HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-13-06
SANTA ANA CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE
PUBLIC SAFETY
Minutes of Meeting
March 13, 2006
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was convened at 6:15 p,m, in the Police Department, 60 Civic
Center Plaza, 4th Floor Meeting Room, Santa Ana, California,
ATTENDANCE
Councilmembers present: Alberta Christy, Claudia Alvarez and Carlos
Bustamante,
Staff present: Assistant City Attorney Paula Coleman, Police Chief Paul Walters,
Fire Chief Phil Garcia, Police Cmdrs, Jeff Owens, Tony Levatino, John
Gabelman, Sgt. Lorenzo Carrillo, Arson Inv, Moorhouse, Fire Dept. personnel
Ben Gonzales and Mary Melendrez,
Public present: Paul Cacia, Ray and Evangeline Gawronski, Jim Halsted, and
John Kelly,
SUMMARY OF DISCUSSIONS
1, APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Approved Minutes of the January 9, 2006 meeting.
2, TASER INTERNATIONAL PRESENTATION
Jim Halsted, Westcoast Regional Manager of Taser International,
gave a presentation of the Taser X26 System, He reviewed the
advantages of the Taser device and how it improves officer safety.
Officers armed with Taser devices are less likely to be injured, injure
suspects and be involved in citizen complaints. The Police
Department has been utilizing the Taser X26 on a trial basis,
3, POLICE MUSEUM
Mr. Paul Cacia and Mrs, Evangeline of the Santa Ana Police
Museum and Heritage Society presented the newly established
Police Museum that has been displayed on the 4th floor of the Police
Administration Building, Many of the items are from Mr. Cacia's
family history who were previous employees of the Santa Ana Police
Department. Mr. Cacia stated he would like to introduce the
Museum to dignitaries in the City to gain support for the Museum
and allow for expansion, Council member Christy offered to host a
luncheon and presentation to introduce the new Police Museum to
the community,
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4. ENFORCEMENT OF IllEGAL FIREWORKS ON JULY 4TH
Fire Chief Garcia introduced the Fire and Police Departments' public
awareness campaign for 4th of July 2006 and then turned the
presentation over to Sgt. Lorenzo Carrillo and Cmdr. Jeff Owens.
Sgt. Carrillo reviewed the educational and public awareness portion
of the campaign and Cmdr. Owens reviewed the enforcement
objectives and strategies of the campaign.
John Kelly, TNT Fireworks, spoke about safe fireworks and limits
considered to be safe by state law that can be sold as safe and sane
in California. He mentioned that some Assembly Bills are being
considered that will address issues of punishment of individuals and
trafficking issues from out of state.
5. SOLOMON PROJECT
Cmdr. Tony levatino spoke about the Solomon Project that is a
mentorship program for at-risk youth. Council member Christy
provided further background on the Solomon Project. The program
provides intervention and the Gang Detail is identifying youths to
become involved in the program. Two grants are being explored
under Project Safe Neighborhoods to help fund the project and other
churches are being contacted to also become involved in
mentorship.
6. PUBLIC COMMENTS
There were no further public comments.
7. COMMITTEE MEMBER COMMENTS
There were no Committee Member comments.
8. ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING
A. Fireworks Program
B. Strike Force Update
9. NEXT MEETING DATE
Monday, May 8,2006 at 6:00 PM, City Hall, 8th Floor, Room 831, 20
Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, California.
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ADJOURNMENT - 8:40 PM
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PAUL M. WALTERS
Chief of Police
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