Really good news

DPD Chief Jose Lopez was our guest at the neighborhood association meeting last night. While i was getting ready to harangue him on the speeding issue, Officer Bayne stopped by with a fresh supply of PACE Car magnets and an announcement that the program was being restarted.

Really good news. It seems like half the problem of dealing with unsafe streets has been getting DPD leadership to recognize that this is important. Fortunately, we weren't treated to the "other neighborhoods in Durham wish that speeding was their biggest problem" line that's been handed out on other occasions.

Probably helped that, of the 30 or so people in attendance, almost everyone raised their hand in response to the "have you had your house broken into in the past year" question. We know what our problems, and our priorities, are.

So, Officer Bayne, and everyone else at DPD who's working on this issue, thank you.

Continue reading Really good news

Chase scene

Some folks on my neighborhood listserv witnessed what appeared to be a high speed chase through a school zone yesterday afternoon. At least one person is adamant that the pursuing vehicle was a Durham PD cruiser. DPD says they weren't involved, their guidelines prohibit chases through school zones, it was probably one of the other law enforcement agencies operating in town.

Anybody else see this? Mid-afternoon pickup time at Club Blvd. school?

Continue reading Chase scene

Didn't see that coming

Herald-Sun:

The commander of the Durham Police Department's patrol officers and detectives has put in her retirement papers, after auditors determined that she personally approved a subordinate's hefty overtime claims.

Deputy Police Chief Beverly "B.J." Council will depart the payroll Dec. 31.

She will go on leave early next week and spend the next few days working with Police Chief Jose Lopez and other senior officials in the department "to ensure an orderly transition," City Manager Tom Bonfield said.

Council as of Wednesday remained in charge of the department's Operations Bureau, Lopez said, contradicting other sources who'd said she'd been relieved on Tuesday.

The announcement came a couple of hours after officials released a report saying that top-level commanders in the department, from Lopez on down, had been aware of and "enabled" an officer's abuse of the city's payroll system.

Had a couple of email exchanges with BJ over the past month which got a little testy. Wonder if this had anything to do with it?

Also, i think this marks Chief Lopez' first serious misstep in his tenure. A lot of stuff can be forgiven if you're doing the main job of keeping bad guys off the street. Pissing away the taxpayers' money ain't one of them.

Continue reading Didn't see that coming

That was then, this is now - updated

A few days ago i asked Durham PD spokesperson Kammie Michael to talk about the apparent discrepancy between Chief Lopez' statements about small signs in traffic circles being likely to lead to driver distraction and increase the chances of an accident, while large electronic billboards on our freeways, in his "professional opinion," would not distract drivers.

She replied that she had forwarded my question, and several others, to the Chief for his response. Here's the full list of questions, by the way:

1 - is the information about the PACE Car program accurate? did it have 1500 participants? i can't recall the last time i heard Eric Hester talk about it at
a PAC meeting.

2 - can the group legally raise money for you to re-implement the program? how much money was budgeted for PACE Car the last year it was operational?

3 - can you tell me the statute under which you think "By law, if a motorist reasonably believed that his or her property might be damaged, the person who posted these signs could be subject to criminal charges."? i've emailed the group, and they say their legal advice dismisses this possibility.

4 - Chief Lopez was recently quoted as saying that in his "professional opinion," electronic billboards on the highways would not be a distraction. Can you reconcile this with DPD's statement yesterday that "We fear that these signs could be a distraction to even the most law-abiding motorists and possibly cause collisions."

I'm obviously too small potatoes for the Chief to respond too. Maybe one day i'll be a respectable source of information like Stanley Chambers.

Continue reading That was then, this is now - updated

That was then, this is now

Durham Police chief Jose Lopez commenting on electronic billboards on the Interstate back in July:

“This is my professional opinion, not a personal one. There is no indication billboards cause accidents. It could only help in getting law enforcement message across.”

Durham Police department statement yesterday in response to a 17" x 22" 3 foot tall sign on a neighborhood surface street:

We fear that these signs could be a distraction to even the most law-abiding motorists and possibly cause collisions.

A request to DPD spokesperson Kammie Michael for a comment on the apparent discrepancy has so far gone unanswered.

