Showing posts with label Rialto Police Department. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Rialto Police Cleared in Non-Fatal Shooting by Melissa Pinion-Whitt.. The San Bernardino County Sun Staff Writer

Rialto police cleared in non-fatal shooting

ByMelissa Pinion-Whitt, The (San Bernardino County) Sun

Posted: 03/28/2013 12:36:54 PM PDT

Prosecutors on Thursday cleared three Rialto police officers in the February 2012 shooting of a 24-year-old Rialto man.
The San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office said Officers Glen Anderson, Mike Martinez and Javier Pulido were justified when they opened fire on Huston Leron Parker because he pointed what they suspected was a gun at them.
Parker was actually armed with a replica gun. He survived the shooting.
Police came to a cul-de-sac in the 100 block of East Jackson Street on Feb. 8 after receiving a call about a man holding a gun and shooting at a car.
Officers later discovered that Parker called the police and armed himself with the replica gun. They found a note in his car with statements that indicated he wanted to commit "suicide by cop," prosecutors said in their report.

Reach Melissavia emailor call her at 909-386-3878.
Get the latest crime and public safety news on Twitter@IECrime.

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Sunday, June 17, 2012

RIALTO: Rodney King drowns in own pool; autopsy report pending.... Press Enterprise, by Richard K. De Atley

Rodney King, whose videotaped beating at the hands of Los Angeles police officers set in motion events that would lead to the deadly Los Angeles riots of 1992, died after an apparent drowning in the backyard swimming pool of his Rialto home. He was 47.

The encounter with LAPD officers in 1991 brought King his unwanted fame. And it was law enforcement officers who provided the coda to his life early Sunday, June 17, when they jumped into the pool wearing their uniforms and equipment in an effort to save him.

His death was not regarded as suspicious, police said. But neighbors said it followed a Saturday night party that led into a late-night and early-morning argument, or at least noisy exchanges, between King and his fiancée that were loud enough to cause some neighbors to shout out a request to stop the ruckus.

An autopsy was scheduled for Monday morning June 18, said San Bernardino County Sheriff's spokeswoman Jodi Miller. She said toxicology tests were also being performed.

The results will take weeks to return, she said. The county coroner releases autopsy and toxicology results at the same time, she said.

Rialto police Capt. Randy De Anda said in a Sunday June 17 afternoon news conference that it was not unusual for King to go swimming at any hour, including the early morning.

He said that King's fiancée, Cynthia Kelley, discovered at about 5:25 a.m. that King was at the deep-end bottom of the pool. "She said she heard a splash in the rear yard … she found Mr. King … at the bottom of the pool. He was at the deep end," De Anda said earlier Sunday.

He said Kelley, whom he described as "not a strong swimmer," tried to pull King out, and called 911 when she could not.

Responding officers jumped in and retrieved King. They tried to give him cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Rialto Fire Department paramedics also treated King at the scene. He was taken to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, and pronounced dead at 6:11 a.m.

"Last night I heard a commotion," said neighbor Bob Carlberg, 53, who lives two doors away. "It really wasn't like a fight-fight-fight, but it was like yelling back and forth," he said. "He had a little party yesterday."

"He had something going on all night … the neighbors that live behind him were kind of yelling over to be quiet … the people who actually live next door to him said it was really loud," Carlberg said.

Carlberg said the disturbances were uncharacteristic of King, who lived on East Jackson Street, which is lined with single-story ranch-style and tract homes with well-trimmed lawns and shade trees. "He really kept to himself. The last couple of weeks he had more people over because he was planning his marriage. That's only my theory."

A neighbor of King said that around 3 a.m. she heard music and people talking next door and what sounded like someone who was very emotional.

"It seemed like someone was really crying, like really deep emotions," said Sandra Gardea, 31, a dental hygienist instructor who recently moved in. "And it just got louder and louder. Everybody woke up. Even the kids woke up."

She described the sound as "like moaning, like in pain. Like tired or sad, you know?"

Gardea said this went on for some time and then stopped.

"I heard someone say, 'OK, Please stop. Go inside the house.' … We heard quiet for a few minutes. Then after that we heard a splash in the back. And that's when a few minutes later we see the cops arrive and everyone arrive and we see him being taken in a gurney."

"You didn't see parties here or a lot of people. He was very withdrawn, and (kept) to himself," said neighbor Tondalaya Baker, 55, who lives around the corner from King's home. She said she most often saw him when he was working on his lawn or the front of his home.

De Anda said King was "poolside throughout the early morning, and he was in verbal contact with his fiancée throughout the morning. She was having a conversation through the rear sliding-glass door, and apparently when she heard the splash."

He said he did not know the content of the conversation. "At this time I do not know what Mr. King's toxicology was, or if he was intoxicated, or whether he was under the influence of any substances." He said detectives would try to determine what was going on at the moment King fell into the pool.

On Sunday afternoon, evidence was being carted away from King's home, including what looked like a marijuana plant. King had said in interviews last year that he had a doctor's recommendation to use medical marijuana. Medical marijuana users are permitted some legal cultivation.

De Anda said a coroner's investigation will include an autopsy and a toxicology report. He said there were no signs of drugs or alcohol near the pool when officers arrived, and that detectives had interviewed Kelley as a routine matter. Kelley had been one of the jurors who awarded King $3.8 million in his lawsuit against Los Angeles over the beating. King said recently he had spent most of the money.

Neighbors described King as friendly and willing to talk about anything except what happened in Los Angeles two decades ago. "The best neighbor in the neighborhood," said Baker, who said she spoke to him frequently.

Asked if King ever discussed his past, Baker said, "he never wanted to talk about that. He really just stayed to himself … he was extremely private." She said he often kept his drapes drawn at the home.

Carlberg said he liked to talk about cars with King.

"He was a pretty nice guy. Seemed like a real nice guy, I had no problems," Carlberg said.

Carlberg described the neighborhood "real quiet, peaceful, friendly. Everybody gets along. Everybody talks to everybody."

Two decades ago, King uttered five words that captured the sentiment of millions of Americans horrified by the scenes of death and destruction in the Los Angeles riots.

"I just want to say, you know, 'Can we all get along?'," King said in a quavering voice after rioters ravaged Southern California neighborhoods.

King was pulled over by LAPD officers in 1991 for speeding. He was drunk but unarmed. Officers responded to King's lack of cooperation by beating him with batons and kicking him repeatedly.

The beating was video-taped by a bystander, which elevated the case to international headlines.

Four of the officers, all white, went to trial. Their acquittal sparked the infamous Southern California riots on April 29, 1992. At least 53 people were killed, more than 2,000 were injured and more than $1 billion in property was damaged or destroyed.

King reflected in an interview with The Press-Enterprise in early April on how his lawyers handed him a four-page statement to read at a news conference. It was 1992, two days after the beginning of the disturbances that began when four Los Angeles police officers were acquitted of beating him.

But instead of reading the statement, King improvised.

"I spoke from my heart, you know," King said. "I felt there was a need to say something from the heart."

King moved to Inland Southern California from Los Angeles County in 1999 to escape some of the continued attention.

"At the time, I felt a little too much heat," he said. "The smoke hadn't cleared in Los Angeles for me. I thought it would be more comfortable for me to be in the IE."

