Your account does not include highlighter on images.
Searches Highlighted on Image
National Sponsors
| November 2, 2011 Indian Valley Record |  |
|
©
Indian Valley Record. All rights reserved. Upgrade to access Premium Tools
PAGE 2 (2 of 32 available) PREVIOUS NEXT Jumbo Image Save To Scrapbook Set Notifiers PDF JPG
November 2, 2011 |
|
|
Website © 2025. All content copyrighted. Copyright Information Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Request Content Removal | About / FAQ | Get Acrobat Reader 
|
2A Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2011
CliP leaders stress communication in meeting
Dan McDonald with one of his officers. ii
Staff Writer
dmcdonald@plumasnews.com
Carpenter and Chadd
thoughtfully answered every
complaint from the audience.
They said the CHP wants to
regain county residents'
trust and confidence.
Chadd addressed Mac's
concerns.
"We have never denied
that we have had issues,"
Chadd said. "There have
been allegations that we've
had officers sitting on bars.
There have been allegations
that we have had overzealous
enforcement tactics. For ex-
ample, a lot of stops for li-
cense plate lamps."
Mac responded, "So you
have accepted that there
were complaints? Or you ac-
cepted that it was your
fault?"
"Both," Chadd said. "In
fact, in every newspaper arti-
cle we've come out and said,
'It's on us.'
"The district attorney
(David Hollister) should get
no scrutiny. The sheriff
(Greg Hagwood) should get
no scrutiny. These were the
people who had the courage
to come to us and let us han-
dle it."
Carpenter, who has been
the Quincy area commander
for just over a year, said it is
harder for the CHP to ad-
dress complaints if they don't
hear about them as soon as
they happen.
Resident Carol Miller
agreed. She said a CHP offi-
cer tailgated her for more
than a mile after he drove up
behind her "very quickly."
"UnfortunatelyJ waited a
year to report it," Miller said.
She said despite the time
lapse, Carpenter took her
concern seriously and even
invited her and her husband
to a meeting in Quincy.
"I was afraid to come for-
ward, just like a whole bunch
of other people were," Miller
said. "But nothing's hap-
pened to me. I even put my
sock monkey back in the
back window that I took out
because I didn't want to be
iiiiiiiiiiiii
Indian Valley Record
I
A crowd of about 80 residents listens to a presentation by Quincy Area California Highway Patrol Commander Bruce Carpent(
during an Oct. 22 townhall meeting at the Graeagle Fire Hall. Photo by Dan McDonald
CHP "sitting on the side of
the road in the dark."
"Is this one of your patrol
techniques?" Moss asked
Carpenter.
"It is not," Carpenter
replied. "We expect our guys
to be out in the open, clearly
visible. That has been rein-
forced. If those types of in-
stances are still happening,
then I need to know about
that."
There are more CHP offi-
cers in the county than there
were a few years ago. In 2009,
five patrolmen were added in
the Quincy area when the de-
partment began doing 24-
hour coverage.
Carpenter said the Quincy
CHP has three sergeants, 22
officers and three non-uni-
form officers. There is a
sergeant and seven officers
m the Portola resident post,
and two officers in Indian
Valley.
He said there are three 12-
hour shifts, beginning at 6
a.m., noon and 5:30 p.m.
"There are typically four
officers On duty at any given
identified so easily."
After the laughter in the
hall subsided, Miller finished
her thought.
"So put on your brave face
and write the letter if you
have to come forward. With-
out it, they can't do any-
thing," Miller said. "And l
think I've seen an improve-
ment. At least I haven't no-
ticed the same practices as
we saw before."
"She's right. Timeliness is
important," Carpenter said,
"The other issue that's
changed since her incident is
we now have recording de-
vices in our patrol cars.
Every single sedan has one.
It records everything that the
officer does."
A common complaint dur-
ing the meeting was the num-
ber of CHP cars patrolling
the county roads.
"A lot of the folks I talk to
kind of feel like we are living
in occupied territory," East
Quincy resident Calvin Moss
said. "It's such an over-
whelming presence."
Moss said he still sees the
_ , ;_ : J ................. tim,"ar:penter said: 'After
midnight; we have one'uniV
with two officers.
"Sometimes it may appear
that we have more (officers),
because there are shift
changes and some overlap-
ping."
One elderly county resi-
dent in the back of the room
stood and asked Carpenter if
he felt he had enough offi-
cers.
"I have enough to staff the
shifts that I have, yes," Car-
penter replied.
MINIMUM PRICES
For 12 months
INSTALLATION
in up to 6 rooms
NETWORK,
AUTHORIZED RETAILER
es Starting at
.. n
Evewday Pdce
For 3 Months
Choose ,e
Plumas Satellites
Serving Plumas & Lassen Counties Since 1989
In its ongoing effort to
mend fences with Plumas
County drivers, the Califor-
nia Highway Patrol hosted a
townhall meeting Oct. 22 in
Graeagle.
