LASPD Newsletter April 2013 - Issue 3

The Aftermath of the Newtown
Connecticut Shooting
John Guttierez, Senior Police Officer
Government & Community Relations
The Sandy Hook school shooting incident
raised questions about what police across
America are doing to ensure children’s
safety on school campuses.
The men and women of the Los Angeles
School Police Department (LASPD) have
been serving the Los Angeles Unified
School
District
(LAUSD)
and
the
community since 1948, evolving into a
world class police department, providing a
wide variety of professional police service
to the District, community, and its
stakeholders.
With police officers strategically placed on
various school campuses, patrol, and other
critical assignments that best support our
ability to deliver quality service, we, as a
department, continue to charge forward
with our efforts to commingle and partner
with
parents,
students,
staff,
and
administrators.
Chief Zipperman along with Principal David Cooper
and students at Gulf Elementary in Wilmington.
I Saw A
Crime Being
Committed,
What Should
I Do?
After the Sandy Hook incident, LASPD
officers, command staff, and school safety
officers, visited numerous primary centers,
early education centers (ECC), and
by Rory Seldon, Sergeant
elementary schools, as we often do, talking
East Division
with the kids and administrators answering
questions and easing their level of anxiety If you see a crime being committed, you
must report it immediately. If it is a life
and fears.
threatening emergency, call School
As a Department, we continue to conduct Police at (213) 625-6631 or 911 as soon
regular
threat
assessments,
safety as possible.
collaboratives,
site
evaluations
and
infomation/intelligence sharing to improve Dial 911 if you feel that someone's life is
at risk, the offender is still at the scene or
safety throughout the District.
the crime is still in progress.
Deputy Chief Timothy J. Anderson,
Executive Terrorism Liaison Officer, has Consider your own safety, and let the
who
have
the
safety
increased the number of Terrorism Liaison personnel
Officers (TLO) within the Department equipment handle the problems they are
adding specific goals and objectives that trained to handle.
the Department strongly believes would
enhance safety and security at all LAUSD Do not delay notifying the police. The
longer the delay, the less chance there is
sites.
Cont. on page 2
Cont. on page 6
Page 2
Newtown
Connecticut
Shooting...
Continued from page 1
Although we have some of the best
practices in place, school safety is
everyone’s responsibility. Thus, we need
the school-community to remain vigilant
and report any suspicious persons,
vehicles, and activity. The adage of “If
you see something, say something” is
paramount to improving our school’s
safety.
Chief Steven Zipperman and Assistant
Superintendent Earl Perkins met with our
municipal law enforcement leaders to
discuss the roles and responsibilities and
ongoing partnerships to increase patrol
presence at our primary centers, early
education centers, and elementary
schools.
In July 2013, the LASPD will provide
school administrators training on active
shooter response. It is important to know
and understand protecting our school
environment is a shared responsibility
between parents, students, staff, and
administrators to include the community,
and local police.
On behalf of the men and women of
LASPD,
we
offer
our
heartfelt
condolences to the families who lost a
loved one as a result of the Newtown,
Connecticut shooting and our thoughts
and prayers are with you. ■
Officers M. Morimoto and H. Nunez working hard to keep
our schools safe.
Officers Clesha Nelson and
Hector Trujillo talking with
Principal Alexander Contreras at
South Region #2 High School .
The Fence
Author Unknown
There once was a little boy who had a
bad temper. His father gave him a bag
of nails and told him that every time
he lost his temper, he must hammer a
nail into the fence. The first day the
boy had driven 37 nails into the fence.
Over the next few weeks as he
learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily, gradually
dwindled down. He discovered it was
easier to hold his temper than to drive
those nails into the fence.
School Safety Officers Londell
Burris and Salvador Mata with 2nd
grade teacher Nelly Cristales at
32nd Street School/USC Magnet.
Finally the day came when the boy
didn’t lose his temper at all. He told
his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one
nail for each day that he was able to
hold his temper. The days passed and
the young boy was finally able to tell
his father that all the nails were gone.
