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| Council questions if a bike cop's enough |
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| Written by John Saiz / Patterson Irrigator / | |
| Saturday, 06 October 2007 | |
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“I don’t want it to sound like we’re coming down like Big Brother ... but we need to do whatever we have to, to uphold the law.” — Dominic Farinha City councilman A deputy on a bicycle may soon circle Patterson schools if the city manager’s plans move forward. While council members told staff at a meeting Tuesday to keep looking into a bike cop program, two members said stronger action would need to be taken to combat gangs. “There are kids out there that need to be corrected and need to be corrected fast,” Councilwoman Annette Smith said. City Manager Cleve Morris assured the council he would propose additional programs that will focus particularly on gangs. Tuesday’s recommendations were specifically to address issues raised at a Sept. 13 law enforcement forum dealing with police harassment. The forum was a response to accusations of police harassment that several people had made at City Council meetings in July. However, people’s concerns about gangs and recent violence at Patterson High School seemed to have pushed the harassment issues to the side. “There are far more serious issues than people being picked on,” Smith said. Morris and his staff used the mix of concerns at the Sept. 13 forum to create several recommendations for the council. Along with the bike cop, Morris recommended making police complaint forms available at City Hall, the Westside Resource Center and online. He also suggested offering rewards to people who report graffiti and having deputies give rewards to children who they see following the rules. City staff did not ask the council to authorize the programs. Morris said he wanted to see if the council wanted him to continue with those programs’ plans. The council approved, but some council members also wanted more law enforcement personnel in Patterson. Smith suggested those additional deputies could be at parks neighboring schools to move the children along when school lets out. “Have officers in place to usher them on their way,” she said. “The streets are not theirs.” Other council members had similar sentiments. “It does come back to enforcement,” Councilman Dominic Farinha said. “I don’t want it to sound like we’re coming down like Big Brother … but we need to do whatever we have to, to uphold the law.” He suggested having law enforcement go undercover to curtail gang issues. Not all council members were so enthusiastic about ramping up the police presence. Councilwoman Dejeune Shelton said she liked the idea of the bike cop, but worried about putting too much emphasis on enforcement. “Enforcement is not the only way to deter gang activity,” she said. In other council matters…
To reach John Saiz at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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I tried voicing my concerns with Police Chief Tyrone Spencer to no avail. I want you to write an article in regards to this issues, because I'm not their only target and I'm gonna stand up for my community and speak up for those who have the language barrier and cannot voice their concerns. In the near future I'm gonna provide you and the Patterson City Council a video of the Sheriff Dept. posted (PARKED IN CERTAIN SPOTS) waiting for their potential victims.