Damp Thursday greetings, Tazer Faithful. Lots to do, so let's do it...
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Drive-by shooting injures girl
Indiscriminate attack in North Richmond sends first-grader to hospital; deputies arrest one suspectBy Karl Fischer
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
NORTH RICHMOND -- Shyron Jones spent the predawn hours Wednesday at the bedside of her 6-year-old granddaughter, doing her best to hold down one end of a heart-rending conversation.
"She said, 'I don't want to go to sleep, Grandma. I'm afraid I won't wake up,'" Jones said.
Hours earlier, two rounds fired near Donye Johnson's home in North Richmond whistled into her family's living room, through a couch and into the first-grader, who authorieis say was the sole victim of a drive-by shooting Thursday night targeting nobody in particular.
(Tazer: Which is why we stand by our assessment of terrorism.)Donye will survive, thanks to Children's Hospital Oakland, her family said. While she recuperated Wednesaday, Contra Costa sheriff's Lt. Donny Gordon searched for words to describe a form of violence seen frequently of late in West County.
"It is un-American...a despicable act," said Gordon, commander of the sheriff's Bay Station. "We deal with this thing all the time out here in West County, and quite frankly, this has gotten ridiculous."
In recent months, law enforcement in the greater Richmond area have noted an increase in environmental, neighborhood-oriented shootings that do not so much target specific people as they do neighborhoods claimed as turf by gangs -- and anyone present when the gunmen roll past.
(Tazer: So, like we were saying: TERRORISM!)Donye -- one of six children in her family's home or the unit next door, which shares a wall -- was simply standing in the living room of the home in the 200 block of Silver Avenue when the shooting started. Rounds struck at least six housesbetween Second and Fifth streets.
"Somebody came by and fired about 100 shots," said Tyrazna Ray, Donye's aunt. "I heard big ones, I heard small ones...we all hit the floor."
The rounds entered through Donye's left side, her family said. Hospital staff pronounced her stable early Wednesday, her grandmother said, though doctors were hesitant to remove the bullets, one nestled near a lung, the other near her stomach.
Authorities did arrest one suspect in the case before the night ended, but not before a second gunman shot at deputies pursuing him. None was hurt.
Richmond police confirmed the case may touch ipon their investigation of a killing Friday in the nearby Parchester Village neighborhood. In that case, someone shot and killed 32-year-old Jermonte Briggs in the parking lot of the neighborhood recreation center in front of dozens of people.
"We are taking a close look at that the determine whether there's any connection," Richmond Detective Sgt. Mitch Peixoto said.
Police made one arrest in Tuesday's shooting after a vehicle matching the description of the gunmen's car crashed near Parchester Village.
Late Tuesday afternoon, prior to the shooting, police in the region began searching for a stolen white Jeep equipped with the Lo-Jack security system after the company reported receiving a signal from the vehicle in Richond.
Police found the Jeep about 10 p.m., its windows riddled with bullet holes, crashed off the road on a ramp that connects Richmond Parkway to Giant Road, near Parchester Village. Residents of a nearby San Pablo neighborhood reported seeing armed men run from the car.
Richmond police quickly drove to the neighborhood, suspecting the gunmen would enter it. An officer spotted one suspect, a 19-year-old Richmond man, hobbling along on Harrison Drive. About 20 feet away from him, officers found an assault weapon in the street.
Officers saw a second suspect tun into a house, which they surrounded. but before they could seal the perimeter, the suspect jumped out a rear window and ran through the dark to the Union Pacific railroad tracks west of the neighborhood.
Sheriff's deputies pursued the suspect into the marshy area immediately south of the West County jail and Point Pinole Regional Shoreline. During the foot chase, the gunman fired six to 10 shots at the deputies, Gordon said.
Helicopters with infrared equipment scanned the shoreline, and about 60 deputies and officers from Richond, San Pablo, Hercules, the Easy Bay Regional park District and the Highway Patrol scoured the area but could not find the shooter.
Deputies on Wednesday served a search warrant at the house police surrounded and found a sawed-off shotgun, a case for an assault weapon and ammunition, among other evidence, authorities said.
Police detained seven people at the house but did not arrest them. Deputies did arrest the 19-year-old stopped on the sreet on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and firing into a dwelling.
