Posted on Friday, 8/21/2009 - 10:24 a.m. PDT — by P5Ret
Ok this morning around 8:45 AM every Oakley police unit (sheriff deputy contracted to Oakley PD) went to Bethel Island for fight / robbery call, and were there for over 1 hour, effectivly leaving the city without a single officer in the city. Now I understand mutual aid and all that but where I worked if we had stripped the city of officers including the shift supervisor, I can assure you that more than likely there would have been days off with out pay would have been involved for the supervisor. Since the city is paying a major portion of the budget to the county for police services don't you think we should get it 24/7? When Oakley became a city one of the reasons spouted back then was local control of police and fire I for one am wondering when this is going to happen. Our city council is asleep at the wheel, and the city manager is real good at telling people what they want to hear. Maybe it is time Oakley actually takes some control and hires someone as a police chief who will actually answer to the city, not the county. Or maybe we should get what we pay for, why should Oakley get basically deserted by law enforcement because the sheriff's department is short staffed? Would the same thing happen it Danville, Moraga, Lafayette, or before San Ramon broke away did it happen there? My guess would be no. Bottom line Oakley PD should assist the sheriff's department when they need it, but that doesn't mean sending the entire shift, out of the city, for over an hour.
Joined: Nov 2006
Current Posts: 224
P5, I hope you've gone to the city council meetings and voiced your opinion. Especially considering they left the city of oakley to the criminals for over a hour. I wonder how much crime was commited during that hour. I don't think they could justify doing it except maybe to say any calls would of been dealt with. Unfortunatly many crimes don't have calls until its too late.
Joined: Aug 2009
Current Posts: 4
Hey p5 retired, so the readers know the truth, lets talk about you...You were retired out as a cop why??? Lets be honest now... Oh, thats right, your wife hires unlicensed drivers, because its cheaper for them to drive all over town???? (I wont say the name of her company out o f respect to her)...By the way readers and victims of traffic accidents, the majority of Oakleys traffic collisions are by unlicenced drivers. You claim to be a retired cop, yet you question a when citizen and the firefighters are in danger and the county units are 15 minutes away and Oakley officers can be there in 1-2 minutes to help the citizens and firefighters????? WOW, you must of been a great beat partner!!!! Its always the discruntled cops, the ones that hated there jobs and could give a rats [bleep] about the community, the ones who retire out early for some reason, that trash talk a police department. You need to redirect your immature behavior and anger somewhere else....I can continue, but I'll stop here...Bottom line for P5ret, DONT THROW STONES IN A GLASS HOUSE..I have plenty more if you would like to continue this discussion...
Joined: Oct 2007
Current Posts: 687
Fine by me, first off lets leave my family out of this since my wife has nothing to do with this, nor does she own a business but make all of the assumptions you wish, but you need to back it up with facts and you can't. Honest I retired out on an injury nothing more nothing less. Since you think you know me tell me more about myself why did I retire come on I laid it out that is the truth, oh and feel free to ask anyone I worked with if they had a problem working with me you seem to know all about it so feel free. If I had hated my job so much why did I fight to keep it when I was told by the doctor that I would have to retire, can you answer that?
Exactly who was in danger while every Oakley unit was out of town for over an hour, the Sheriff's deputies who had not arrived on scene until after the first Oakley unit arrived? How long would it have taken to get from Bethel Island to Frandoras Circle for a crime in progress, or even downtown for a robbery call? Tell me where it is proper procedure for a watch commander and an entire shift to leave town, for a crime not occuring in their city? Call Brentwood or Antioch or any other city and ask them if they ever have an entire shift leave town and leave the city without coverage, I'll bet you it won't happen short of a terrorist attack or natural disaster. I don't have a problem sending a couple of units to secure a scene or even to assist in a suspect search.
Oh and by the way I have more respect for the Oakley police dept. then you know, some of the guys there I consider friends. What I have an issue with is the fact that the entire shift was out of the city limits for over an hour with no beat coverage for all of the city, if you think that is acceptable you really need a reality check. This was not some shots fired call or an active shooter scenario, it was a plain and simple robbery call, with known suspects who had fled the scene. So lets all hear your experience in law enforcement, you seem to know mine where is yours put up or shut up.
Joined: Apr 2007
Current Posts: 38
Sorry P5Ret but Jmp is right in this case. Granted I don't know the specifics of the call, but I have no problem with Oakley PD assisting outside the city limits. The most important thing is everyone goes home at the end of the night the rest can wait! And yes I have the experience to back this up. On the other side of this Jmp dont make this personal.
Joined: Oct 2007
Current Posts: 687
I also have plenty of experience, including as a watch commander, my point is simply that the call a fight that turned out to be a strong arm robbery, with known suspects did not justify the entire shifts for both the S.O. and Oakley a total of 6 or 7 patrol untis and 2 watch commanders.
Joined: Aug 2009
Current Posts: 79
Sorry P5, I'm not an expert like you, but it sounds more like Monday morning quarterbacking on your part.
So you were a Watch Commander? What exactly does that entail? Would you be in charge of the deployment of troops on calls like the one you mentioned? You said the call came out as a fight and turned out to be something else. Maybe they were being better safe than sorry on the fight? Looks like nothing bad happened in the end so........
