Incorporated November 17, 1911, the City of Rialto covers 28 square miles. Citizens enjoy the services of City-owned water, fire, and police departments, as well as community recreation facilities. The Police Department offers a variety of services and assignments to include Field Patrol, K-9 Units, School Resource Officer (SRO), Multiple Enforcement Team (MET), Investigations, Traffic, Narcotics, Training and Backgrounds, SWAT and Crisis Negotiations.
Showing posts with label Rialto City Council. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rialto City Council. Show all posts
The Rialto, Calif. Police Department has been testing
the merits of its force of 70 officers donning small cameras while on
duty.
According to police chief Tony Farrar the results are “truly amazing.”
These officers are the first in the country to complete a
detailed pilot program, and as of Sept. 1, all of the department’s
uniformed officers will be wearing them.
Rialto has seen an 88 percent drop in complaints against
officers and a 60 percent decrease in use of force. These amazing
numbers speak for themselves.
At more than 5,400 officers, outfitting Houston’s police
department would be no small feat. At around $900 each, these gadgets
are no minor expense. Perhaps this is a small price to pay when compared
to the ease with which disputes between officers and citizens could be
resolved. In fact, one Rialto officer has already beaten a false charge
of police brutality thanks to his device.
The other hurdle to overcome would be the potential officer
resistance to being constantly monitored. The measure would no doubt
create extra work for them. One Rialto officer had this to say about the
mutual benefit that comes with the cameras: “When you put a camera on a
police officer or anyone, the natural human reaction is that you behave
a little more professional. You follow the rules a little more.”
“On the other side, if a citizen knows the officer has a
camera, that person acts and behaves a little bit more professional,
too.”
That is to say, the nerve-wracking aspect of being watched
by one’s superiors, though daunting, includes the convenient trade-off
of well-behaved suspects.
With camera phones in the hands of every man, woman and
child, it’s unlikely police will be escaping scrutiny anytime soon,
regardless. When Rialto officers balked at the new system, Farrar
reminded them of this and asked, “so instead of relying on somebody
else’s partial picture of what occurred, why not have your own?”
If an officer is doing their job correctly, there should be no need
to fear this innovative safety measure. The cameras create an equal
footing for officer and citizen. This technology has the ability to
eradicate “he-said, she-said” situations where there is a 50 percent
chance of the wrong party facing punishment.
This would be a worthwhile investment for any police department that
deals frequently with combative citizens, and there is certainly no
shortage of those in Houston. Opinion columnist Katie Wian is an English junior and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com Tags:Cameras, law enforcement, Rialto Police Department
Complaints and Use of Force Drop after Rialto Police Don Tiny Video Cameras
(photo: NBC Southern California)
The Southern California city of Rialto has become the poster child of
police videotaping after being cited by a federal judge in his decision (pdf) two weeks ago striking down New York City’s stop-and-frisk law as an unconstitutional use of racial profiling.
U.S. District Judge Shira A. Scheindlin quoted a New York Timesstory
attesting to the usefulness of body-worn cameras by police during an
experimental period that began in February 2012 and ended last month.
“[T]he results from the first 12 months [were] striking. Even with only
half of the 54 uniformed police officers wearing cameras on any given
day, the department overall had an 88 percent decline in the number of
complaints filed against officers, compared with the 12 months before
the study.”
Perhaps not surprisingly, the study found that officers with cameras used force 60% less often.
Rialto Police Chief William Farrar, with the assistance of Barak Ariel,
a visiting fellow at the Institute of Criminology at the University of
Cambridge and an assistant professor at Hebrew University, randomly
selected officers to place a small video camera on their lapels that
recorded events, which were automatically uploaded to a computer for
storage.
Police use of video cameras to observe the public has increased
dramatically in recent years and drawn the attention of civil liberties
advocates who aren’t fond of the authorities recording activities of
people not suspected of wrongdoing and storing the data for indefinite
periods of time.
Cameras are showing up on street corners and states are considering
imbedding trackers in digital license plates. Police also use license
plate scanners to profile drivers through storage of their GPS movement.
But recording the activities of police officers, while still raising
questions about privacy and surveillance, is a different matter. Jay
Stanley of the American Civil Liberties Union told the Times,
“We don’t like the networks of police-run video cameras that are being
set up in an increasing number of cities. We don’t think the government
should be watching over the population en masse,” Stanley said. But
“when it comes to the citizenry watching the government, we like that.”
Stanley, however, expressed reservations about the police videos being
stored indefinately and popping up in public at inappropriate times,
like on CNN.
Rialto is not the only city using the tiny police video cameras.
Oakland, Albuquerque and Fort Worth use them too, according to the Times, as do others. Oakland has 450 cameras for its 660-member force and stores video indefinately.
Former Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton is a fan and some
experts think their widespread use is inevitable as the price comes
down.
Chief William A. Farrar of the Rialto Police Department viewing video recorded during an arrest.
“Cross your legs; don’t get up; put your legs back,” he said, before
pointing to the tiny camera affixed to his Oakley sunglasses. “You’re
being videotaped.”
It is a warning that is transforming many encounters between residents
and police in this sunbaked Southern California city: “You’re being
videotaped.”