UPDATE: Kammie Michael has responded with a note saying she has referred my question to Chief Lopez directly.

Continue reading That was then, this is now

Speeding and drinking

A month or so ago Kevin and i interviewed city manager Tom Bonfield on Shooting the Bull. One of the questions i asked him went something like this. Now that Durham has reported a statistically significant drop in violent crime over the past few years, would it be possible to see the Durham police devote a few more resources to enforcing traffic claws, especially things like speeding and crosswalk encroachment in our neighborhoods that make Durham so uncomfortable and unsafe to walk or bike in.

Tom's response was that not every neighborhood had the luxury of feeling the way the people in mine do, and that this may not be a priority for people in perhaps higher crime neighborhoods.

Well, i see his point, even if i disagree with it.

But, first of all, my neighborhood isn't all that if you know what i mean.

Second, if we don't have enough officers to enforce our traffic laws, why did i watch 3 of Durham's finest spend 20 minutes making sure two men drinking beer in a public space on Main Street last night had to empty their containers and vacate the space. Yeah, public consumption is against the law. I know that. But so is speeding. And if you ask me, and i think many people in Durham, our safety is a lot more jeopardized by people behind the wheel of a 2500 pound vehicle traveling at 45 mph on a residential street designed for 25 mph travel, than it is by a couple of guys drinking 40s out of a brown paper bag on a park bench on Main Street.

Know what i mean?

Continue reading Speeding and drinking

Small steps

I guess this got reprinted in yesterday's print Herald-Sun, though it's originally from the Jacksonville (NC) Daily News:

As the city increases efforts toward pedestrian safety, the Jacksonville Police Department is as well.

The traffic and patrol divisions of the police department have started enforcing pedestrian safety in recent weeks, said JPD Lt. Tony Campbell, with the traffic division.

Traffic officers and community officers pose as pedestrians and bicyclists and cross at various intersections and crosswalks throughout the city as unmarked patrol cars watch from nearby. When drivers don't yield the right of way to the officers posing as pedestrians they are stopped and enforcement action is taken, Campbell said.

The infraction entails a fine and court costs. The fine is at the discretion of the judge, Campbell said.

"We feel that we're trying to educate people on pedestrian crossing and we're trying to make more people aware of what the laws are and what they're responsible to do when a pedestrian is crossing to try to reduce these fatalities and injuries," he said.

As always, the commenters will provide your best entertainment value.

We've talked in the past about the "Three E's" that are necessary for walkable communities - education, engineering, enforcement. In a lot of ways, our engineering hands are tied. Many of Durham's streets are state maintained and designed primarily to move the maximum number of vehicles from point A to point B. That leaves education and enforcement, which go hand in hand. The best way to learn the lesson that pedestrians are part of the transportation mix and have certain rights is with a financial hit when people violate those rights.

Let's hope Chief Lopez is paying attention.

Continue reading Small steps

Friggin' awesome

From Police Captain Larry Smith

The dinosaur head from the museum of life and science has been located and we have identified those involved. This came a result of investigator Little following up on some information and patrol and the rest of the investigative staff continuing with the leads. The head has been returned to the museum and investigators are in talks with the museum as to what course of action they wish to pursue at this point. I would like to thank investigator Little, who is actually working investigations on a temporary basis, investigators Salmon, Jones and Cpl. Clayton for their work on this case.

Major props to Durham PD for such fast work on this case!

Continue reading Friggin' awesome

Dinosaur update

Just heard back from Durham PD. Officer Little is working on this case. If you have any information, please call (him? her?) at 560-4582, ext. 29254.

Outside of Mike Shiflett's offer of a $100 reward for the return of Bronto's head, no word from the city on any reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the vandals.

On a somewhat related note, the small bit of graffiti that i reported to the city this morning has apparently been removed already. Credit to Durham One-Call and the HEAT Team. That's the kind of thing that i mean when i talk about "broken windows." In some ways, the theory has been embraced by parts of the city's bureaucracy, and works well. In others, not so much. Let's see some more consistency, and fewer excuses.

Continue reading Dinosaur update

Short attention span theater

Whatever happened to this story?

A Bank of America manager and his teen daughter are safe after three armed suspects kidnapped them Thursday morning, according to Durham Police.

