Michael KATHERMAN K ATHER M AN - POA · K ATHER M AN Michael KATHERMAN ... VANGUARD Official...

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE SAN JOSE POLICE OFFICERS' ASSOCIATION Volume 44 : No. 7/8 • July/August 2016

A Few Special WordsFrom April Katherman

– Page 9

MichaelKATHERMAN

MichaelKATHERMAN

A Few Special WordsFrom April Katherman

– Page 9

“HOW TO LOVEAND UNDERSTAND

ACOP”Lois-Wilco-Owens, L.M.F.T.

LICENSED MARRIAGE & FAMILY THERAPIST

Serving The San Jose PoliceDepartment since 1993.

Specializing in dealing with policeofficers and their families.

Tel: [email protected]

2461 Marsha Way, San Jose, CA 95125

FULL INSURANCE COVERAGETHRU MHN

b VANGUARDOfficial Monthly Publication Of TheSan Jose Police Officers’ Association

02 July/August 2016 VANGUARD

Copyright: All rights are reserved and no part, text, or picturesmay be reproduced without written permission. No responsi-bility whatever is assumed by the VANGUARD or the San JosePolice Officers’ Association for unsolicited material. Membersor readers submitting letters to the editor are requested to ob-serve these simple rules:

• Address letters to: The Editor,1151 North Fourth St., San Jose, CA 95112or Email to: [email protected]

• Unsigned letters and/or articles will not be used.

• Unsolicited articles and letters may not exceed 500 words.

• Writers are assured freedom of expression within necessarylimits of space and good taste.

• Please keep letters and/or articles legible.

• The editor reserves the right to add editor’s notes to any let-ters submitted if necessary.

• Deadline: 15th of each month.

The VANGUARD is the official publication of the San Jose Po-lice Officers’ Association. However, opinions expressed in theVANGUARD are not necessarily those of the San Jose PoliceOfficers’ Association, and/or the San Jose Police Department.Check out our web site: www.sjpoa.com

The Truth Is Its Own DefenseP.O.A. Tel: 408.298.1133 or x4012 Fax: 408.298.3151

Editor/Assistant Admin. Art Director/Publisher:Advertising/Graphic Design Christopher EllimanNicole Decker [email protected]@sjpoa.com

Executive Director: Administrative Assistant/Joanne Segovia Member [email protected] Maryanne Babiarz

[email protected]

Meeting Dates For 2016:August 2, Tuesday 0730 hrs. September 6, Tuesday 0730 hrs.October 4, Tuesday 0730 hrs. November 1, Tuesday 0730 hrs.December 6, Tuesday 0730 hrs.

POA Christmas Open House, Thursday, December 15.Santa at the POA, Tuesday, December 6 and Friday 9.

This schedule is subject to change, please contact the POA office forconfirmation of dates and times.

VANGUARD July/August 2016 03

SAN JOSE POLICEOFFICERS’ASSOCIATIONBoardOfDirectors

Director

Rick [email protected]

Director

H. [email protected]

Director

David [email protected]

Director

Edward [email protected]

Director

President

Paul [email protected]

V. P.

J. [email protected]

C.F.O.

Franco [email protected]

Director

J. [email protected]

Director

Joaquin [email protected]

Director

Dave [email protected]

Director

Anthony [email protected]

Legal Counsel

Gregg [email protected]

Director

Rob [email protected]

PositionUnfilled

At This Time

No PhotoAvailable

At This Time

Director

Sean [email protected]

Director

Greg [email protected]

NEWOFFICEAs Of Monday, 12/21/15Downtown CampbellSPOUSE/PARTNERS SUPPORT GROUP

PATROL OFFICERS SUPPORT GROUP

SJPD MHN BenefitsMHN: 888.800.0059 to authorize sessions

Carson Bowman, L.M.F.T.Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist

Cell. 408.687.5593 (text/call)www.carsonbowman.com

116 E. CAMPBELL AVE., SUITE #1,CAMPBELL, CA 95008

C.F.O.’s Report 06

President/VP’s Message:Officer Michael Katherman 08

Dear SJPD Family 09

Training Bulletin:Shatzer v. Maryland Bites Again 14

Financial Securities:The Additional Benefit You’ve Never Heard About 16

Real Estate Perspective:Granite Still Tops List Of Improvements 17

Real Estate News:Down Payment AssistanceFor Bay Area Real Estate Buyers 20

Legal Report:Indio Officer Not Guilty Of Felony Excessive Force 22

Insurance News:Identity Theft Protection Services: Are They Worth It? 24

Home & Auto News:Wildfire Preparation 28

Reliable Informer 30


VANGUARDContents:

Legal DefenseFund ReportFranco Vado, LDF Administrator

Requests: 15Approved: 15Denied: 0Board Representative: 15Attorney Request: 0THIS IS A SYNOPSIS OF LDF TRUSTEE ACTIONS FOR

the month of June 2016. Due to an individual's right ofprivacy, specific details of LDF cases cannot be revealedby your LDF Trustees without written authorization fromthe involved member.Your Legal Defense Plan provides you with legal serv-

ices for acts or omissions arising in the course and scopeof your employment as a San Jose Police Officer. Be ad-vised that incidents which arise while you are performingduties associated with off-duty employment are excludedfrom coverage under the Plan.



WE WANTED TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON NEGOTI-ations. We will be heading back to the table in July to beginnegotiations for the contract ending at the end of Decem-ber. We have a 4% raise coming in the first pay period ofJuly, and the Sergeants’ Transfer Policy will start being im-plemented in September. It will be staggered for those af-fected between September 2016 and March 2017 shiftchanges.Retired Sgt. Greg Trapp took the mic and thanked the mem-bership for supporting the Police Chaplaincy during somereally tough times. As you know Frank Keffer Sr. passed awaylast year. He left to his family a limited edition Harley-David-son motorcycle – police edition. The family would like themotorcycle to stay in the police family and are putting it upfor raffle with all proceeds to go to the Police Chaplaincy.The price is $50 per ticket or 4 tickets for $175.

“We will be heading back tothe table in July to begin neg-otiations for the contract end-ing at the end of December. Wehave a 4% raise coming in thefirst pay period of July, and theSergeants’ Transfer Policy willstart being implemented in Sep-tember. It will be staggered forthose affected between Sep-tember 2016 and March 2017shift changes.”

San Jose Police Officers’Association Meeting Notes

Membership MeetingPresident Paul Kelly began the meet-ing by talking about the Police Memo-rial. There was a good turnout of SanJose personnel in attendance. We wouldlike to recognize the three individualsthat have been supporting the MichaelJohnson family for the last year. Thesethree individuals have driven the fam-ily around, escorted them during mem-orials, and took countless calls at allhours of the day and night; Javier Acosta,Eddie Chan, Geoff Peroutka were eachgiven gift cards as a thank you.

C.F.O.’s ReportFrancoVado

PORAC President Mike Durant took the mic to addressthe membership. As he watched the news last week showingthe protest of the Trump rally in San Jose, and knowing thestaffing shortage that the police department has, he wantedto personally acknowledge the membership for the fine jobthey did in handling the protests.Chief Eddie Garcia then addressed the membership re-garding the Trump rally. He began by saying how proud hewas of every single person that came out and helped holdthe line. He was notified on the Saturday before the visitbut no indication of where the venue would be. It wasn’tuntil Monday that we were notified of the location, it allhappened very quickly. We immediately turned to specialOps to coordinate and recognized we did not have the staf-fing to have the arrest teams and personnel to keep the par-ties separated. He said that they recognized they could’vedone things better and is committed to work with the POAto improve things in the future. Some of the areas they couldimprove is their messaging could’ve been better, they are

JUNE 7, 2016


looking into getting protective gear to have available, andimproving the distribution of food and water. It is time torecognize that this is not a Department of 1,400 anymore.“The men and women of this department did the best theycould with the resources we have and I will stand by theactions of this department.” The Chief then gave an updateon some of the improvements they’re working on for thedepartment. They are currently out to bid for a vendor to de-tail the cars. Timesheets have been an issue so they are im-plementing a new PeopleSoft program in September. Therewill be changes to the promotional process and there willbe more weight on the oral than the written. They are cur-rently adding more ballistic panels into the doors of patrolcars, and are in the process of refurbishing 100 more AR15’s to get out on the street. Lastly, they are working withSummit Uniforms to give officers an option for a load bear-ing vest.POA Attorney Gregg Adam gave an update on the Meas-

ure B court case. Pete Constant’s attorneys are using the fail-ings of the law to their advantage. The Santa Clara Countycourts are collapsing and the appeal has still not been pack-aged up and sent over. Constant has filed a motion for anemergency state even though Measure B is currently strickenoff the books. For now, Measure B is on life support untilthe Court of Appeals makes a decision.

