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Placentia cracks down on drunken drivers - 7/13/2008
The number of accidents resulting in drunken-driving arrests have remained high in Placentia over the last four years. (35 in 2004, 24 in 2005, 34 in 2006, 32 in 2007 and a projected 32 in 2008).
For these reasons, the Placentia Police Department is increasing its drunken-driving enforcement with more DUI checkpoints and a greater patrol presence. Sgt. Richard Pascarella, who runs the five-man traffic division, has just received a grant from the state to effectively start Placentia's DUI enforcement initiative. This grant will pay for a DUI trailer, including equipment necessary for DUI checkpoints, and overtime pay for officers.
For a 12 month period starting in October, Placentia will have at least four DUI checkpoints, eight saturation patrols and two warrant service operations, all funded by the grant.
Garden Grove DUI checkpoint 6/6/08 - 5/28/2008
Per the Garden Grove PD website, we note the following
May 20, 2008 The Garden Grove Police Department will be conducting a Driving Under the Influence (DUI) Checkpoint on Friday, June 6, 2008. The checkpoint will be focusing on drivers that have been drinking alcohol, using illegal drugs, and abusing prescription medication while driving. Officers will also be strictly enforcing driver license laws. The DUI Checkpoint will take place near the intersection of Harbor Boulevard, and Quatro Avenue. There will be several officers and support personnel on duty for the exclusive purpose of the DUI Checkpoint. On average, DUI Checkpoints result in 10 DUI arrests and several citations for license violations. More importantly, checkpoints greatly increased public awareness of the problems of impaired driving, resulting in fewer impaired drivers on the road. Funding for this program is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The grant began in October of 2007 and is aimed at reducing driving under the influence in the City of Garden Grove. It pays for enforcement overtime as well as educational projects during the grant period. Anyone with questions can contact Master Officer Ed DesBiens at (714) 741-5273. |
Restaurant-style pagers in courtrooms? - 1/24/2008
SANTA ANA – Superior Court Judge Gary Paer was waiting with his family for their dinner reservation at BJ's Restaurant in Laguna Hills last summer when the lights on his hand-held pager went off signaling that his table was ready. The lights also went off in Paer's mind.As he watched the red lights flash on and off, the judge thought about his jurors.People summoned for jury duty to criminal trials in his 10th floor courtroom are often required to wait for long period of times in a cramped hallway with only a few church pew-like seats while he deals with legal issues that pop up routinely."You know what?" Paer contemplated at the restaurant. "We can hand these pagers out to jurors and they wouldn't have to wait around so much. We can page them when we need them to return to court. … This is a no-brainer."That was last July. It took six months for Paer's idea to take shape. Court staffers evaluated the idea, put the concept out for competitive bid, and finally agreed on a company to supply the pagers for a pilot project.Last week, Paer's courtroom became the first in California to have a tray of restaurant-style pagers ready for jurors. He hasn't had the opportunity to use them yet, but Paer is convinced the pagers will be a blessing to jurors in trials that last more than a few days"Many times we send jurors out in the hallway for extended periods of time while lawyers argue … issues that pop up during the trial," Paer wrote in his proposal seeking the pagers. "The court has to estimate what time the jurors are to return.""It's a guessing game," he said. Often, he'll tell jurors to be back in a few minutes, only to see arguments lasting longer that he expected."Issues result in other issues," the judge lamented, requiring him to keep jurors waiting uncomfortably outside his courtroom as 20 minutes turns into a half-hour and sometimes an hour or longer."It's the biggest complaint we get from jurors," the judge said.But with his new pagers, Paer feels he can allow jurors to wander down to the jury services room, where they can read in comfort, work on laptops, chat with others, or to the cafeteria, where they can sip coffee and grab a snack."They can go where they want, as long as it is in the courthouse," the judge said. "Then when we want them back, all we have to do is hit a single button, and it lets them know they need to head back to court. What could be simpler?"Mark Bergland, a sales manager Long Range Systems (LRS), the Texas company that sold the $1,395 system to the county for Paer's courtroom, said similar pager systems have been purchased by courts in Ventura, Sacramento and Santa Clara counties. But, he said, judges in those courts are using the pagers to send alerts to attorneys when their cases are being called, specifically in juvenile court matters where some hearings are conducted in private.Bergland said that as far as he knows, Paer's idea is the first to use pagers for jurors."The cool thing about Judge Paer's idea is that he saw a way, while having dinner, to make his courtroom more efficient," Bergland saidLRS also provides pagers for restaurants such as BJ's, PF Changs, The Elephant Bar, Lucille's Smokehouse and Cheesecake Factory, Paer said."If it's good enough for them, it's good enough for us," the judge said
Former Inmate Alleges Beating at Orange County Jail - 1/23/2008
A civil rights lawsuit alleging $47 million in damages has been filed on behalf of a former Orange County Jail inmate.
According to reports by ABC news and the LA Times, the man alleges that he was beaten by deputies well after they had control over him. A video has been released to the media showing the man being tazed while handcuffed and strapped to a chair. The man alleges he was tazed over 10 times and that a hood was used over his head to hide his bleeding head from the jailhouse camera system.
The March 18, 2006 incident began when the man was in a bar fight after properly celebrating St. Patrick's day. When police responded to the fight, the man was uncooperative and intoxicated. Everybody pretty much agrees on this part.
After that, it depends who you ask. According to the man who filed the suit and his legal team, this was an incident of cops losing control and going way overboard while teaching the inmate how to respect authority. The video is rather shocking which explains perfectly why it was released to the media.
If you ask the County, they will tell you that things are a little different. The man admits that he was uncooperative and this is not the story of a beating but a story of trying to safely book the inmate and control the situation and prevent injury to other inmates and/or deputies.
The use of force and violence within the jail system isn't exactly news. It's inherent in the nature of the business when you are trying to safely control a population of inmates. The use of physical force to control the inmate population can be necessary. Without it, the jail would be complete chaos.
How will this all end up? First each side will assess the risk factor. The county has to consider what it could lose at trial if the man wins and they have to control the PR factor. The plaintiff wants the largest recovery he can get, but doesn't want to be pennywise and pound foolish. If a good offer comes along, any case can settle.
The man has no criminal history which makes him a great plaintiff, but the injuries seem less than you would expect from a multiple deputy beat down-according to news reports the man has damage to his shoulder, PTSD, and has been missing a lot of work.
If there is no settlement, the next step is the big dance. If this case goes to trial we will be in for a 3 ring circus. Beating? or just part of the tough business of running a jail? Both sides have some good arguments but only time will tell if this case makes it to a jury.
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