Recently, King said he supported himself in part by doing handyman and construction work. He's also made money on reality-TV appearances, including "Celebrity Rehab."

The headlines that followed King during his 13 years in the Inland area generally had not been complimentary. He wasn arrested several times, including for driving under the influence and domestic violence.

In the latest case, he pleaded guilty in February to reckless driving after he was pulled over in Moreno Valley.

King acknowledged his mistakes. He wrote about them in his book, "The Riot Within," which was released in April.

He said his days of drinking heavily were over — although he said he hadn't quit alcohol entirely.

"I sip now," said King, whose father was an alcoholic. "I'm not guzzling drinks anymore. No one knows the future, but I sure feel comfortable where I am today with myself."

Staff writer David Olson, dolson@pe.com, and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Thursday, July 22, 2010

Rialto Strip Club Linked to Policee Sex Probe. (by Josh Dulaney) San Bernardino County Sun

Rialto strip club linked to police sex probe

by:Josh Dulaney, Staff WriterSan Bernardino County Sun:

RIALTO - Internal investigators are probing claims that police officers were having sex on duty with employees of a popular strip club on Riverside Avenue, authorities said Monday."We've got confirmation that employees of the Spearmint Rhino were involved with officers in our department," Police Chief Mark Kling said.

Nancy Holtgreve, a 37-year-old server at the club, told the department in May that she had sex with Officer James Dobbs three times last year at the Rialto Police Benefit Association's union hall after she left work and while Dobbs was on duty.

Holtgreve said she and her co-workers after shifts frequently met Dobbs and other officers at a nearby 24-hour restaurant.

Neither police nor Holtgreve would confirm whether the other Spearmint Rhino employees were exotic dancers.

Holtgreve said she brought the allegations to the department because she feared for her safety when Dobbs allegedly abused and threatened her after she demanded he pay child support for their three-month-old son.

Phone messages to Dobbs though the union, at the police station and on his personal voicemail were not returned Monday."We know where Nancy works," Kling said. "We have talked to a number of people in this investigation and the investigation has taken us to a business and some homes."

Four officers have been placed on paid administrative leave while the department conducts an internal investigation.

Kling would not confirm the names of the officers on leave, citing the investigation.

Councilman Ed Scott, who owns a different downtown bar, said Monday he had heard rumors from his patrons that women who work at the Spearmint Rhino were involved with Rialto police officers."For about a week, that's what I had heard," Scott said.

Scott said he was very concerned about the allegations of officer misconduct."I'm concerned that a small group of them would be involved in any conduct like that with employees of any business," he said. "It certainly isn't the Spearmint Rhino's fault."

Kathy Vercher, the club's president and chief operating officer, said she was not aware of the investigation and did not want to comment.

The president of the Rialto police union said Monday he, too, was unaware of any misconduct at the union hall."I can unequivocally tell you that I've had no knowledge of that happening at the union hall," Sgt. Richard Royce said. "That's not what the hall is for. I do not condone and my membership doesn't condone that kind of activity."

Dobbs sometimes wanted to have sex at the union hall, where there were at least two beds, Holtgreve alleges.

Royce said there are beds in the hall, but those are for officers who need to rest after working double or graveyard shifts.

The hall, which is located near Ayala Drive and Base Line, is generally used by officers during off-shift activities and official union business, Royce said.

Royce said every union member has a key to the building, and "a lot" of city employees have one too. But the union, in light of the allegations, has authorized funding for security upgrades that include new locks and potentially a surveillance system, he said."When this came to my attention, we took immediate steps to prevent it from happening," Royce said, but added: "I'm not saying it happened."Only union members will continue to have a key or code to enter the building, Royce said."That's what they pay their dues for," he said.

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Rialto Police Reintroduce Bicycle Patrols, Anti-Gang Unit, Mobil Command (Press Enterprise April 27, 2008)

Rialto police reintroduce bicycle patrols, anti-gang unit, mobile command


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11:14 AM PDT on Sunday, April 27, 2008
By PAUL LAROCCO
The Press-Enterprise

Video: The ups and downs of Rialto police on bikes

RIALTO - The two Rialto police officers outside Wal-Mart didn't turn heads.

It was a quiet Sunday morning, and officers Shaun Mooney and Mike Morales were ticketing a car illegally parked in a handicapped space.

There wasn't a patrol car in sight -- and that was exactly the point.

"People aren't expecting police on bikes," Morales said.

He and his partner are on the department's bicycle patrol, one of several details recently revived by Chief Mark Kling after disappearing under tumultuous past administrations.

Since taking the job in late 2006, shortly after city leaders ditched a plan to disband the department and have county sheriff's deputies take over, Kling has led a steady rebuilding effort.

Story continues below

Greg Vojtko / The Press-Enterprise

Rialto police officers Carla McCullough and Mike Morales are on patrol atop their bicycles on Riverside Avenue in Rialto. Officers regularly ride bicycles in pairs through the city's most troubled apartment complexes and busiest commercial centers.

An anti-gang detail, the return of bike officers and an expanded traffic division are among the changes.

"We're starting to do things that we should have been doing all along," Kling said. "We're examining every single aspect of the department and trying to make it better."

People already have noticed. When Wal-Mart's private security guard, Elizabeth Suer, saw the officers ride through the crowded parking lot, she enthusiastically flagged them down.

"It's about time," she said later of the return of bicycle officers. "We could use them here."

Pedaling Police

Mooney and Morales are members of a team of five officers who ride mountain bikes, in pairs, at least twice a month through Rialto's busiest commercials centers and most troubled apartment complexes.

The philosophy is that an officer on two wheels can go places -- both noticed and unnoticed -- that an officer in a patrol car can't.

Story continues below

"We interact a lot more," Mooney said. "It's all proactive, and when we're in our cars we can't say that."

On the recent Sunday, the two officers pedaled through Rialto's downtown, then south to the stretch of motels, gas stations and shopping plazas along Interstate 10.

They stopped a homeless woman cutting copper wire behind a Hometown Buffet; a man jaywalking across busy Riverside Avenue; and a teen using a knife to slice open a pack of peanuts near a convenience store.

The longhaired, backpack-toting teen, who said he was passing through from Venice Beach to Arizona, bristled when the officers attempted to question him.

"You should thank us because you could easily get robbed standing here," Mooney told him. "We get a lot of drug dealing in this area."

A supervisor said that kind of interaction is the point of the patrols, which are slated to expand to a full-time detail in coming months.

"It gives us a leg up," said Sgt. Vince Licata, a member of the department's original bicycle patrol in the early 1990s. "There's an element of surprise to it. Most of the criminals don't expect this."

The Return

To revive the bicycle team, Rialto police reached out to the community. Local homebuilders donated thousands of dollars to purchase the bikes, special uniforms and wireless communication tools used by the officers.

The patrols were eliminated during former Chief Michael Meyers' tenure, which ended with a no-confidence vote by officers and the City Council's vote to disband the department.

By the time the council backed off that decision and an interim chief had stabilized the department, Kling inherited a force that was a shell of its former self. Dozens of officers had quit. He slowly began recruiting and budgeting improvements.

In late 2006, Kling formed the Street Crime Attack Team, made up of four gang investigators and a sergeant. He also expanded the narcotics and detective bureaus.

Today, Kling proudly points out a new $350,000 computer system in the department and a $205,000 mobile command center that can serve as a main dispatch center should power to the main station fail. The former crisis-negotiation van was a converted Frito-Lay box truck.

