Print Story - September 29. 2006
Video - The halfway point


The photos are by John Harte and Henry Barrios. Check 'em out, because lots of cool ones didn't make it to the paper.

There's a little more to say on that officer-involved shooting I mentioned at the top of this month's story.

I walked into the classroom when the exercise had already been explained and just before they broke into groups, but from what I could glean, Range Master Todd Farnsworth gave the the cadets a limited amount of information.

Basically, a patrol officer hears over the radio the cops are looking for a man wanted in a stabbing that happened the night before. His victim survived, and the name of the suspect was known.The description is vague, something just like white male, jeans, no shirt. Maybe the guy had a mustache, but I can't quite remember.

On patrol, the officer sees a man matching the description. He attempts to make contact to get his name, and the suspect flees toward an apartment complex. The cop shoots the man in the back to stop him.

Farnsworth also told the cadets that this was a real shooting that occurred.

As I watched the cadets list all of the reasons why they assumed it would be a bad shooting, I kind of smiled to myself. I've only been covering crime and cops for a couple years, but I've figured out a few things. One is that unjustified officer-involved shootings are very, very rare in Kern County.

Maybe you're an optimist, and think review boards rarely decide the officer was not justified because our cops are just that good.

Maybe you're a pessimist, and think that it's because the review process is designed to justify shootings, not really investigate them.

I'm paid not to have an opinion. I'm just saying it's rare. Not unheard of, but not common either.

After Farnsworth got all of the groups' answers, he said that it was interesting they thought that, especially with "her" here. (He meant me. Sometimes when I'm observing these courses, I feel a little like the kid your mom made you invite to your birthday party when you were 11. But Farnsworth was actually very nice and kept insisting I let him give me water. But I digress.)

His point was that the limited information he gave the cadets was the only information the public would ever know. There would be details that never came out, because the department would never release them. The media would never be allowed to talk to the officer. We would never be allowed to ask him what he knew and when he knew it. And even if he could verbalize the smaller details, the things so much less obvious than the suspect running away, that made the officer think that someone in that apartment complex was in danger, he'd never be given the opportunity to tell us about it.

I don't know how long ago this happened, or the names of anyone involved, or else I'd see if I could find the incident in our archives. And it doesn't really matter anyway. But I'll bet the headline read something like 'Officer Shoots Fleeing Suspect in Back.'

And it's the truth. That's what happened. It's not slanted, or bias. It's the most important facts as the media knew them at the time. But it's also not the whole story.

Does it matter that the cop knew the knife was not recovered and so perhaps this man was running toward a bunch of apartments armed?

Does it matter that the guy turned out to not be the suspect in the stabbing?

Does it matter that he ran because he had drugs in his pocket?

Does it matter that instead he was a suspect in a homicide the night before?

What if he were running toward a school instead of an apartment?

Does it change your opinion that the suspect survived the shooting?

The cops have their own system of deciding when a shooting is justified. There's a review board, a set of standards. But what justifies a shooting in the public's mind? What do we need to know to feel sure our officers are making the right decisions?

-- CS

The cadets we're following are making $3,318 a month right now. Their first full year on the job, they'll make in the neighborhood of $51,120.

The deputies who just came out of the sheriff's department academy with no previous law enforcement experience will make between $39,336 and $48,024 their first year on the job.

Curiosity satisfied. Will be able to rest tonight.

-- CS

CHP looks to fill its vacant positions

BY JASON KOTOWSKI, Californian staff writer

The California Highway Patrol has vacancies to fill, and they're looking for a few hundred good men and women to fill them.

CHP Commissioner Michael L. Brown said rapid growth in the Central Valley and elsewhere in California has left the CHP without enough officers to provide proper coverage. CHP has begun a statewide recruitment tour now that funding has become available for 510 officer positions and 173 public safety dispatchers.

U.S. citizens between the ages of 20 to 35 who meet educational, health and security requirements can become officers. Brown said cadets undergo rigorous training, and only those who are serious about a career in law enforcement should apply.

"We recognize it's a dangerous job," Brown said. "We need dedicated people."