JULY 5, 2016

VICE PRESIDENT JAMES GONZALES TOOK THE MIC TOgive an update on Measure B. Currently there is a stay inplace and we are just waiting for the courts to rule. No mat-ter what, there will be a ballot measure in November to re-place Measure B. If the courts do not rule, then it will replaceMeasure B; if they do it will be to update it with the settle-ment agreement.Director Eddie Chan addressed the membership. The POA

has created an emergency packet for the members to fill out.This will ensure that in the event something happens, allyour wishes will be documented. Please pick up a packetand fill it out to ensure that everybody has updated infor-mation.Vice President James Gonzales gave an election update.

For the most part, the POA was not involved in the councilraces. The POA did work with the chamber on the tax meas-ure and we will be working with them again for the busi-ness tax increase in November. Polling for the business taxlooks good and the two tax measures should increase thecity’s revenue.On Friday, July 8th, the San Jose Giants will be hosting

first responders night. They will be honoring Michael Kath-erman, so please try to come to the game to show yoursupport.

Editor’s Note: Please send any comments toFranco Vado at: [email protected]

Door PrizesVendor: Prize: Name:Golden Harvest $50 Gift Card Rob LangCateringJohn Nguyen

P&F Retiree $25 Gift Card Dan IchigeAssociation Le BoulangerMike Alford

Derendinger $50 Gift Card Chris BindiInsurance Holder’s CountryMarc Derendinger Inn

California $25 Gift Card Kelvin PhamCasualty TargetValerie Cregan

Greg Adam $25 Gift Card Steve Slack Messing Adam & Peet’s CoffeeJasmine

Premier One $25 Gift Card Mike BuiGina Skyllas Starbucks

Pacific Advisors $25 Gift Card Mark RilesEugen Lee Peet’s Coffee

ZAZA Grill $25 Gift Card Bryan JettJoseph Manoharan ZAZA Grill


On June 14th 2016 we sadly lost our brother, Officer Michael Katherman. Through theweek after Mike’s death leading up to his services on June 21st, our San Jose Policefamily watched over him and cared proudly for his family and friends. We were brokenonce again by such a loss to our family in blue. I had no doubt that our membershipwould come together as ONE once again to assure his wife, children, and family wereloved and taken care of as much as humanly possible. I asked Mike’s wife, April, if shewould share some of her words with our membership. I want to thank April for her braveryand allowing us to print her thoughts and emotions. (See following article). We arethankful for allowing us to have Mike as our brother, and he will never be forgotten.

President/VP’sMessagePaul Kelly James Gonzales

Officer Michael Katherman


Dear SJPD Family

AS SO MANY OF YOU ALREADYknow or have learned over the lastmonth, Mike is a pretty amazing guy.Actually, that statement doesn’t evendo him justice. Mike and I fell in loveat 18 and a day never went by wherehe didn’t make me belly laugh, a daynever went by where he didn’t tell mehow much he loved me, and a daynever went by where he didn’t makelife so much fun for the boys and I. Heis simply the best dad hands down.Mike loved us with every ounce of hisbeing, every day. He also loved the San Jose Police

Department. He approached his workas a ministry. He just wanted to helppeople. He wanted to help and servethe citizens of San Jose, but even moreso he always wanted to help his broth-ers and sisters in blue. I was blessed toget to see his love for each and every one of you on a reg-ular basis. Whether it was working on Keith Kelley Club de-tails at all hours of the day and night, finding ways to helpa fami ly in need, praying for your families, or even planninghis next prank on whoever the lucky ones that were on hiscurrent shift. He loved his job, yet loved all of you more. But to each and every member of this San Jose Police fam-

ily I want to express my love for you now. Not a second, anhour, a day has gone by since that awful day in June that Ihave not felt your outpouring of support. When Mike passedaway I had one request for the boys. I wanted Josh and Jasonto see how much of a hero their dad is through all of thisand you all have gone above and beyond to make that hap-pen. I can not thank you enough for that. I truly do not knowif I can even put into words how beyond grateful I am, so

please just know this…from the bottom of my heart thankyou for honoring the love of my life and thank you for be-ing there for my family. With out your support and my faithin the Lord Jesus Christ I do not know how I would be sur-viving. I may not understand the Lord’s plan in all of this, butI do know that He is in control and His name will be praised.Kiss and hug your loved ones everyday. Don’t let a day go

by with out telling someone in your life how much you careabout them. Serve others. Go on adventures. Make memo-ries. And to each and every one of you I want to tell you whatI told Mike everyday when he put on that uniform, “I amproud of you. Be careful.”With more thanks and love than you know,April Katherman

Tuesday, June 14th began as a typical summer day for our family. The boys and I werehome when Mike was getting ready for work. He put on his uniform, which always tookhim forever to do, he kissed and hugged the boys and I, he told the boys to be good totheir Mom, and I told him, “Be careful” as he got on his motorcycle and drove off.Through out the day we texted about our bathroom remodel and the dates of our up-coming camping trip we were planning with friends. Then, what was a typical dayturned into the worst day of my life. A day that I have always known was a possibility,but a day that I never in a million years thought would happen.






“Not surprisingly whenthe Officers viewed Walmartsurveillance video they sawBridgeford and accomplicesin Walmart looking at ammu-nition. They saw the two reachbehind the counter unseen bythe Walmart employee andwalk out with a bag filled withsomething. No ammunitionwas sold that day from Wal-mart.”together. Typical of a dumb criminal, Bridgeford was iden-tified as one of the three robbers because he robbed a friend.The second home invasion ended in a double murder. The

home was located next to the highway. The two victims weresurenos, Bridgeford a norteno. Officers identified the shotgun shells discarded in the murder and knew they were soldat a local Walmart. Not surprisingly when the Officers viewedWalmart surveillance video they saw Bridgeford and ac-complices in Walmart looking at ammunition. They saw thetwo reach behind the counter unseen by the Walmart em-ployee and walk out with a bag filled with something. Noammunition was sold that day from Walmart. Two days after the first home invasion and one day after

the double murder the Police Chief went to Bridgeford’shouse to request consent to search for evidence from thefirst home invasion. The Chief asked Bridgeford whetherBridgeford knew why he was there. Bridgeford responded“for the stuff that happened on the highway.” The Chief wassurprised as he was not there on the murder case. A week later a co-defendant’s house was searched and

the rifle used in the homicide case was recovered.

ConfessionOFFICERS BROUGHT BRIDGEFORD TO THE POLICE

station in handcuffs. Although not told he was under arrest, itwas clear he was. Bridgeford immediately invoked his right

A CALIFORNIA COURT OF APPEAL IN PEOPLE V. BRIDGE-ford (2015) 241 Cal.App.4th 887, had the occasion to ad-dress a similar concern. The wrinkle in Bridgeford was thatthe officers had acted in good faith. There was no attemptto game the system…the Court of Appeals held the 14 dayrequirement is alive and well, almost without exception.

FactsTHERE WERE TWO INCIDENTS OF NOTE. IN THE FIRST,

three individuals wearing masks committed a home invasionrobbery. The victim was awake. During the robbery one ofthe suspects used Bridgeford’s first name. The victim immed-iately recognized Bridgeford because they grew up together,he knew him, Bridgeford had a distinct voice and body type,they lived close to one another, and had played basketball

Shatzer v. Mary-land Bites Again

Shatzer v. Maryland imposed a strictrequirement on officers once a suspectinvoked her right to counsel. OfficersMUST wait 14 days to reinitiate ques-tioning after a suspect is released fromMiranda custody. The Supreme Courtacknowledged that the 14 day period wasarbitrary but seemed like a sufficientamount of time for a suspect to contactan attorney and be free of the pressureof Miranda Custody. The Supreme Courtalso felt the 14 day requirement wouldalleviate any game playing where offi-cers release a suspect who invoked mere-ly to re-arrest that individual a shorttime later to again Mirandize him andattempt to take a statement.

TrainingBulletin

Charles Gillingham

Third DegreeCommunications:

Hale: Okay, but that's your right.[Appellant]: I didn't know what was going on dude.Hale: That's your right and so I can't ask you any morequestions about that. That means our communication, onceyou tell me you want a lawyer, our communication has tostop. Okay since that time, okay things have changed.[Appellant]: Okay.Hale: I'm being straight up and honest with you. Okay, I'mnot beating around the bush. I just told you, you're underarrest.[Appellant]: Okay.Hale: Okay and I am going to give you another opportu-nity to talk. Do you want to provide a statement?[Appellant]: I'll provide everything I know."Thereafter, appellant was read his Miranda rights, which hewaived, and he agreed to talk. Appellant eventually admit-ted he shot both victims with the.22-caliber rifle and Dela-torre used the shotgun.