There still are budget issues and several open positions yet to be filled, but Kling said that the mood in the department has turned a corner.

"I think the employees here went through tremendous turmoil they'll never forget," he said. "Now, all these good ideas, they're coming from within the department."

Reach Paul LaRocco at 909-806-3064 or plarocco@PE.com

Rialto police have revived or expanded several details since the department was nearly disbanded in 2005.

Bicycle Patrols: Donations from local businesses helped purchase equipment and uniforms for the team to return last May.

Street Crime Attack

Team: Specialized anti-gang detail returned in 2006.

Mobile Command

Center: Department spent $200,000 for the crisis-negotiation vehicle that arrived last month. Officers previously used a converted Frito-Lay truck.

Source: Rialto police Department

BS Ranch Perspective:

The Rialto Police Department was the first Agency in the Inland Empire to start a Bicycle Patrol, Myself, Officer Joe Castillo (God rest his soul), then Officer Tony Farrar (now he is Capt. Tony Farrar), Officer Todd Wright, Officer Tim Lane (now Sergent Tim Lane), I believe that even Matt Huddleston (God Rest his soul) had a turn on the bikes for a short time during the start of the patrol!

At that time there was a dream of having a full time Bicycle patrol, but Capt. Becknell could not perswaide the chief to the idea of a full time Bicycle Patrol Division at that time, it was then that I switched to the Motorcycle Patrol of the Traffic Division especially since I could and was able to ride the Police Motor's before going to Motor School, with the training of the Motor Officer, which helped me during my time at Motorcycle School.

BS Ranch

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Rialto Police Ask for Help from Clergy (San Bernardino Sun March 27, 2008)

BS Ranch Perspective

Back in the day there was a great Clergymen by the name of "Big Jim" Now Jim was the pastor of a Non Denominational Church Downtown Rialto, and he was a very Good Soul, he was the kind of Church that was where we used to take people, the Very People that this News Article is talking about!! Big Jim always had a room for the Person that had an Argument with his wife and needed a place to stay for a night or two, to allow the things at home to cool down!!

Jim also allowed people that were drunk and away from home and also needed to clean themselves up, Jim helped them get cleaned up and back in good favor for home! He was a real peace maker one that helped make our Law Enforcement Job Easier without having to arrest or close a solution with a court battle!! It was the small town feel that I missed about Rialto!! I am really glad that they are attempting to bring it back!!

BS Ranch

Rialto police ask for help from clergy

Jason Pesick, Staff Writer

Article Launched: 03/27/2008 11:04:26 PM PDT

RIALTO - Police want local religious leaders to lend a helping hand to their community- policing program.

"Wouldn't it be a better place to go to a faith-based organization instead of a street gang?" Police Chief Mark Kling said.

Police Department officials met on Thursday with more than a dozen local religious leaders to take an inventory on counseling services, what could be done to feed the homeless, and the kinds of after- school programs available.

Churches offer English classes, football fields, gymnasiums, basketball courts - all things that help young people stay on the right track.

There is a concern that state funding for after-school programs might disappear given all the buzz over budget cuts, Kling said.

The Police Department has been reorganizing its policing efforts into an "area-command program."

This would divide the city into three areas and seek to create better relationships with residents.

"What we're hoping is to get a larger section of the community involved," Kling said.

Suggestions from the meeting included restarting the Police Department's chaplain program so religious leaders can be on hand to comfort officers and residents at emotional crime scenes.

Mike Story, Rialto's development services director, said his staff often runs into homeless people or day laborers.

"We need to know how to help some of these people," he said.

Kling said he thinks the Police Department should address the causes of crime - instead of just arresting people - and churches can help in that effort.

The Rev. Steven Porter of St. Catherine of Siena said he wanted to talk about how the police handle illegal immigrants.

"But there is a fear from undocumented people that the Police Department is going to arrest them," he said.

Kling said the Police Department does not pursue people based on their immigration status.

"We are not the immigration service," he said.

Sam Petitfils, associate pastor at Sunrise Church, said he liked that there was a lot of discussion about attacking the root causes of crime.

"I thought it was very informative, helpful and the beginning of a very outstanding network," he said.

jason.pesick@sbsun.com

(909) 386-3861

Monday, November 12, 2007

Salute to an Officer Who Fell in Battle for a Safe Society (Daily Bulletin 10/30/07)

Salute to an officer who fell in battle for a safe society

By Paul Chabot

On Friday, I had the honor of celebrating the life of a fellow officer who was killed in the line of duty.

Officer Sergio Carrera, of the Rialto Police Department, was gunned down during a drug raid by an alleged suspect with a criminal past.

Nothing cuts closer to your heart than to lose one of your own. Officer Carrera was a dedicated and professional officer who helped to better the world around him.

Shortly after joining the police force, he became a member of the California Narcotics Officers Association. One of his passions was taking drug dealers off the streets to help protect our communities.

Officer Carrera leaves behind a wife and two small children. During the funeral his small son, maybe just 2 years of age, reached out to his father's flag-draped coffin, while his little sister was held in the arms of his mother.

The overwhelming feelings for this family and what they have been going through are beyond description. The sacrifice this officer made for each one of us was made even more evident after witnessing such sorrow.

As we drove from the church to the cemetery in a long procession of police cars with emergency lights on, I witnessed the continued strength and brotherhood of all the men and women who serve our communities.

The California Highway Patrol shut down the freeways from Chino Hills to Colton. At every overpass and every on-ramp stood police officers, and at times civilians, standing at

attention, saluting the long procession line. The freeway overpasses were at a standstill as city and county firefighters stood atop their rigs - they, too, standing at attention and saluting.

The procession line was so long it took nearly 30 minutes until all had arrived at the cemetery. Standing side by side, fellow brothers and sisters who wear the uniform solidified the dedication that cops have for one another, especially when one has fallen.

I spoke with officers from around the state and nation who traveled here to celebrate the life of an officer, but also to console the officer's family and the family of police officers who worked with him.

This was not my first funeral for a fellow officer, and sadly won't be my last. From each one I gain continued strength to stand side by side with my brothers and sisters who are continuously in the streets fighting against a criminal element in our society that has become more ruthless, more evil and more dangerous.

As violent crime rises in many cities around our nation, let's never forget those who paid the ultimate sacrifice to protect us.

Police officers are like the firefighters pushing back against the flames that can bring harm to all of us if not stopped.

Sadly, 2007 has been a very violent year for police officers with a near record being killed. In a few short months, Officer Carrera's name will be forever etched into the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Wall in Washington D.C., as well as our state's memorial in Sacramento.

Our community must continue to place our full support behind the men and women in uniform. They are the sole defenders of a very thin blue line that separates society from anarchy.

Having stood next to America's finest at the funeral, I'm confident that line will hold so long as we continue to have the full support of our communities alongside us.

As I walked through the cemetery back to my car, a deputy sheriff from Contra Costa approached me. We spoke briefly, exchanged a hug and his parting words were, "It was nice to meet you brother. I hope we never meet again like this."

If only that could be true.

Paul Chabot is a reserve deputy for the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.

He lives in Rancho Cucamonga.