Kammie Michael, spokeswoman for Durham Police, tells NBC17 that the man and his 13-year-old daughter were driving on Pineburr Place when a vehicle bumped them from behind. The father got out of his Mercedes to talk to the people that hit his car. Three people confronted the man at gunpoint and forced him back into his car.

"It sounds like ... if they went up behind him and carjacked him, they had to been at least following him," Durham Police Lt. Mark Sykes said. "Planning out ... doing their homework."

According to Michael, at that point the suspects put the daughter into the trunk of the vehicle that caused the accident. Michael said the daughter was able to get out of the trunk safely, but couldn't provide details on how the daughter was able to escape. She flagged down a Sheriff's Deputy.

Police say the bank manager and one of the suspects drove to the Bank of America at 3807 North Duke Street in the victim's car, followed by another suspect in a grey colored SUV.

I know the needs of the news cycle force us to have short attention spans, but this was a front page story for a day or two just a month ago, and then just completely disappeared without arrests, updates, or debunking. Do we have three kidnappers at large in our community or not? Do we have a news media that knows the meaning of the word followup? Do we have a police department that's willing to determine whether a crime was committed or not and share that information with the public?

Continue reading Short attention span theater

Public service announcement

Durham 911 Center Debuts Non-Emergency Number

Non-Emergency Number Frees Up 911 Lines for Life Threatening Emergencies

Durham, N.C. – Barking dogs…loud music…burglaries occurring hours or days earlier…vandalism to public or private property. These are just a few examples of the types of calls that can now be reported to Durham’s new, non-emergency phone number.

The new number, (919) 560-4600, was established by the Durham Emergency Communication Center (DECC) to free up 911 lines for life threatening or in-progress emergencies. According to Jim Soukup, director of the DECC, the non-emergency number is an ideal way for residents to report events that do not need an immediate response by a public safety agency.

“I have read on community list servs and responded to countless inquiries from citizens who need to report something, such as a stolen flower pot or a barking dog, but don’t know of another way to do so other than using 911,” Soukup said. “Given the community need for a way to report an event that doesn’t rise to the level of life threatening or in-progress emergencies, we felt a new number to call would be beneficial to ensuring our 911 lines are free for people who need immediate help and our non-emergency line would be ideal for reporting non-emergency problems or concerns.”

According to Soukup, all incidents reported through the non-emergency line are tracked the same as if the call was received on the 911 lines. “All calls received on the non-emergency line are still received directly into the DECC,” Soukup said. “We still track the information and report it as normal to the appropriate agency. However, the 911 lines take precedent and by citizens using the non-emergency line for these types of incidents and events, the 911 lines remain open for people who do have life-threatening emergencies. Of course, if anyone is ever in doubt as to which number to call, they should use 911.”

I'm encouraged by the fact that the barking dog example was used to illustrate the need for this number. I'll be programming it into my speed dial.

Continue reading Public service announcement

A quick question

I'm home for a couple of days in between out of town excursions. Lots of work to get done around the house, and then i'll be busy all day tomorrow manipulating the election, so expect light posting for the next week or so.

On our way down the mountain yesterday, Mrs D and i passed through the town of Blowing Rock. It's gotten quite a bit tonier than i recall from my last trip, a decade or so ago. On our way into town we passed a sign that said "Vehicle Noise Ordinance Strictly Enforced." (Sorry, wasn't able to get a photo.)

Here's the question.

I know that a number of my readers are Durham city staffers. I don't know if anyone from Durham PD has yet discovered DE. I'm pretty sure that Durham doesn't have a separate "vehicle noise ordinance" at this time. We do have a general noise ordinance which theoretically covers things like barking dogs and ultra-loud sound systems in automobiles. Has anyone in Durham ever been issued a summons or citation for violating the noise ordinance by playing their car sound system too loud? I know i'm not the only person in town whose windows get rattled by sound systems two blocks away. Leaving this as a complaint driven ordinance is, of course, useless, as you can seldom see the car in question, and certainly by the time you report it, they're gone.

So, DPD - any plans to enforce the noise ordinance on these rolling sound monstrosities, or as i like to think about them, mobile broken windows?