In the first year after the cameras were introduced here in February
2012, the number of complaints filed against officers fell by 88 percent
compared with the previous 12 months. Use of force by officers fell by
almost 60 percent over the same period.
And while Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg railed
against the federal court, which ordered New York to arm some of its
own police officers with cameras, the Rialto Police Department believes
it stands as an example of how effective the cameras can be. Starting
Sept. 1, all 66 uniformed officers here will be wearing a camera during
every shift.
William A. Farrar,
the Rialto police chief, believes the cameras may offer more benefits
than merely reduced complaints against his force: the department is now
trying to determine whether having video evidence in court has also led
to more convictions.
But even without additional data, Chief Farrar has invested in cameras for the whole force.
“When you put a camera on a police officer, they tend to behave a little
better, follow the rules a little better,” Chief Farrar said. “And if a
citizen knows the officer is wearing a camera, chances are the citizen
will behave a little better.”
Despite concerns about privacy and cost, more citizens across the
country will probably soon find themselves on camera when talking to the
police.
Albuquerque, Fort Worth and Oakland have all begun arming officers with
tiny video cameras. And demand for the devices has exploded in recent
years, according to Taser International, one of the companies marketing body cameras to law enforcement agencies.
Experts increasingly say that body cameras are likely to become an
industry standard over the coming years, just as cameras in patrol cars,
which once prompted similar objections about privacy, have become
commonplace in recent decades.
William J. Bratton, who has led the police departments in New York and
Los Angeles, said that if he were still a police chief, he would want
cameras on his officers.
“So much of what goes on in the field is ‘he-said-she-said,’ and the
camera offers an objective perspective,” Mr. Bratton said. “Officers not
familiar with the technology may see it as something harmful. But the
irony is, officers actually tend to benefit. Very often, the officer’s
version of events is the accurate version.”
Still, the technology has proved divisive. Police officers and citizens
alike have bristled at what they see as the latest incursion of Big
Brother. In New York City, the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association called
the equipment “an encumbrance.” Privacy advocates worry that video of
police officers searching a suspect’s home could end up on the evening
news.
“The body camera issue opens up certainly more questions than it
answers,” Raymond W. Kelly, the commissioner of the New York Police
Department, said Sunday on “Face the Nation.” “The only place that this has been implemented are cities that are much, much smaller.”
Mr. Bratton acknowledged the difficulties that would be involved with
phasing in body cameras in a large police department like New York’s,
which employs about 35,000 uniformed officers.
At up to $900 per camera, the cost of phasing in officer cameras in
major cities promises to be immense. While he was police chief in Los
Angeles, from 2002 to 2009, Mr. Bratton pushed to have
cameras installed in squad cars, after a recommendation from the
federal monitor. But it took years, and $5 million, to outfit less than a
fifth of the department’s fleet with cameras.
Nonetheless, police officials from Oakland to Greensboro, N.C., all
cited the swift resolution of complaints against officers as one of the
primary benefits body cameras had offered. In some cases, citizens have
come to the police station to file a complaint and decided not to after
they were shown the video of the incident.
In other cases, though less frequently, officials said, accusations of
officer misconduct have been corroborated by video from body cameras.
“It’s definitely not cheap,” said Paul Figueroa, an assistant chief with
the Oakland Police Department. “But over the long term, just from a
liability and management perspective, it’s definitely an investment
that’s worth it.”
Thus far, the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California has
not received any complaints about police body cameras. And despite
privacy concerns, the organization supports increased used of the
technology.
“Cameras hold real promise for making it easier to resolve complaints
against police,” said Peter Bibring, a senior lawyer with the A.C.L.U.
of Southern California. “They do raise privacy concerns, but ones that
can be addressed by strong privacy policies.”
Mr. Bibring said that video should not be stored for prolonged periods,
except in cases of alleged misconduct, and at least some video, like
searches of private homes, should not be made available to the public.
Thus far, though, almost every department has handled officer cameras
differently. With about 450 cameras for 620 officers, the Oakland Police
Department is one of the largest agencies using them; it stores video
indefinitely.
Next month, the Police Executive Research Forum
will host a conference on officer body cameras, with the goal of
developing best practices for departments across the country.
Rialto’s experience offers other cities a lot to emulate.
During the yearlong study, half of the city’s patrol officers were
randomly assigned to wear body cameras each week, and instructed to turn
them on whenever they made contact with a civilian.
Officers used force 25 times, down from 61 over the previous 12 months.
And those wearing cameras accounted for 8 of those incidents.
Sergeant Hice said he has come to view the camera as a kind of
protection. The video would show the two teenagers running through the
field matching the description he was given, he said, and that he did
not use excessive force while detaining them.
“It captures what’s really occurring in real time,” he said. If the
suspects later “think of a good story, with bits of detail thrown in to
enhance a false story,” he added, “we can dispel it.”
RIALTO: Rodney King drowns in own pool; autopsy report pending
TERRY PIERSON/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Rialto Police Detective Carla McCullough, left watches as technician Noretta Barker photographs evidence by the pool in Rialto where Rodney King was found dead, Sunday, June 17, 2012.