Editor’s Note: Article written by Charles Gillingham.This article was presented by The Principals of ThirdDegree Communications, Paul Francois and EnriqueGarcia. Tel. 866.766.7575 Email. [email protected] visit www.tdcorg.com


to counsel. Bridgeford was released as officers felt they didnot have enough information to hold Bridgeford for thehomicides.

Officers developed additional probable cause to arrestBridgeford for the double murders and three hours later re-arrested Bridgeford. 1The transcript below shows Bridge-ford waived and gave a statement.

Again, the Court of Appeal held that literal compliancewith Shatzer is demanded. There may, in the future, be acase where officers act in good faith and need to arrest andquestion someone who has previously invoked within the14 day period where a court will find that the statementdoesn't violate Shatzer. This is not that case. It goes withoutsaying that once probable cause to arrest a murder suspectis developed that person must be removed from the streets.An unintended consequence of Shatzer may be that officersmay be forced to wait two weeks to interview the suspect orabstain altogether. That is an unacceptable consequenceand perhaps another court may review such a situation andfind an exception to Shatzer. Until then, literal compliancewith the dictates of Shatzer is required.1”Gibson: ...Okay, I know that you wanted to talk to an at-torney before, um at that time you were down here on yourown free will basically just here for the D.N.A. sample....[Appellant]: (Unintelligible) I talked to my grandma and shesaid, ‘Bryan, why'd you do that, you make yourself look likeyou've done something...’ And I was like, ‘I'm sorry grand-ma I know I shouldn't but’... so I listen to my grandma ba-sically, sir. I ain't the very smartest person, I do have a verybad memory.Hale: Okay.[Appellant]: And what not. And I was listening to her. I lis-ten to my grandma that's it. That's all I got you know.Hale: Okay.[Appellant]: So.Hale: Well we're in here again um, things have changednow obviously.[Appellant]: Okay.Hale: Um, I will tell you, you're under arrest.[Appellant]: Am I?Hale: Yeah and I want to give you another opportunity umif you want to provide a statement.[Appellant]: What am I under arrest . . .Hale: Okay.[Appellant]: For though [sic] sir?Hale: You're under arrest for murder.[Appellant]: For murder?Hale: Yeah, for murder. Actually two murders.[Appellant]: I'm under arrest for two murders?Hale: Yeah.[Appellant]: Why?Hale: Okay, you need to back up. Okay, you told me ear-lier that you wanted a lawyer.[Appellant]: Yeah.Hale: Okay.[Appellant]: Because I was scared about what was goingon.


for more details.Let’s compare this benefit with a typical managed mo-

ney account like a mutual fund or 457.With any and all type of mutual funds and 457 retirement

accounts, the balance in these accounts are the only thingthat matters. If you get sick or injured on the job, your ac-count balance will never increase in value to provide youwith more benefits. In fact, it could be a double whammyif the market turns, you lose some money.Think about the annual expenses you pay with a mutual

fund and 457(According to reports put out by Morningstar,the average mutual fund annual management fee is 1.39%and the average annual transactions fees are another 1.64%).Each year you are paying to have your money managed with-out ever receiving any guarantees. No guarantee of principal,no guarantee of lifetime income, and certainly no guaranteeof Chronic Illness benefits if you are need of lifetime careor death benefit if you prematurely die.You know all the risks that your occupation and life en-

tails. Doesn’t it make sense to protect you and your familywith an additional benefit at no additional cost?The Living Benefit Account is a go-to place for asset pro-

tection against economic and stock market volatility and nowincluding Chronic Illness rider at no additional cost. It’s timeto start looking at what else your money can do for you.

Editor’s Note: To learn more about the Living BenefitAccount (LBA) can help you or your family, please visitLiquidEP.com or call Liquid Equity Partners at925.587.3204

The Additional BenefitYou’ve Never Heard About

Unfortunately, for so many people andtheir families, Whole Life insurance isprobably the least understood financialproduct the average consumer owns. Ittends to be an afterthought because near-ly everyone assumes all life insuranceis solely about the death benefit leavinglittle to no conversation about the livingbenefits associated with Whole Life in-surance policies (What we call LivingBenefit Accounts). However, those daysare gone forever.

Financial SecuritiesJohnMontoya DucQuach

PROBABLY THE MOST EXCITING ADDITIONAL BENE-fit to come along in years to the Living Benefit Account (LBA)is the inclusion of a free Chronic Illness Rider. If you neveruse it, there is no charge. It’s that simple.Here’s how it works. With the Living Benefit Account, the

Chronic Illness rider allows an individual to receive accel-erated benefits from their Living Benefit Account if they areunable to perform at least 2 out of 5 Activities of Daily Liv-ing (ADL) without the substantial assistance of another in-dividual due to a loss of functional capacity (heart attack,strokes, cancer, accidents, etc…).Activities of daily living (ADL) are routine activities that

people tend do every day without needing assistance. Thereare five basic ADLs: eating, bathing, dressing, toileting, andtransferring (walking).One of the most remarkable aspects about a Living Benefit

Account is that the equity you build in these accounts hasthe ability to provide you with more value beyond the statedaccount balance. For example, if you only have $50,000equity in your Living Benefit Account with a $1,100,000death benefit, you would have access to portions of thedeath benefit annually (approx. $124,000 as of 2016), taxfree (in most circumstances). Please contact Duc Quach

“Activities of daily living(ADL) are routine activitiesthat people tend do every daywithout needing assistance.”


sumers' investments, according to the "Cost versus ValueReport" from Remodeling magazine.Because kitchen renovations increase resale values, ex-perts agree that if consumers can only afford to renovateone room in their homes, it should be the kitchen. In fact,an all-new kitchen "that looks great and is fun to work in"was the top priority of 2,200 home enthusiasts surveyedrecently by Better Homes and Gardens magazine.What we’ve discovered is that the home continues to beour emotional center and the sweet spot of everyday life.Economic uncertainty aside, we won’t stop spending, im-proving and dreaming. So, as a homeowner, why not doimprovements that will bring you added value if you sell?There are many outlets to obtain granite these days, and itcan be done very reasonably.

Editor’s Note: Article brought to you by Karen Nelsen,GRI REALTOR® Intero Real Estate Services, 175 EastMain Avenue, Suite 130 Morgan Hill, CA 95037.Office: 408.778.7474 Cellular: 408.461.0424Email: [email protected] License: 00891921

Despite a sputtering economy, consumerspending on home renovation remainshealthy. Across the nation, homeownersare investing in home remodeling proj-ects, especially kitchen makeovers. Ei-ther to make their homes more appeal-ing to buyers or more comfortable andenjoyable while they ride out a housingslump.

Granite StillTops List Of Im-provements

Real Estate PerspectiveKarenNelsen

ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR HOME IMPROVEMENTSis, once again, granite countertops.A recent study of 10,000 consumers, conducted by the

Research Institute for Cooking and Kitchen Intelligence, foundthat kitchen renovations remain at the top of the list for con-sumers seeking to add value to their homes. When the studyasked homeowners, "If you were changing your kitchen nowand had no budget constraints, what improvement wouldyou make?" granite countertops were among the kitchenfeatures they coveted most.Many consumers are tightening their belts but remain eagerfor granite countertops, according to Garis Distelhorst, ex-ecutive vice president of the Marble Institute of America, thenation's leading natural stone association."Historically, consumers recognize that granite counter-tops enhance the value of a home in ways few other improve-ments can," said Distelhorst. "No other countertop surfacecan measure up to granite in terms of practicality, timelessbeauty, durability and safety. This natural stone has held itsvalue in ways more trendy materials have not."Consumers continue to invest confidently in kitchen make-overs because the projects typically increase the resale val-ue of their homes. In the last five years, kitchen remodelingprojects have generally returned 80 to 85 percent of con-

“A recent study of 10,000consumers, conducted by theResearch Institute for Cook-ing and Kitchen Intelligence,found that kitchen renova-tions remain at the top of thelist for consumers seeking toadd value to their homes.”

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• the borrower(s) must be able to pay 1/2 of the closingcosts, and put at least 3% down.

• the borrower(s) must: a. make the home their principalplace of residence; b. Covenant not to rent or lease thehome during the period of the City loan; and c. occupythe home within 60 days of close of escrow.

