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MMAYAY 20122012 VVOLUMEOLUME V V -- IISSUESSUE 55

Our MissionOur Mission Work in partnership with our community to protect life and property, reduce crime, and enhance the security and quality of liWork in partnership with our community to protect life and property, reduce crime, and enhance the security and quality of li fe fe in our cityin our city

Centralia Police Department PO Box 609, 118 W. Maple Street Centralia, WA 98531 www.cityofcentralia.com / cpd@cityofcentralia.com 1-800-748-6422 or 740-2726

Fast Facts

There are more thank 900,000 law enforcement officers serving in the United States

1,799 law enforcement offic-ers have been killed in the line of duty in the past 10 years

The first recorded police death in the United States was in 1791

The deadliest day in law en-forcement history was Sep-tember 11, 2001 when 72 officers were killed while responding to the terrorist attacks on America.

On average, more than 53,500 law enforcement of-ficers (are assaulted each year, resulting in approxi-mately 14,000 injuries

Last year in the City of Cen-tralia, there were 13 inci-dents wherein Centralia Po-lice Officers were assaulted; fortunately none with signifi-cant injuries.

Washington State bestowed 9 Medals of Honor in 2012, two posthumously.

Do you have a question about the law, police procedures, policing tactics? Why we write tickets on

some people we stop and not oth-ers? Send it in - we will pick ques-tions e-mailed to us and provide an opinion, answer, department proce-

dure or practice, or what the law says. E-mail your question to

cpd@cityofcentralia.com.

NATIONAL POLICE

WEEK

May 13 through 19 was National Police Week and Tuesday May 15th was National Police Officers’ Memo-rial Day. Having never been in attendance in Washington DC for

this event, I took some vacation and went back to witness and participate in the read-ing of Centralia Police Officer William H. Smith (End of Watch - EOW, 12-23-1910) as he was recognized for his service and sacri-fice. On Sunday evening (May 13th) more than 20,000 uniformed officers from through-out the United States, Canada, and the Unit-ed Kingdom gather at the National Police Memorial to honor the more than 300 names recently inscribed on the wall, including the 163 officers who were killed in the line of duty in 2011.

There were three names from Washington State added to the wall this year. In addition to our Officer Smith, Pierce County Deputy Sheriff Shandon Wright (EOW 03/03/2011) and Washington State Corrections Officer Jayme Biendl (EOW 01/29/2011) were hon-ored and remembered.

Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano were the guest speakers at the Candlelight Ser-vice. The name of each of the 362 names newly inscribed on the wall was read aloud. This included officers killed this past year as well as other previous deaths unreport-ed to the memori-al foundation.

On Tuesday, Na-tional Police Of-ficers’ Memorial Day all U. S.

flags at all governmental building in DC (and there are hundreds of them) were at half-staff and President Barrack Obama was the main speaker at the Law Enforcement Offic-ers’ Memorial Service.

The National Law Enforcement Memorial was developed with private funding and serves to recognize and remember those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in ser-vice to their community. A Museum is also being constructed at the site and should be finished shortly.

It is important to remember our fallen comrades and the experience of being there for the services will stay with me for the rest of my life.

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“I have never seen a monument erected to a pessimist” Paul Harvey

Annual Departmental Awards Ceremony

At the city council meeting on May 10th, as a part of the National Police Week Observances, the police department conducted its annual awards and recognition program. This has been a tradition with the department since 2004. The council takes time from their busy agenda to allow the department and its employees to receive recognition for the important work that is done on behalf of the residents of our community. The following officers and employees were recognized:

For Five Years of Service:

Police Officer Dave Clary Police Officer Doug Lowrey Police Officer Will Phipps Police Records Technician Taresa Robertson Police Officer Mike Smerer

For Forty Five Years of Service:

Police Records Technician Gayle Mulligan

Citizen Commendation:

Dan Foss - All Star Fencing

When the midpoint of the Seattle to Portland Bike Ride moved from Riverside Park to Centralia College, reserve police officers found themselves in need of some fence panels for the bicycle corral fund raiser. Mr. Foss, owner of All Star Fence, was approached and graciously agreed to supply the needed panels at no charge. Over the past 7 years, Mr. Foss has continued his support even though the number of panels has increased from the 12 originally requested to the current 44. Mr. Foss’ crew delivers and recovers the panels at no cost to the city and they are al-ways willing to supply additional panels at the last minute. If not for Mr. Foss’ continued support, the reserve offic-ers’ yearly bicycle corral fund raiser would not succeed.

Certificate of Commendation:

Police Officer Patty Finch

Officer Patty Finch received this award based on her outstanding work and extraordinary achievement with Department’s Special Olympics Program. For her work with all aspects of Special Olympics, including the 2012 Polar Bear Plunge in Seattle, Tip a Cop fundraisers at Applebee’s, Krispy Crème Doughnuts and Red Robin; planning, support, and participating in annual Law Enforcement Torch Runs, and selection from a statewide competition to repre-sent all of Washington State Law Enforcement at the 2013 Special Olympics World Winter Games in South Korea, Officer Patty Finch was formally commended.

