-to-day stresses of an officer's job can add up.
"You go home and all you want to do is relax and recharge your batteries," Lt. Dunn said. "So when something happens at home, and you've got to get back in control mode ... you get a little irritated and upset. That's how things like that can happen."
In one case, a deputy who shot and killed his wife during an argument is asking for a lenient sentence according to the San Diego Union-Tribune because his wife verbally abused him.
(excerpt)
Lowell Bruce also was abused as a child by his alcoholic parents and told a court-appointed psychologist that his childhood was “filled with stress and violence,” according to documents filed by Deputy Public Defenders Henry C. Coker and Steward Dadmun.
Bruce, 41, pleaded guilty Aug. 14 to a charge of voluntary manslaughter for the Dec. 14, 2006, shooting of his wife, Kristin Maxwell-Bruce, 38. She was shot in front of their 4-year-old son in the Alpine house they shared with Maxwell-Bruce's parents and grandfather.
Maxwell-Bruce was shot once in the jaw during an argument over Bruce's failure to get his two sons, the 4-year-old and a 7-year-old, ready for bed, according to his lawyers. She died about an hour later in the parking lot of a nearby elementary school where paramedics took her to wait for a medical helicopter.
Bruce faces up to 21 years in prison, but his lawyers are asking for six.
District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis and Bruce's lawyers have asked an appeals court to stop a judge who heard the case from sentencing Bruce. They said El Cajon Superior Court Judge Allan J. Preckel is biased against Bruce because of Bruce's position as a deputy sheriff in detentions and court services assigned to the Las Colinas Detention Facility in Santee.
The Chicago Tribune related accounts of neighbors of former Bolingbrook Police Department sergeant, Drew Peterson finding creepy notes in their mailboxes.
(excerpt)
"Creepy. Oh my God, creepy," said Sharon Bychowski, one of the neighbors who got the notes, along with about 50 5-by-7-inch photos of grave sites scattered in her driveway and yard and, hung on her mailbox, a Christmas stocking with a National Enquirer taped to it.
Lt. Ken Teppel, spokesman for the Bolingbrook Police Department, said another neighbor got the same note Wednesday, but no photos or stocking. Responding officers turned over the items to Illinois State Police, who are investigating the disappearance of Stacy Peterson, 23, missing since Oct. 28.
2007 saw a record of officers killed in the line of duty, with the highest number of deaths attributed to vehicle accidents and then shootings, according to Yahoo News. Heart attacks were third, with 18 recorded last year.
(excerpt)
The report counted the deaths of 186 officers as of Dec. 26, up from 145 last year. Eighty-one died in traffic incidents, which the report said surpassed their record of 78 set in 2000. Shooting deaths increased from 52 to 69, a rise of about 33 percent.
"Most of us don't realize that an officer is being killed in America on average every other day," said Craig W. Floyd, chairman of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
Officer fatalities have generally declined since peaking at 277 in 1974, the report said. Historically, officers have been more likely to be killed in an attack than to die accidentally and shootings outnumbered car crashes. But those trends began to reverse in the late 1990s. This year, about six of every 10 deaths were accidental.
Floyd credited technology improvements with helping reverse the trend. Safety vests save lives and non-lethal devices such as electric stun guns prevent some fatal encounters, he said. He attributed the spike in shooting deaths to the increase in violent crime nationwide.
"Law enforcement is the front line against violent criminals," he said.
Of the 81 traffic deaths this year, 60 officers died in car crashes, 15 were hit by cars and six died in motorcycle crashes.
Benazir Bhutto (June 21, 1953-Dec. 27, 2007)
Eminent Domain was what the city's Redevlopment Agency had used against local businesses to build the "row". That same land will now under Bailey's proposal be used for "surface parking". Merrill Street which is one of the alternative routes used by fire trucks when Magnolia is blocked by a Union Pacific train looking for a parking space, will still be closed off, possibly even before the grade separation for Magnolia and another possibly for Riverside are constructed.
Public reaction to the planned development was mixed, which shouldn't be surprising. What's not surprise is that demand for parking is as much a factor here as with other development projects in other areas of the city.
(excerpt)
On Wednesday, people shopping or seeing movies at the Plaza offered varying views on how to use the Merrill land.
Antonio Fuentes, 39, a Moreno Valley resident who said he visits the Plaza four or five times a month, said stores and restaurants would be the best mix.
He said he could see an electronics store going in, like a Best Buy or Circuit City. If eateries went in, he would prefer they not be part of a chain, he said.
"Restaurants always seem to be in demand," Fuentes said.