Continue reading A quick question

50,000

My own experience of crime in Durham has been that it's decidedly safer than Sacramento or Stockton California, where i spent seven years before moving here in 1993, and had my cars broken into on an annual basis (including once at my daughter's grade school parking lot, and once in a Target parking lot) and my house broken into twice. That said, this really is an astounding piece of information:

Pledges to reform long-standing ills of the criminal justice system in the wake of recent high-profile homicides continued Tuesday, with city and county leaders resolving to make a dent in Durham County's 50,000 unserved arrest warrants.

"We've still been engaged in dynamic inaction on this issue," council member Eugene Brown, who has tried for years to bring attention to the problem, said Tuesday at a joint meeting of city and county elected officials.

"Serving warrants is part of the front line of fighting crime, and we've done a ... lousy job of it."

But Step 1 likely will involve letting thousands off the hook, not making more arrests: Old, low-level misdemeanors will be "purged" from the system altogether.

I once heard that crime doesn't pay. Maybe i was dreaming.

Continue reading 50,000

More things i could get used to

Not being forced to listen to other people's high decibel mobile sound systems forty or fifty times a day. You know it's a problem when you're sitting in front of the computer at 8:30 in the evening, and you can hear the music from over a block away. It was refreshing not to hear a single 85 dB subwoofer for almost a week. Someone, i think it was on a PAC2 listserve post, mentioned something about enforcing Durham's "boombox ordinance." To my knowledge, Durham does not have a specific ordinance dealing with mobile sound systems. Instead, we have a generic noise ordinance (Chapter 11, Section 11-1) which reads wonderfully, and is somewhat useful in dealing with loud parties or neighbors using power tools at 5 am.

It's a lot less useful, to the point of virtual non-existence, in dealing with, say, barking dogs or loud mobile sound systems. In the former case, police officers can't write citations to the dog's owner if they're not around, and most of the time, that's why the dog is barking - because they've been tied out in the yard and ignored for 48 hours at a time. In the latter case, how exactly do you make a complaint? "Hey, some guy is driving up the road two blocks away with his music so loud i can't carry on a conversation in my back yard." "Did you get a description of the vehicle?" "Um, no. He's two blocks away. I can't even tell you what direction he's moving."

By the way, Kevin and Michael both follow up on a post of mine about enforcing speed limits in residential neighborhoods from before my little coastal excursion. They each make excellent points.

Continue reading More things i could get used to

Shall we call him "bloodhound"?

Looks like our own Sgt. Gunter had a busy night last night, tracking down an alleged drunk driver in Bragtown.

From the N&O:

Police found a man accused of drunkenly driving into a yard by following a trail left after he walked away through droppings left by the resident's dogs.

Police say Josue Herrios-Coronilla, 18, was drunk when he left his apartment on Channing Court and drove his black Camaro on the wrong side of the road, all the way into the front yard of 3025 Farthing St. in Bragtown.

. . .

Luckily for police, two of McDonald's four dogs -- a Great Pyrenees named Comet and a chow named Snowball -- use the yard as their dumping grounds. And when the driver stepped out of his car, he left a fresh shoe print in a pile of droppings and an odoriferous trail down Channing Avenue, said Durham police Sgt. Dale Gunter.

Gunter followed the path and stopped a white van driving toward him, asking the passenger, Herrios-Coronilla, to get out. The officer smelled his breath. He smelled alcohol.

Then, he looked at the man's shoes. They were covered in evidence.

The real question for Sgt. Gunter, of course, is how does this compare to being a Beaver Queen Pageant judge when it comes to career highlights?

Continue reading Shall we call him "bloodhound"?

Making a dent

Kevin picked up on my post to the PAC2 listserv about "celebratory gunfire" around town on New Year's Eve. In years past, i've heard maybe half a dozen to a dozen burst, from one or two shots to maybe 6 or 7 at a time in the period immediately surrounding midnight. This year in the same location gunfire was pretty much non-stop between 10:30 and 1 am (one emailer tells me it continued to 5 am where he was), and it certainly sounded like hi capacity magazines being emptied. I counted 17 or 18 shots on more than one occasion.