Rodney King, whose videotaped beating at the hands of Los Angeles police officers set in motion events that would lead to the deadly Los Angeles riots of 1992, died after an apparent drowning in the backyard swimming pool of his Rialto home. He was 47.
The encounter with LAPD officers in 1991 brought King his unwanted fame. And it was law enforcement officers who provided the coda to his life early Sunday, June 17, when they jumped into the pool wearing their uniforms and equipment in an effort to save him.
An autopsy was scheduled for Monday morning June 18, said San Bernardino County Sheriff's spokeswoman Jodi Miller. She said toxicology tests were also being performed.
The results will take weeks to return, she said. The county coroner releases autopsy and toxicology results at the same time, she said.
Rialto police Capt. Randy De Anda said in a Sunday June 17 afternoon news conference that it was not unusual for King to go swimming at any hour, including the early morning.
He said Kelley, whom he described as "not a strong swimmer," tried to pull King out, and called 911 when she could not.
Responding officers jumped in and retrieved King. They tried to give him cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Rialto Fire Department paramedics also treated King at the scene. He was taken to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, and pronounced dead at 6:11 a.m.
"Last night I heard a commotion," said neighbor Bob Carlberg, 53, who lives two doors away. "It really wasn't like a fight-fight-fight, but it was like yelling back and forth," he said. "He had a little party yesterday."
"He had something going on all night … the neighbors that live behind him were kind of yelling over to be quiet … the people who actually live next door to him said it was really loud," Carlberg said.
Carlberg said the disturbances were uncharacteristic of King, who lived on East Jackson Street, which is lined with single-story ranch-style and tract homes with well-trimmed lawns and shade trees. "He really kept to himself. The last couple of weeks he had more people over because he was planning his marriage. That's only my theory."
A neighbor of King said that around 3 a.m. she heard music and people talking next door and what sounded like someone who was very emotional.
"It seemed like someone was really crying, like really deep emotions," said Sandra Gardea, 31, a dental hygienist instructor who recently moved in. "And it just got louder and louder. Everybody woke up. Even the kids woke up."
She described the sound as "like moaning, like in pain. Like tired or sad, you know?"
Gardea said this went on for some time and then stopped.
"I heard someone say, 'OK, Please stop. Go inside the house.' … We heard quiet for a few minutes. Then after that we heard a splash in the back. And that's when a few minutes later we see the cops arrive and everyone arrive and we see him being taken in a gurney."
"You didn't see parties here or a lot of people. He was very withdrawn, and (kept) to himself," said neighbor Tondalaya Baker, 55, who lives around the corner from King's home. She said she most often saw him when he was working on his lawn or the front of his home.
He said he did not know the content of the conversation. "At this time I do not know what Mr. King's toxicology was, or if he was intoxicated, or whether he was under the influence of any substances." He said detectives would try to determine what was going on at the moment King fell into the pool.
On Sunday afternoon, evidence was being carted away from King's home, including what looked like a marijuana plant. King had said in interviews last year that he had a doctor's recommendation to use medical marijuana. Medical marijuana users are permitted some legal cultivation.
De Anda said a coroner's investigation will include an autopsy and a toxicology report. He said there were no signs of drugs or alcohol near the pool when officers arrived, and that detectives had interviewed Kelley as a routine matter. Kelley had been one of the jurors who awarded King $3.8 million in his lawsuit against Los Angeles over the beating. King said recently he had spent most of the money.
Neighbors described King as friendly and willing to talk about anything except what happened in Los Angeles two decades ago. "The best neighbor in the neighborhood," said Baker, who said she spoke to him frequently.
Asked if King ever discussed his past, Baker said, "he never wanted to talk about that. He really just stayed to himself … he was extremely private." She said he often kept his drapes drawn at the home.
Carlberg said he liked to talk about cars with King.
"He was a pretty nice guy. Seemed like a real nice guy, I had no problems," Carlberg said.
Carlberg described the neighborhood "real quiet, peaceful, friendly. Everybody gets along. Everybody talks to everybody."
Two decades ago, King uttered five words that captured the sentiment of millions of Americans horrified by the scenes of death and destruction in the Los Angeles riots.
"I just want to say, you know, 'Can we all get along?'," King said in a quavering voice after rioters ravaged Southern California neighborhoods.
King was pulled over by LAPD officers in 1991 for speeding. He was drunk but unarmed. Officers responded to King's lack of cooperation by beating him with batons and kicking him repeatedly.
The beating was video-taped by a bystander, which elevated the case to international headlines.
Four of the officers, all white, went to trial. Their acquittal sparked the infamous Southern California riots on April 29, 1992. At least 53 people were killed, more than 2,000 were injured and more than $1 billion in property was damaged or destroyed.
King reflected in an interview with The Press-Enterprise in early April on how his lawyers handed him a four-page statement to read at a news conference. It was 1992, two days after the beginning of the disturbances that began when four Los Angeles police officers were acquitted of beating him.
But instead of reading the statement, King improvised.
"I spoke from my heart, you know," King said. "I felt there was a need to say something from the heart."
King moved to Inland Southern California from Los Angeles County in 1999 to escape some of the continued attention.