But Paul and Paula Plaster said there are enough restaurants at the Plaza and, in fact, enough businesses altogether.
If the city approves more shops and restaurants at or by the Plaza, "we won't come here," said Paul Plaster, 54.
"I can't stand driving around for 15 minutes to find a parking space."
"Why can't they just keep it overflow parking?" asked Paula Plaster, 46, referring to the Merrill land.
The Plaza is doing well since its renovation, but any more commercial activity would detract from, rather than add to, the atmosphere, she said.
"Sometimes success brings you back to the bottom again," Paula Plaster said.
Giving instructions to try and save lives will be Riverside's dispatchers.
(excerpt, Press Enterprise)
Here's how it works:
The dispatcher enters the type of call -- such as CPR, childbirth, seizures, severe bleeding and diabetic episodes -- into the computer. Based on the victim's age, gender and problem, scripted instructions from health professionals aim to ease the crisis until medics arrive.
Since the Riverside service began, dispatchers have given instructions on neck and shoulder pain, breathing difficulties, uncontrollable shaking and severe stomach pain, Peurifoy said. "It gives us the opportunity to help them, to increase their chances of survival before paramedics or an ambulance arrives," he said.
Thirty-seven dispatchers have been certified to work in the call center in the basement of the Riverside Police Department, Peurifoy said. The next training course, which starts in February, includes learning the computer program, reading medical journals and riding with paramedics.
A Riverside County Superior Court judge declared a former Riverside County District Attorney's office investigator factually innocent after a misdemeanor case was dropped against him involving domestic violence. He's still trying to get his job back through the courts having filed a law suit.
In San Bernardino, a panel there said that the city residents don't utilize the police complaint process already available to them, according to the Press Enterprise.
(excerpt)
"We have a commission set up now, and it's not being utilized," Commissioner Carl Clemons said. "How do people know we couldn't bring answers and solutions to a problem if the problem doesn't come before us?"
But there's at least one major reason for that and it's below.
(excerpt)
Councilman Rikke Van Johnson, who represents the Westside area, said his constituents want more than that. They're calling for a body with the authority to carry out thorough investigations, he said.
A San Bernardino law enacted in 1972 gives the Board of Police Commissioners the power "to investigate and to examine or inquire into the affairs or operation of any division or section of the police department." The law had no funding mechanism for such probes.
A 1991 addendum restricts the board to investigating only general police procedure -- as opposed to the conduct of individual officers -- and only after the matter is closed "by final action taken by the court, district attorney, or the chief of police, as the case may be."
Johnson said that rule "handcuffs the commission."
That's exactly what's been done. What can be said about chiding city residents to utilize a process that essentially has no power, no money invested by the city government to finance its operations? Not nearly enough.
San Bernardino may prove to be an easier setting for establishing civilian review than was Riverside seven years ago but if it's established, it will probably be just as difficult to maintain an independent and transparent form of civilian review as it is and has been particularly lately in Riverside. Westside activists are being credited with leading the quest but residents from all over the city support it as was and is the case in Riverside.
Two stories of law enforcement related domestic violence, one were a police officer is the perpetrator, the other the victim.
(excerpt, PoliceOne)
Domestic violence involving police officers as either perpetrators or victims is a phenomenon that has received little empirical study. It is understandable that police officers, even when promised anonymity, would be reluctant to self-report behavior that could put them in serious jeopardy at work. Denial, rationalization, and minimization of behaviors are normal human responses when “regular” people are questioned about their own bad or maladaptive actions and it is reasonable to expect police officers would be no different.
It is also reasonable to expect domestic violence would be under-reported among police and their families. When an officer is accused of domestic violence it is likely he or she will face consequences both legally and professionally. Unlike most professions, a criminally charged police officer faces consequences ranging from the loss of professional respect up to the loss of employment. The financial ramifications for the spouse are as significant as they are for the officer. The Lautenberg Amendment of 1996, banning anyone convicted of even misdemeanor domestic battery from possessing a gun, can signal “financial sudden death” for an entire family.
Even when the officer’s partner wants to report an incident there will be increased pressure not to, due to the potential consequence, and the victimized spouse risks further victimization. Finally, there are the victim’s frequently expressed feelings that, “No one will believe me” or “No one will take it seriously.”
Many police officers who are victims of domestic abuse are reluctant to report it. Fear of losing the respect of peers and supervisors or of having a troubled home life laid bare before colleagues is enough to prevent an officer from reporting the abuse. Some also report they are afraid they will be falsely accused by their partner or their attempts to defend themselves will cause them to be arrested.