• housing costs cannot exceed 35% of 110% of Areamedian income based on household size except as maybe adjusted to reflect mortgage Credit Certificates.

• housing costs are defined as principle, interest, taxes,insurance and homeowner Association (hoA) fees.

• for 2015, household income cannot exceed 120% ofArea median income:

* $78,550 for 1 person * $89,750/2 persons * $101,000/3 persons * $112,200/4 persons * $121,200/5 persons * $130,150/6 persons * $139,150/7 persons * $148,100/8 persons

• the home to be purchased must be within the incor-porated limits of the City of walnut Creek.

in san Jose, the skyline homebuyer program offers Citydownpayment assistance loans for designated units. fundsfrom a private lender and the household are used for theremainder of the purchase price.

san Jose offers downpayment assistance for these threedevelopments:

• The Globe (designated condominium units will haveCity down payment assistance)

• Skyline (designated condominium units will have Citydown payment assistance)

* Tierra Encantada Townhomes – coming soon (8 to12 townhomes will have City down payment as-sistance). for information, email the developer:[email protected]

Down Payment Assistance ForBay Area Real Estate Buyers

Real Estate NewsKeithRockmael

As with mAny government progrAms some ofthese programs run out of funds such as santa Clara Countywhich recently ended their sCC40K Downpayment Assis-tance program. that doesn’t mean that it won’t reappear atsome point in the future. if a city no longer offers down pay-ment assistance funds it would be wise to check their statusin the future. these programs come and go so being diligentcan pay off.

finding the DpA programs remains a challenge becauseno central clearinghouse of info exists. Anyone interestedmight google various DpA searches for the city they areinterested in. many cities have discontinued their programshowever walnut Creek, san francisco, and san Jose stillhave DpA programs.

the information below represents a short overview of theavailable programs. Keep in mind that things change so bestto do some due diligence beforehand.

the City of walnut Creek is offering interest-free equityshare loans to qualifying homebuyers as part of its first-timehomebuyer Assistance program.

to be eligible to participate in the City of walnut Creek’sfirst-time homebuyer Assistance program, the followingcriteria must be met:

• the borrower(s) must have lived or have been workingwithin the incorporated limits of the City for at least 90days prior to applying for the program.

• the borrower(s) cannot have owned a home, nor have(jointly) owned a home within the last three years.

Bay Area real estate prices may be a chal-lenge to many potential home buyers butmany renters may not realize that someBay Area cities offer down payment as-sistance (DPA) for first time homebuyers.Think how much easier it would be tobuy a home if a city kicked in $40,000to $200,000 for a down payment?

San Francisco offers a generous DPA up to $200,000 withtalk of potentially raising that amount above $300,000 inthe near future.

The San Francisco Down Payment Assistance Loan Pro-gram (DALP) is a down payment and closing cost assistanceloan to low-moderate income first time homebuyers pur-chasing a single family home or condo in City and Countyof San Francisco. The DALP is a silent second loan that re-quires no payments for 40 years. The principal amount plusan equitable share of the appreciation shall become dueand payable at the end of the term, or repaid upon sale ortransfer.

If anyone requires more information feel free to contactme.

Editor’s Note: Keith Rockmael is a POA and real es-tate advocate and agent. He can be reached by email [email protected]


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of the suspect behind the restaurant but couldn’t get a clearsight with his Taser as the suspect squeezed between theback of the restaurant and a large, storage bin. Officer Hol-loway peered into the small opening before deciding thathis duty belt could never negotiate the narrow gap that thesuspect had squeezed through. Officer Martinez meanwhile,had caught up to the pursuit and ran around the storage binafter the suspect. Officer Holloway turned and decided torun around the bin himself to keep up the pursuit, not know-ing that his partner was now ahead of him.As Officer Holloway was rounding the storage bin, Officer

Martinez was confronting the suspect, who had originallytaken a challenging stance, but then fell to the ground andproned out after seeing Officer Martinez draw his baton. Of-ficer Martinez fell on top of him, baton still in hand, placinghis knee into the suspect’s back to gain control so he couldbegin handcuffing the suspect. When Officer Hollowayrounded the corner he saw his partner, baton drawn, goingto the ground with the suspect. Officer Holloway ran up tothe suspect who, at the time, was not allowing himself tobe handcuffed, and kicked the suspect’s legs. Officer Hol-loway then came around to the suspect’s right and punchedthe suspect in the lower right torso two to three times. Hethen partly straddled the suspect’s back and struggled for twoseconds with the suspect’s hand. Officer Holloway punchedthe suspect three to four more times along the suspect’s up-per torso. The suspect seemed to stop resisting Officer Mar-tinez’s efforts to handcuff him so Officer Holloway got upoff the suspect, picked up his Taser, holstered it and beganlooking for a landmark to call out their location. At one point,Officer Holloway walked back toward the suspect and his


Legal ReportMichael D. Schwartz, Esq.

Indio Officer NotGuilty Of FelonyExcessive Force

AT ABOUT 4:30 A.M., INDIO DISPATCH RECEIVED Acall of a domestic disturbance – “Josh” and his pit bull wereharassing a family, banging on the door of a residence de-manding to see his estranged girlfriend. It was the secondcall from that residence that night/early morning. OfficerGerry Martinez, a lateral trainee on probation at Indio P.D.,responded and began directing fellow officers to search for,“Josh.” Officer Maria Mendoza also responded and spottedthe suspect and his pit bull. The suspect, however, also spot-ted Officer Mendoza and fled on foot. Officer Mendoza,needing to make a U-turn, called out his location beforelosing sight of the suspect for a moment. Officer Martinezresponded to the location, spotted the suspect, and jumpedout of his vehicle to pursue the suspect on foot. Officer Hol-loway, who also responded, picked up a visual of the sus-pect and joined in the foot pursuit. The suspect, later identi-fied as Ruben “Josh” Martinez, whom, once arrested andfinally ID’d, was also found to be a known, violent “50-Boys”gang member with two felony warrants for his arrest, in-cluding one for PC 245 with a firearm, led the two officersacross streets and traffic, and over two fences until makinghis way to the back of the Pueblo Grill, a restaurant closeddue to the early hour. By this point, Officer Holloway haddrawn his Taser and was first in the foot pursuit behind thesuspect. Officer Holloway came within ten to fifteen feet

Indio is a city with gang problems, prop-erty crimes, drugs – you name it. OnSeptember 12, 2014, what started out asa routine domestic violence call quicklyspiraled into an arrest that would for-ever change the lives and careers of ChuckHolloway, a well-liked, hard-working,five year Indio police officer and hispartner, Officer Gerry Martinez.

“As Officer Holloway wasrounding the storage bin, Of-ficer Martinez was confront-ing the suspect, who had orig-inally taken a challengingstance, but then fell to theground and proned out afterseeing Officer Martinez drawhis baton.”


partner, momentarily stepping on the suspect’s upper torso.Officer Mendoza arrived shortly thereafter, as did other In-dio officers including field Sergeant Dave Rodill. After iden-tifying the suspect through his tattoos, the suspect was takenby ambulance to the hospital to be medically cleared, whichhe was, there being no tangible injuries except for a smallscrape under his chin and a small dirt-mark on the right sideof his face. Sounds routine, right? So what’s the rub?Officer Holloway never reported his use of force – not to

his sergeant who arrived on scene, and not in a report. Of-ficer Martinez referred to Officer Holloway’s role in his re-port as “assisting” in the arrest. There was no record of theforce until a worker for the restaurant alerted the managerthat there had been a significant police presence at the rest-aurant in the early morning hours. The mother of the man-ager pulled the video tapes from the outside surveillancecameras and her attention was drawn to Officer Hollowayrunning up to the suspect and, without even a moment’spause, kicking and punching the suspect and then walkingaway. To make matters worse, Officer Holloway never seemedto help in the actual handcuffing of the suspect but instead,walked away, then walked back and stepped on the suspect.Although there had been no written or verbal report of theforce used, there was now a videotape.The manager called Indio Police Department. The Internal