"At the time, I felt a little too much heat," he said. "The smoke hadn't cleared in Los Angeles for me. I thought it would be more comfortable for me to be in the IE."
Recently, King said he supported himself in part by doing handyman and construction work. He's also made money on reality-TV appearances, including "Celebrity Rehab."
The headlines that followed King during his 13 years in the Inland area generally had not been complimentary. He wasn arrested several times, including for driving under the influence and domestic violence.
In the latest case, he pleaded guilty in February to reckless driving after he was pulled over in Moreno Valley.
King acknowledged his mistakes. He wrote about them in his book, "The Riot Within," which was released in April.
He said his days of drinking heavily were over — although he said he hadn't quit alcohol entirely.
"I sip now," said King, whose father was an alcoholic. "I'm not guzzling drinks anymore. No one knows the future, but I sure feel comfortable where I am today with myself."
Staff writer David Olson, dolson@pe.com, and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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BY JANET ZIMMERMAN
STAFF WRITER
jzimmerman@pe.com
A state health assessment has found that tap water from two wells contaminated with a rocket fuel ingredient could have caused thyroid problems that affected the physical and mental development of people who grew up in Rialto in the 1980s.
The report, released this week, said that the amount of perchlorate found during some periods in West Valley Water District's well No. 22 and Rialto's well No. 2 could have delayed speech development in some children there. Those with concerns about potential health affects were urged to consult their doctors.
Residents have expressed concerns that the contaminated water caused a variety of other problems, including migraines, attention deficit disorder, kidney cancer, miscarriages, stillbirths and birth defects.
Story continues below
But California Department of Public Health officials reported that their study, based on existing scientific and medical information, found no link between those problems and exposure to perchlorate and trichloroethylene, or TCE, an industrial solvent also found in Rialto drinking water. TCE has been linked to cancer.
The 160-acre Goodrich industrial area north of the Rialto Airport was designated a federal Superfund cleanup site in 2009, prompting the health assessment.
Russell Bartlett, a state health assessor, said the report was prepared to address public concerns and represents the worst-case scenario. Because early records were not available to them, investigators had to assume that water from the contaminated wells was not blended with cleaner sources.
"If it was blended, then it would have reduced contaminant levels. There was nothing on paper or any kind of report we could use to verify that," he said.The water is safe to drink, Bartlett said.
From the 1940s to the 1980s, private companies and government agencies stored, tested and manufactured munitions, rocket motors, fireworks and other explosives on the site, where perchlorate and other toxic chemicals were dumped onto the ground and burned in pits.
The contamination leached into the groundwater supply, causing a plume that has traveled at least three miles to the southeast, affecting various wells and moving toward water supplies owned by the city of Riverside.
Perchlorate can inhibit the absorption of iodine by the thyroid gland and decrease its production of hormones that are critical during pregnancy and childhood for normal physical growth and brain development. Adults are not affected, according to the report.
"It's of no surprise to me that they're finding something. People were drinking water with perchlorate in it for many, many years," said Penny Newman, executive director of the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice in Glen Avon.
The findings will be discussed at a future community meeting in Rialto, local water officials said.
Butch Araiza, general manager of West Valley Water District, said he fears the findings will trigger a rash of lawsuits by people who think they may have been harmed by the contamination.
"I think there'll be some people who, if they have an ache and a pain, will think it's because of perchlorate, but I don't think it was. All of us might have drunk some perchlorate at some time in our life, because we didn't know what it was," said Araiza, who has lived in Rialto for 61 years.
The report also erroneously assumed that water from well No. 22 went to consumers directly, when in fact it was blended with other sources that would have reduced contaminant levels, he said.
The well, north of Interstate 210, was used only intermittently for a couple of months in the summer when demand was up; it was lower-quality water because it was sandy and jammed meters, Araiza said.
The well was last pumped in 1988 and permanently shut in 1997 after the perchlorate was found, he said. Other wells in Rialto, Colton and Fontana also were closed.
The agency installed ion exchange treatment systems in 2001 to remove perchlorate, which residents have helped pay for with an average $12 monthly surcharge on their water bills. Treatment takes the perchlorate below the level at which it can be detected, which is 4 parts per billion, Araiza said. The state's health standard for perchlorate is 6 parts per billion.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which is leading the cleanup effort in Rialto, has issued a plan to spend $18 million building pumps and treatment systems to clean water of perchlorate, TCE and other compounds and deliver it to homes and businesses.
Newman of the Center for Community Action said she is concerned the EPA systems wouldn't clean the water enough, because even 6 parts per billion could pose a risk for infants and fetuses and lower levels over long periods of time could cause problems for adults.
"For people who have continued to drink this water for decades, that 2 parts per billion may be enough to put them over the threshold for developing disease," Newman said.
Dave and Diane Mavity and their two children, now 38 and 41, lived in Rialto from 1975 to 1980 and again from 1994 to 1998. In 1997, Diane was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, and many of their neighbors also had thyroid problems, he said.
"Something's not right," Dave Mavity said.
The highest concentration measured at the Rialto site was more than 1,000 times the drinking-water standard, according to the EPA documents. TCE was found in concentrations more than 300 times the drinking-water standard.