Friday, November 09, 2007

Suspect Denies Killing Rialto Officer (Press Enterprise Oct. 21, 2007) Apartment Manager Held in Connection with death of Officer S. Carrara

BS Ranch Perspective

Any times that there is a SWAT ENTRY there is what is known as an ENTRY TEAM. The entry team makes the announcement that they are the Police, with a loud yell, and the instruction is for everyone to get down on the floor or get shot. The "Apartment Manager" is lucky that the Entry team started to Wrestle with him instead of shoot him to have him lay down on the ground.

But if this is the same kid that was around when I was Patrolling the fine streets of Rialto, his specialty back then was this Passive Aggressive Approach to the Police when it came to following Directions. Now if this was the same person he used to live in some Apartments in the 200 Block of N. Glenwood Ave. before they were purchased by the City and Redeveloped, Well if you would check out a couch to see if there was any weapons in it and ask him to sit down for HIS safety and the safety of the Officers that were in the House. This Suspect would just start to argue as to why he had to sit down. Why do I have to sit down and not the other party, if she as gathering things up to leave we would be keeping the peace, well rather then him sit down and wait for her to leave he would start to address would could and could not be taken, what was his and what was hers. etc etc...

It was all part of that Passive Aggressive Behavior that I was talking about, when the SWAT Officers made Entry into the APARTMENT they most likely ORDERED S-Thomas to the floor, on his stomach, with his hands out to his side. It is in this position where everybody is then Physically SEARCHED for WEAPONS, and HANDCUFFED for their SAFETY, and the SAFETY OF THE OFFICERS ON SCENE!! Once Everyone has been DETAINED in this Fashioned they are then IDENTIFIED by positive Identification, if there is a question of their Identity they are taken for fingerprinting to make sure that they are who they say that they are.

In this case I can see what happened right away. The Suspect (Thomas) was confronted by the SWAT Officers when they entered the door and told to get down on the floor on their stomach, but Suspect (Thomas) Refused, and Rather he get shot, to go down to the ground the SWAT Entrance Team showed a great deal of Restraint, and started to force Suspect (Thomas) onto the floor. However the more that the First SWAT Officer struggled to get SUSPECT (THOMAS) onto the floor, on his stomach, and be handcuffed, the more that he fought with the SWAT Officer (Carrera). It was this time that a Second Officer from the SWAT ENTRY Grabbed a hold of Suspect (Thomas), only after he had slung the AR-15 on his Back. However the more that the two SWAT Officers tried to get Suspect (Thomas) onto the floor the more he fought with his Passive Aggressive behavior, all so that Suspect Thomas didn't have to do what the SWAT Officers were telling him what to do.

It was at this time that one of the two SWAT Officers tripped up Suspect (Thomas) and got him partially down on the Floor, Suspect (Thomas) continued to fight and struggle, the SWAT Officers were rolling on the ground as much as Suspect (Thomas) was at this point, But Suspect (Thomas) Felt or saw an opportunity to get this whole fight to stop, and that IDEA WAS ABOUT TO BE TRIGGERED!! SUSPECT (THOMAS) LAID HIS FINGER IN THE TRIGGER GUARD OF THAT AR-15 and a BURST of TWO ROUNDS went out of the AR-15 ENDING THE FIGHT!! Not just in the Officers But in SUSPECT (THOMAS) BECAUSE HE KNEW WHAT HE HAD DONE!!

SUSPECT (THOMAS) WAS THEN EASILY HANDCUFFED AS SERGIO CARRERA JR. WAS BEING KEPT ALIVE!!!!

Passive Aggressive is something in the Academy that is taught that should be brought under control quickly, and it looks like it was being done so very quickly, but when there is EVIL IN ONE MANS HEART, THEN HE WILL SEEK OUT TO EXPLOIT JUST THAT, EVIL!! In this ALTERCATION that came about because of the PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE EVIL that The SUSPECT (THOMAS) Possessed, boiled to the top that day, and OFFICER SERGIO CARRERA JR. BECAME HIS VICTIM, WHETHER HE WANTED HIM TO BE HIS VICTIM OR NOT THAT IS WHAT HE BECAME. This is what happens when one is Passive Aggressive, It Makes VICTIMS OF PEOPLE or in this case a POLICE OFFICER WHO WAS SIMPLY DOING HIS JOB!!

I GUESS IN THIS WORLD MR. JARANARD THOMAS IT GOES TO SHOW YOU THAT IT IS EASY TO BE A POLICE OFFICER KILLER!! OR A KILLER IN GENERAL!! I personally hope that Chemicals BURN!! when when injected!!

BS Ranch

Suspect denies killing Rialto officer


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07:43 AM PDT on Sunday, October 21, 2007
By ADAM C. HARTMANN
The Press-Enterprise

Slideshow: More images of shooting aftermath

Video: Video snippet of Sergio Carrera Jr.'s 1996 high school graduation

Video: Flyover of the Rialto neighborhood

Video: Rialto Police release name of officer killed

Video: Rialto officials react to the death of police officer Sergio Carrera Jr.

Video: Capt. Raul Martinez briefs the press

Video: Scenes from the fatal shooting in Rialto

Slideshow: Mourning for officer begins following fatal shooting

Slideshow: Photos from the scene of the officer-involved shooting in Rialto

RANCHO CUCAMONGA - An apartment manager held in connection with the killing of a Rialto SWAT officer during a drug raid last week said in a jailhouse interview Saturday he was too busy defending himself from police Tasers to have shot anyone.

Jaranard Thomas, 32, is being held at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga following the death of Officer Sergio Carrera Jr., 29, of Beaumont. Carrera was shot about 7 a.m. Thursday at the Rialto apartment of Thomas' girlfriend, Nashalla Bell. Carrera, a four-year veteran of the Rialto police force, died later that morning at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton.

Police would not comment on what Thomas said, saying only that the investigation indicated that he was responsible for Carerra's death. They also released new information that Thomas is wanted on a $100,000 warrant out of Mississippi.

Story continues below

Thomas looked on Saturday like he hadn't slept in days. His hair was unkempt, his eyes red. He turned his head to reveal a nickel-sized area of stitches behind his left ear.

Thomas said the fact that he's alive is proof he didn't shoot Carrera. If he had shot a police officer, he would immediately have been killed himself, Thomas said.

"Don't you think they're gonna kill that person?" Thomas asked, eyes widening. "Don't you know I would have been dead? Not right here, dead. At the mortuary. Pancake and eggs, cooked."

He denied having guns or drugs in the apartment, and flatly declared he isn't a gang member, as police have indicated.

Rialto police Capt. Tony Farrar declined to comment on Thomas' statements, referring all questions to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, which is investigating the shooting.

Arden Wiltshire, a Sheriff's Department spokeswoman, said Thomas' real name is Chris Wiggins, and he is wanted on a $100,000 warrant out of Mississippi for the sale of rock cocaine. Identified through fingerprints, his nicknames include "B-Duke" and "Short Dog," Wiltshire said.

"Our investigators have determined he is responsible for Officer Carrera's death," Wiltshire said, declining to respond to Thomas' remarks.

Thomas' mother gave him the nickname "B-Duke" as a young boy, Bell said. He has never gone by the moniker "Short Dog," Bell said.