The father took his son by the hand
and led him to the fence. He said “you
have done well my son, but look at the
holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things
in anger, they leave a scar just like
this one.” You can put a knife in a man
and draw it out. It won’t matter how
many times you say I’m sorry, the
wound is still there. Make sure you
control your temper the next time you
are tempted to say something you will
regret later. ■
Officers S. Sanchez and J. Wilson
working Central Division
Officer Nina Abalos mentoring
Police Explorers.
Beyond the School
Safety Officer
Badge
John Guttierez, Senior Police Officer
Government & Community Relations
Page 3
and
constructive
manner. Additionally,
the boxing program
physically
and
mentally
prepares
our
recruits
for
defensive
tactics
training at the Los Angeles County
Sheriff’s Academy.
Fred Everette has been a School
Safety Officer for the past 10 years,
providing in-service coaching and
mentoring for the past year, and is
currently assigned to our Department’s
Parking Enforcement.
School Safety Officer Fred Everette
and Police Officer Travis Fenderson.
The School Safety Officer (SSO)
program is one of the most unique
programs within the LASPD.
These officers not only work in
close partnership with our school
administrators
and
police
officers, they serve in other
crucial roles that best support
the
agency’s
goals
and
objectives.
Like Detective Jessie Arana, who
spearheads the Wrestling program, and
Sergeant Rory Seldon, who spearheads
the Anger Management Program for
Students (AMPS), School Safety Officer
Fred Everette has devoted his time,
training, knowledge, and experience
with respect to boxing to serve as a
method of educating our youth and
recruits within the Los Angeles School
Police Department (LASPD).
Everette has extensive experience in
boxing spanning over 30 years, starting
with
Junior
Golden
Gloves
Championship, Amateur Athletic Union
(AAU),
Pan
Am
Games
and
Professional Boxing.
The LASPD has several other Police
and Senior Police Officers who
are also avid boxers with
extensive experience such as
Officer Lusio Reyes of our South
Division and Senior Police Officer
Fred Hendricks of our Central
Division. ■
The 2013 29th Annual Baker to
Vegas Challenge Cup Relay
Race is upon us and the Los
Angeles
School
Police
Department (LASPD) Team 1341
is up for the challenge! The
courageous men and women of
the LASPD running team is
anxious to participate in the 120mile relay race which includes 20
stages, over 8,000 runners,
guests, family members, and
support staff.
The run is scheduled to take
place the weekend of April 12 14, 2013, in an unforgiving
desert, with extremely hot days,
and frigid cold temperatures at
night.
Nevertheless, we are honored to
represent the Los Angeles
Unified School District (LAUSD)
and LASPD in the world’s most
prestigious and unique law
enforcement foot race which has
been dubbed the longest “Foot
Pursuit” in the world.
Robert Albert, Ivone Aleman, Tina Flores, Lidio
Gonzalez and Emmanuel Rodarte
Everette believes in the power of
education along with the understanding
that like wrestling, boxing is a sport.
Unquestionably, with any sport, the art
of discipline and respect is very
important.
The LASPD boxing program serves as
another form of mentoring youth and
provides a safe environment for teens to
learn the art and discipline of boxing,
while at the same time commingling with
police and safety officers in a positive
LASPD
Baker to
Vegas
Running
Team
School Safety
Officers Leonard
West, Hector
Najera and
Chaya Arrington
The race will start in Baker,
California and end in Las Vegas,
Nevada
and
again
law
enforcement from around the
globe will participate in this year’s
challenge
cup
relay
race
competing for the coveted trophy,
a mug. Officers will battle it out
from the start to the finish and it
will be painful as we literally
exhibit blood, sweat, and tears
achieving our goal.
Cont. on page 7
Page 4
Los Angeles Police Department’s
Air Support Division
John Guttierez, Senior Police Officer
Government & Community Relations
Since 2001, the Los Angeles School Police Department (LASPD) has
enjoyed air support from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD)
assisting our officers with pursuits, perimeters, burglaries, protests, crowd
estimates, and roof checks.
The Los Angeles Police Department’s Air Support Division (ASD) is the
largest law enforcement municipal airborne operation in the world.
Air Support Division began with one helicopter in 1956. Pilots flew several
missions a year, logging 775 flight hours annually, compared to the 18,000
flight hours logged annually today.