I live in Martinez. I would have no problem if ALL the Sheriff's Deputies from my area (I live in the unincorporated area) responded to Pleasant Hill to assist there if they thought they were needed. If something happened in my backyard I'm sure Martinez PD could help out if needed until they got back here. No?
I imagine this was just an anomaly and it happens rarely or does it happen often? Any ideas?
Joined: Oct 2007
Current Posts: 687
I don't see this as Monday morning quarterbacking as much as I see it as wanting an answer as to why this would be acceptable. To put it in simple terms the City of Oakley pays somewhere in the neighborhood of $7 million for police services to the sheriff's department, should we the citizens get what we pay for? I understand sending a few units to assist, but the whole shift? With the exception of a major incident, I don't see this happening anywhere else. Thankfully nothing happened, that would have required an immediate police response in the city.
Joined: Aug 2009
Current Posts: 18
that was really bad JMP.
I pray for you, and your family. You obviously have some deep rooted issues going on in your life that you would have to take one person's concerns and turn it into complete negativity and then spread rumors about that poor person. I feel soo bad for you.
Joined: Mar 2008
Current Posts: 1192
Someone should have remained "here in town, minding the store". That's just simple common sense.
_____
Coexist
Joined: Nov 2009
Current Posts: 1
You are Monday morning quarterbacking period. Why don't we let the guys who risk their lives everyday make the decision at the time a decision needs to be made. They are short staffed, overworked and definitely underpaid. The city manager and the chief along with the city counsel have done an outstanding job with what they had to work with, educate yourself before you gossip in a public forum, did you practice the same habits when you were on the job? Reading between the lines it sounds like someone is disgruntled and has an axe to grind. Maybe you could be a police volunteer and contribute instead of tearing down?
Joined: Oct 2007
Current Posts: 687
I am simply stating that this practice would not be acceptable anywhere else. If you think it is feel free to go to any police department and ask them if they would leave the city for a similar call, I'll bet you the answer is no. I have not said they should not help, but do you really need to send the whole shift. You yourself say they are short staffed, so does it make you feel better that your family could have had to wait an extended amount of time for help if they had need it? Why would I have an axe to grind with Oakley PD or the sheriff's department? I have never worked in Contra Costa in a law enforcement capacity, so there is nothing there your barking up the wrong tree.
Joined: Aug 2009
Current Posts: 4
I just want to make it clear it everyone. P5ret keeps mentioning that "the whole shift responded" "the whole shift should not be going" and that "He would not send the whole shift"....The shift P5ret is referring to is staffed with 2 cops and a Sgt. Yes, only 2 cops and yes P5ret knows this. So, if P5 ret was a watch commander, must of been an acting one, at best, then he would know that you never send a cop alone to a call like that. And because the area it was in, 3 cops should go, if there is nothing going on on the city. We are not about to get cops hurt because of one disgruntled retired cop. By the way, the county only has 2 deputies for all of east county, baypoint to Disco bay. Despite there slim staffing, they have assisted Oakley on several occasions. Its funny, you dont hear any of the citizens living in the unicorporated area complaining that there 2 deputies are helping Oakley!!! Like somebody commented, quit monday morning QBing and become a volunteer, if you think your "experience" would make a difference....
Joined: Oct 2007
Current Posts: 687
Staffing for the city of Oakley day shift Friday morning 3 officers and a Sgt. For the county 2 or 3 deputies and a Sgt. Bay Point is staffed with 2 deputies out of central county not east county, but feel free to continue that propaganda, you know it isn't true. Maybe you should try to learn something instead of focusing on attacking me actually learn what is going on. Face it you use words like disgruntled and you have no idea what you are talking about. How about we put it this way you hire someone to protect your family and property 24/7 and you are paying a huge ammount of money for that protection do you expect it to be there 24/7 or if they choose to go somewhere else is that ok? Face facts you don't know what you are talking about and are simply defending a practice that is irresponsible at best. Don't you think the city should expect more than to have officers who are assinged to the city under a contract just to leave town? Once the situation was stabalized shouldn't one or two have returned to the city? This was not anyone running around with a gun posing an immediate threat once they arrived on scene and the responding sheriff's units arrived was it necessary to spend over 1 hour looking for 2vsuspects with at my count 7 officers 4 OPD 3 sheriff's deputies. Someone should have stayed in town bottom line. Sorry you don't like it but that is the way it should be, Bethel Island is not North Richmond nor is it like it was 10 or 15 years ago, but you know that already don't you, you seem to know every thing else. So please continue to tell us all how you know better, I will contiue to say that the city should be getting better service than what they get now.
Joined: May 2009
Current Posts: 18
I can see your point if the officers from Oakley PD responded to Discovery Bay to help. However, since the City of Oakley expanded a couple of years ago, the location that they responded too is not far from the city line. See, the City of Oakley now extends to Sandmound Blv @ Bethel Island Rd. How do I know this, OPD took the report when my storage locker was broken into on Bethel Island Rd @ Sandmound Blv. So, the officers from the Oakley Police Dept. drove less than one mile ouside of the city limits to assist the Sheriff's Dept. You have told others to check their facts and be accurate, but I didn't see any mention of the geographical location of the crime scene related to the city limits in any of your posts. In this cituation, the on-duty watch commander for Oakley PD had to approve the assistance for the Sheriff's Dept. Oh, but you probably knew that.
Good job OPD and CCCSO, keep up the good work.