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Wednesday, May 24, 2006 (SF Chronicle)
RICHMOND/After 3 slayings, chief tells how he'll fight crime/Amid surge in violence, he talks tough -- but says long-term solution will take time

Carolyn Jones, Chronicle Staff Writer

One day after a string of shootings killed three people in Richmond's bloodiest night in recent memory, the police chief said he's revamping how the department fights crime -- but warned that it could take years to contain the violence.

Police Chief Chris Magnus, who came to Richmond from Fargo, N.D. just five months ago, took a hard line Tuesday even as investigators scrambled for clues in the spate of shootings, which brought to 15 the number of homicides recorded in Richmond so far this year -- about twice the number seen by this time last year.

"No efforts or expense will be spared when it comes to arrests. If you're guilty, we will catch you, and you will do hard time," he said. "But we need a long-term solution, not just a Band-Aid, and that will take time."

Crime is up across the board in Richmond, which has long struggled with gangs, poverty and a cycle of violence that seems almost entrenched. But Richmond is not alone: Oakland, San Francisco and cities nationwide have seen surges in violence in recent months.

Theories abound on why -- new waves of parolees returning to their neighborhoods; the easy availability of firearms; a culture that tolerates-- even glorifies -- violence and discourages cooperating with police.

And Richmond, like Oakland, is having a tough time recruiting new police officers even as it grapples with a cycle of killing and retaliation that's seemingly impossible to stop.
The chief's proposal was not crafted in response to Monday's violence -- Magnus had been working on it for months -- but the shootings highlight the challenges he faces.

"I'm imploring the community to keep the faith," said Mayor Irma Anderson.
"We have a competent, capable police chief who has a plan to deal with this violence."

TAZER NOTE: You have A LOT of nerve Irma. You think it's ok to pass the buck on this to our "capable police chief"? THIS HAS HAPPENED ON YOUR WATCH MAYOR! QUIT TRYING TO DUMP IT ALL ON SOMEONE ELSE! You and the council should give Chief Magnus what he needs instead of saying "you fix it"...maybe if you and the council TOOK SOME RESPONSIBLITY FOR THE MESS YOU MADE, PEOPLE WOULD ACTUALLY GIVE A DAMN ABOUT WHAT YOU SPEW. Now back to your regularly scheduled story...

The shootings began just before 7 p.m. when a 19-year-old fired randomly on Chanslor Avenue but didn't hit anyone. About 20 minutes later, Laquisha Turner, 17, was shot as she drove with her boyfriend on Hilltop Mall Road.

She died Tuesday morning.

At about 8:30 p.m., someone walked up to Deshon Cortez Dokes as he walked on Bissell Avenue and opened fire, killing the 26-year-old. Barely a half hour later, a 15-year-old boy was shot as he rode his bicycle near Sixth Street and Lucas Avenue. He remained hospitalized Tuesday in critical but stable condition.

Shontelle Boughton, 26, was sitting in a car parked on Gately Avenue at about 9:30 p.m. when suspects in an Oldsmobile Aurora shot him in the chest. He died later the same night.
And just before midnight, a 16-year-old boy was shot in the foot near the basketball court at Lucas Park.

Like the Oakland Police Department, Richmond is woefully understaffed. It has 159 sworn police officers -- a deficit of 20 percent -- to serve a city of 102,000. Retirements and difficulties recruiting officers are to blame.

But even if the department filled every vacancy tomorrow, it wouldn't fix what Magnus called a deadly combination of guns, drugs and "a culture of payback for perceived disrespect."
"It's not as simple as throwing money at the problem and flooding the streets with cops," he said. "You can triple the number of officers and not see any change. It's how you utilize the officers you have."

To that end, Magnus' plan calls for reorganizing the force into three units -- North, Central and South. Each would have its own captain, who would answer to Magnus and oversee officers assigned specifically to each neighborhood. The plan, which amounts to a return to community policing, is designed to have officers get to know residents and become part of the community.
That, in turn, would increase accountability by giving officers a stake in the area and encourage residents to be more cooperative with investigations.

Magnus also wants to work closely with the West Contra Costa Unified School District and plans to double -- to two -- the number of police officers assigned to each of the three high schools in Richmond and have them work more closely with the district in truancy enforcement.

The chief has no qualms about asking for help and said he will work with an array of agencies -- from the district attorney's office to the county health department to the Drug Enforcement Agency -- to tackle crime from every angle and strike at the core causes.

"This kind of violence cannot be dealt with by the Richmond police alone,"
he said. "This is a shared responsibility that we have to take on together."

Magnus is not the first chief to offer a big plan, and many of his proposals have been attempted by his predecessors. But Magnus brings new enthusiasm to the job, he has the support of the City Council, and it seems residents realize they must play as great a role as the police in solving crime.

"We are a city that is sick with homicides. And it's not just the role of the police to cure this sickness," said the Rev. Andre Shumake, a Baptist minister and president of the Richmond Improvement Association. "For this madness to end, we have to say enough is enough. If we continue on this path, we are going to destroy one another."
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Copyright 2006 SF Chronicle
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TAZER NOTE: The Tazer belives that Chief Magnus does have a plan to stop this violence, but we also believe that he's going to need A LOT of help, which he won't get from the assorted politcial poverty pimps in an election year. The Tazer is asking the people in our communities to offer any help you can to the RPD and the chief to make something happen.