Bell said she was in the kitchen of the small West Cascade Drive apartment early Thursday morning, preparing food for her 5- and 14-year-old boys, and the couple's 3-year-old son. Thomas became an immediate father figure to the two older children although they weren't his, Bell said Friday. The 5-year-old called him "Daddy" right away.

As Bell hustled to get the children off to school, SWAT teams were on the apartment complex grounds. The search warrant they carried indicated that rock cocaine, drug paraphernalia and weapons might be inside Apartment A. Thomas said he was lying on the couch in a light sleep when he heard a loud noise at the front door. He said he wasn't sure whether Bell was in the house, but all three boys were home. It was Devante's 14th birthday.

"I felt the cool breeze coming away from the door," Thomas said. "All of a sudden I hear, like, gunshots or something, 'pow, pow, pow'," Thomas said.

He did what he said anyone would do -- he ran, into his oldest son Devante's bedroom at the end of the hall on the right.

"If I'd have known it was the police, I would have laid there," Thomas said. "I'm not no violent person."

In Devante's bedroom, Thomas began to get Tasered, he said.

'I Couldn't Hear Nobody'

During Saturday's interview he rose from his stool and pulled up his orange jumpsuit to show what he said were Taser scars on his belly. Thomas then flailed his arms repeatedly to demonstrate how he was trying to fend off the shocks.

"When I got to the room, I couldn't see," Thomas said. Smoke bombs had been set off at the complex, but Thomas said he didn't know whether one had been set off in his apartment.

Bell said in an interview Friday in the couple's home that their 5-year-old son was crying and shouting for officers not to shoot, but Thomas said he couldn't hear that, or much of anything.

"I'm the one doing the shouting," Thomas said. "I'm like, 'ahhh!' I couldn't hear nobody. I'm the one in the room, on the floor, huddling."

While getting Tasered, Thomas said he heard two gunshots, but denied grabbing anyone's gun. It was inaccurate to characterize the scene as a scuffle, since all he was doing was trying to defend himself, he said.

Wiltshire said she didn't know whether Thomas had been Tasered. The San Bernardino County district attorney's office has scheduled an 11 a.m. news conference Monday to talk about the investigation, she said.

Thomas said he was taken from the apartment within five to 10 minutes, and hasn't talked to his children or Bell since. He asked how they were doing, and started to cry.

Reach Adam C. Hartmann at 909-806-3055 or ahartmann@PE.com

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On the Web

Rialto Police Department

Rialto Police SWAT team

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Monday, October 29, 2007

Slaying is a Blow to a Rebounding Force (LA Times 102007) Police Arrest Man Suspected of Killing SWAT Officer (SF GATE 102007)

BS Ranch Perspective

The healing for the Rialto Police Department is a hard one, Since Serg's Murder, it has been hard for people to come to work, I cannot say that I blame them, It is just to much for one to bear, especially for someone that was so much to so many people on the Department!! If you were to stand each of the Officer's for Rialto in the place where the most fit, Serg, would have been clost to were the Heart connects to the Soul! So, what I am saying is that for now the Police Department has lost its communication between its Heart and Soul!!

I had the Opportunity to meet Sergio many times through his working career at Rialto Police Department. I met him when he was pretty new and still on training at the P.A.L. Center. (Baseline Ave @ Sycamore Ave.), then again later when he was off of training during the time that the Rialto Police Department was going to be closed Forever, after being a Department since 1911. Sergio, Corporal Black, his wife, Sergent Shawn O'Connel, were talking in front of the Rialto Civic Center, and I got the opportunity to hear his great personality at that time, It is such a devastation to the Department!!

I volunteered on the last Baker to Veges Marathon Run, and Sergio was in the third or fourth leg, which was one of the most difficult legs of that run. All or most of it was uphill with a headwind. He was did great and made great time, as did his Graveyard Partner Whom Sergio called "Kobe" also Ran a Very Difficult leg of the race. (Both of their Legs were most if not all uphill legs). You could tell that Sergio and his partner were very close and shared a great deal of their lives together not just their time at work! They were so close that the Officer who I cannot remember his Name, but I remember his 'nick name' of "Kobe" Spoke on behalf of Sergio Carrera Jr., they were very close from the time that they were sworn in to the time that Sergio had past. The Stories told of Sergio's personality was was great, I was only privileged to only a very small part of his personality, My only regret is that I didn't get to know Sergio Carrera Jr better!!

My prayers are going out to Sergio's Family, His Mother, Father, & Siblings. I am also praying for his Wife, Son, and Daughter. I am also praying for the one thing that I always pray for, and that is the Men & Woman of the Rialto Police Department! The prayer that I had prior had failed earlier, as Sergio was called to Heaven! But I know that It isn't my place to say that or to look at this situation like this, The better way to look at this, the more healing way is to look at it this way. Even though I prayed a great prayer for the Rialto Police Department, God in all his wisdom had a much greater job for Sergio, he Must have been needed in Heaven for the SWAT entries against the Devil, in Heaven, and that is why he was called away!!

BS Ranch

Slaying is a blow to a rebounding force

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A new police chief is turning around a department that Rialto City Council members once voted to disband.

By David Kelly and Maeve Reston, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
October 20, 2007

When Officer Sergio Carrera Jr. was shot and killed while serving a search warrant Thursday, he was part of a revamped Rialto Police Department, an aggressive force under new leadership looking to put a controversial past behind it.

So while the community and fellow officers mourned the death of the 29-year-old SWAT officer Friday, there were vows to keep moving forward and not return to the days when a fed-up City Council voted to liquidate the department.

"Things have improved 100% since the new chief came in," said Mayor Grace Vargas. "They are doing what they are trained to do, getting gang members off the street. We wish things like yesterday didn't happen, but our department is now in better hands."

In 2005, Vargas was the only member of the City Council who didn't vote to disband the police and bring in the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department to patrol the streets.

"I really didn't know what was going to happen. All I knew is, I wanted my Police Department based in the community," she said. The council's decision, eventually overturned by a court order, was an expression of public exasperation with a police force in turmoil for more than a decade.

Its own officers filed more than 100 lawsuits against the department, many alleging racism and sexual harassment.

In two federal lawsuits, officers accused former Chief Michael Meyers and former Deputy Chief Arthur Burgess, both black, of discrimination against non-black officers.

The police were also accused of slow response times and letting a drug and gang culture flourish in the city of 100,000.

While crime rates fell elsewhere in San Bernardino County, they jumped 71% in Rialto between 1998 and 2004, according to FBI statistics. Mayor Vargas said 27 police officers quit during this time of turmoil.

"I didn't think so much we wanted to disband the police but I thought we needed a change," said City Councilman Ed Scott, who voted to dissolve the force.

The first thing they did was hire Mark Kling as chief. Kling had been chief in Baldwin Park.

"I think we had a lot of management problems before and the leadership was bad," Scott said. "Now morale is really good, and we are almost fully staffed."

Kling did not return calls seeking an interview.

The crime rate has dropped over the last few years, although there have been several recent shootings, including the deaths of a 16-year-old boy and Carrera.

Late Thursday, police arrested Jaranard Thomas, 32, of Rialto and booked him on suspicion of murder of a police officer. He is being held without bail and is expected to be arraigned early next week. Carrera was killed during a struggle with Thomas while serving a warrant at Thomas' house.

Yet not everyone likes new police tactics, which have included several major sweeps in the last year aimed at suspected drug dealers, similar to the one Carrera was involved in.