Today, Air Support Division has nearly 20 aircraft providing airborne law
enforcement operations and maintains the nation’s largest municipal
rooftop heliport in the world, and is based out of the Hooper Heliport on the
roof of the Piper Technical Center in downtown Los Angeles.
With a complement of A-Star Eurocopters (AS350B2) helicopters, Bell Jet
Ranger B3 helicopters, and King Air Fixed Wing aircrafts, LAPD is able to
effectively assist LASPD with directing ground units to fleeing suspect(s),
assist with establishing containment, providing video down-link to the
Department’s Emergency Operation Center (EOC), Mobile Incident
Command Vehicle, coordinate arriving units and assist with critical missing
juvenile investigations.
Further, ASD flies approximately twenty hours a day, and generally are
down between 0400-0700 hours, of each day. However, ASD will launch an
airship for any officer emergencies during those hours.
There are 35 Pilots, 25 Tactical Flight Officers (TFO), 10 Sergeants, 3
Lieutenants, and 1 Captain that make up the Air Support Division.
On behalf of Captain William D. Sutton, Commanding Officer, Chief
Tactical Flight Officer Cole Burdette, and the men and women of the Los
Angeles Police Department’s Air Support Division, they truly enjoy the
working relationship and assistance rendered by LASPD.
Subsequently, the men and women of the Los Angeles School Police
Department equally appreciate the men and women of LAPD Air Support
Division and the services, assistance, and operational experience they
bring. ■
Tips for the Officers
Tip No. 1: In order to best assist LASPD and
better serve the Los Angeles Unified School
District (LAUSD) when requesting Air
Support for an LASPD incident, please have
LASPD Communications make the request,
and
provide
the
appropriate
Radio
Frequency being used by officers i.e.,
Channel 178 (Dispatch 1) or Channel 179
(Dispatch 2).
NOTE: If LASPD is responding to an LAPD
incident, Air Support would like LASPD to
switch to that division’s radio frequency of
occurrence i.e., Southwest, Topanga,
Newton etc., either Duplex or Simplex and
monitor and communicate with responding
units.
Tip No. 2: When communicating with the
airship, always use your four digit shop
number. The shop number serves as a point
of reference as to whom and where the
officer is located.
Tip No. 3: LAPD Air Support requests that
when LASPD officers or dispatchers are
communicating with them via the radio to
speak plain english vs. the use of radio
codes. They are not familiar with the various
codes as each code means something
different depending on the agency they are
assisting. ■
Central & South
Division
Commendable
Capers
John Guttierez, Senior Police Officer
Government & Community Relations
It was a quiet normal start to an
ordinary Friday, which was certainly shaping up to be a picture perfect day. With temperatures anticipated reaching the mid 80’s and
winds traveling at a calm steady
breeze, we were in for a real treat.
Suddenly, in an instant an officer’s
“Rover” (Radio) was activated indicating “Officer Needs Help.” This
activation sounded an alarm inside
the Los Angeles School Police
Department (LASPD) Dispatch
Center, followed by “4J75 Code-6
on one at gunpoint!”
Central Division officers and supervisors knew one of their own
was in need of immediate assistance. Just a few miles away,
South Division supervisors and
officers responded to an ever vigilant administrators call for assistance at 95th Street Early Education Center (ECC), after a suspicious person jumped out of a vehicle and began fleeing on foot
abandoning the vehicle outside the
school.
Un-denounced to responding officers, the suspect had just eluded
Inglewood Police and LAPD
Southeast officers. It was believed
that the vehicle was stolen not to
mention any other illegal criminal
activity the suspect may have
been involved in.
Back across town in Central Division, officers began to arrive on
scene to assist the primary officers
who was no doubt, in a scuffle with
a known gangster. This school, a
definite complement to the community, beautifies the area; however, is surrounded by various
criminal street gangs that present
a challenge for students as they
Page 5
travel to and from school daily.
The officers had seen the suspect before, loitering around the school and had
some knowledge of his gang involvement, but on this particular day, he was
in no mood to deal with police and became extremely uncooperative, and began to exhibit a violent behavior, clutching his waistband as if he was attempting to conceal a firearm.