During the 27-week training academy, cadets will undergo physical training, attend classes, learn enforcement tactics and spend numerous hours behind the wheel of a cruiser. While traffic safety is the CHP's primary mission, officers deal with a variety of situations.

The job is demanding and at times dangerous, but officers are compensated for their service with good pay and retirement benefits, Brown said. Base pay for a first-year officer is $56,880, and after five years on the job, base pay jumps to $69,144, according to a CHP brochure.

For more information about CHP recruitment, call 1-888-422-4756 or go to www.chp.ca. gov/recruiting.

The BPD isn't the only department running an academy. The Kern County Sheriff's department just graduated a bunch of deputies, and will have another academy starting up at the end of this month. They probably won't be accepting more applications until late next year, but they are looking for detentions deputies and will be taking applications later this month for those positions, according to Sgt. Richard Wood.

But the California Highway Patrol is testing every three months, according to Officer Greg Williams. They're currently accepting applications and are attempting to hire 240 additional officers above their normal staffing.

KCSD's recent grads:
Andrew J.  Avila, Deputy, Kern County Sheriff's Department
Brad J. Bays, Deputy, Kern County Sheriff's Department
Ryan C. Bell, Deputy, Kern County Sheriff's Department
Cindy M.  Bingham, Deputy, Kern County Sheriff's Department
John B. Bishop, Law Enforcement Academy Graduate
Bradford W. Bowman, Law Enforcement Academy Graduate
Brandon J. Collins, Deputy, Kern County Sheriff's Department
Amanda G. Diorio, Park Ranger, Kern County Parks Department
Richard Felix, Law Enforcement Academy Graduate
Lance D. Ferguson, Deputy, Kern County Sheriff's Department
Kristina A. Hosman, Law Enforcement Academy Graduate
Jayde R. Howe, Park Ranger, Kern County Parks Department
James T. Jackson II, Deputy, Kern County Sheriff's Department
Patrick A. McIrvin, Deputy, Kern County Sheriff's Department
Jake Mebane, Deputy, Kern County Sheriff's Department
Charles M. Moore, Deputy, Kern County Sheriff's Department
Thomas J.  Moore, Deputy, Kern County Sheriff's Department
Augustin B. Moreno Jr., Deputy, Kern County Sheriff's Department
Brent D. Nelson, Deputy, Kern County Sheriff's Department
Deanna Ortiz, Deputy, Kern County Sheriff's Department
Robert D. Patrick Jr., Deputy, Kern County Sheriff's Department
Dwayne Perkins, Deputy, Kern County Sheriff's Department
James T. Perry, Deputy, Kern County Sheriff's Department
Angel G. Sanchez, Police Officer, Shafter Police Department
Paul M. Sanchez, Deputy, Kern County Sheriff's Department
Michael S. Steed, Deputy, Kern County Sheriff's Department
Douglas A. Swanson, Deputy, Kern County Sheriff's Department
Lawrence S. Thatcher, Deputy, Kern County Sheriff's Department
Adrienne A.  Villarreal, Police Officer, Taft Police Department
Ryan A. Wahl, Deputy, Kern County Sheriff's Department
Scott A. Wall, Deputy, Kern County Sheriff's Department
William F. Wallace, Deputy, Kern County Sheriff's Department
Aaron P.  Warmerdam, Deputy, Kern County Sheriff's Department
Stephen C. Wells, Deputy, Kern County Sheriff's Department
Jared A. Wilson, Deputy, Kern County Sheriff's Department

The cadets spent their first day at the range of Friday. I'll be writing a lot about that in the next story, still at least a couple of weeks away. In the meantime, here are a few pictures I shot. A couple of things to note. One, you can really see the difference between my skill level and our staff photographers. Two, the guns these cadets are holding are not loaded. The BPD would have never let me stand where I was standing to get these shots if the guns were loaded, and I'm not that brave anyway.
-- CS

Print Story - August 30, 2006
Video - Training Under Pressure

And here are some pictures, shot by John Harte, that weren't in the paper.