Around West Cascade Drive, where the officer was shot, the police came in for harsh criticism from residents Friday.

At the Whipp Appeal barbershop, several customers were concerned that the officer's death would bring more of what they described as harassment of Rialto's black residents.

Barber Ricky Davis, who counted Thomas among his weekly customers, said that during his 20 years in Rialto he had often seen officers hassle residents just because they lived in neighborhoods with drug and gang problems. "I don't think [the police] have gotten better; they've gotten worse," he said.

Customer Jay Scott said police had stopped him three times in the past two weeks while walking home. "They don't have permission to search me, but they do it anyway," said Scott, as he left the barbershop after his 4-year-old son Jermele's haircut. "They've been to my house so many times, and I'm not even doing anything for them to come to my house."

Longtime Rialto resident Mark Robinson Sr., an associate minister at Greater Faith Bible Church, supports the police but said the department needs to involve the community more.

"I still see crime as very bad," he said. "You have high functioning gang members and drug dealers who came and set up shop here and the police weren't ready for it." In response to the gang problem, Robinson is sponsoring a town hall meeting at 3 p.m. today at his church.

"I think the shooting of the police officer is going to spark even more people to come," he said. "And whatever officials don't come, they need to step out of office."

Elsewhere in Rialto on Friday, police officers tried to deal with Carrera's death. He is survived by his wife, a 2-year-old son, a year-old daughter, two sisters and his parents

Several of Carrera's former partners struggled with their emotions as they returned to work. "He was a really good street cop, soft-spoken, in control and very low key, very observant," Sgt. James Gibbons said. "He was well on his way to being an outstanding gang officer. He had a flair and a knack for identifying gang members."

Officer Robert Morales, who worked the graveyard shift with Carrera, remembered him as a diligent but funny colleague.

"He was a confident jokester who liked to stir a lot of stuff up," he said. "When he was around, everyone was smiling and laughing. He made sure everybody was laughing."

david.kelly@latimes.com

maeve.reston@latimes.com
____________________________________________________________________________________

Police arrest man suspected of killing SWAT officer

Thursday, October 18, 2007

(10-18) 23:23 PDT Rialto, Calif. (AP) --

Police have arrested a man suspected in the fatal shooting of a SWAT officer during a narcotics raid at an apartment building Thursday, authorities said.

Officers arrested Jaranard Thomas, 32, a Rialto man and booked him on suspicion of murder of a police officer, said Police Chief Mark Kling. It was immediately clear if Thomas yet had an attorney.

Sergio Carrera, 29, died after being shot in the upper body while serving a search warrant during the Thursday morning raid.

Carrera was rushed to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center after the 7 a.m. shooting, but did not survive surgery, Rialto police Capt. Raul Martinez said.

"We've suffered a great loss today," Martinez said.

Carrera had been with the department four years.

The shooting happened 45 miles east of Los Angeles. No further details were released about the search warrant.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/10/18/state/n092553D10.DTL

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Rialto Police Officer is Shot During Raid, dies (LA Times Oct, 19, 2007)

BS Ranch Perspective

I knew Sergio Carrera Jr when he was still in training, I didn't get to talk to him much when he was in training, however when the city was threatening to contract with the Sheriff's Department for Law Enforcement, that was when I got to know Serg. He had a very good personaltiy and very quick sharp on his feet type of personaltiy, I was really glad to have gotten to know Serg, if anyone was placed into awe from meeting him it was me. I am just sorry that it was a friendship that was so short. Now I just get to think about Serg, and what it was like to have worked with him, because my time had passed by when his had started, and well it makes me really sad, Upset and terribly empty inside thinking about it.

Sergio, the little that I got to know him was a man that you could obviously tell loved his family, and he just wanted what ever was best for him and his family!!

I am Truly broken up over the fact that there was such a young family that has been torn apart now, it is going to be hard for the family to adjust to the loss of the main man of the family. My prayers have been flowing for them, the children and his wife. My Gracious Lord God, it is going to be a hard for them to pick up the pieces and try to go on without Sergio!!

BS Ranch

Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times

Jessica DeMoet, a San Bernardino County sheriff's crime scene investigator, inspects Rialto Officer Sergio Carrera Jr.'s gun Thursday on West Cascade Drive in Rialto .

Rialto police officer is shot during raid, dies

Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times

Jessica DeMoet, a San Bernardino County sheriff's crime scene investigator, inspects Rialto Officer Sergio Carrera Jr.'s gun Thursday on West Cascade Drive in Rialto .

A resident of a home being raided is arrested on suspicion of murder in 4-year veteran's death.

By Maeve Reston and David Kelly, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
October 19, 2007

A Rialto police officer was shot and killed Thursday as authorities from local and federal agencies swarmed over a troubled stretch of the city serving search warrants for illegal drugs.

Sergio Carrera Jr., 29, a four-year veteran of the force and a member of the SWAT team, was shot in the chest while he and other officers struggled with a man inside one of the targeted homes.

Map

Late Thursday night, Rialto Police Chief Mark Kling announced that they had arrested Jaranard Thomas, 32, of Rialto on suspicion of murder of a police officer.

He said speculation earlier in the day that another SWAT team officer had shot the fallen officer was incorrect. Kling took no questions and said the investigation was ongoing.

Police Capt. Raul Martinez did not offer details on how the shooting occurred. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department was investigating.

Carrera was airlifted to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, where he died. He was married with a 2-year-old son and a year-old daughter.

The incident began about 7 a.m. when neighbors reported smoke, explosions and shouting. SWAT teams from the Colton and Rialto police departments, along with a few agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, raided four homes on West Cascade Drive simultaneously.

Nashalla Bell was in the house with Thomas when the shooting occurred. She said she heard the front door jiggling and was worried it was the same people who did a drive-by shooting of the house Sunday morning.

Bell woke Thomas moments before police burst through the door, she said. Her 3- and 5-year-old sons ran from the kitchen where they were getting ready to eat breakfast. She said the police ordered everyone to the floor at gunpoint.

"I couldn't see anything after that, but apparently my boyfriend got up and ran to the back and another officer went after him," she said. "I heard the shot, and I heard them say, 'Officer down.' "

Neighbors reported seeing a police officer kneeling beside Carrera, crying and embracing him.

Bell said she couldn't believe Thomas shot the officer but said he had been on guard since the drive-by shooting. "I think he probably thought the same thing I thought -- that the people who shot on Sunday was coming back," she said. "I don't think he realized it was the police."

Bell said she could not see who fired the gun or whether her boyfriend had a gun. She said police told her later they recovered firearms from the house. Martinez would not say whether Thomas was armed.

Neighbors described Thomas as nonviolent and a neighborhood chef who cooked soul food in his kitchen and sold it for $10 a plate on weekends.

Myrtle Bush said Thomas held neighborhood cookouts and was planning a surprise birthday party for one of his children later Thursday. "He's more into his kids and wife than anything," said Bush, 58.

Akeyauna Brown, 18, said that when she was at Thomas' home Wednesday braiding his cornrows, he was worried about his family's safety because of the drive-by shooting.

Carrera is the second Rialto policeman to die in the line of duty. An officer was shot and killed at a gas station in 1986.

Police gathered outside department headquarters to comfort one another Thursday. Flags were lowered to half-staff. A number of squad cars, lights flashing, escorted Carrera's body from the hospital to the coroner's office.