Officials with the city of Rialto could not be reached for comment on the report because their offices were closed Friday.
Health report
Water agencies didn't have a test for perchlorate until 1997. That's when high levels were found in two wells that intermittently served Rialto. The contamination radiated from the Goodrich industrial site, now slated for federal Superfund cleanup. A state study concluded:
People who currently work at the Goodrich site are not at risk from chemicals in the soil or groundwater.
Drinking water supplied by Rialto, Colton, West Valley Water District and Terrace Water Co. is safe.
Some drinking water from West Valley's well No. 22 in 1981, 1982, 1985, 1987 and 1988 may have contained TCE but isn't believed to have harmed people's health.
In the same years, perchlorate contamination in well No. 22 could have been high enough to modestly impair iodine absorption by the thyroid gland, potentially affecting physical growth and brain development of fetuses, infants and children.
The same is true of perchlorate in Rialto's well No. 2, from 1979 to 1997.
It is not possible to know whether eating fruits and vegetables from a garden irrigated with perchlorate-tainted water would have been harmful.
RIALTO - The attorney for Nancy Holtgreve, a strip club worker at the center of an alleged sex scandal involving on-duty police officers, is moving forward with a lawsuit against the city after it recently rejected a $500,000 claim.
"I am going to go ahead and prepare a lawsuit on Nancy's behalf," said Danuta W. Tuszynska, the Riverside-based lawyer for Holtgreve. Tuszynska said the lawsuit may be filed by the end of October.
Holtgreve, a drink server at the Spearmint Rhino, alleged in her claim that several female employees of the club and police officers engaged in sex together at the Rialto Police Benefit Association's union hall. She named officers James Dobbs and Lamont Quarker in her claim, saying she had sex with each of them while they were on duty. Holtgreve alleges that she had sex with Quarker, a narcotics officer, in the Police Department's narcotics office. She also says Dobbs fathered a son she gave birth to in March.
According to Holtgreve, Dobbs, whose last day with the department was Aug. 12, intimidated and abused her after she demanded he pay child support.
The department won't say if Dobbs was fired or resigned, citing an internal investigation that has been completed and is under review.
Holtgreve alleges that Dobbs didn't want his relationship with her to hurt a custody battle with his ex-wife, or an alleged relationship with a woman who works in the department.
Dobbs and Quarker have not returned messages seeking comment.
Holtgreve alleges that the city fostered and perpetuated a culture of unwanted sexual harassment of women by male police officers, and that the department failed to protect her from Dobbs after she made authorities aware of the alleged intimidation and abuse.
In August, the city rejected much of Holtgreve's claim, saying it was not lawfully filed within six months of when many of the alleged incidents took place.
Tuszynska said the claim focused on the events which allegedly occurred after Holtgreve's son was born in March, but the city said that part of the claim didn't provide enough information to determine if there was a valid claim against the city, and it needed to be amended and re-submitted or no action would be taken.
While Tuszynska said the information provided in the claim was more than sufficient, she filed an amended claim.
The city has rejected the amended claim, which is why Tuszynska is preparing the lawsuit.
City Attorney Jimmy Gutierrez said there was very little added to the amended claim.
"I don't want to be insulting to this woman because she may have a valid claim," Gutierrez said. "(But) when I don't get a lot of vital information, that suggests to me that I don't have a valid claim."
Gutierrez outlined 42 issues in his initial response to Tuszynska.
He wrote, in part, that the claim failed to state the dates, times and places when Dobbs used his position as a peace officer to intimidate and threaten Holtgreve.
He also said the claim did not state the times, dates and places during which the city fostered and perpetuated a culture of unwanted sexual harassment of females by male police officers.
Gutierrez said the amended claim Tuszynska filed on behalf of Holtgreve failed to address the issues he brought up.
"She in no way came close to answering those questions or providing that information," Gutierrez said. "As I told her already, there is not enough information to evaluate if the city has any liability."
Tuszynska said the rejection is standard procedure and that most governmental entities reject "99 percent" of the claims that are filed against them.
"Our tort claim was more than sufficient to put this city on notice as to the various causes of action that Nancy has against the individual officers, as well as the city of Rialto," Tuszynska said. "Nonetheless, we will move forward with the lawsuit after the rejection."
Police Chief Mark Kling launched the internal investigation in May, which led to six officers. Four were placed on paid administrative leave.
Authorities have not named the officers on leave, citing the investigation under review.
Rialto strip club linked to police sex probe Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer San Bernardino County Sun Posted:
RIALTO - Internal investigators are probing claims that police officers were having sex on duty with employees of a popular strip club on Riverside Avenue, authorities said Monday.
"We've got confirmation that employees of the Spearmint Rhino were involved with officers in our department," Police Chief Mark Kling said.
Nancy Holtgreve, a 37-year-old server at the club, told the department in May that she had sex with Officer James Dobbs three times last year at the Rialto Police Benefit Association's union hall after she left work and while Dobbs was on duty.
Holtgreve said she and her co-workers after shifts frequently met Dobbs and other officers at a nearby 24-hour restaurant.
Neither police nor Holtgreve would confirm whether the other Spearmint Rhino employees were exotic dancers.
