The Walnut Creek City Council will hear a report on how law enforcement responded to vandalism, looting and various protests in Walnut Creek from May 30 through June 5.
At the council’s June 9 meeting, Mayor Loella Haskew asked City Manager Dan Buckshi and Police Chief Tom Chaplin for reports on police response to both the Black Lives Matter protests and the June 2, 2019 death of Miles Hall near the Hall family’s home in a quiet neighborhood south of downtown. The family told police Miles was having a mental health-related episode, but the 23-year-old Hall – who was wielding a steel rod he would not drop – was shot and killed by police.
The first protest in Walnut Creek occurred May 30. But the next night, an estimated 600 people vandalized and looted dozens of businesses in the downtown area and beyond. All three of Broadway Plaza’s anchor stores, Macys, Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus, sustained significant damage and loss. One person was shot during the vandalism spree. Police officers pepper-sprayed looters, forcing some of them to leave the stolen merchandise behind.
That same night, Walnut Creek’s city manager imposed a citywide curfew from 6 p.m. until 5 a.m. for the first two nights, and from 8 p.m. through 5 a.m. until it was rescinded on May 5.
The next afternoon, on Monday, June 1, several small Black Lives Matter protest marches took place downtown, and most remained peaceful. By 4:30 p.m. that day, a group of about 3,000 protesters split into several groups, a city report says. One group, numbering up to 2,000, made its way to the Lawrence Way/North Main Street entrance to I-680, where at about 5:30 p.m. many protesters pushed past California Highway Patrol units.
There were physical confrontations between protesters and CHP officers, and a post-review of the incident revealed several 911 callers from the freeway had reported the smashing out of windows and jumping on cars by protesters. One driver called 911 to say a protester spit in her husband’s face after smashing out their car’s back window.
The Central Contra Costa County SWAT Team arrived in an armored vehicle to respond to CHP officers’ call for help.
A short time later, at 5:46 p.m. Monday, officers used tear gas, and one 40mm “sponge round,” against protesters and gained access to the freeway to help the CHP officers. Protesters then vandalized police vehicles.
A protester picked up a tear gas canister and threw it back at police, striking an officer. That protester was shot in the thigh with a 40mm sponge round. A police dog eventually bit that protester, and the wounds required medical treatment.
The freeway was reopened by 6:24 p.m.
Overall, eight protesters were arrested June 1, at I-680 and downtown for curfew violations; two of them also were arrested on suspicion of assaulting a peace officer.
Walnut Creek police officers took a deliberately lower profile at other Black Lives Matter protest in the city over the rest of the week. Those events were mostly peaceful.
The council meeting, to be held online only during the COVID-19 pandemic, begins at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Weak-kneed and milquetoast Mayors and police chiefs do not belong in their positions of authority and/or decision making. When they decide to defund LEO/Departments, you will probably trigger armed civil disobedience by the average citizen! These “peaceful protectors” are not really interested in correcting past inequities but rather excuse to loot as a pretense to right past wrongs. It is unbelievable how ignorant the average citizens are across the entire USA about the early historical leaders. The incited “peaceful protestors” should learn to use information of the past history of slave ownership/records. Democrats, Republicans, Federalists and lesser parties were slave owners/users.
Amen. Funding police and weeding out psycho officers are two completely different items that do not belong in the same conversation. Can’t believe $20.00 and one officer can blow the head of this long brewing powder keg and cause so much damage and mess up so many people’s lives. I can’t support any organization that hurts their own people and businesses with looting and robbing. Maybe that’s the problem? Presentatiom.
emotional distress is not a mental health disorder….the black community throws “mental health issues” out there when they are unwilling to accept that an adult should be accountable for their behavior and actions
Thank you WCPD and surrounding departments for the effort during said protests. Job well done that day/evening. As far as the looters I was not informed some were pepper sprayed. Thank you for spraying them and I support the use of more pepper spray used on those losers/looters. You have my support 100% during this time!
The 680 terrorist broke windows and did other damages to cars. I could careless about Macy’s, Best Buy, Needless Markup and the like. However these agents of destruction on the little people should have never been given access to the freeway. That white trash/professional protestor who led them out there should have been arrested as soon as he turned onto the exit. Caught off the head and the snake dies. WC cops could learn from their Concord brethern who chased looters away from sunvalley mall. Finally, Where was the pepper spray on that group of looters who were fighting amongst themselves? Perfect time to get another charge of public fighting along with vandalism and looting. WC is Wimp Creek, USA.
Those “protesters” should have NEVER been allowed access to 680. Whatever it takes to keep them out. Pepper spray, buses for paddy wagons, I don’t care. In the end, by CHP or WCPD blocking traffic on 680, they were, in effect, enablers. If CHP or WCPD must stop traffic on 680, it should only be for long enough to arrest them all.
These “protesters” have no right to interfere with our travel or commerce. It’s time local governments and police chiefs stop being pathetic weaklings. S. I. Hayakawa had more guts than these people.