The suspect failed to comply with officers lawful directions and orders and instead continually attempted to elude
police; however, was quickly taken into
custody by responding officers and later
booked on various charges.
South Division personnel saturated the
area of 95th Street ECC, checking the
school’s safe passage zones, alleys,
and residential neighborhood to include
the campus, as they searched the area
for the suspect.
The vehicle was located by responding
officers and later impounded. One suspect was briefly detained by police and
the incident was determined to be a civil
dispute.
Just as officers thought there was a “Lull
in the Action,” Central officers once
again scrambled to assist one of their
own officers on the North end of the division at Liechty Middle School as a call
of “Shots Fired” rang out across the radio.
With two schools placed on “Lockdown,”
the resident officer along with the assistance of the community tracked and directed first responders, both LAPD
Rampart and LASPD personnel to a
possible suspect location at 720 S. Beacon Street, Los Angeles, CA.
The suspect, a former 9th grade A-track
student (Withdrawn) from Belmont High
School and an active “Oxford Street”
gangster became involved with an unknown person who was seated inside a
vehicle outside Liechty Middle School.
The suspect, for reasons unknown, then
pulled out a handgun and began firing
several rounds towards the vehicle and
near the school, placing parents, students, staff, and administrators in seriCont. on page 6
Professional
Development,
Officer
Leadership
Program
Julie Spry, Police Officer
Government & Community
Relations
The Los Angeles School Police
Department (LASPD) began its
first class of the Professional
Development – Officer Leadership Program on Wednesday,
February 6, 2013. This program is designed as a career
development tool that provides
a unique opportunity for our
officers and school safety officers to develop and refine their
leadership skills in a leadership/supervisory training program designed for our organization. The curriculum is designed and requires participants to think in broad terms
about their work environments
and to promote group discussions that will stimulate critical
thinking and problem solving.
Upon completion of the program, participants will depart
with renewed confidence in
their
managerial/leadership
abilities and develop sources
of consultation, advice and
support that will endure well
beyond the course.
Historically, a similar program
has been seen within the
LASPD. Approximately twenty
years ago, a leadership development program called HARP
was initiated by former Assistant Chief Larry Hutchins. Assistant Chief Hutchins’ vision
was to aid and motivate
LASPD personnel with guidance for promotional and suCont. on page 7
Page 6
Security Magazine
Ranks L.A. District
#1 in Providing
School Safety
In the aftermath of the deadly December
shooting at a school in Newtown, Conn., the
issue of school safety has taken center stage.
But when it comes to school safety, the
nation’s second largest school district recently
received some good news when a magazine
selected its police department as the top
school police department in the nation.
In its November issue, Security magazine
named the Los Angeles School Police
Department (LASPD) the best department for
maintaining security at a school system. Each
year, the magazine publishes a top 500 list of
public and private companies, as well as
governments, that provide the best security.
The rankings are divided into different
categories such as K-12 education, finance,
hospitality and retail.
This is the third consecutive year the LASPD
has finished first on the “Security 500” list in K
-12 education.
“I’m very proud of all the men and women of
the LASPD, both sworn and non-sworn, who
have worked hard year after year to keep our
students, staff, parents, community and our
physical plant assets protected,” said Steve
Zipperman, LASPD police chief.
The LASPD was not the only urban school
district police deparment that made the
“Security 500” list. Las Vegas’ Clark County
School District ranked fifth; Broward County
School District in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., placed
sixth; San Diego Unified School District
ranked eighth; and Ohio’s Toledo Public
Schools placed ninth. ■
Taken from The Urban Educator Magazine, March 2013
issue.
South & Central
Continued from page 5
ous danger!
As officers responded to the call for assistance, another radio transmission was broadcast indicating the shooter (Suspect) possibly made his
way onto the campus of Esperanza Elementary School.
LASPD’s Critical Response Team (CRT) was taking no chances and
they too scrambled to deploy after being notified by the Watch Commander.
A unified command post was established at 8th Street/Union Avenue to
coordinate resources from the ground, air, and school. With a one-block
perimeter there was no place for the suspect to go. LASPD personnel
quickly put together a dismissal plan and began safely dismissing students from both schools to their families.