Holtgreve said she brought the allegations to the department because she feared for her safety when Dobbs allegedly abused and threatened her after she demanded he pay child support for their three-month-old son.
Phone messages to Dobbs though the union, at the police station and on his personal voicemail were not returned Monday.
"We know where Nancy works," Kling said. "We have talked to a number of people in this investigation and the investigation has taken us to a business and some homes."
Four officers have been placed on paid administrative leave while the department conducts an internal investigation.
Kling would not confirm the names of the officers on leave, citing the investigation.
Councilman Ed Scott, who owns a different downtown bar, said Monday he had heard rumors from his patrons that women who work at the Spearmint Rhino were involved with Rialto police officers.
"For about a week, that's what I had heard," Scott said.
Scott said he was very concerned about the allegations of officer misconduct.
"I'm concerned that a small group of them would be involved in any conduct like that with employees of any business," he said. "It certainly isn't the Spearmint Rhino's fault."
Kathy Vercher, the club's president and chief operating officer, said she was not aware of the investigation and did not want to comment.
The president of the Rialto police union said Monday he, too, was unaware of any misconduct at the union hall.
"I can unequivocally tell you that I've had no knowledge of that happening at the union hall," Sgt. Richard Royce said. "That's not what the hall is for. I do not condone and my membership doesn't condone that kind of activity."
Dobbs sometimes wanted to have sex at the union hall, where there were at least two beds, Holtgreve alleges.
Royce said there are beds in the hall, but those are for officers who need to rest after working double or graveyard shifts.
The hall, which is located near Ayala Drive and Base Line, is generally used by officers during off-shift activities and official union business, Royce said.
Royce said every union member has a key to the building, and "a lot" of city employees have one too.
But the union, in light of the allegations, has authorized funding for security upgrades that include new locks and potentially a surveillance system, he said.
"When this came to my attention, we took immediate steps to prevent it from happening," Royce said, but added: "I'm not saying it happened."
Only union members will continue to have a key or code to enter the building, Royce said.
"That's what they pay their dues for," he said.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Rialto scrambles to fund new pension costs Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer Posted: 01/23/2010 07:05:05 PM PST
RIALTO - At a time when local governments are looking to cut spending every way they can, this city is preparing to spend up to $5 million a year on upgraded pension packages for police, firefighters and other employees.
Budget plans for the 2010-11 fiscal year will have to account for the new "3 at 50" pension plan, which allows firefighters and police officers with 30 years of service to retire as early as age 50 and collect up to 90 percent of their highest annual salaries for the rest of their lives.
A slightly less generous improvement is also kicking in for the city's 400 general employees.
The combined pensions will account for roughly 10 percent of Rialto's $52 million annual budget, when they take effect next year.
City Administrator Henry Garcia had no luck in recent weeks trying to convince the workers' unions to delay implementation of the new plan because of the tough economy. The unions already gave up about $4 million in concessions to close last year's budget gap.
It'll be up to the City Council to decide where the money comes from.
"We're going to use reserves and look for funding sources that can fund it," said Councilman Ed Scott, who was among a 3-2 council majority that voted to approve the pension two years ago.
He added: "I have some faith and belief that the economy is going to turn around and we're going to find some revenue sources to deal with it."
Officials with the union representing Rialto police officers said their members have already given up plenty to help the city cope with the recession.
"We have given up pay increases, holiday hours. . .We'd given up a lot in advance so it's not a hardship on the city," said Richard Royce, president of the Rialto Police Benefit Association.
Representatives of the fire and general employees' unions could not be reached Friday or Saturday.
In the short term, the city will rely on its $31 million in economic reserves, a pot set aside for a rainy day.
Rialto isn't alone. The 3 at 50 pensions for public safety employees are as common in San Bernardino County as the government officials who worry the pricey benefit is unsustainable.
"I think in general there's concern about the retirement system across the state, the retirement system that serves government as a whole," Fontana City Manager Ken Hunt said. "Fontana is a very good system and it's very expensive. The question becomes, can it be maintained."
Last week, Orange County culminated years of negotiations about 3 at 50 when sheriff's deputies agreed to reduce the pensions for new hires. The move helps the county, but doesn't solve the long-term pension funding problem.
The thought of more local governments adopting new 3 at 50 plans in the current economy should be of huge concern to taxpayers, said Orange County Supervisor John Moorlach, who has long fought to roll back that county's 3 at 50 pensions.
"The pension contribution will be an ulcer in the budget because it will always grow and then you will have to bump other things out," he said.
A divided council
The 2008 effort to approve Rialto's new pensions was not unlike the debate that follows 3 at 50 proposals everywhere.
Supporters argue that police officers and firefighters put their lives on the line for the residents they serve, often shortening their own lives through wear, tear and exposure to a wide range of hazards.
As a result, they deserve earlier retirements and financial security.
"We're getting guys at 25, 26, 27 and they don't last much past 50," said Royce, the police union president. "This is a very hard career."
Some police and fire departments also worry about losing good employees if they can't match the pensions being offered elsewhere.
"I supported it because it's a tool the police chief needs to recruit some talent into the city," Scott said. "We had a history of not good recruitment, and when you're surrounded by municipalities that have (it), it's hard to match that."