The forum at the Graeagle
Fire Hall was the first open
public meeting by the CHP to
address mounting complaints
about officer conduct on
county roads.
Moderated by Assembly-
man Dan Logue, the informal
two-hour discussion was civ-
il yet serious.
Many of the approximately
80 residents in the room
shared their concerns with
Quincy Area CHP Comman-
der Bruce Carpenter and his
boss, Northern Division As-
sistant Chief Todd Chadd.
While people were critical
of the CHP, nearly as many
were complimentary. Some
of the comments were even
humorous.
As the two-hour exchange
was ending, Logue empha:
sized the significance of the
meeting.
"The best thing that came
out of this tonight is I see the
highway patrol and the peo-
ple of this community com-
ing together," Logue said.
"This is just the first step for-
ward."
But not everyone shared
Logue's optimism. Resident
Roddy Mac thought the
crowd was "dancing around
the issues" with the CHP.
"I think this has been a
very mild, respectful audi-
ence ... which is very disin-
genuous," Mac said about
halfway through the meeting.
"Because among people I
know, the level of confidence
and trust in (the CHP) has
sunk terribly."
Carpenter and Chadd em-
phasized that they are aware
of the problems. Carpenter
asked the audience members
to call him immediately (283-
1100) if they have a problem
After a pause, the man con-
tinued light-heartedly, "Do
you have enough to send
some to other counties?"
The comment caused near-
ly everyone to laugh out
loud. Even Carpenter smiled.
"I was just hoping that
some other parts of the state
could enjoy you as much as
we have over the years," the
man concluded.
The father of a local CHP
officer said he hoped the
number of patrolmen would
not be reduced.
"Our son works on the east
end. And there are times
when he's out there in Sierra
County, (Highway) 395,
where he has zero backup.
None," he said. "For you who
are here, I can understand
their (CHP) presence on the
road can be disconcerting.
But for me, as a father, I want
him to have backup.
"I don't want to quiet the
complaints. I want to honor
what you said, Commander
Carpenter. The complaints
need to come. And they are
thoroughly investigated. But,
you: know, I want:my son safe
out there. Please don't send
anybody out of here and leave
him out there by himself."
The wife of a CHP officer
was critical of the public
complaints about DUI cita-
tions. There were 179 DUI ar-
rests in the Quincy area in
2010. There have been 164 so
far this year, according to
Carpenter.
"It seems like it's a witch
hunt," the officer's wife said
strongly. "You never hear
aboutthe five or 10 or 15
people who got pulled ave
and warned and don't get
citation.
"And doggonit, if you ar
in a bar and you're drinkin
and you get behind th
wheel, I don't care if the off
cer is watching you get i
your car. Because my kid'
on the road and I'm on th
road. And I want the drunl
off the road.
"Stop crucifying the off
cers who strap on the badg
every day and go out an
take the crap from the publi
because they are trying t
save your life, or keep yo
safe, or keep someone els
safe."
Her passionate statemer
drew loud applause, It als
prompted more comments.
"We very much respe(
what all of the officers do,
• . ,, .
Carol Miller said. But sam,
thing has changed over th
last four or five years ... i
predatory practices, lik
what happened to me ... fc
absolutely no probable caus,
Something has changed, an
this is why we are all here."
As the'me'eirlg drew to
close, CarptYr offere
those in attendance an oppo
tunity to do a "ride:alan
with the CHP.
"That's one of the be
ways to see what we do at
there every day," he said.
The forum was the bigge:
public meeting with the CH
since the problems came to
head last summer.
"I just want to thank eve[
body for coming out," Ca
penter said. "Because this
important."
Dinner with Doctor
Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Sawing Logs? Or Ticking Time Bomb?
Wednesday, November 9
Doors open 5:30 p.m. • Dinner served 6 p.m.
Mineral Building • Plumas-Sierra County Fairgrounds
Enjoy a healthy dinner and presentation by Ross
Morgan, M.D. entitled Obstructive Sleep Apnea.
Sawing Logs? Or Ticking Time Bomb? A question
and answer session will immediately follow the
presentation.
Admission is $10 per person. Tickets are available in
the lobby at the Hospital.
Dinner with a Doctor is a community education
forum sponsored by the Plumas District Hospital
Employee Wellness Program and Plumas District
Hospital.
Plumas
DISTRICT HOSPITAL
(800) 434-7428
r
R
!P,]]l[i :] :'l7]`:i.R]i]!!NiIF,:H[1]]ilT!;`I7iI;TTi?i! rl',l[illllllllillt!lll 11 ,lill[1Fil[ ] t1lt ]TIT' i]ll 71[II]!I 7] !!,II i '!!r]=!!rll!l llllllllll]]lllillillllliliililll