Studies show that domestic violence is four times more likely to happen in police families according to the Chattanooga Times and Free Press.
(excerpt)
Dr. Gary Lee, a clinical psychologist who counsels police officers affected by traumatic on-the-job experiences, described law enforcement as "a way of life."
Police officers routinely must shelve any emotions they may feel, especially when faced with particularly harrowing or dangerous situations, Dr. Lee, of Hendersonville, Tenn., said.
"In order to do what they do on a daily basis, they have to put aside, contain and hold natural human emotional reactions," he said. "They are taught that when they respond they have to keep control of the situation."
Over time, such suppression often makes it difficult for officers to communicate with those closest to them, Dr. Lee said.
"They're not able to talk about their jobs like most people do, so over time the stress builds and becomes cumulative," he said. "They basically shut down and there's not a lot of communication, which causes conflict."
Lt. Dunn, who serves as the Southeast Tennessee coordinator for the state's Critical Incident Debriefing Team, said he believes that extremely traumatic situations can trigger such behavior in almost anyone. However, he said, even the day-to-day stresses of an officer's job can add up.
"You go home and all you want to do is relax and recharge your batteries," Lt. Dunn said. "So when something happens at home, and you've got to get back in control mode ... you get a little irritated and upset. That's how things like that can happen."
In one case, a deputy who shot and killed his wife during an argument is asking for a lenient sentence according to the San Diego Union-Tribune because his wife verbally abused him.
(excerpt)
Lowell Bruce also was abused as a child by his alcoholic parents and told a court-appointed psychologist that his childhood was “filled with stress and violence,” according to documents filed by Deputy Public Defenders Henry C. Coker and Steward Dadmun.
Bruce, 41, pleaded guilty Aug. 14 to a charge of voluntary manslaughter for the Dec. 14, 2006, shooting of his wife, Kristin Maxwell-Bruce, 38. She was shot in front of their 4-year-old son in the Alpine house they shared with Maxwell-Bruce's parents and grandfather.
Maxwell-Bruce was shot once in the jaw during an argument over Bruce's failure to get his two sons, the 4-year-old and a 7-year-old, ready for bed, according to his lawyers. She died about an hour later in the parking lot of a nearby elementary school where paramedics took her to wait for a medical helicopter.
Bruce faces up to 21 years in prison, but his lawyers are asking for six.
District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis and Bruce's lawyers have asked an appeals court to stop a judge who heard the case from sentencing Bruce. They said El Cajon Superior Court Judge Allan J. Preckel is biased against Bruce because of Bruce's position as a deputy sheriff in detentions and court services assigned to the Las Colinas Detention Facility in Santee.
The Chicago Tribune related accounts of neighbors of former Bolingbrook Police Department sergeant, Drew Peterson finding creepy notes in their mailboxes.
(excerpt)
"Creepy. Oh my God, creepy," said Sharon Bychowski, one of the neighbors who got the notes, along with about 50 5-by-7-inch photos of grave sites scattered in her driveway and yard and, hung on her mailbox, a Christmas stocking with a National Enquirer taped to it.
Lt. Ken Teppel, spokesman for the Bolingbrook Police Department, said another neighbor got the same note Wednesday, but no photos or stocking. Responding officers turned over the items to Illinois State Police, who are investigating the disappearance of Stacy Peterson, 23, missing since Oct. 28.
2007 saw a record of officers killed in the line of duty, with the highest number of deaths attributed to vehicle accidents and then shootings, according to Yahoo News. Heart attacks were third, with 18 recorded last year.
(excerpt)
The report counted the deaths of 186 officers as of Dec. 26, up from 145 last year. Eighty-one died in traffic incidents, which the report said surpassed their record of 78 set in 2000. Shooting deaths increased from 52 to 69, a rise of about 33 percent.
"Most of us don't realize that an officer is being killed in America on average every other day," said Craig W. Floyd, chairman of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
Officer fatalities have generally declined since peaking at 277 in 1974, the report said. Historically, officers have been more likely to be killed in an attack than to die accidentally and shootings outnumbered car crashes. But those trends began to reverse in the late 1990s. This year, about six of every 10 deaths were accidental.
Floyd credited technology improvements with helping reverse the trend. Safety vests save lives and non-lethal devices such as electric stun guns prevent some fatal encounters, he said. He attributed the spike in shooting deaths to the increase in violent crime nationwide.
"Law enforcement is the front line against violent criminals," he said.
Of the 81 traffic deaths this year, 60 officers died in car crashes, 15 were hit by cars and six died in motorcycle crashes.
Benazir Bhutto (June 21, 1953-Dec. 27, 2007)
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