Affairs sergeant who also was Indio’s training sergeant event-ually became involved and, after meeting with the Chief, itwas decided that the investigation go to the Riverside CountySheriff’s Office (“RSO”). A criminal investigation was launchedby RSO simultaneous with the internal investigation by Indio.The POA immediately called Rains Lucia Stern (RLS) andOfficer Holloway’s potential criminal case of felony exces-sive force was assigned to SoCal RLS Partner Michael Schwartz.Because of a potential conflict of interest, RLS contacted thelaw firm of Castillo Harper to represent Officer Martinez.Officer Holloway was in fact charged and stood trial for aFelony PC 149, Excessive Force; Officer Martinez, whileoriginally charged with a misdemeanor PC 32, Aiding andAbetting after the Fact, ended up standing trial for a misde-meanor filing of a false report. The case finally went to trialon May 11, 2016. The trial lasted for about a week and ahalf.Pre-trial motions proved effective. Motions work from RLS

attorneys Steven Betz and Zach Lopes resulted in the ex-clusion of co-defendant Gerry Martinez’s voluntary state-ment, but let in the suspect’s subsequent criminal convictionfor PC 245, Assault with a Deadly Weapon, a firearm. Al-though the judge denied our motion to introduce evidenceof the suspect’s gang affiliation, upon oral argument by coun-sel, the photographs of the suspect in the hospital were al-lowed in, gang tattoos and all, to demonstrate a lack of tang-ible injury.The main items of evidence against Officer Holloway at

trial were the video and the testimony of the IA/Trainingsergeant. Regarding the former, we once again employedthe services of David Notowitz of National Center of Audio

Visual Forensics (“NCAVF”). Aside from the several videoenhancements created for trial by NCAVF, hours of closeanalyses of the surveillance video by David and myself pro-duced a demonstrably different interpretation of the videothan what the prosecutor had argued all the way from thepreliminary hearing through the trial. For example, whilethe “video” seemed to show the suspect submitting to Of-ficer Martinez’s show of force by wilfully going to the ground,closer scrutiny of the video demonstrated that the camera’sperspective was certainly not Officer Holloway’s whom, up-on rounding that corner, was merely privy to the final ac-tions of that “seeming” submission – the suspect AND hispartner, Officer Martinez, with baton drawn, going to theground TOGETHER. Any reasonable person would agree that the above-de-

scribed scene would present an exigent and dangerous sit-uation for an officer to come upon. Moreover, a second sur-veillance video, requested by David Notowitz of NCAVFand finally turned over by the prosecution a month beforetrial, established that Officer Holloway, having chased thesuspect behind the restaurant, was in reality not privy to thefact that his partner had caught up and took the lead in thepursuit. Seeing his partner going to the ground with the sus-pect was, therefore, a double surprise – prior to roundingthe storage bin, Officer Holloway had not known his part-ner to be within close physical proximity, or that he hadhis baton drawn and was going to the ground with an un-known suspect. Finally, a frame by frame analysis revealedtwo more crucial explanations of the video:• In between the third and fourth distraction punches,Officer Holloway was seen with both arms taut, strug-gling with the small of the suspect’s back, presumablywith one or both hands. This argument helped to gutthe prosecution’s case that Officer Holloway did notattempt at all to effectively assist in the actual controlof the suspect’s hands or stop and assess the effective-ness of his distraction strikes. As seen in that one sec-ond of video he attempted both.

• David Notowitz and I also created a “follow-the-stripeclip” of video based on a pattern on the suspect’s shirtas a landmark to demonstrate that the prosecution’s as-sertion that our client had callously stepped on the sus-pect’s head was, in fact, incorrect. Based on the follow-the-stripe analysis, Officer Holloway stepped on theupper torso, i.e., shoulder/neck, but not the head. Thatclip also undermined the prosecution’s argument.

But perhaps the most crucial evidence at trial was thecross-examination of the training sergeant. On direct ex-amination the sergeant testified that Officer Holloway’s useof force violated policy and was inconsistent with Indio po-lice officer training. The inference, therefore, was that theforce was unnecessary and unreasonable. Upon cross-examination, however, I was able to get the

sergeant to agree that, had our client used his Taser in that

> continued on page 25

tections can limit victims’ liability to a small amount ornothing. In fact, 86 percent of identity-fraud victims hadzero out-of-pocket costs” (Consumer Reports: May 5, 2016“Is LifeLock worth the cost?”) Consumer Reports has been around a longtime, but oc-

casionally their research is a little “light.” They missed someissues on this one: Namely, two issues:• There is a tremendous amount of work and hassle in-volved in assessing the breadth and scope of an identitycrime, then responding and following up until every-thing is made right…which can sometimes take morethan a year, as noted by Bankrate.com. Both ID Shieldand lifelock offer substantial restoration services, toreduce this burden.

• There is an increasing amount of fraud that goes beyond


“There is a tremendousamount of work and hassleinvolved in assessing thebreadth and scope of anidentity crime, then respond-ing and following up untileverything is made right…which can sometimes takemore than a year, as notedby Bankrate.com. Both IDShield and LifeLock offersubstantial restoration serv-ices, to reduce this burden.”IDShIelD USES KROLL’S LICENSED PRIVATE INVESTI-

gators to do “whatever it takes for as long as it takes” to re-store a member’s identity and to expunge the theft from theirpermanent record. IDShield takes a shot at industry leader,lifelock, Inc., and implies that they shift all the work on thevictim’s shoulders. Yet, the truth is both companies offer sig-nificant restoration services, and they each offer their mem-bers the opportunity to sign a limited power of attorney, au-thorizing them to take away much of the work from yourshoulders.Some industry observers take their shots, too, alleging

these products are unlikely to pay significant dollars becauseyour personal bank institution would reverse the charges ifyou provide them the documentation they are looking for.The May 2016 article of Consumer Reports affirms this

view: “The majority of identity-theft cases are credit and debit

card fraud, and federal law and voluntary industry pro-

Identity Theft ProtectionServices: Are They Worth It?

Last July, the financial consumer web-site, Bankrate.com, described the 16-yearstruggle of an identity theft victim to re-store her life from a stolen identity event.While the “struggle” to restore is not al-ways 16 years, it is a great enough has-sle to have sparked a response: Severalnon-profit organizations now exist tohelp consumers, and a new industry hasformed to offer “protection” services. Someof these are tailored as insurance, andsome are not…the purpose of this month’sarticle is to take a high-elevation lookat the solutions of two market leaders,LifeLock, Inc. and IDShield.

Insurance NewsMarcF.Derendinger

Answer: Yes.Question: The one that actually certifies YOUR course?Answer: Yes.Question: And your testimony is that you disagree with

POST?Answer: Yes.In closing we were able to weave those exchanges, cou-

pled with other parts of the cross-examination, highlights ofother witness testimony and the law into an argument thatconsistently reminded the jury not only of the oath they tookto hold the prosecutor to his burden of proof but also whatthe evidence really DID show: that Officer Chuck Hollowaywas NOT GUILTY of excessive force. In just over two hours,the jury agreed. An ecstatic Officer Holloway confided inme that after the closing arguments but before the verdict,his family kept saying, “May the Schwartz be with you.” Af-ter the verdict, all he could do was smile and thank G-d, hisattorney and everyone at RLS for, in his words, “getting [his]life back.”

Editor’s Note: Michael Schwartz would also like tothank behavioral psychologists/use of force expert, Dr.Thomas Streed whose pretrial consultation also provedsignificant in preparing Officer Holloway’s defense. Michael Schwartz, partner and highly-regarded trialattorney at Rains Lucia Stern, heads the firm’s South-ern California Legal Defense practice. For the past fif-teen years he has focused on representing peace officersin some of the toughest and most noteworthy criminalcases venued in Southern California.


which is just a glorified “credit monitoring” service (CreditMonitoring is something even credit bureaus offer). Fortu-nately, this new technology adds real value by alerting youwhile the criminal is still in the physical or virtual store. It isof great interest to me that these services are evolving intothe employee benefit space. We are seeing everything fromunique plan designs to special group pricing arrangementsfor associations and employer groups. It is a growing area:As criminals find new ways to use your identity, the identityprotection industry takes a greater role in protecting yourfinancial future. I am currently evaluating several identity protection pro-

grams and I invite input from SJPOA members who can of-fer suggestions and real-life stories of these types of crimes.

Editor’s Note: The Derendinger insurance agency hasserved as our SJPOA Insurance Broker since 1968. Marccan be reached at 408.252.7300 or by email at [email protected]. You may find more information atwww.derendingerinsurance.com. License No. 0563986

credit or debit cards, and it is expanding and evolvingfaster than ever. For example, criminals will use youridentity to sign up for electrical and water utilities, cellphone service, payday loans, etc. We are at risk evenfor someone else’s parking tickets, dental implants andother medical services.