WCPD is a professional and well trained police department, that acted with great restraint during the protests/looting. The silent majority of Walnut Creek does not support de-funding, and prefers to leave the training/responses of police departments to law enforcement professionals, not social media and school-teachers with leftist agendas to promote. We are a nation of laws, and this current appeasement to violent mobs will not be healthy for the country long-term. Mob demands cannot be satisfied. What happened in Minnesota was a tragedy, but this current endorsement of looting/anarchy is a travesty.
@Nutcreek Frontier At what point does acting with “great restraint” become not doing your job? The public witnessed armed criminals running wild in Broadway Plaza, committing both misdemeanors and felonies at will, with not a WCPD officer in sight. And when the WCPD are finally located, it appears the bulk of them are guarding the police station.
“Job well done”, “great restraint”…are you people off your f’ing rockers??? They practically gave the LOOTERS/CRIMINALS a police escort. If WCPD is the least bit competent, which I will give benefit of the doubt on that, then they KNEW this was going to happen, because I knew just from checking Twitter the previous night.
There were dozens of people mostly from Oakland saying “we need to stop destroying Oakland, let’s go loot whitey”, and in short order they decided on WC primarily because easy fwy/BART access and upscale stores. There are videos of cops just standing there as dozens of LOOTERS with armfuls of clothes, etc. just streamed past them…about all the cops did was direct traffic so these precious “youths” didn’t trip on a curb or get hit by a car. Oh, but if they knew some nail salon was bringing customers in through the side door for bootleg mani/pedi, holy s*** would WCPD be ALL OVER THAT PROTECTING THE PUBLIC!!!
At what point do retailers and insurance companies decide WC is no longer worth the risk ? ? ALLOWING looting to take place is not in long term interests of the city and voters should take note and vote accordingly in future elections.
Defunding the Police will guarantee 3 things – more crime, more lawsuits and vigilantism. Good luck.
Not in Camden NJ.
Ozzie
Where did the new Camden County Police Department get it’s police officers from to form this new department 2012? Why, they hired almost all of the former City of Camden police officers they had recently laid off and added about 100 addition officers. The difference? They were now hired as non-unionized employees and were paid at a lower rate and with less benefits…. initially that is.
So if the rank and file police officers were so bad, why “start from scratch” and hire them back I wonder? If Camden were say, Wyndham Hotel Group or Amazon people might say this was nothing more than union busting and they were taking advantage of the working man and women.
Fast forward to 2019. In 2019 Camden budgeted $68.45 million for police. Paterson, a North Jersey city with almost double Camden’s population, estimated its annual police costs at $44.72 million.
In other words, Camden pays 65% more for police services than Paterson which is almost double Camden’s size.
The New Camden Co PD is the same people doing the same job and in 2019 costing more than larger surrounding cities pay for the same services. All that in an era where in the United States violent crime rates have fallen by over 50% in many major U.S. cities since these rates peaked in the early 1990s.
@Janus, you start over because you get more for less $. Their unions are too powerful. Not all Police are bad, but tell me the % that doesn’t pension spike? How many of these police/firemen are earning $200k/yr pensions and retiring at 45 yo? Not saying they don’t deserve something, but they are bankrupting the communities and it needs to be stopped.
It is odd, how when convenient, a lot of really left leaning people have suddenly turned into union-busters. The media has once again, created a false narrative about somewhere like Camden, then moved on to something else after the damage has been done. Sounds like there could be a few good take-aways from somewhere like Camden, but not what the media is selling.
@TD…I am liberal but not pro union…anyone tell you that you can be both? 😉 Funny thing is I don’t like funding people’s early retirement, and being taken advantage of. That isn’t partisan thinking!! kisses
Janus. Let me tell you. The chief can get done in two days what it took two years to do before. The ones that didn’t come back were disgruntled and good riddance. Your money comparison means little unless you break it down to sworn, non-sworn, and other programs that fall under the department. Each city is different and total dollars mean little in your statement. There’s nothing wrong with this approach that would balance the budget this year.
@ Dwight Schrute
How are the unions too powerful? I ask this because I was a Police Officer Association President and negotiated 4 contracts with a municipality. I can only speak to California and to CalPERS. Ventura Act County retirements systems are not my bailiwick.
The POA does not set the hiring standards, or the training standards, or municipalities personal rules & regulations, or salary & compensation, not the police department policies and procedures nor the rules used by the California Public Employees Retirement System.
Any change to working conditions are strictly meet and confer. There is no veto power for the POA. The employer has the power.
A police officer cannot strike, nor conduct a blue flu. A police officer cannot refuse to answer a question from superior officer (right to remain silent) nor can he refuse to answer a question that might incriminate themselves (5th Amendment). Failure to answer will subject themselves to disciplinary action up and including termination.
