In a recent civil case, a San Jose police officer was found liable for using excessive force on Danny Piña, who was misidentified as a gang member. Piña was wearing a red shirt and police stopped him for riding a bike with a missing headlamp. The jury found that the officer, Allan De La Cruz, used excessive force when he broke Piña’s nose and dislocated his shoulder. I have a 16-year-old son who had a similar experience of being misidentified by police, based on what he looks like and there being a gang presence in the neighborhood.
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Police Budget: We Get, You Get
For this weeks blog, I am continuing the discussion about providing a fixed percentage of the budget towards police. A nickname for this might be, “We Get, You Get.” The name refers to when the aggregate budget grows, then funding for the most critical service a city can provide—police—would grow. (Providing a sewer system is a close second for the most critical service).
Change the Charter for Police Budget?
Elected officials come and go, and with that so do certain priorities. It seems that with every budget cycle, certain departments have to prove their worth and their existence. But why should support seesaw when something is so important as the Social Contract? I recommend that the city should commit to a specific police budget each fiscal year. San Jose should allocate a fixed percentage of the budget to the police department that is higher than the 34.7% today of an $885.8 million general fund budget.
Police Chief Releases Sick Leave Info
San Jose Police Chief Chris Moore insists he has no plans to retire. To prove the point, Moore supplied San Jose Inside with the total number of sick leave hours he has accumulated during his career with SJPD. According to Moore, the total as of Wednesday is 1,752.4 hours. The chief estimates that if he were to retire, the city would have to buy out his sick leave at a cost of $165,000-170,000, or “somewhere in that ballpark.”
Police Chief Insists He’s Staying
People within the San Jose Police Department are keeping close tabs on Chris Moore, as an important milestone approaches for the police chief. At the end of January, 12 months will have passed since Moore was officially named the San Jose’s top cop by City Manager Debra Figone. The year mark means that Moore’s retirement pay and sick-time buyout can be cashed out at the highest possible levels when he decides to call it quits. According to police spokesman Jason Dwyer, that won’t be any time soon and definitely not this year.
Police Substation a Sign of the Times
Voters approved Measure O in 2002 to bolster public safety throughout San Jose, and the city started issuing $159 million in bonds. Much of the money was intended for constructing the south San Jose police substation on Great Oaks Boulevard. Nearly 10 years later, those ambitious days seem like a distant memory. The 107,000-square-foot facility—officially completed at the end of 2010 at a cost of $90.8 million—is currently one of five publicly funded buildings in the last 15 months that have yet to open or were closed the same day they were completed.
Police Chief Breaks Silence
The day San Jose Inside readers have been patiently waiting for has arrived. The busiest guy in town finally turned in his answers to reader questions that were submitted back in October. After detailing how a Q&A with the chief went wrong, Moore sprang into action with a 4,501-word email. Below are the questions and answers, preceded by Moore’s apology to readers for the delay. We’re sure all of you will understand.
How the Police Chief Q&A Went Wrong
UPDATE: Police Chief Chris Moore sent San Jose Inside his answers to the 10 questions Sunday evening. We will be posting them soon. Thanks for your patience.
A number of readers have asked what happened to the weekly Q&A series San Jose Inside rolled out in September. Well, not a whole lot. We waited for our third participant in the series, San Jose Police Chief Chris Moore, to respond to some of your questions. And then we waited a little longer. And then a little longer.
Police on Alert for Hells Angels Funeral
San Jose police will commit more security this weekend to the funeral of a Hells Angels member who was shot dead two weeks prior in the same cemetery he is set to be buried. Reports now suggest that the slew of violence that has left two Hells Angels members dead and one evading the law stems from a violent squabble in January 2010 between the Vagos motorcycle club and Hells Angels at a downtown Santa Cruz Starbucks.
Former SJ Police Chief Candidate Resigns
Some people said it was only a matter of time until Anthony Batts would leave his post as Oakland’s chief of police following his public and unsuccessful bid to become the head of the San Jose Police Department. Those people were right. Earlier this week, Batts offered the city of Oakland his resignation.
Pose Questions to Police Chief Chris Moore
This week, San Jose Police Chief Chris Moore has agreed to answer questions from San Jose Inside readers. He is the third public official to participate in this series. Questions are selected from online posts to this site.
Figone Fires Back at Police Union President
City manager Debra Figone didn’t let the police get the last word of the fiscal year regarding contentious labor negotiations and first layoffs of officers for the first time in the city’s history. On Thursday, she sent a memo to the mayor and city council countering an op-ed written by Police Officers Association president George Beattie, which blamed city officials for the layoffs of 70 officers.
Police, City Finally Come to Terms
After a week of tension as members of the San Jose Police Officers Association voted to accept or decline cuts in pay, benefits and retirement—and in effect save the jobs of 156 officers, San Jose cops agreed to concessions by a 674-429 vote. The City Council unanimously approved the terms of the agreement on Tuesday. However, roughly 100 officers are still expected to be laid off.
Police, City Come to Tentative Deal
Just when it looked like all hope was lost for the city and the police union to come to an agreement in negotiations over pay cuts and pension reform, a tentative deal was reached Thursday night.
Figone Passes on Full Police Grant
City Manager Debra Figone passed on applying for a grant that would have saved the jobs of more than a few dozen San Jose police officers but included some significant costs. Members of the Police Officers Association were surprised by the move, and they weren’t the only ones. It seems Figone did not consult the City Council on her decision to pass on applying for the largest possible grant.
Police Running out of Time
The Police Officers Association announced Friday that its members would accept a one-time 10 percent cut in pay and benefits for the coming year. Union leaders cast the move as a generous proposal that would save jobs. Mayor Chuck Reed immediately called the offer inadequate, and warned that it came dangerously late in the game.