Mayor Grace Vargas and Councilman Joe Baca Jr., joined Scott to approve Rialto's 3 at 50 pensions by one vote.
Vargas did not return a message seeking comment but Baca said the city owes it to the workers.
"We need to take care of our employees," he said. "They do a good job in the city and they should be awarded with a good retirement."
But critics argue the plans are far too generous, given the much more modest pensions typically found in the private sector. Another criticism is that, rather than spending their 50s playing golf, many maxed-out "retirees" take new jobs at other departments, collecting consulting fees or full salaries in addition to their 90 percent pensions.
"In economic terms, these people are millionaires and that's paid for by the taxpayers," said Steven Frates, senior fellow at the Rose Institute of State and Local Government at Claremont McKenna College.
Councilwoman Deborah Robertson and former Councilwoman Winnie Hanson voted against Rialto's 3 at 50 plans.
"It was just a very expensive thing and I felt the city could not afford it and I think I was right," Hanson said last week.
But voting against the interests of the police and fire unions might have carried a political price. Hanson suspects the vote might have cost her a 2008 re-election bid against Ed Palmer months later.
Robertson did not return messages seeking her reasons for opposing the pensions.
It's the type of issue that can make city leaders feel as if they're in a no-win situation.
"Somewhere, the line between public safety, public good and public costs needs to be debated," said Garcia, the Rialto city administrator. "People want public safety. Here's the cost, you pay for it and that's the way it is."
Some seek to roll back pensions
In Montclair, city officials have trimmed services, frozen job vacancies, reduced overtime and benefits, and borrowed $2.5 million in General Fund money to ensure the retirement program is funded.
And even before the current recession, they sought concessions from the unions on 3 at 50.
"Every agency is struggling right now and we all do it in different ways," said Edward Starr, deputy city manager in Montclair. "You don't want to do it on the back of the employees, but you also don't want to do it on the back of the community."
Montclair went to a two-tier system in 2005. Safety personnel hired after June 29 of that year would have a "3 at 55" benefit, while those hired before then kept 3 at 50.
Montclair's experience also illustrates how pension costs can change dramatically with modest changes in the retirement age.
Starr said if all cops in Montclair were on 3 at 50, it would cost the city roughly $1.6 million a year. If all were at 3 at 55, the cost would be about $560,000 a year.
Rialto officials hope to follow suit.
"We're looking at that," said Scott. "When we go to negotiations, we would ask the labor unions to consider a two-tiered system."
Others want to take the discretion away from local governments.
A group called California Foundation for Fiscal Responsibility has crafted an initiative for the November ballot that would drastically reduce pension benefits for future public employees.
According to the non-partisan Legislative Analyst's Office, the group's initiative would amend the state Constitution to limit defined-benefit pensions and retiree health benefits for state and local government employees hired on or after July 1, 2011.
The measure establishes minimum retirement ages, such as 58 for new cops and firefighters, and 60 for other public safety employees. All other new employees would submit to the full retirement age as defined by Congress, which is 67 for persons born in 1960 or after.
"It's sucking money out of our economy," said Marcia Fritz, who helped craft the initiative. "It's our money and then people start drawing on these investments and then they (retire out of state)."
Fritz estimates the measure would reduce costs statewide by $14 billion over the first six years and $533 billion over 33 years.
In the meantime, Rialto officials realize they need to increase revenue. There are high hopes for a San Bernardino County expansion of the landfill here. Also on the table is a plan to lease out the city's water department and save maintenance costs. Consolidations of city departments are also being considered.
"Right now we're going to have to make some tough decisions," Baca said.
Some officials worry it might already be too late for some cities.
Moorlach, the Orange County supervisor, pointed to the Northern California city of Vallejo, which filed for bankruptcy in 2008, in part, because of expensive retirement packages.
"We're all trying to figure out who files for Chapter 9 bankruptcy first," he said, "whether it's in Orange County or San Bernardino County."
I know this reference the retirement system that the city is claiming problems paying for, and that is that the RPBA took a 10% reduction in their pay, they have lost seven days of Holiday Time for the year, also they cannot build up more then Two Weeks of Comp. Time. They also are working on a very strict Schedule that doesn't allow Overtime Pay, they are asked to take Compensation time off, a thing that has been capped, to the point that it is only approx 80 hours cap, so if they work overtime and put in the compensation time as requested by the Management, & they start to exceed the cap, they are then asking for more trouble at work!
I know that this sounds weird since they are not paying now, they are paying the Officer with Time off, but if they don't have the manpower on the schedule they cannot allow anyone time off, that is where the Comp. Time reaches the cap fast and cannot be reduced as there is not enough Officers to make up a safe shift.
The pay cut, Holiday Time cap Reduction and Holiday Time reduction was done so that in the 1.5 years in the future they might be able to keep the Retirement Package, Rialto after all was working without this retirement package for three years before it was to come into existence.
Now that the time is Nearing, and they have asked the Police Department to take a Cut in Pay, and they agreed and complied, it has been really hard for a great deal of Officers to work through this cut in pay. I see it first hand Knowing Many of the Officers and their Families, the struggle has been difficult.