Police Officer Neil Hoium

Officer Neil Hoium received this award based on his excellent work in public safety and out-standing achievement in the full range of law enforcement duties associated with traffic safe-ty in Centralia. For 196 traffic enforcement actions, for his work creating and implementing the first every Traffic Safety School in Lewis County, implementing the electronic ticketing platform for our police motorcycles, his work with Safety City as well as service as a DUI Im-pact Panelist, resulting in his departmental nomination and ultimate selection for 2011 Lewis County Traffic Safety Officer of the Year as presented by the Lewis County DUI - Traffic Safety Task Force, Officer Neil Hoium was formally commended..

Volunteer of the Year

Karen Anderson

Karen Anderson has been a volunteer with the Centralia Police Department for the past 5 years. Karen has participated in every CPD event and has put a tremendous amount of en-ergy and passion into the Special Olympics Torch run and other Special Olympic events. In fact, Karen ran the entire 22 mile torch run 2 years ago.

She also works tirelessly all year promoting the 4th of July Fun Run by lining up sponsors, advertising and recruiting participants. Karen not only devotes a tremendous amount of her time but has great ideas and creates opportunities for other volunteers. You can always de-pend on Karen to do whatever is necessary to make every event a success.

(continued - page 4)

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THE DATA PAGE This page presented for those of you who love “looking at the numbers””

Index Crime March YTD

Murder 0 1

Rape 1 2

Robbery 1 4

Felony Assault 7 9

Burglary 23 63

Theft 41 153

Auto Theft 5 17

Arson 1 3

Total 79 259

Department Category April 2012

YTD 2011 YTD

Calls for Service and Complaints: 1734 7273 7768

Traffic Infraction Notices Issued: 113 385 467

Criminal Misdemeanor Citations Issued: 81 334 351

Felony Arrests (non warrant): 48 142 154

Warrants Served (Felony & Misdemeanor): 14 308 255

Summons Requests: 2 13 18

Juvenile Arrests and Referrals: 1 6 42

Traffic Collision Investigations and Reports: 38 169 147

CPD Community Policing Calendar - 2012

July 4 - Summerfest, Borst

Park; Downtown Parade

July 14 and 15 - Seattle to

Portland (STP) Bike Ride

July 20, 21, 22 - Downtown

Centralia Antique Fest

August 7 - National Night

Out Against Crime

September - Wellness Fair

(date to be determined)

October 31 - Halloween Safe

Trick or Treat, Downtown

December - Day with Santa

(date to be determined)

1,120 1,140 1,177

1,487

1,382

989 998 1,037

782

1,124

802

714

85 90 70 95 7177

99 108

81 94 85 63

1,205 1,230

1,247

1,582

1,453

1,066

1,097

1,145

863

1,218

887

777

-

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

1,800

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

UCR Rate: 2001 - 2012

Property Crime Violent Crime Index Total Poly. (Index Total)

Annualized Projection Based on Year to Date, April 30

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

2008 89 193 307 407 528 615 709 798 889 1012 1102 1145

2009 93 148 208 281 339 409 483 544 606 680 770 863

2010 166 252 365 463 583 685 784 860 967 1062 1135 1218

2011 88 143 209 297 378 446 528 597 680 740 799 887

2012 65 109 180 259

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

Total Crime: 2008 - 2012

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Reserve Officer of the Year

Carla Penley

Carla Penley works for the police department as a part time community services officer, coor-dinating our volunteer program. In addition to this, Carla is a reserve police officer for the de-partment. The officers advise that they enjoy working with her and having an individual of her maturity and experience in the car. Carla has used her work as a reserve police officer to en-hance her work with our volunteers, coordinating numerous projects including domestic vio-lence training, Special Olympics, and a Day with Santa. Moreover, her work reflects a profes-sional approach to law enforcement; she is an active participant in the patrol operations of the department, and never hesitates to volunteer her time and energy, as well as jump right in when needed. Finally, she always exhibits a positive attitude and personifies the mission statement of the department by working with our community.

Employee of the Year

The employee of the year is selected by the leadership team of the department after nominations are re-ceived. Any employee can nominate any fellow worker, commissioned or civilian; supervisor or worker. Nominations should reflect special accomplishments by the employee, continuing excellence in service to the department, or some combination of the two. Nominations are reviewed by agency leadership (sergeants, commanders, and the chief) and a selection is made.

Nominees

Police Officer Pat BeallPolice Officer Pat Beall Chief of Police Robert BergChief of Police Robert Berg Police Officer Adam HaggertyPolice Officer Adam Haggerty Police Officer Rick HughesPolice Officer Rick Hughes Police Officer Doug LeePolice Officer Doug Lee Police Officer Deric MakeinPolice Officer Deric Makein Police Officer John PancoPolice Officer John Panco Police Officer Will PhippsPolice Officer Will Phipps Records Tech. Taresa RobertsonRecords Tech. Taresa Robertson

Officer John Panco

For several months last year, John Panco was on light duty for a serious leg injury. Due to his limited mobility, he was assigned the task of “cleaning up” our records. John spent several weeks sitting alone in the vault, carefully researching, destroying and merging files so that everything could be conveniently consolidated into one place. In all, he was able to discard over 300 lineal feet of records while ensuring compliance with the State Archive’s Office retention schedules.