An exciting new development comes from one serviceprovider who has invested in technology that monitors, real-time, the use of your personal information to incur debt, in-cluding attempts to use just pieces of your identity (for ex-ample your name and social, used with a different addressor phone number). It features a real-time notification capa-bility that seeks your affirmation that it is really you con-ducting the transaction.What sets this apart is it is not merely monitoring the re-

cent past, but interacts with thousands of merchants andmajor financial networks in present time. It does not searchevery network, but it covers a major section of the financialsystem. It captures enough data to use a predictive algo-rithm in warning of other potential fraud.The value is you are notified before the act occurs. Most

services notify you days or weeks afterward the “event,”

Legal Report> continued from page 23

circumstance, either deploying the probes or in drive-stunmode, THAT force would have been within policy and con-sistent with his training. The questions hung out there forclosing argument, then, like a worm on a hook waiting forCharlie the Tuna to bite: if a Taser, shooting 50,000 volts ofelectricity through a person would have been within policyand consistent with training, then how can body weapons,a lower level of force, be a felony?! The answer, of course, is that it can’t.Moreover, how can a drive-stun be used as a pain-com-

pliance to distract the suspect so the partner officer can ef-fectuate the arrest be consistent with policy and training, buta punch leaving no injury or mark used as a pain-compli-ance to distract the suspect so the partner officer can effec-tuate the arrest be a crime?!It can’t.I then “refreshed” the sergeant’s memory regarding POST

Learning Domains 20 and 33, the latter stating right in thefirst chapter that body weapons may be used in securing aresistive suspect, “especially in ground control situations,”which is exactly what we had here in this case. Caught offguard, the sergeant answered that he “disagreed” with POST.The cross-examination went something like this in sum, ifnot in substance: Question: “So, please correct me if I’m wrong, Sergeant,

but we just agreed, didn’t we, that POST is the organizationresponsible for all certifying police officer training in theState of California?”




• Remove branches overhanging the roof or coming with-in 10 feet of the chimney. Clean all dead leaves andneedles from the roof, gutters, and yard.

• Install a roof that meets a fire classification of "Class B"or better. Cover the chimney outlet and stovepipe withnonflammable screening no larger than half-inch mesh.

• Install dual – or triple-paned windows, and limit thesize and number of windows that face large areas ofvegetation.

• Put woodpiles and liquid propane gas tanks at least 30feet from all structures and clear away flammable veg-etation within 10 feet of those woodpiles and propanetanks.

• Check out additional resources on the National FireProtection Association's (NFPA) Firewise Communitieswebsite for homeowners.

• Check out the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes inter-active WildFIRE Wizard tool designed to help those inwildfire prone areas understand how landscaping, ter-rain and structural features increase or decrease a home'svulnerability during a wildfire. Input details about fea-tures including windows, doors, roof, exterior walls andlandscaping, and create a customized report that in-cludes specific recommendations about how to reduceyour home's potential to ignite during a wildfire.

How Can I Help Fire-fighters Save My Home?• Make it easy for firefighters to get to your home. Roadsneed to be wide enough to accommodate fire trucks, andthere has to be a place for them to turn around. Drive-ways and bridges must be strong enough to carry heavyemergency vehicles. Identify at least two ways to andfrom your house and make sure they're well marked.All access routes to your home should be free of lowhanging tree branches and cleared of flammable vege-tation at least 10 feet from roads and five feet fromdriveways.

• Proximity to a quality fire department is also one of thegreatest considerations that your insurance carrier willuse in determining your homeowners insurance pre-mium.

• Maintain an emergency water supply that meets fire de-partment standards, such as a community water hydrantsystem, a cooperative emergency storage tank with neigh-bors, or a minimum storage supply of 2,500 gallons onyour property. If your water comes from a well, consider

NATIONALLY, THE MOST COSTLY FIRE IN TERMS OFinsured losses was the October 1991 Oakland Hills fire whichcaused $1.7 billion in insured losses (about $2.9 billion in2013 dollars) and 2003's wildfires in San Diego and SanBernardino Counties, California at $2.03 billion. The 2007wildfires in Southern California are estimated to have caused$1.6 billion in insured losses. Catastrophic fires account for1.7% of insurance losses. That compares to 36% for torna-does, 40.4% for hurricanes and tropical storms, 6.3% forterrorism, 7.1% for winter storms, 4.7% for earthquakes and3.8% for wind/hail damage (as reported by the InsuranceInformation Institute). The insurance industry estimates theCerro Grande Fire in Los Alamos cost approximately $140million in insured damage in May 2000 ($189.3 million in2013 dollars), making it the most costly wildfire in NewMexico's history.Wildfire insurance costs hinge on a number of factors, in-

cluding the number of primary homes in the area (as com-pared to vacation homes and cabins), their estimated valueand the amount of insurance coverage on the properties.

Tips For Helping PreventA Wildfire From DestroyingYour Home:• Create a 30-foot defensible space around your home byremoving as much flammable material as you can. Re-place flammable vegetation with fire resistive plants.

• Reduce the number of trees in heavily wooded areas byspacing native trees and shrubs at least 10 feet apart. Ontrees taller than 18 feet, prune lower branches withinsix feet of the ground.

Home & Auto NewsValerie Cregan

WildfirePreparation

Searing temperatures and drought con- and disastrous, fire season across theU.S. California Casualty has tips andpreparation advice for homeowners be-fore a fire disaster strikes.

to begin the rebuilding of damaged homes. Some comp-anies will be opening special claims centers to assisttheir policyholders. Contact your agent or company ifyou need additional living expenses while you are outof your home.

• Keep receipts. Out of pocket expenses during a mand-atory evacuation are reimbursable under most standardhomeowner policies.

• Be prepared to give your agent or insurance represen-tative a description of your damage. Your agent will re-port the loss immediately to your insurance companyor a qualified adjuster who will contact you as soon aspossible to inspect the damage. Again, be sure to giveyour agent a number where you can be reached.

• Take photos of the damaged areas. These will help withyour claims process and will assist the adjuster in theinvestigation.

• Prepare a detailed inventory of all damaged or destroyedpersonal property. Be sure to make two copies-one foryourself and one for the adjuster. Your list should be ascomplete as possible, including a description of theitems, dates of purchase or approximate age, cost attime of purchase and estimated replacement cost.

• Make whatever temporary repairs you can. Cover bro-ken windows, damaged roofs and walls to prevent fur-ther destruction. Save receipts for supplies and materi-als you purchase. Your company will reimburse you forreasonable expenses in making temporary repairs.

• Secure a detailed estimate for permanent repairs to yourhome from a reliable contractor and give it to the ad-juster. The estimate should contain the proposed repairs,repair costs and replacement prices.

• Serious losses will be given priority. If your home hasbeen destroyed or seriously damaged, your agent willdo everything possible to assure that you are given pri-ority.

Also Visit:• National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)• Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS)• IBHS Home Assessment & Wildfire Checklist• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)• Colorado Division of Emergency Management (DEM)Read more about wildfire prevention at http://www.rmiia.

org/catastrophes_and_statistics/Wildfire.asp

Editor’s Note: This article contributed by CaliforniaCasualty your SJPOA auto & home insurance provider.If you have a question regarding an existing policy orneed to obtain your free, personalized quote please callone of our knowledgeable, friendly representative todayat 1.888.532.6994


an emergency generator to operate the pump during apower failure. Clearly mark all water sources, and cre-ate easy access to your closest emergency water source.

Evacuation Tips• If you have time before you evacuate your family andpets (your family has an evacuation plan in place, right?),back your car into the garage, leave the key in the ig-nition, and close the garage door. Close windows anddoors to the house, and close all inside doors.

• Take down drapes and curtains.• Place a ladder against the front of the house.• If you have a combustible roof, wet it down or turn onroof sprinklers.

• Turn off the gas at the meter and the butane tank.• Place firefighting tools, such as 100 feet of pre-connectedgarden hose, a shovel, a rake, a bucket, and containersfilled with water, in an accessible place.

• In case of possible evacuation – only if you have enoughwarning – consider packing the following items:

* Social Security cards* Driver's licenses* Credit cards* House deed* Vehicle titles* Marriage license* Birth certificates* Insurance policies* Home inventory list / photos* Health insurance cards* Prescription medications* Important personal computer information down-loaded to disk

* Valuable jewelry* Photographs* Home videos* Items with sentimental value, such as weddingdress or baby keepsakes

* One week's worth of clothing* Pets with ID tags, carriers, and pet food

What Should I DoAfter A Wildfire?• Residents evacuated from their homes should contacttheir insurance agents or companies immediately andlet them know where they can be reached. As adjustersare allowed into the burned-out areas they will want togo in with their policyholders to assess the damage. Manycompanies will set up 24-hour emergency hotlines.

