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Original post made
on Jul 29, 2011
The common denomonator is DRUGS! Supply and demand. Drugs and violence go hand in hand. Gangs make alot of money selling drugs in EPA. As long as there are those willing to buy and use them and the "gangster" lifestyle is tolerated, this City will never be safe.
How can they release the demographic of the anonymous tipsters? isn't that a breach of anonymity?
I could give you 5 houses right now that sell drugs and i do not ever go to east palo alto. Its from the high school days and guess what else? they're still there!
same people operating them and the police know exactly who and where they are.
But there is one problem in East Palo Alto, they don't do anything about it!!!!
EPA police do nothing to catch criminals IMHO. My housekeeper's hardworking husband just cashed his check at a market in EPA, where 2 African American males entered the store and watched, but on security camera, plus their car was also photoed on the camera outside, and then these thugs followed him home, where, at gunpoint, he was robbed of $1,400 dollars which was his entire rent for a month. IN BROAD DAYLIGHT right in front of his house. The EPA Police took a report after Mr. Mendoza called 911, but never called him in to see mug shots, or anything after that. A year later, nothing has ever happened. Can you imagine if this had happened in Menlo Park or Atherton ? I am disgusted with EPA police. I have tried to call the EPA police and they won't give any info out and these criminals who "can" be identified are still on the loose.
This whole article is a Davis PR piece. Start enforcing the laws and work with other police departments. EPA is a problem to other cities in San Mateo County
Ranch Gal, unfortunately, you often have to be a very squeaky wheel to get some help w/the police, or be part of a community group which works with them. I know a lot of residents here who don't want to be a squeaky wheel & for many, it goes against their culture & their personal code. You shouldn't *have* to raise a stink when you've literally been robbed of all of your money.
The Voice - yep, this is part of Davis's PR. Have you noticed the upticks in crime every time he announces violent crime has downturned I suspect that the criminals commit more violent crimes after Davis's pronouncements to show they have the upper hand.
it seems to me the dirt bags think they have the upper hand because of the "no snitch" mentality. Given the outrage and the fact that people have finally overcome that "no snitch" mentality, arrests have been made. Part of the reason EPA is the way it is, is because of the absolute refusal of witnesses to give information to the police. I realize EPAPD isn't the greatest PD in the world, but asking police to catch criminals without the assistance of the community is asking them to do their job with one hand tied behind their backs. They're generally not there when the crime is committed. Witnesses are the only thing that they can go on to catch teh bad guys. It's not like on CSI, most all departments don't have any of the fancy technology on TV. Even those that do are so back logged that it takes months, not the hours shown on TV to get their evidence. Bottom line - if the community refuses to get involved, the dirt bags take control.
I agree, MV. But there are many, many times our PD doesn't pursue leads, for a variety of reasons; many of those reasons aren't viable. That's not excusing the residents' lack of stepping forward; rather, there is more than one reason for unclosed cases, of course, & some of the fault lies w/the PD. I have experienced a real variety of competence w/our PD & the Sheriff's Office through the years. Some of the downside is due to workload, lack of manpower, lack of funds. But certainly, not all of it.
Some years back, when the S.O. stepped into investigations, the backlog of cases was appalling & much of the work was incredibly sloppy. Not all of that can be attributed to lack of funds or overwork; some, but not all of it.
I do have to say though I am not a part of the snitch/not snitch community because my lifestyle is very different from that community, plus, not being raised here means that I don't have family here. I have some deep connections, but that's different than either fearing for my safety by coming forward, or not coming forward because I hate the police and overtly or tacitly approve of criminal behavior.
I am *thrilled* that some of the don't snitch mentality has shifted. I am both cautious & cynical about it, however, because it can drop right back into place depending on circumstances & players. Of course, you know all of this.
I was also surprised by the outpouring of rage & grief when Officer May was killed, because that was a huge contrast to when Officer Davis was killed; that's earlier evidence that the community's attitudes have changed.
I also understand most of Davis's PR machine reasons, & I approve of some, but certainly not all of them. Recently, him wanting to get the heck outta EPA was a sober reality check for his fans. OTOH, he is fairly accessible to many here, and that itself is a huge change.
One of the best things I've learned about our PD: they really back up animal control officers doing their job here. That may sound minor, but it's not. I have also witnessed incredible kindness towards animals from our officers & other city employees. I have also witnessed thoughtful, hard work from code enforcement.
Another important piece of this is that many of the officers will rise to the situation when they know you're not a criminal. But even so, much of the "us vs. them" divide is incredibly wide. My loyalty swerves back & forth depending on the situation. Some of the residents here are in such incredible denial (at least publicly) about what their loved ones are involved with, that they refuse to acknowledge the legal definition of a gang & blindly insist those loves ones aren't involved. It's surreal.
And lastly, of course, I am grateful we have cleaned up the PD enough that none of them appear to be selling weapons out of the trunk of their patrol cars or leaving their buying off their beating victims with Happy Meals. Now, THOSE were the Wild, Wild West days.
Hmmmmm and others here: In my case, the victim gave a complete description of the armed suspects along with the victim's brother who was there standing outside the house, plus the security camera at the store photoed them too and their car. Nothing was ever pursued! Absolutely nothing. They had em on camera, the car plus 2 eyewitnesses who were willing to see mugshots but these folks were never called back to the station to see anything. And then recently he had his $500 leaf blower stolen in front of MY home right out of the back of his truck in broad daylight, and when I called the SM Cty Sheriff to make a report (I saw the speeding truck drive away with it) the response was "Does he have any insurance? He should report it to his insurance company!". WTH???? They didn't want to bother coming out. Perhaps there were a rash of lawn equipment being lifted by this truck ? Now he locks everything up. To these folks, a $500 leaf blower is a huge amount of their money gone. Sigh.....
sorry, EPA resident, the problem isn't drugs, but drug LAWS. if drugs were legal, there wouldn't be drug-related violence.
its like how ending the prohibition killed the capone-era gangsters
ranch gal, if they couldn't get into contact or interview the suspects, what can they do? How would they know their identities? Its not like the security camera evidence gives them the names of the suspects. And even if they found out, all they could hope for is to put a warrant out, and wait for a traffic stop to yield the suspects. And even othen, if the suspects took the fifth, they would likely walk away free. I have committed numerous atrocities but never been charged lol.
It is nice to see the no-snitch mentality ending. I have a lot of respect for the people coming forward. It takes alot of guts to stand up to the thugs. I hope it continues.
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