"He was a great officer, very well liked, very well respected. It will be extremely difficult for all of us to get over this," Martinez said. "Members of our department are in shock."

City Councilwoman Deborah Robertson met with Carrera's family at the hospital.

"It really hurts that he was a young man who was really outgoing and energetic," she said. "He was fun and everyone loved him."

Robertson said childhood friends of Carrera, who grew up in the Moreno Valley area, rushed to the hospital.

The California Highway Patrol flew his wife to the hospital in a helicopter. "She's in a daze right now," Robertson said. "She is trying to care for her kids as well as support her family."

His death shocked a city struggling to get its police force back on track and trying to rein in a crime problem that has included a recent shooting death of a 16-year-old boy at a mall.

Over the last decade, its own officers have sued the department, accusing it of widespread racism and sexism. It has been criticized for slow response times and failing to curb violent crime. The City Council voted to disband the department last year and let the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department patrol the city of 100,000. A court order overturned that decision.

Robertson said the department had been trying to rebuild. "The morale and camaraderie at the department is great," he said.

Those living on West Cascade Drive tell different stories about the neighborhood. Some say it's under siege by overzealous police; others describe it as a place of drug sales and escalating crime.

Bush said police had made it so uncomfortable to be outside over the last year that she was moving out of the neighborhood.

"They come over here and make this street seem like the worst street in Rialto, which it's not," she said. She said officers believe there is gang activity in the neighborhood because young men gather on the street. But others, including Maria Herrera, said violence in Rialto had become progressively worse since she moved into her home 12 years ago.

There are still bullet holes in the side of her house from a drive-by shooting less than a year ago. "It used to be more relaxed, more calm," Herrera said. "But lately it's been getting a lot of violence."

maeve.reston@latimes.com

david.kelly@latimes.com

Rialto Police Department No Stranger to Turmoil (Press Enterprise, Oct. 19, 2007)

BS Ranch Perspective

You know that I have been with Rialto Police Department since the beginning of 1988, and back then the Police Department was in minor Turmoil compared to what happened shortly after Edward Scott was Elected into Office. between the antics that he stirred up with his pen, and his voice at the meetings, and you know as long as I can remember he would aways say that it was never anything that he did, it was aways something that he was "forced to do" because of something that somebody on the Police Department with whom Ed Scott always pointed out, at the City Council Meetings. There for a while it was Then Raymond Farmer's Fault, & Ed Scott's plan was that Chief Farmer had to loose his job!! It was then that, we the people at Rialto Police Department were educated on what kind of a person Ed Scott was back then!! Raymond Farmer Sued "Wrongful Termination" & asked for his job back!!

It was only a short Two weeks or maybe it was three that the outcome of the Investigation on the City Council's Investigation was done. Chief Raymond Farmer, Won his case, and earned the right to be called Chief of Police for Rialto PD again, but to save FACE, The Rialto City Council got together and, asked and begged Chief Farmer to Take the following Deal and save them the heart of having to confuse the Idea of the People at Rialto Police Department, Learning to call him, Their Direct Boss again.

Chief Farmer was asked to take a "Golden Handshake Retirement" He would be paid to be a consultant to the City Administrator for the remainder of his Contract as Police Chief, and he Would also be allowed to Drive a City Automobile with a City Mobile phone (Which was very expensive back then). Chief Farmer would take a Settlement also for the golden Handshake in the amount of one years Salary, with no taxes removed, and well it was just to much not to pass up. I mean it isn't often that you are offered a Car to drive for a year, all gas & Auto mechanics paid for, and you get a sum of cash that is estimated to equal almost 1/4 of a million dollars or $250, 000.00. I would have taken the cash too, No responsibilities, Oh, and they would pay full medical, and give a full retirement as well, even though you were a few years out from your retirement age!!! Chief Raymond took the deal I don't blame him, and in the end, Rialto was considered to the be losers, and well they viewed it as they were the winners, I cannot figure out the way that they work. But I am just a young adult....

Ever since then, when Ed Scott has been in office there has been turmoil in the City Police Department! There is a reliable Roomer that has been coming down these days that the Fire Department is now under the same weird Scrutiny, and there isn't any end in sight!! I guess there has to be an unwritten rule with the Police Department with problems or the Fire Department has problems, but either way, it is one or the other, Now that the Police Department is in order the Rialto Fire Department is Taking it in the Back side!!!

BS Ranch

Rialto Police Department no stranger to turmoil


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07:40 AM PDT on Friday, October 19, 2007
By MARY BENDER
The Press-Enterprise

Thursday's shooting death of Officer Sergio Carrera Jr., a four-year veteran assigned to the SWAT team, was a tragic loss to the 112-officer department, which had been enjoying a rebirth since city leaders decided not to disband it.

After dropping to as few as 87 members, the department is now just three officers away from returning to full strength, Chief Mark Kling told the City Council this month in introducing the latest two recruits.

"The department has really blossomed," said Fontana City Councilman Frank Scialdone, who served as Rialto's interim police chief for nine months, until Kling took office in August 2006. "Chief Kling came in and he's doing a fabulous job."

The City Council hired Scialdone, who retired as Fontana's police chief in 2004 after a 31-year career there, in December 2005 with the intention that he would guide the Rialto department's transition to being run by the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. Two years earlier, San Bernardino County Sheriff Gary Penrod had told the council that the city could save $3.2 million if it contracted with his department.

The council's vote to disband the Police Department came in September 2005, less than a month after the police union gave Chief Michael Meyers and Deputy Chief Arthur Burgess a vote of no confidence. Officers complained that they had to fight to get updated equipment, and union officials described the pair as disengaged and intolerant of people who disagreed with them.

Scialdone remembered the tumultuous days after the decision to dissolve a police force that had been established in 1911, the same year Rialto became a city.

Story continues below

Kurt Miller / The Press-Enterprise

Serafin Dimas delivers flowers to the Rialto Police Department as Liz Rocha opens the door to help. Flags outside the building are flying at half-staff in honor of Officer Sergio Carrera Jr.

"The first week we were there, we had six officers leave to go to Riverside P.D.," Scialdone recalled Thursday. The Rialto Police Department had "tons of great employees who felt stymied," he said.

But in March 2006, city leaders did an about-face, deciding to keep the Police Department.

"Then we had to go in a 180-degree direction," Scialdone said. His task became one of rebuilding the police force.

"The department has made a transformation from when I got there in December 2005 to today," he said.

"When we got there, there was no gang unit. This was at the time that San Bernardino had just started their big gang push," he said. "Where are (gang members) going to go if you push them out of one place? They'll go someplace else."

And that gang migration came straight to Rialto, Scialdone said.

Scialdone gave credit for the improvements to a more harmonious relationship between the police union and police management, and a better working relationship between the police department and the rest of the city government.

"There was a huge amount of animosity between the union and the former (police) administration," Scialdone said. "When we went to Rialto, the police department was an island. It didn't get along with anybody."

Reach Mary Bender at 909-806-3056 or mbender@PE.com

DEPARTMENT HISTORY

SEPTEMBER 2005: Rialto City Council votes to disband the Rialto Police Department and contract with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.

OCTOBER 2005: Residents and police employees start a petition asking that residents be allowed to vote on the issue.

