News

By Keith Sharward, Board Member & Co-Founder

Having our neighborhoods visited by Sacramento Police Department’s patrol officers, K9 units, and “Air One” helicopter twice in one week on intense domestic violence cases can lead neighbors to feel unsettled. Seeing reports or hearing stories of a suspect running from police, a gun being fired, officers in back yards of neighboring homes, loudspeaker announcements ordering suspect compliance and residents to stay in their homes — it may all come together in a jumble that can make one wonder:

What the heck is going on around here?
Is this a pattern or a sign of what’s to come?
Is this how we expect our lives to be disrupted in our neighborhoods going forward?

Yesterday I had a great conversation with our area’s police captain, Daniel Hahn, about this week’s two isolated but very stressful domestic violence incidents and, specifically, the uneasiness and lingering questions that remain long after the suspects are hauled off to jail and the helicopter flies away. It was an enlightening discussion, the highlights of which I share with you (in my own words).

First, here are the excerpts of Capt. Hahn’s official summaries of the incidents:

(171967) 6/7/09 @ 8:25 pm
Domestic Violence/Arrest, Muskrat Wy, Gateway west
Officers responded to a domestic violence call between husband and wife. The suspect ran upon officers arrival and started jumping fences. After a perimeter was set up and the helicopter searched for the suspect, he walked out of a back yard. The 38 yr. old suspect was arrested for the assault and warrant.

(176506) 6/11/09 @ 10:08 pm
Gateway West Area
Officers responded on a domestic violence call where a shotgun was fired. A couple of people in the neighborhood also heard the gun shot. No one was hurt, but a gun did go off. Both subjects were arrested on assault charges.

What do these incidents have in common?
Both were near one another in the Park View neighborhood (one on Muskrat Way, the other at Cowbird Court / Shrike Circle); both were domestic violence incidents; both involved officers in neighboring backyards; both involved arresting suspects and taking them to jail; both involved helicopters and K9 units.

What are the differences?
Sunday’s suspect ran and hid from officers upon their arrival, whereas Thursday’s suspects remained on scene. Thursday involved a shotgun gun being fired inside the home, but thankfully, nobody was injured except the misfortunate wall that took the brunt of the blast. The helicopter, police dogs, and officers conducted yard-to-yard searches in an active manhunt on Sunday, whereas the presence of the chopper and officers going into backyards on Thursday was only precautionary and helped to ensure a manhunt would not occur.

Is this a sign of things to come?
It’s anyone’s guess, but both Capt. Hahn and I agree that domestic violence is likely to upswing further relative to the state of our economy: financial troubles strain relationships, and pockets of our neighborhoods are disproportionately affected by housing bubble equity inversions, teaser mortgage rate resets, and foreclosures that often follow in an era when unemployment is the highest it has been in most of our working lifetimes.

Is there anything we can do?
Believe it or not, yes — and many of us are already doing it. Be mindful of your surroundings and continue to call SacPD on any and all suspicious activities — and that extends even to when we suspect violence inside our neighbors’ homes. This may be uncomfortable for some because of fear of retaliation: Capt. Hahn readily acknowledges this — risk of retaliation is sometimes real — and in those cases, callers can remain anonymous if they wish. Please keep in mind the risk of not calling — someone could get injured or even killed.

Loud bangs, whether gunshots or illegal fireworks/explosives — should we call the police?
Even if in doubt, call the police and advise on what you heard. It may turn out to be a low priority call for service, but sometimes we get lucky in that an officer may be in our area and is clear to respond quickly. Multiple calls from multiple addresses generally raise the importance of the incident. You never know — that “I’m not sure, but I think I may have heard a gunshot” call to police just might save someone’s life. It is never a bad idea to call police about possible gunshots, yet you might be surprised how often people don’t call on these or assume someone else will call. Always call, every time.

Are you, or do you know, a victim of domestic violence?
There are resources available. WEAVE provides crisis intervention services to women, men and children in Sacramento County who have experienced domestic violence or have been sexually assaulted. It is WEAVE’s mission to bring an end to domestic violence and sexual assault in partnership with our community. If you or someone you know is in an abusive relationship or has been sexually assaulted, call WEAVE’s 24-Hour Crisis Line at 916/920-2952 or visit their Web site at http://www.weaveinc.org/.

I’d like to extend heartfelt thanks to all of the officers who responded to these incidents and to the dispatchers who fielded questions from neighbors when police were on scene. We have gotten to know some of these great people in the course of our building partnerships, including Captain Hahn, and WRCA’S official neighborhood association liaison Officer Keith Long whose cell phone text messages in the aftermath of Sunday’s incident allowed me to update you all on the surrender of the suspect in that case. Many of you have met Officer Long at our monthly meetings — all the more reason to attend if you haven’t yet had the chance.

Finally, I’d like to thank all of you who share the roller-coaster ride, staying invested in our community. As I’ve said before, sometimes it is when the going gets tough that we learn who our real allies are — and this community has lots of them.

