Law Enforcement

The ACLU continues, “There, Ms. de Hinojosa was questioned by a sworn officer of the Davis Police Department, Officer Ellsworth, the High School’s vice-principal, and another school staff member about her newspaper article.”

The ACLU claims that at no point was she informed of her right not to answer questions or advised that she was free to leave the room.

The article depicted graffiti and taggers, protecting their names.

Traffic intersections have proven to be one of the most dangerous locations for drivers.  One of the chief problems are vehicles running red lights, trying to race to get through in time.

In trying to make these intersections, many cities utilized new technology and have installed red light cameras, much as Davis has done so at the intersection of Russell and Sycamore.

Many in Davis were devastated by the news on an otherwise uneventful Picnic Day that a former Davis High and UC Davis star baseball player had died from a tragic accident.

The Yolo County coroner ruled the cause of death was blunt force neck and head injury. After extensive examination and testing the Yolo County Coroner concluded that the manner of death was homicide, as it was by definition, “a death caused by human hands.”

Davis resident Linda Clark still has gotten no official explanation, apology or even communication from federal officials following a raid of her property in late April, as officials served a warrant apparently looking for child pornography.

“I have had no contact with them since [the incident],” Linda Clark told the Vanguard in a Thursday interview at her Davis home.  “Apparently they are aware of my complaint… and [according to News 10] it’s being investigated.  But nobody has contacted me.”

On Sunday, Davis resident Linda Clark described in bold terms in a Davis Enterprise op-ed what many people face on a consistent basis from ICE and other agencies.  Public officials have expressed shock that it could happen here in Davis, but unfortunately it is welcome to the real world.

Writes Linda Clark, “The incident described above occurred in a quiet, family-oriented neighborhood right here in Davis. Most residents of the house are either visiting international scholars or students, or American citizens who are students. No drug dealers. No ‘illegal immigrants.’ “

Nationally, crime fell again as the FBI reported that that the levels of both violent crime and property crime in the U.S. declined in 2010 from the previous year’s data. 

The 2010 Preliminary Annual Uniform Crime Report, released on Monday, shows a 5.5 percent decrease in the number of reported violent crimes when compared with data from 2009. It also shows a 2.8 percent decline in reported property crimes.

We always were concerned that the new Target would bring crime into Davis, but this is a bit extreme.

It is probably not the best idea to make light of crime, particularly since the would-be robbers/burglars did $100,000 in damage to the store, however no one was hurt and this scheme is so ridiculous that it begs for at least some light humor.

Earlier this week, Vanguard went to San Francisco to attend the public defender’s “Justice Summit,” an event that the Vanguard attended last year as well.  This year’s summit had three panels, including one of police misconduct.

To his credit, new San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr participated as a member of the panel, along with some defense attorneys, a representative from the DA’s office, a representative from the Public Defender’s office and renowned civil rights attorney John Burris.

The city council on Tuesday will hear a largely informational report on the 2011 Picnic Day, which followed a 2010 Picnic Day that saw “uncontrollable crowds and riotous behavior in downtown Davis.”

Efforts were made by leaders in the community and on campus to “make Picnic Day 2011 a different event, focusing on family and community-friendly efforts and ‘rewinding’ Picnic Day to its original purpose as the university’s primary open house.”

This morning the Sacramento Bee writes, “To preserve what’s best about Picnic Day and to secure its long-term future, Davis leaders need to give it a break.”

They continue, “The timeout – a year or two – would give campus and city officials in Davis the freedom to find ways to control the drunkenness marring the annual open house at University of California, Davis, without ruining its family-friendly atmosphere and school spirit.”

I spent almost eight hours out on the streets on Saturday night watching Picnic Day.  There were few major problems.  And really by mid-evening, the crowds had died down and it was closer to a normal Saturday, maybe even a slow Saturday, than it was to any type of special event, except for the presence of large numbers of police.

Nevertheless, the word creeping out is of the problems of Picnic Day.  Some people are talking about canceling the event (which is something the city cannot do anyway).  Some are talking about cutting off booze in the downtown.

The statistics emerging from the Davis Police Department are starting to mirror our on-the-ground perceptions of Picnic Day.  While the DPD is not offering opinions on whether this year’s Picnic Day was better or worse than last year, they indeed plan to “conduct further analysis of our [their] activity and seek input from community members and other stakeholders before offering any conclusions,” and they do report that there were fewer crimes of violence this year than last year.

“At this time the Davis Police Department is not prepared to issue any opinions about whether this year’s Picnic Day was better or worse than last year,” the department spokesperson Lt. Paul Doroshov said in a press release on Monday.

In the coming days and weeks, public officials will be assessing the success or failure of Picnic Day.  The common thought, at least at this point, is that problems and incidents were down, but the tragedy of Scott Heinig stings.

According to police sources, overall, arrests were down.  The number of fights, while present, were down.

Yesterday the Davis Downtown Business Association announced that 32 business with licenses to sell alcohol have signed a 13-point Picnic Day Community Covenant, agreeing to responsible hospitality practices that highlight moderation and appropriate use of alcoholic beverages on Picnic Day 2011, scheduled for Saturday, April 16.

According to their release, 25 of those 32 businesses are based in the Davis Downtown area, which was the site of the majority of Picnic Day-related disturbances in 2010.

Last week, the City of Davis, looking to take more measures to prevent a repeat of what happened at Picnic Day last year, gave police officers the authority to double fines for violations within a specific safety zone.

Fines for violations of open containers of alcohol in public and excessive noise will rise from $160 to $320.

The Sacramento Bee this morning reports on a closed-door meeting held on Monday with the Davis police, business representatives, students leaders and city staff members.  According to Gary Sandy, the university’s director of local government relations, the group has decided to form a task force to fix Picnic Day.

Mr. Sandy told the Bee, “If Picnic Day is to survive, it will have to change radically.”  He continued, “The message will be sent, loud and clear, that Picnic Day is not party day.  This ought to be a celebration of UC Davis and the Davis community, not a day for drunkenness and rowdiness.”

The Vanguard has learned through numerous sources that Davis Police Chief, Landy Black, since 2007, is a finalist for the Chief position at the Fairfield Police Department.

Chief Black acknowledged that in part this was due to financial considerations, but also the opportunity for professional advancement.  The city is in the process of considering whether to increase the Chief’s compensation in order to insure a continuation of his services.