Commenters on Kevin's thread are posting all over the place. DR writes:

I think legalizing more types of fireworks would help. Or we could urge people to shoot blanks, as Michael suggested on the PAC2 listserv.

Blanks are pretty hard to come by (they're not sold at Dick's), but I usually have the more common cartridge varieties from boy scout firearms instruction. I actually thought about distributing these in the neighborhoods where I do some volunteer work, but was worried about running afoul of some law.

He then adds:

More enforcement will help, though I don't think it will eliminate the problem. With all of the drinking, assault, arson, and other shenanigans on NYE I think the police are pretty busy.

Most effective would be a public education campaign; this seems to have helped in other cities. Unfortunately it usually takes a high profile shooting death, as happened in my home town of New Orleans in 1994.

(emphasis added)

Meanwhile, MS writes:

I would be interested to know what the DPD would like to say about this method of celebration, and how, if at all, can it be curtailed in the future? I disagree with David Rollins via Michael of PAC2, comments about handing out blanks. How can the sound of blanks being shot reassure me as a responsible, law abiding citizen, that they weren't real? I would never know that. Regardless, why should the celebration of a handful of folks in my neighborhood be impressed upon me with the uncontrolled sound of gunfire? I take pride in treating my neighbors with respect. Shooting real or blank rounds to celebrate New Year or 4th of July, or whatever holiday, is not excusable. I agree with Barry that folks should be arrested for discharging a firearm in the City limits, but when it was so widespread as it was on Monday night, how would they be able to make a dent?

A quick google search on the terms "celebratory gunfire" reveals, as expected, that this problem is not unique to Durham. And in many cases, it has taken a "high profile" tragedy to inspire action. But in many cases that action has been effective, and the concept isn't that hard to dollow or the tactics that hard to duplicate.

First, City Council has to make it a felony to recklessly discharge a firearm in the city limits. currently it's a misdemeanor, punishable by 30 days or $500. Make it a felony punishable by up to 36 months and a $25,000 fine. (It may be that this falls under the "needs permission from the legislature to enact" part of our state constitution. If anybody knows for sure, please let me know. For now, i'm assuming this is within council's purview.)

Then, beginning December 1, the city and DPD make an intensive effort to inform the citizenry that celebratory gunfire will not be tolerated. A dozen billboards around town, bus sides, PSAs, newspaper articles and ads, a couple of high profile press conferences with Jose Lopez and Bill Bell announcing the new higher penalties for recklessly discharging a weapon in town. Also set up a special number for folks to call to report gunfire in their neighborhood, and publicize the heck out of it.

On NYE, put an extra couple of dozen patrol cars out on the streets specifically to respond to gunfire reports.

Make a couple of dozen arrests.

Repeat as necessary.

Experience shows that within two or three years, people get the message.

Of course, we could always wait until there's a "high profile death" resulting from this practice before we decide to do anything about it. That seems to be the way most things get done around here.

Continue reading Making a dent

Say what?!

From the N&O's updated article on yesterday's city council work session:

Stith was asked whether he thought the swift turnaround in the Police Department's position on the issue was in any way politically motivated.

"To me, it's just very curious," Stith said. "Whether politics was involved, who knows?"

Stith was asked whether someone else's action was politically motivated? And he doesn't know? Holy cow!

Tell you what. I'd love to be a fly on the wall for the meeting that's going to happen between Ron Hodge and Jose Lopez this afternoon*, that's for sure.

==========================================

* No, i have no idea whether or not Hodge and Lopez are meeting today, or met last night, or will meet next week, or whatever. But be real. Something about this whole process smells like yesterday's fish. The DPD may have internal disagreements about how to implement policy. But those are supposed to be aired behind closed doors. The deputy chief should not be going before council and presenting a policy statement that is, as Thomas Stith put it, "180 degrees" removed from what the chief says.

That ain't right.

Continue reading Say what?!

Durham past, Durham future

Two events the past few days helped me to better understand where Durham has been and where Durham is going, but not necessarily where it is today.

Yesterday, Eddie Davis organized a panel discussion and gathering at the Durham County library to celebrate and honor the Royal 7, seven African Americans who took part in what was probably the first organized sit-in protesting America's apartheid era, fifty years ago. The Royal Ice Cream parlor stood on the corner of Roxboro and Dowd; in recent years it was the site of Charles Dunham's restaurant, but was recently torn down to make way for a church related education center.