Keith Sharward is a co-founder and board member of Witter Ranch Community Alliance. He is also a member of the Natomas Crime & Safety Leadership Team and supports Angelique Ashby for City Council in 2010.

Last night around 10:30 PM, three teenaged boys loitered in front of a home of someone they do not know, peered into the window of a truck parked across the street, then dumped a bicycle in an area somewhat out of view of the street when running away from the scene. It was all caught on video via a surveillance camera system.

It appears that one subject looked inside the truck while the other two acted as look-outs. After a half minute or so, the three teens huddled, and then it appears they were frightened by something or someone because they ran west on Cafaro Circle.

This incident should serve as a cautionary reminder to everyone in our neighborhood to remain vigilant in reporting all suspicious activity to Sacramento Police Department’s non-emergency dispatch line: 916/264-5471. North Area Capt. Daniel Hahn even reinforced this in a recent e-mail update to the community: “Remember to call in ALL suspicious activity — even if you feel you are over-reacting. There have been some great examples of concerned citizens calling suspicious activity in and good results coming from it.”

The bicycle is in the process of being turned over to the police department as probable stolen property. If you or someone you know had a bicycle stolen in the area recently, make sure the theft is reported to the police department, then contact us with a detailed description of the bike and the police report number.

If you know or think you know the identity of the subjects in this incident, please contact Sacramento Police Department.

Prowling Trio

Checking out the truck across the street

Dumping the (stolen?) bicycle while running away

From today’s Natomas Update e-mail from Sacramento Police Department’s Capt. Hahn:

(120007) 4/22/09 @ 1:52 am, 3320 Witter Wy (Sump 17), Citations, Gateway West
A concerned citizen called in regarding 6-7 subjects up at Sump 17 late at night wearing hoodies. Officer Hanson and Nezik responded and detained 6 juveniles. They were all cited for being in the park after dark and one was cited for possessing marijuana. They were transported home. Great job in calling in suspicious activity at this location that has had issues in the past – Keep it up!!

We asked for further information about this latest catch, and Officer Hanson provided the following:

I was the initial officer on scene. I actually snuck up on the suspects and was able to observe them prior to them ever realizing I was there. The suspects were only there to smoke marijuana, no vandalism or other criminal actions intended.

Additionally, all of the subjects were from Natomas, but quite spread out. None of them lived in the Witter Ranch Community Association boundaries, but some were within a very reasonable distance . . . As I understood from talking to the suspects, they chose this park because it was visible from the road (making it a possible choice because it is fresh in their mind), somewhat secluded, and due to the fact that they would not be in danger of being a victim of a violent crime at that location. As discouraging as it is to hear that suspects are committing crimes in your park, it was encouraging to hear that part of the reason is because they know the park is safe.

None of the suspects were affiliated to any gang. I am actually very interested in gang activity and gang affiliation, so I am always looking for any possible nexus between suspects I contact and gang involvement. None of these individuals had any obvious association with any gang set (or affiliation on record). I asked some specific questions and looked for some particular items/paraphernalia/colors and did not notice anything to lead me to believe that gang activity was occurring.

Additionally, only two of the six suspects were minors. The two minors were transported home and delivered to their parent. None of the youth had any major criminal involvement in the Sacramento area. A few of the suspects had no criminal record at all within the city.

All suspects were cited for loitering in a park after hours. One suspect was cited for misdemeanor possession of marijuana (less than an ounce).

The suspects who were not transported home arrived in a single vehicle. I actually followed the vehicle out of the neighborhood, assuring that it would not become an issue again that morning. . .

Indeed, this is encouraging news on a number of levels. First and foremost, we have another example of how our community is extremely diligent about protecting our neighborhoods and our park resources. We also have another example of the responsiveness of our police department, particularly the very proactive graveyard shift teams. Finally, we have feedback from the people who were caught in the park that they chose the site because they themselves feel safe there.

We also delivered a strong message to these guys — Stay out of our neighborhoods and our parks after dark, and quit smoking weed in our parks. We’re watching and we will not hesitate to contact our police department to enforce the law.

Updated April 21, 2009 @ 4:45 PM

Subject: Natomas Update 4/21/09
From: “Daniel Hahn”
Date: Tue, April 21, 2009 3:48 pm
To: “Daniel Hahn”

(117776), 4/20/09 @ 8:40 am, Sparrow/Natomas Crossing, Attempt Abduction **UPDATE**
After further investigation we have determined the victim’s story was false and no Attempted Abduction occurred after all. We are no longer looking for the truck and suspect the victim described to us yesterday.

Thank you to everyone that was keeping their eye out for the possible truck and suspect.

Captain Daniel Hahn
Sacramento Police Department
Patrol Division – North Command
3550 Marysville Blvd.
Sacramento, CA 95838
(916) 566-6401
dhahn@pd.cityofsacramento.org

Official Press Release

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