NOVEMBER 2005: Residents launch a recall effort against two City Council members who had advocated contracting with the Sheriff's Department.

DECEMBER 2005: The city appoints Councilman Frank Scialdone as interim police chief; Chief Michael Meyers and Deputy Chief Arthur Burgess retire.

March 2006: City Council ends its efforts to disband the police department.

MAY 2006: Council approves contract with police union.

AUGUST 2006: Mark Kling is sworn in as Rialto police chief.

INLAND OFFICERS KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY

According to the Web page of California Peace Officers' Memorial in Sacramento, these are the Inland-area officers who have been killed, both on duty and off. For more information, visit www.camemorial.org, The latest death was added from news reports.

Officer John Baird, Riverside Police Department, Jan. 1, 1912

Officer Del MacIntyre, Riverside police, Jan. 1, 1912

Marshal Grant C. Alexander, Corona Police Department, Dec. 22, 1913

Officer Ralph Maple, Colton Police Department, Sept. 16, 1916

Deputy Henry F. Nelson, Riverside County Sheriff's Department, Sept. 22, 1921

Deputy Theodore Crossley, Riverside County sheriff, Sept. 22, 1921

Officer George E. Estes, Colton police, April 13, 1923

CHP Officer Jack E. Marks, San Bernardino, April 11, 1933

CHP Officer Oscar D. McMurry, San Bernardino, March 5, 1934

Officer Henry F. "Dinty" Moore, San Bernardino Police Department, Jan. 1, 1937

Officer Clinton Burtner, Riverside police, Jan. 1, 1938

Officer Edward Bertino, Riverside police, Jan. 1, 1940

Officer Edwin A. Blakely, San Bernardino police, Jan. 3, 1942

Officer Arthur Simpson, Riverside police, Jan. 1, 1944

Officer Frank A. Rogers, San Bernardino police, Sept. 27, 1947

Officer Harris R. McCullough, San Bernardino police, Sept. 29, 1947

Officer Bernard Green, Ontario Police Deptarment, June 14, 1951

CHP Officer John W. Armatoski, Barstow, May 1, 1953

Reserve Officer Louis Dulisse, Ontario police, March 17, 1954

Deputy Howard R. Scheffler, Riverside County sheriff, Feb. 29, 1956

CHP Officer Raymond A. Geiger, Riverside, Aug. 10, 1956

Detective Russell G. Grower, Ontario police, Feb. 2, 1958

Deputy Billy R. Heckle, San Bernardino County sheriff, Jan. 1, 1960

CHP Officer Richard D. Duvall, Victorville, Feb. 23, 1960

Officer Gale G. Eldridge, Palm Springs Police Department, Jan. 18, 1961

Deputy Roger A. Strong, Riverside County sheriff, Aug. 7, 1961

Officer Lyle W. Larrabee, Palm Springs police, Jan. 1, 1962

CHP Officer Ronald E. Davis, Barstow, Aug. 18, 1962

CHP Officer William C. Isaacs, San Bernardino, Aug. 25, 1966

Sgt. William J. Rutledge, Riverside County sheriff, May 14, 1969

Investigator William F. Carter, Riverside County sheriff, May 20, 1969

CHP Officer Ambers O. Shewmaker, Banning, Nov. 24, 1969

Sgt. Darrell Keith Lee, Rialto police, July 24, 1970

Officer Paul C. Teel, Riverside police, April 2, 1971

Officer Leonard A. Christiansen, Riverside police, April 2, 1971

Lt. Alfred E. Stewart, San Bernardino County sheriff, March 9, 1973

CHP Officer Larry L. Wetterling, San Bernardino, March 9, 1973

Officer William C. Prettyman, Riverside police, Dec. 12, 1973

Deputy Edward M. Schrader, Riverside County sheriff, July 1, 1974

Officer Larry E. Walters, Riverside police, Nov. 13, 1974

Deputy Frank M. Pribble, San Bernardino County sheriff, July 6, 1975

Officer Richard M. Hyche, Ontario police, Oct. 15, 1975

CHP Officer Edward Parker III, Riverside, May 2, 1977

Deputy James B. Evans, Riverside County sheriff, May 9, 1980

Deputy Dirk A. Leonardson, Riverside County sheriff, Oct. 4, 1980

CHP Officer George R. Carey, Barstow, Feb. 24, 1982

CHP Officer Kenneth L. Archer, Barstow Feb. 24, 1982

Officer Dennis C. Doty, Riverside police, May 13, 1982

Officer Philip N. Trust, Riverside police, May 13, 1982

Investigator Michael O. Lewis, San Bernardino County district attorney's office, March 30, 1985

Deputy Clifford E. Sanchez, San Bernardino County sheriff, April 6, 1985

Sgt. Gary W. Wolfley, Rialto police, March 3, 1986

Deputy Donald James De Meulle, San Bernardino County sheriff, July 31, 1986

Sgt. Timothy Littlefield, San Bernardino police, Sept. 14, 1986

Deputy Keith B. Farley, San Bernardino County sheriff, April 12, 1987

CHP Officer Michael A. Brandt, Indio, May 6, 1987

Investigator Michael D. Davis, Riverside County sheriff, Oct. 24, 1988

David Vasquez, Cathedral City police, Oct. 28, 1988

Deputy Randy R. Lutz, Riverside County sheriff, June 22, 1989

Deputy Kent A. Hintergardt, Riverside County sheriff, May 9, 1993

CHP Officer Larry J. Jaramillo, San Bernardino, June 22, 1993

Deputy Russell Roberts, San Bernardino County sheriff, Sept. 16, 1995

CHP Officer Reuben F. Rios Sr., San Bernardino, Oct. 27, 1996

Deputy Michael P. Haugen, Riverside County sheriff, Jan. 5, 1997

Deputy James W. Lehmann Jr., Riverside County sheriff, Jan. 5, 1997

CHP Officer Saul Martinez, Indio, May 16, 1997

CHP Officer Daniel J. Muehlhausen, Indio, June 1, 1997

Officer Claire N. Connelly, Riverside police, July 12, 1998

Deputy Eric A. Thach, Riverside County sheriff, Oct. 8, 1999

Officer Russell M. Miller Sr., Chino police, Feb. 1, 2000

Officer Gerald Silvestri, San Bernardino police, Oct. 15, 2000

Detective Charles D. Jacobs III, Riverside police, Jan. 13, 2001

Deputy Brent C. Jenkins, Riverside County sheriff, March 18, 2003

Deputy Bruce K. Lee, Riverside County sheriff, May 13, 2003

CHP Officer Shannon L. Distel, Riverside, Aug. 27, 2003

CHP Officer James M. Goodman, San Bernardino, June 3, 2004

Deputy Ronald W. Ives, San Bernardino County sheriff, Sept. 1, 2004

Officer Manuel A. Gonzalez, California Department of Corrections, Chino, Jan. 10, 2005

Deputy Greg Gariepy, San Bernardino County sheriff, June 22, 2005

Deputy Daniel Lobo Jr., San Bernardino County sheriff, Oct. 11, 2005

CHP Officer G. John Bailey, Rancho Cucamonga, Feb. 25, 2006

Deputy Manuel Villegas, Riverside County sheriff, March 19, 2007

Officer Sergio Carrera, Jr., Rialto police, Oct. 18, 2007