A municipality has the authority to impose a one year extension of their employment contract upon the POA with zero legal repercussions.
The Union doesn’t prevent discipline. All it can do is make sure the employer 1) Follows the law as outlined in the Government Code – due process 2) Follows their own policies and procedures and 3) attempt to mitigate any discipline if any through a Skelly hearing.
If an employer affords the employee their rights, follows the law and their own policies an employee receives their disciplined, up to and including termination. Period. Can an employee sue to over turn their discipline? Sure they can, just like any other non-police employee has a right to do.
The only way you can retire and receive a pension from CalPERS prior to age 50 is with a disability retirement. You start with Workers’ Compensation and go through the entire procedure just like any other employee does.
CalPERS does not allow “spiking” of retirements nor does overtime count towards either their last best year or your last 3 years average.
Did you happen to notice that the savings for the City of Camden is was short lived? They are now paying 65% more for their police services than Paterson a city twice their size.
@ Ozzie please tell me of your experiences in dealing with a Chief of Police and what they can and cannot do regarding disciplining their employees. Enlighten me.
@Dwight Schrute, You might be liberal but I sure hope you don’t vote for Democrats since they overwhelmingly support unions.
Vigilantism is not a given. Citizen militias consisting of law-abiding citizens is an American tradition.
I would like to see everyone who writes the rules of what a officer can do when fighting someone bigger and stronger try it themselves. When you are in a fight you do anything and everything you can think of and if that includes a choke hold so be it. The Marquess of Queensberry Rules should not apply.
@ Ricardoh
Agreed. Most of the all-knowing Monday morning quarterbacks on this stream would be the first to run and hide when the situation turned. However, they are really quick to tell the police how they should handle a specific situation! Life is a little different when you are making a split-second decision that will affect whether or not you go home to your family at the end of the day. Decisions are much easier when you’re sitting in your easy chair in front of the TV!
As far as the police response to the rioters, the police can never win. If they enforce, they are too militaristic and should not be using “non-lethal” tools like tear gas and rubber bullets. If they stand back, as the UC Berkeley PD did last year, they are not enforcing enough. They can’t win!
Ozzie lol you’re back for more…. dude I see you get worked up and down on clay-cord…debating is definitely not your strong point Homie. Might have something to do with reading comprehension. If you like Camden New Jersey so much go move there put your money where your mouth is open a business there
sorry all this is mute
the DA and judges will not prosecute rioters
the democrat take over is here ….their agenda is moving forward
forcing lowincome on all of us ….
defunding schools
increasing unemployment
welfare section 8 for illegals and pushing out American citizens to the streets
these are the topics that toppled this once great thriving state
now the topic is taxes and free crime …..poverty
police are just punching in collecting criminals to be plead out and back on the street within hours
seems ok for the voters for this from our justice system to be rigged
so we live in fear and tormented by corruption and a democrat agenda meant to force us out or down
GOOD DOG!
“A protester picked up a tear gas canister and threw it back at police, striking an officer. That protester was shot in the thigh with a 40mm sponge round. A police dog eventually bit that protester, and the wounds required medical treatment.”
Agree.
Give that dog a big juicy bone.
Or a new sqeaky toy. Just doing what he was taught. 🐶
Good dog!! Here’s your cookie!!
we need a report on Loella Haskew and Cindy SIlva who are ruining our fair City every time they open their mouths!
Those numbers sound highly inflated. I suppose those fake numbers will be used as justification for the pathetic response WCPD provided to the looting in Broadway Plaza. With 3/4 of the force protecting their station it’s no wonder.
I reported the lotting chatter Sunday morning to the City Manager and Assistant City Manager who assured me they were “prepared,” and “let’s hope it remains peaceful.”
Yet, despite what they saw elsewhere and the credible threats of people wanting to hijack the chaos to loot, it still happened anyway:
Here’s the pathetic response I got at 12:23PM on Sunday before things went. down that any seasoned City Administrations could have prepared for:
“Mr. Sanchez,
Thank you for making sure we were aware – very much appreciate it.
We have been watching social media and have seen much of the same chatter. Hopeful it will be a peaceful gathering, but given what we have seen around the US, the City and our local businesses are preparing.
Let’s hope things stay peaceful.
Be safe.
Teri
Teri Killgore
Assistant City Manager
925.943.5814 office
#walnutcreektogether”
I sent links (and screenshots) of “Chatter” to the United Srates Department of Justice, (with copies to Governer Gavin Newsom).
Do a search on YouTube using, protect serve walnut creek
Watch it before video is made to disappear.
Please let police be police, let them do their jobs without tying one arm behind their backs, by shunning the police and criticizing they
Way they do their jobs we are preventing them from maintaining peace and order in our communities thus putting everyone’s safety in jeopardy. Not all police are murders, 🤠🙄
we have to come to terms that socialists, in the guise of liberals have taken over an are starting to drive a wedge into our society. An obvious case that we are witnessing,