The suspect was taken into custody following a two and a half hour perimeter after he attempted to walk out of the perimeter incognito. A field
show up by LASPD and an independent eyewitness positively identified
the person detained as the shooter. LAPD Metropolitan Division K9
teams conducted an article sniff (Search) and recovered a 38 revolver.
This exemplifies LASPD, LAPD, LAUSD administrators, and the community working together to hold suspects accountable for their actions
in the community and at our schools.
All officers involved with these above-mentioned capers are commended for their tactics, teamwork, and ability to exercise patience and work
together with the school and community to resolve ongoing problems
within their respective neighborhoods, schools and safe passage zones.
I Saw A Crime...
Continued from page 1
of stopping the activity then or in the future.
If you observe a crime at LAUSD Administrative Headquarters
(Beaudry), you should contact the 2nd floor Command Center at (213)
241-1692 or directly to School Police at (213) 625-6631. If it happens at
any of the other LAUSD sites, call School Police at (213) 625-6631. If
the crime takes place while you are not at work, call School Police if it is
school related or your local police station if it is not. You will be able to
find the number of your local police station in the phone book or dial
information. Remember, 911 is for life threatening emergencies. If you
are concerned that reporting a crime to the police might put yourself in
danger or in any risk, you can call the Los Angeles School District’s
anonymous tip line at 1-800-954-HELP. You will not be asked your
name and you can leave your information anonymously. It may still be
very helpful to the police if you can give more detailed information to
them in person. You can also request remaining anonymous with your
local agency, but the more information the police have, the more likely
they will be able to successfully address the threat.
The police will normally want to know who you are and how they can
get in contact with you. Then they will need to know everything you can
tell them about what you saw. Be as detailed as possible. It could be
that the person you describe fits the description of hundreds of people
in the area. Describe unique features if there are any.
Your information really could make a difference and could lead to the
arrest and charging of the offender. If you are asked to be a witness in
Cont. on page 7
Page 7
Baker to Vegas
Continued from page 3
Officers Gerardo Diaz, Joseph Gonzalez,
Erik Mireles, Raquel Guzman and Detective John Siebert.
On behalf of Chief Steven Zipperman,
our team Captain, Detective George
Rodriguez, and Co-Captain Senior
Police Officer James Isakson, we
would like to thank our sponsors,
support staff, family, Unit A, Unit H,
Friends of Safe Schools Los Angeles
(FOSSLA) and the Los Angeles
School Police Officers Association
(LASPOA), to include our supervisors
and commanding officers in advance
for their continued support and
sponsorship. ■
I Saw A Crime...
Continued from page 6
court, and feel intimidated, you may
call one of these Victim-Witness
Assistance Programs: City Attorney
(213) 485-6976, District Attorney
(213) 974-7499. They can give you
information about what to expect
and give you support if you find it
difficult or upsetting. ■
Professional Development
Continued from page 5
pervisory opportunities. The 2013 Officer
Leadership Program builds on the original HARP concept, by applying traits and
curriculum from the Sherman Block Supervisory Leadership Institute (SLI) and
other law enforcement leadership programs. Current Deputy Chief Hector Rodriguez, one of the few students from the
original HARP program, had a vision to
bring a distinctive leadership program to
the Department where effective managerial skills and leadership qualities are
facilitated to the current generation of the
LASPD. Deputy Chief Rodriguez with the
assistance of Sergeant Dale Cunningham and all the program facilitators have
placed all of their efforts in making certain that the Officer Leadership Program
is a success and that classes are offered
yearly.
The Department thanks the Los Angeles
School Police Management Association
for their support with the Officer Leadership Program and all the program facilitators for their time and dedication to the
department’s future. The current Officer
Leadership Program Class #1 will complete their eight week program on
Wednesday, March 27, 2013, with the
understanding that as Clayton M. Christensen said, “Management is the most
noble of professions if it is practiced well.
No other occupation offers as many
ways to help others learn and grow, take
responsibility and be recognized for
achievement, and contribute to the success of the team.” ■
LASPD Youth
Services Unit
Over recent months, the Los Angeles
School Police Department (LASPD)
explorers have continued to grow,
excel, and achieve a level of success
that they can be proud of.