Virginia Williams (above) and the Rev. Douglas Moore, who both participated in the 1957 sit-in, were present, and talked about how the event came about, and how it transpired, and how the North Carolina legal system upheld the convictions of the seven for violating the then existing racial segregation laws, which made it a crime for African Americans to sit in seats reserved for whites.

For someone like me, who was a very small child when these events, and the subsequent, more publicized protests in Greensboro a few years later were taking place and leading, eventually, to sweeping changes in our nation's laws, seeing this living history helps me understand a little better the process by which cultural change of this magnitude can take place. We tend to look at the process through a media magnifying lens which makes it easy to forget the real struggles of the essentially ordinary people who took these extraordinary steps.

A day prior, a different event pointed toward the future, when the public swearing in ceremony for Durham's new police chief Jose Lopez, Sr. was held in City Hall. In 1957, the laws of the city and state, and those sworn to uphold them, were used to deny justice to many of our residents, for no reasons other than skin color and fear.

The appointment of a Hispanic police chief in a city like Durham, which historically does not have a Spanish speaking population base, but which is changing rapidly, speaks volumes to the way we choose to embrace the future. New residents bringing cultural differences into our lives need not be a source of fear moving forward, unless we choose to be afraid. The send-off that Mr. Lopez received from his colleagues in Hartford, and the welcome shown to him by his new associates in Durham was encouraging and heart-warming.

All of which makes these recent reports all the more troubling. Thomas Stith's dad was part of the movement for social justice in our town. He is reportedly campaigning by condemning racial profiling on the one hand, yet calling for increased police action against a group of people based on nothing more than their appearance and the language that they speak?

Is that a choice we want to make for Durham?

Continue reading Durham past, Durham future

Are they trying to tell us something?

Reader JH alerts me to some surreptitious photos from the set of the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight.

Of particular interest is the logo of the Gotham Police Department.


He wonders where they've drawn their inspiration from. Gotham City, of course, is a stand in for New York, and here's the NYPD logo.


Not a bad likeness, actually, but is there something maybe even more alike? Something a little closer to home?


Well, whaddaya know. We may have a winner.

Now, before you go saying, hey, all PD logos look alike, i've already googled "police department logo" for you. Take a look. I think you'll agree that given the wide variety of PD logos, there might be something more than coincidence at work here.

And as JH notes, the Gotham PD was portrayed in a less than flattering fashion in the most recent Batman movie. Let's hope that new Chief Jose Lopez, Sr., gives Hollywood a good reason to go looking elsewhere for a model for poor police departments in the future.

Continue reading Are they trying to tell us something?

Durham Police Chief - It's Lopez

From a City of Durham press release:

· During today’s press conference, City Manager Patrick W. Baker will announce that Jose L. Lopez, Sr. will be the next police chief for the City of Durham. Lopez will be present for today’s announcement.



· Lopez will begin his new position with the City effective September 1, 2007. His annual salary will be $125,000. He was selected following a seven-month search process that included a public forum.



· Prior to accepting the police chief position with the City, Lopez has been the assistant police chief in Hartford, Conn. since 2006. Prior to this position, he served as the deputy chief of the Hartford Police Department’s South Division from 2006-2005. He has also served as captain, lieutenant, sergeant and patrol officer in Hartford, Conn. from 2005-1983; investigator for the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety from 1983-1982; and as a military police officer in the United States Air Force at Barksdale Air Base, Bossier City, La. from 1980-1976.



· Lopez holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice with a minor in political science from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York, NY. He is also a graduate of the 183rd Session of the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy, Quantico, Va.; the Supervisory Leadership Course at Tunxis Community College’s Criminal Justice Command Institute, Farmington, Conn. Lopez is currently a candidate in the Public Policy Master’s Program at Trinity College, Hartford, Conn.

OK, the wait is over. I think Lopez was the best choice of the three finalists for the job and for the city, and i'm glad that the drawn out process did not lead to any extra difficulties.

Welcome to Durham, Jose Lopez.

Continue reading Durham Police Chief - It's Lopez