• Company claims adjusters, many equipped with laptopcomputers and portable phones, will start writing checksover the next few days to pay the cost of temporary liv-ing expenses for people left homeless by the fires and


An Officer Who Pulls His Or Her Patrol CarBehind Two Vehicles And Activates The Emer-gency Lights Creates A Detention Of The Oc-cupants Of Both Vehicles

When an officer pulls behind two vehi-cles and activates his or her emergencylights, the officer must be aware of theactions of the occupants of both vehicles.Under what circumstances are the oc-cupants detained where a continued de-tention requires reasonable suspicion ofcriminal activity?

Reliable InformerLanceBayer

In this month’s issue of the Reliable Informer, I will cover two cases, one decided by the California Court ofAppeal and one decided by the Appellate Division of the Los Angeles County Superior Court. These cases look atthe law relating to detentions and the offense of failing to stop at a stop sign.

RECENTLY, THE THIRD DISTRICT OF THE CALIFORNIACourt of Appeal looked at this question in the case of Peo-ple v. Steele (2016) 246 Cal.App.4th 1110. In the Steele case, Deputy Jerry Fernandez of the Shasta

County Sheriff’s Office was on patrol with his trainee, DeputyMegan Bliss, one evening when they observed two vehiclestraveling together. Deputy Bliss was driving the patrol car. The lead vehicle the deputies observed was an SUV and

the other vehicle was a Jeep. There were no other vehiclesin the area. The deputies followed the vehicles onto a ruraldead-end road with no streetlights. Deputy Fernandez re-quested a records check on the license plates for the vehi-cles and found out that the lead vehicle had an expired regi-stration. The second vehicle was a rental car. Because of the limited amount of lighting, Deputy Fernan-

dez did not want to stop the lead vehicle. He assumed theSUV was going to drive down one of the driveways on theroad. Deputy Bliss made a U-turn while the two vehiclesdrove down a driveway. As Deputy Bliss began making her U-turn, a communica-

tions dispatcher informed the deputies that there was anoutstanding felony arrest warrant for the registered ownerof the lead vehicle. Deputy Fernandez decided to conducta vehicle stop on the lead vehicle due to the expired regis-tration and the arrest warrant. The deputies were not awareof any violations relating to the Jeep. The deputies drove down the driveway. The driveway was

surrounded by shrubbery and was not easily or completelyvisible from the road. At the end of the driveway was a wideopen yard. There were numerous vehicles in the yard and

“The deputies got out oftheir patrol car and walkedtowards the Jeep. They ap-proached the Jeep first forofficer safety reasons and totell the driver that they werestopping the lead vehicle. Thedeputies were not going towalk past an occupied vehi-cle in the dark at night with-out taking steps to protecttheir safety.”

there was a significant amount of vegetation. Towards thenorth end of the yard, there was a trailer that appeared tobe occupied. Before the deputies got to the end of the driveway,

Deputy Bliss activated the emergency lights. The two vehi-cles had stopped. The patrol vehicle stopped behind and alittle to the right of the Jeep. The lead vehicle was directlyahead of the Jeep.The deputies got out of their patrol car and walked to-

wards the Jeep. They approached the Jeep first for officersafety reasons and to tell the driver that they were stoppingthe lead vehicle. The deputies were not going to walk pastan occupied vehicle in the dark at night without taking stepsto protect their safety.Deputy Bliss made contact with the driver of the Jeep, who

identified himself as Charles Steele. Deputy Fernandez ap-proached the passenger’s side of the vehicle. He immedi-ately could detect the odor of marijuana coming from theinside of the vehicle.Deputy Fernandez asked Steele if there was any marijuana

in the car. Steele denied there was any marijuana present.Steele then changed his answer and said there had beenmarijuana in the vehicle earlier in the evening. Deputy Fer-nandez then took his flashlight and looked into the interiorof the vehicle and saw a quantity of marijuana on the backseat. The deputies asked Steele to get out of the vehicle. Thedeputies then searched the vehicle and located a bag of mari-juana, two baggies of methamphetamine and other itemsof evidence.Steele was arrested and was charged with possession of

methamphetamine for sale and with other charges and sen-tencing enhancements. In the trial court, Steele made a mo-tion to suppress the evidence. He argued that the search ofthe vehicle was the fruit of an unlawful detention in viola-tion of his Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonablesearches and seizures.The trial court denied Steele’s motion and he pleaded no

contest to possession of methamphetamine for sale. He ad-mitted having previously suffered a “strike” conviction andwas sentenced to serve six years in state prison.Steele appealed his conviction to the Court of Appeal. He

argued that the trial court should have granted his motionto suppress the evidence. The Court reviewed his case andupheld his conviction.In its written decision, the Court first stated, “The Califor-

nia Supreme Court has identified three categories of policeencounters for purposes of Fourth Amendment analysis: (1)consensual encounters that result in no restraint of libertywhatsoever; (2) detentions, which constitute seizures underthe Fourth Amendment and are strictly limited in duration,scope, and purpose; and (3) formal arrests or comparablerestraints on an individual’s liberty, which require probablecause to arrest the individual for a crime.” The Court thenlooked at a recent decision of the California Supreme Court



POST CertificateRequirementsBasic• Successful completion of the PoliceAcademy.

• 1 year police service.

Intermediate(5% incentive pay)• 4 years of law enforcement experiencewith an Associate Degree.

• 2 years of law enforcement experiencewith a Baccalaureate Degree.

Advanced(2.5% incentive pay)• 9 years of law enforcement experiencewith an Associate Degree.

• 6 years of law enforcement experiencewith a Baccalaureate Degree.

• 4 years of law enforcement experiencewith a Master Degree.

* Please submit your paperwork to the Training Unit 60days in advance of your anniversary date. Officers shouldhave copies (not originals) of college degrees, transcriptsand/or any course certificates on file as part of their train-ing files. These documents need to be attached to POSTcertificate applications.

fendant was detained for purposes of our Fourth Amendmentanalysis.”The Court then looked at Steele’s claim that the deputies

did not have reasonable suspicion to detain him. The Courtstated, “The touchstone of our analysis under the FourthAmendment is always the reasonableness in all the circum-stances of the particular governmental invasion of a citizen’spersonal security, and that reasonableness depends on a bal-ance between the public interest and the individual’s rightto personal security free from arbitrary interference by lawofficers. Officer safety is a weighty public interest.”The Court continued, “Accordingly, law enforcement of-

ficers may lawfully detain a defendant when detention isnecessary to determine the defendant’s connection with thesubject of a search warrant and related to the need of en-suring officer safety.... The United States Supreme Court hasrecognized that officer safety during a traffic stop is a weightygovernment interest which can justify detaining the passen-gers of a stopped vehicle.”The Court then stated, “Here..., the initial approach of the

deputies to defendant’s vehicle was not for the purpose ofarresting defendant or for an investigation directed at him.The deputies stopped the lead vehicle for an expired regis-tration and a felony arrest warrant. They did not have anyinformation that defendant’s vehicle violated the VehicleCode. However, while attempting to complete a lawful de-tention of the lead vehicle, the deputies were forced to ei-ther contact defendant because his vehicle was parked be-hind the lead vehicle or walk past defendant’s vehicle with-out knowing whether the occupants of that vehicle mightpose a danger to the deputies.”The Court further stated, “The circumstances warranted

caution by the deputies. It was dark. The deputies were atthe end of a driveway, not visible from the highway. The leadand second vehicles appeared to be travelling together andthe deputies did not know the identities of the drivers. Therewas a risk defendant could come up behind the deputieswhile they contacted the lead vehicle. As the United StatesSupreme Court has recognized, “traffic stops are especiallyfraught with danger to police officers. The risk of harm toboth the police and the occupants of a stopped vehicle isminimized if the officers routinely exercise unquestionedcommand of the situation. Officer safety is a weighty pub-lic interest warranting a brief detention of defendant to as-sure that defendant did not present a danger to the deputieswhile they approached and investigated the lead vehicleand its occupants.”The Court added, “Additionally, the initial police encounter

with defendant was a minimal intrusion upon defendant’sprivacy and security interests. Defendant was already park-ing his vehicle. It does not appear that the initial detentionof defendant was prolonged. Deputy Fernandez testifiedthat Deputy Bliss activated the emergency lights, the deputiesexited the vehicle, Deputy Bliss made the initial contact withdefendant, Deputy Fernandez was one or two seconds be-hind Deputy Bliss, and he smelled the odor of marijuanaduring his initial contact with defendant’s vehicle. There isno evidence that other people (except perhaps the driverof the lead vehicle) witnessed defendant’s detention. De-

Reliable Informer> continued from page 31

which looked at the actions of a law enforcement officer whoapproached a motorist in a parked car after activating hisemergency lights. The Court of Appeal stated, “With regardto whether a detention had occurred, the California SupremeCourt said that a reasonable person in the defendant’s posi-tion – where a deputy drove after the defendant’s car, parkedhis patrol car behind the defendant’s car, and activated hisemergency lights – would have perceived the deputy’s ac-tions as a show of authority, conveying the message that thedefendant was not free to leave. And the defendant submit-ted to the show of authority by remaining in his car at thescene. The Supreme Court concluded that the defendantwas detained when the deputy stopped behind his parkedcar and turned on the emergency lights.”The Court then looked at the facts in Steele’s case. The

Court stated, “Deputy Fernandez and Deputy Bliss followedthe two vehicles and stopped behind defendant’s vehicle,with the emergency lights activated. Under those circum-stances, a reasonable person would have believed that hewas not free to leave.... [D]efendant submitted to the showof authority by remaining in his vehicle. We conclude de-


In MemoriamOfficer RichardHUERTA,Badge #47Killed on August 6, 1970.Shot by a gunman intent on ran-domly killing any officer he en-countered that evening.