Detectives did not identify the suspect Wednesday to preseve the integrity of the investigation. They seek more than one other suspect, Gordon said.
While the search continued in Parchester, stagg members at Richmond's Peres Elementary School did their best to comfort Donye's classmates. Principal Janet Scott said students and staff were glad to hear she will be OK.
"I think they were surprised to hear what happened," Scott said. "There was a broad range of reactions."
Donye's first-grade classmates made get-well cards, which they hope to deliver Friday. Counselors and a psychologist will remain at the school for the rest of the week to offer support to students and staff members, Scott added.
"I spke with the mom today and reassured her that we would help her the best we could," Scott said, "and our prayers are with her family and Donye."
Staff writer Kimberly S. Wetzel contributed to this article. Reach Karl Fischer at 510-262-2728 or kfischer@cctimes.com.
HOW TO HELP: The Contra Costa Sheriff's Office asks anyone with information about Tuesday night's shootings in Richmond or near Parchester Village to call 925-646-2441.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Many thanks to the cooperative efforts of all of the involved law enforcement agencies. We realize the area in question is at the cusp of several jurisdictions, but it doesn't sound like that was a hinderance. Good job in handling the thug, the weapons, and the stolen vehicle.
Tazer reader "Pay it Forward" took us to task yesterday about challenging our readers to make donations to the family of Donye Johnson. While that's well and good, and we encourage our readership to do so, don't forget to make donations throughout the year, especially around the holidays, too. Many organizations and the people they serve could use the help.
If anyone out there has specific information for donations to Donye, feel free to notify us and we'll publish it.
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Outsider to probe police race allegations
RICHMOND: City Council hires lawyer to study officers' accusations against chiefBy John Geluardi and Karl Fischer
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
The Richmond City Council has hired an independent investigator to probe allegations of racial discrimination in the Police Department.
Raymond Marshall, an attorney with San Francisco-based law firm Bingham McCutchen, will investigate charges by three police captains and three lieutenants that Richmond police Chief Chris Magnus has fostered a climate of racism in the department and on one occasion made a derogatory racial comment.
The council on Tuesday night unanimously approved hiring Marshall. The investigation will begin immediately, City Manager Bill Lindsay said.
"Raymond Marshall has extensive experience investigating complex civil and criminal litigation for clients who have actions brought against them by agencies like the Department of Justice, the U.S. attorney and state district attorneys," said Lindsay, who recommended Marshall. "In short, he is a very well-qualified investigator with outstanding credentials to do a thorough and objective investigation."
Marshall could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
The six command staff officers, all black men, have hired an attorney and said they will file a lawsuit in state court. All six allege they were victims of racial harassment and were denied promotions, though Magnus, who is white, promoted two of the officers in May.
Magnus, who took over Jan. 17, has vigorously denied all the allegations. The former police chief in Fargo, N.D., Magnus is Richmond's first permanent chief since 2003. He has been widely praised for his neighborhood-friendly policing policies and his personable style of community relations.
City Councilman Nat Bates called Marshall's credentials "impeccable" and urged the public to wait for the investigation results before passing judgment.
"It's too early to take positions," Bates said. "We have to be very cautious. This is a very sensitive issue, and any talk of racism or sexism has to be taken seriously."
The Rev. Charles Newsome, the departing president of the Richmond National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said his organization will remain neutral on the allegations until the investigation is completed. The officers and the chief need to resolve their differences for the good of the city, he said.
"Chief Magnus has earned my trust and has responded positively to expressed needs in the faith-based and African-American community," Newsome said. "I know the officers involved, and I trust that they will do whatever necessary to heal wounds on both sides of the table."
Marshall's hiring comes just a week after the allegations came to light: Magnus, Deputy Chief Lori Ritter and City Hall received letters last week from the attorney who represents the six command staff officers notifying the city of their intention to sue over alleged workplace discrimination.
Magnus said Wednesday that he welcomes the investigation and hopes the issue will be resolved quickly.
"I think this is a good first step in the process. I look forward to fully cooperating with the investigator," he said. "I am confident the findings will show that I have done nothing inappropriate."
The officers allege that a pattern of discriminatory behavior since Magnus joined the department led them to file complaints with the state Department of Fair Employment and Housing in late November, then to abandon those complaints to clear the path for a lawsuit in state court.