Led by Officers Travis Fenderson and
Linda Bartee, the program is evolving, expanding, and providing hope
and inspiration to our youth while
providing options and alternatives to
gangs, drugs, and loitering.
During recent weeks, Senior Police
Officer John Taylor, Officers Travis
Fenderson, Julie Spry, Brent Powell,
David Hernandez, and Edith Najera
(Intern) have worked tirelessly to facilitate instruction and preparation for
the upcoming annual Chandler Arizona Tactical Competition.
The competition is designed to challenge our explorers testing their mental readiness, ability to work together
in a team configuration, resolve incidents, use good sound tactics and
judgment while at the same time instill confidence, pride, determination,
and much more.
That being said, we are proud to announce that our own LASPD Explorer
team came home with six trophies
last weekend from the National Police
Explorer competition in Chandler,
Arizona.
A total of 65 Police Youth Explorer
teams came from all over the country
to compete in this 15th annual event,
the largest Explorer competition in
the country. They competed in events
such as the tactical armored vehicle
pull, obstacle courses, mud runs,
water vessel hostage rescue, hostage negotiations, breaching, building
search, bus assault, and tubular assault just to name a few.
Please join me in commending our
explorers along with the TEAM of
officers who worked hard to prepare
them for the challenge. ■
Page 8
Violence is a learned behavior that can be changed. Parents, students and school officials can take steps toward
reducing violence in schools by responding to children’s
emotional and psychological needs and by implementing
violence prevention programs.
The purpose of A.M.P.S. is to educate the students in the
Los Angeles Unified School District in regard to anger
management and the control of this emotion. This would include threats and other negative
behavior manifestations. The target group is 3rd grade students. Our testing period concluded that this program was most effective at that grade level. The focus on this grade level is
important in order to set a foundation that can be carried through the rest of their childhood
and on to adulthood.
Officer Juan Hernandez after
AMPs follow up visit at Brooklyn
Elementary School
In recent years there has been an upsurge in actions taken by angry youth that have made
world-wide headlines. Columbine High School in Colorado and Santee High School in the San
Diego area are two examples of tragic incidents fueled by anger.
Several schools have called me requesting an officer from our department to address their
students on this topic. After giving several presentations on this topic, I realized the need for
a more formalized structured course where we could be assured that all the presenters are
giving the same message. I have used my years of experience as a police officer and a parent,
plus the many presentations I have done, to put together this program. I also called upon
officers Mario Delgado, Robert Romero and James Ream to help put together this course
from their years of experience in giving successful presentations to children on school safety
and anger management.
Officer Juan Hernandez during a
role play exercise for an AMPs
presentation
A.M.P.S. will focus on positive methods of handling anger and giving our students alternative
solutions to dealing with their anger issues. Included in this program will be:





Criminal Threats and Battery, the definition and consequences
What causes anger
How do we handle the emotion of anger
Role-playing exercises dealing with real life situations for youth
How to report information related to anger, such as threats and other negative behaviors
The presentation will last approximately one hour and will be presented to a group of children
at their schools by trained police officers of the Los Angeles School Police Department. An
officer will also schedule a follow-up visit to individual classrooms to make sure the information is retained.
Officer Juan Hernandez during a
role play exercise for an AMPs
presentation again
There is a high demand for this type of proactive program in our schools. The officers of the
Los Angeles School Police Department are the most identified law enforcement representatives to most of our children; therefore, the logical choice to implement such a program.
The presentation will last approximately 45 minutes to an hour and will be presented to a
group of children at their schools by trained Police Officers and School Safety Officers from
the Los Angeles School Police Department.
It is most effective with three of four classes at a time in an auditorium setting.
Please feel free to contact me for more information to schedule a team to come to your
school to make a presentation to your students. I can be reached at (213) 742-8248 or at
rseldon@laspd.com. ■
Officers Victor Del Rio, Michelle
Reese, Genaro Moreno and Juan
Hernandez after AMPs presentation giving students wristbands and
taking pictures with PC!