As a long-time employee of the Centralia Police Department, John has consistently demonstrated his reliability and dedication to the agency and the city. This project fell far outside his normal duties and regular job-description and yet he embraced it without com-plaint, needing no more than a brief explanation of the task and required virtually no su-pervision. John’s accomplishments are a clear example of his work ethic. If not for John’s unique tenacity, perseverance and commitment, this project would never have been completed.

Police Records Technician Taresa Robertson

Taresa Robertson was hired as a Police Records Technician with the Centralia Police Department in 2007. Over the past 5 years, she has taken on greater responsibilities and has met each new challenge with the enthusiasm and persistence that has made her a vital part of this agency. In addition to managing felony investigation files and workflow, she is also tasked for the majority of the department’s transcription, a very tedious and time consuming job. She is extremely conscientious and her attention to detail means her work is always accurate and professional.

Taresa continues to take on additional challenges without hesitation or complaint. She can be counted on to step up when additional hours are needed to complete tasks or when other employees need assistance, regardless of her workload. She is constantly looking for ways to improve our department’s productivity and her work ethic, dedication and positive attitude have contributed to the on-going success of our agency. Awards and recognition are important to all members of the department and to the community that we serve. The department thanks and recognizes Taresa for her continued efforts to work in partnership with our community to protect life and property, reduce crime, and enhance the security and quality of life in our city.

(continued - page 5)

“You cannot live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you” - John Wooden

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Chief’s Award

The Chief’s Award is presented to an individual or group who, in the mind of the chief of police, has exhibited the finest in integrity, professionalism, extraordinary effort and attitude in getting the job done. This award is a discre-tionary award and may or may not be presented each year; it may be presented more than once each year.

LeMay Enterprises, Operations Manager Scott Sweet and Office Manager Nicole Jacobson

Each year the police department selects a community clean-up project as part of our community policing program. For the past 8 years, the department has undertaken numerous cleanup projects targeting neighborhoods, and spe-cific blights in the community. With the city council recommitment to code enforcement in 2005, the department has moved aggressively both in terms of education and enforce-ment, as well as with assistance to our community to improve its image. Each and every time, LeMay Enterprises has been our corporate partner, providing equipment, supplies, and labor without cost.

Each of these projects required things that a police department just does not have. But for corporate partners like LeMay, we would not be able to do these things that, not di-rectly within our mission, do have a positive impact on improving the image of our community and reducing crime. But beyond the corporate image, we recognize, appreciate, and thank the people within the company that step up each year to make these projects happen.

This was once again evidenced this year with our project in removing a community blight near the college which would not have been possible without the extraordinary assistance of Scott, Nicole, and LeMay Enterprises.

Centralia Police Department Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT)

In 2004 the Centralia Police Department Special Weapons and Tactics Team underwent an outside technical and operational audit to ascertain the strengths and weaknesses of the team. As a result of that audit, the team was taken out of service and a rigorous training program was undertaken to address noted deficiencies of the team and enhance the team’s strengths. Since 2004, the team has responded in a professional and enthusiastic manner to the 20 major recommendations of the auditing agency, the Washington State Tactical Officers Association.

As a result of the response to the recommendations, the team was reactivated in 2005 with a re-newed commitment to training, instructor develop-ment, interaction with subject matter experts, and

documentation of training initiatives. Since that time the team’s expertise and abilities have grown along with the commitment to training. Ongoing SWAT training is extremely important – even more so with a team that has only four or five deployments in a giv-en year.

The team continues to excel, working with the federal government to serve warrants in Lewis County, specialized and extended train-ing in New Mexico and Texas to improve individual and team skills, and has provided training to Riverside Fire Authority as to victim evacuation during active shooter scenarios. The dedication and professionalism of our SWAT Officers is at the same level one would find in a much larger depart-ment. The team continues to have every confidence of the administration of the department.

Lifesaving Award

The Life Saving Award is conferred upon any member of the department whose actions directly contribute to saving or significantly prolonging human life. This award is presented in the form of a ribbon bar, and a certificate.

On 4/27/12, Officers John Panco and Ruben Ramirez were dispatched to a 911 hang up call. Upon arrival at the residence, Officer Panco discovered an unresponsive 84 year old male who was not breathing and had no pulse. Officer Panco immediately began CPR and was later relieved by Officer Ramirez. After several minutes of CPR, a faint heartbeat was identified. Both officers continued giving chest compressions until RFA Paramedics arrived. But if not for the quick actions of Officer Panco and Officer Ramirez, the gentleman would most likely have died prior to the arrival of RFA medical personnel.

For their initiative, commitment, and action which directly contrib-uted to saving or significantly prolonging human life, Officer John Panco and Officer Ruben Ramirez were awarded the Centralia Police Department Life Saving Award.