The complainants represent more than one-third of the department's command staff: Capts. Cleveland Brown, Alec Griffin and Eugene McBride, and Lts. Michael Booker, Shawn Pickett and Arnold Threets.
Christopher Dolan, the attorney representing the officers, did not return several calls seeking comment. He told news media last week that Magnus recently told one of his clients to dance for the entertainment of white officers and used a racial epithet.
He also said Magnus permitted an overtly racist culture to "fester" within the department and retaliated against his clients for complaining and denied them promotional opportunities, even though Magnus did promote Griffin and Booker to their current ranks this year.
Magnus has suggested publicly that the suit has more to do with political power within the department than racism.
During his first months as chief, Magnus changed the department's command structure by inserting two deputy chief positions between the rank of chief and captain. The move reduced the relative power and authority of the department's captains, including Brown and McBride, who were both holdovers from interim Chief Terry Hudson's tenure in 2005.
Magnus promoted Ritter, a white woman who previously served as captain, and Ed Medina, a Latino man who previously served as a lieutenant, to deputy chief.
In recent weeks, the department's rank and file in general, and some black officers in particular, were angered when Magnus changed the process by which officers are selected to enter the detective bureau next year after they had applied for those jobs.
Magnus installed a committee interview process for screening applicants -- a departure from past practice, in which the chief selected detectives with heavy input from the lieutenant supervising the bureau. Pickett is currently that lieutenant.
Recah John Geluardi at 510-262-2787 or jgeluardi@cctimes.com. Reach Karl Fischer at 510-262-2728 or kfischer@cctimes.com.
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The Tazer found
Mr. Marshall's bio at Bingham McCutchen, and we pronounce it good. We hope that this issue is brought to swift and just conclusion.
Anyone or anything standing in the way of effective law enforcement needs to straighten up and fly right.
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CONTRA COSTA TIMES EDITORIALMust stop the killingWHEN IT COMES to violent crime, Oakland and Richmond are tragically similar.
Both cities saw more murders in 2006 than in any year since the early 1990s. Oakland has the second-highest violent crime rate for a city its size in the state. Richmond has consistently ranked as one of the most dangerous cities not only in California but in the nation as a whole.
As of this writing, 42 people had been murdered this year in Richmond, 146 in Oakland.
The majority of the victims were young black or Latino men killed in street shootings. San Quentin State Prison has so many inmates from Richmond that it is a de facto bedroom community of that city.
The flatlands in Oakland and Richmond, home to the poorest residents, are as dangerous as any street in a war zone.
People with assault rifles have stormed apartment buildings, shooting everyone in sight. Young children playing outside have seen adults shot before their very eyes. On Tuesday night, a little girl in first grade was shot in Richmond when a carload of gunmen began firing indiscriminately into houses. It was a miracle she wasn't killed.
We know what the root causes are: The erosion of a once-thriving manufacturing sector that lured Southern blacks to the Bay Area in the '40s means the good-paying jobs at the shipyards and naval bases are long gone -- their equivalent in today's market shipped overseas.
There still are lingering effects of the crack explosion that decimated families and left a generation of children to fend for themselves. Bad schools, poverty, anger and hopelessness turn young children into nihilists with no respect for their lives or anyone else's.
The list is endless. The question is, what can be done to arrest the spread of this disease before countless more young lives are lost?
Elected officials have trotted out a number of quick-fix solutions. Operation Ceasefire, the brainchild of outgoing Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown, called for police to identify the top 100 troublemakers in town, then haul them in and tell them to clean up their act, or else.
Or else what? Oakland's police department is so understaffed it doesn't even have an operational fingerprint department.
State Senate leader Don Perata suggested putting counselors and mentors on the main problem corners to help diffuse the violence. Not a bad idea, but hardly original.
What is urgently needed in both cities is a multipronged crime-fighting approach. Coming up with a sensible plan for curbing the epidemic street violence must be the No. 1 priority for Mayors-elect Ron Dellums of Oakland and Gayle McLaughlin of Richmond.
During their respective mayoral races, both left-of-center candidates promised to represent the interests of the little people, so long ignored by City Hall.
Come January, they'll have a chance to prove that pledge was more than just talk to the terrorized residents of the flatlands.
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Indeed Mayor-elect McLaughlin will have much to prove, and the Tazer will be watching.