"24 Hour Private Property ParkingEnforcement&Towing"

408.995.6900 • 510.739.0400

officer safety justification in the trial court. After smellingthe odor of marijuana coming from defendant’s car andseeing marijuana in plain sight on the backseat, Deputy Fer-nandez could then prolong the detention to investigateand could lawfully search defendant’s car.”The Court’s decision in the Steele case is an important rul-

ing in demonstrating the significance of officer safety con-siderations in relation to a detention.

section. If there is no limit line or crosswalk, the driver shallstop at the entrance to the intersecting roadway.”In the trial court, Overing testified he stopped within one

foot of where the word “STOP” was written on the roadway.He remained stopped until after the vehicles traveling onthe cross street cleared the intersection. He then proceededthrough the crosswalk, entered the intersection, and turnedleft and headed northbound. The trial court determined de-fendant stopped his vehicle at the stop sign, but that he stop-


A Driver Must Stop At A Spot Before Enter-ing A Crosswalk That Enables The DriverAnd Other Motorists And Pedestrians ToSafely Obey Right-Of-Way Laws

Peace officers routinely conduct enforce-ment stops involving drivers who failto stop at posted stop signs. At what lo-cation must a driver stop in relation tothe stop sign?


RECENTLY, THE APPELLATE DIVISION OF THE LOS AN-geles County Superior Court looked at this question in thecase of People v. Overing (2015) Cal.App.4thSupp. .In the Overing case, a suspect drove towards an intersec-

tion governed by stop signs on all its approaches. When tra-veling eastbound on the major street, there is a marked cross-walk at the intersection. The stop sign for eastbound trafficis located approximately 10 feet west of the crosswalk andthe word “STOP” is also written on the roadway. The place-ment of the word “STOP” is aligned with the stop sign. Thereare bushes located on the southwest corner of the intersec-tion.The suspect drove east approaching the intersection. A po-

lice officer observed the suspect driving east through thecrosswalk without stopping. Because his view of the cross-walk was obstructed by the previously mentioned bushes,the officer was unable to see whether the suspect stoppedat the stop sign. The officer effectuated a traffic stop. The dri-ver identified himself as John Overing. The officer issued Over-ing a citation for violating Vehicle Code section 22450(a).Vehicle Code section 22450(a) provides, “The driver of anyvehicle approaching a stop sign at the entrance to, or within,an intersection shall stop at a limit line, if marked, otherwisebefore entering the crosswalk on the near side of the inter-

“The driver of any vehicleapproaching a stop sign atthe entrance to, or within, anintersection shall stop at alimit line, if marked, other-wise before entering the cross-walk on the near side of theintersection. If there is nolimit line or crosswalk, thedriver shall stop at the en-trance to the intersectingroadway.”

fendant was not detained for an independent investigatorypurpose, and the initial contact between Deputy Bliss anddefendant appears limited to the purpose of ensuring thedeputies’ safety.”The Court concluded, “Viewing the totality of the circum-

stances and weighing the interests of the government anddefendant, we conclude the initial detention was justifiedfor the limited purpose of protecting the deputies’ safety.Contrary to defendant’s claim, the prosecutor raised the


Since the words of Vehicle Code section 22450(a) do notdenote the precise place where a vehicle must stop whenthere is only a crosswalk, read literally, one interpretationof the law is that a vehicle could stop 100 feet, or more, ‘be-fore entering the crosswalk on the near side of the intersec-tion,’ and be in compliance with the statute. This would beabsurd. The apparent purpose of [Vehicle Code section22450(a)] is to require a vehicle to stop before it is in a po-sition where it could impede or hit pedestrians who couldbe in a crosswalk, or cross-traffic that could be in an inter-section. Allowing a stop at a distance too far from the cross-walk would be dangerous if motorists could not see othervehicles in the approaching intersection or pedestrians inthe crosswalks.”

Although the decisions of the Appellate Division of theLos Angeles County Superior Court are not binding on trialcourts outside of Los Angeles County, the Court’s decisionin the Overing case is a helpful and persuasive interpreta-tion of the law relating to the enforcement of stop sign vio-lations.

Editor’s Note: I look forward to hearing from you aboutideas for future columns, as well as any other commentsyou might have. Lance Bayer is a private attorney spe-cializing in police training and personnel issues in theBay Area and can be reached by writing to: Lance Bayer,443 Lansdale Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94127, by cal-ling 415.584.1022, or by email at [email protected]

Reliable Informer> continued from page 33

ped “too far back” from the crosswalk and found him guilty.Overing appealed his conviction to the Appellate Division

of the Los Angeles County Superior Court. He argued thatthe trial court had insufficient evidence to convict him. TheAppellate Division reviewed Overing’s case and upheld hisconviction.

In its written decision, the Court first stated, “Vehicle Codesection 22450(a) requires a vehicle at an intersection with acrosswalk and controlled by a stop sign to stop ‘on the nearside of the intersection’ without specifying a precise loca-tion for the stop. Our primary task is to determine whetherstopping one foot from the stop sign and 11 feet from thecrosswalk constitutes substantial evidence to support thejudgment. In order to answer this question, we must firstdetermine what the Legislature meant by the words “on thenear side of the intersection.”

The Court further stated, “In interpreting Vehicle Code sec-tion 22450(a), we look to associated right-of-way statuteswhich shed light on the Legislature's intent regarding themeaning to be ascribed to the law.... ‘Right-of-way’ is theprivilege of the immediate use of the highway. Vehicle Codesection 21800(a) provides: ‘The driver of a vehicle approach-ing an intersection shall yield the right-of-way to any vehiclewhich has entered the intersection from a different highway.’Vehicle Code section 21800(c) provides: ‘When two vehi-cles enter an intersection from different highways at the sametime and the intersection is controlled from all directions bystop signs, the driver of the vehicle on the left shall yield theright-of-way to the vehicle on his or her immediate right.’Vehicle Code section 21950(a) provides, in relevant part,‘The driver of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way to a ped-estrian crossing the roadway within any marked crosswalkor within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection.’”

The Court continued, “As the right-of-way laws recognizethe need of persons and motorists in intersections to assessthe proximity of vehicles and pedestrians before proceeding,so, too, does Vehicle Code section 22450(a). We concludethe stop, pursuant to Vehicle Code section 22450(a) musttherefore occur at a location where the driver and other mo-torists and pedestrians can safely determine who has theright-of-way.”

The Court then stated, “Defendant argues that, so long ashe stopped where the stop sign was located, he compliedwith Vehicle Code section 22450(a). Yet, the statute only in-dicates that when the driver approaches ‘a stop sign at theentrance to, or within, an intersection,’ the driver must stopas indicated in the statute, i.e., if there is a limit line, wherethe limit line is located; if there is no limit line or crosswalk,where the entrance to the intersection roadway is located;and finally, when there is only a crosswalk, ‘before enteringthe crosswalk on the near side of the intersection.’”

According to the Court, “The language of a statute shouldnot be given a literal meaning if doing so would result inabsurd consequences which the Legislature did not intend.


Sergeant Morris VAN DYCK HUBBARD,Badge #21Killed on July 12, 1924, by ahostage-taking gunman in aclose range shoot-out.

Officer HenryBUNCH,Badge #2076Killed on July 29, 1985, by anintoxicated arrestee who wres-tled the officer’s weapon awayand shot him.

In Memoriam

S.J.P.O.A.1151 N. Fourth St.San Jose, CA 95112

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