The City of Rialto has paid for the retirement Plan on the books for more then Thirty years, Paying the 9% of pay for the Current Retirement System, and now that they have agreed to new plan, a Plan that over 90% of all law enforcement currently have with the exception of the new hires for Orange County Sheriffs Department. Even the lower priced Departments have it, Departments such as San Bernardino Sheriff's Department, The Sheriff's department for the most part has a lower budget for their Deputies, and this you would think would make it harder for the SBSD to afford such a Retirement Plan, but they have had this said plan for close to Ten Years now.
Surly the Rialto Police Department can pay for this plan, by doing one simple thing, and this simple thing was forced upon the Police Department already and that is to tighten their belts. The Police Department Employee's have done this and they have not lost any of the officers to bankruptcy etc etc...
I am sure that the City of Rialto will be Okay, they have been Okay in the past and this is not anything to worry about, Unless the City Council Members make it hard for the Police Department. a thing that seems to be Par for the Course, since they made it such a big Headline and are attempting to make their own Employee's the bad guys like they did back in 2003 with the Contract Battle to close the Police Department and offered the job to the Sheriff of San Bernardino County!
That ended in a very embarrassing Loss to the City Council, Look at those council members that were against the Police Department, at that time, why even the Council Members that voted against the Retirement Package.. OOH THAT'S RIGHT, YOU CAN'T, THEY HAVE BEEN VOTED OFF THE CITY COUNCIL TODAY!!
BS Ranch
*Not being a Retired Employee, I am not positive on the Pay Cuts that were approved by the RPBA, especially in regards to the Holiday Time/Comp. Time. However I know that the Police Department took a TEN PERCENT cut in pay, and this was devastating for many to adjust to. This I do know first hand being friends with all my past work mates..
Does the Inland Empire need another Passenger Airport? The answer is Yes! Capitalism demands it! the more the better! That is right, the more competition that is offered the better the flights prices in the area and the more that people that travel will benefit from the airport or airlines for that matter will do great having an extra out in the Inland Empire! Either that or there is not enough people in this area to sustain a full on full service Air Port such as the one that San Bernardino is trying to offer the people of the Inland Empire!
BS Ranch
San Bernardino International Airport offers incentives to passenger airlines
By LOU HIRSH and KIMBERLY PIERCEALL The Press-Enterprise
Looking to lure passenger carriers to a nearly completed passenger terminal, San Bernardino International Airport officials this week approved a long-discussed package of incentives, worth more than $2.5 million for each airline it can draw.
The incentives will be offered to up to four airlines that initiate commercial service. Officials during the past year have said that one major domestic airline is seriously examining the feasibility of starting service at the former Norton Air Force Base, while at least one more is considering it, though no carriers have been named.
The board of the joint-powers Inland Valley Development Agency, which oversees airport development, on Wednesday approved an incentive package that includes up to $1 million in revenue guarantees per year for the first two years of operation, and forgiveness of landing fees for five years.
It also provides for $500,000 in advertising and marketing funds, to help each airline promote its new services during the first year of operations.
"These amounts won't nearly pay all of the costs that an airline would bear to extend service, but it could make the difference in turning a profit on that service," said Don Rogers, interim director of the development agency.
Rogers said it costs an airline between $70 million and $85 million to bring new services to any airport.
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Terry Pierson / The Press-Enterprise
The San Bernardino International Airport's new commuter terminal is nearly complete. Now the airport is moving to attract airlines.
He said money is already in the airport's budget to cover the incentives for the first two airlines that agree to start service, and funding for the other two will need to be finalized later by airport authorities.
Airport aviation director Bill Ingraham said the incentives will be offered only to airlines that can guarantee a minimum of 12 weekly departures.
Officials have said for several months that some kind of incentive package will likely be needed to attract carriers to the San Bernardino airport, in an economy where most airlines are cutting rather than adding services. "What we're doing here is formalizing that," Ingraham said.
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Terry Pierson / The Press-Enterprise
San Bernardino International says one airline is considering landing at the airport and another might be interested.
Carriers have dropped flights over the past several months at facilities across the nation, including Ontario International Airport.
Ontario airport doesn't offer any incentives to new airlines, and the cost for doing business there is $14.50 for each passenger who gets on a plane, one of the highest in Southern California.
The Ontario airport's revenue relies on its airlines. As revenue has dropped and fewer airlines serve the airport, landing fees have risen to $2.76 per 1,000 pounds, and terminal rental rates have increased.
The San Bernardino facility's current landing fee is $1 per 1,000 pounds.
Thomas Nolan, aviation director at Palm Springs International Airport, said his airport offers incentives to new airlines on a case-by-case basis.
San Bernardino airport officials have said the main passenger terminal, which cost more than $80 million to renovate from its former military base use over the past two years, will be ready to accept commercial flights before year's end. Still being completed are final tarmac and parking lot improvements, as well as food and newsstand concessions.
San Bernardino International Airport officials this week approved measures to help encourage major airlines to add local service. Incentives would go to each of the first four airlines that bring in new flights.
Revenue guarantees: Up to $1 million per year for first two years.
Advertising and marketing funds: $500,000 during first year.
Landing fees: Forgiveness of payments for five years.
