officer involved shootings & felony warrants

OFFICER INVOLVED

SHOOTINGS & FELONY

WARRANTS

INTRODUCTION• EXPERIENCE:

24 years of front-line law enforcement experience

*Pima College Campus Police*Pima County Sheriff's Patrol Deputy

*Mesa Police Department

Role of Mesa Police Association (MPA)

• Respond to officer involved shootings & other critical incidents to represent the officers.• Ensure police officers are taken

care of legally, civilly, emotionally as well as the many needs of their families.

DISCOVERY• I am the serving President of the

Police Association for Mesa Police Officers. We have responded to officer involved shooting over the last eight (8) years (since 2000).

• In this capacity, we have discovered a disturbing trend that compromises the safety of citizens and officers alike.

OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTINGS (OIS)

Year OIS Incidents Suspects Felony Warrants Misdemeanors

2000 3 3 0 0

2001 8 10 2 2

2002 7 8 5 1

2003 7 9 5 1

2004 8 11 1 1

2005 5 5 2 0

2006 6 6 0 0

2007 3 3 1 0

2008 7 7 3 1

Totals 54 62 19 6

OIS STATISTICS• What does this mean?1. Approximately one-third (1/3)

of Mesa’s OIS involve suspects with current MCSO felony warrants.

Mesa Officer Involved Shootings

Felony Warrants

Misdemeanors

Suspects Not Wanted

OIS STATISTICS• What does this mean?2. These 39,000 un-served

warrants represent a clear and present danger to the public and my officers.

3. The 19 Mesa officers who fought for their lives against criminals think 39,000 un-served MCSO warrants are a CRISIS.

What is a felony?• Per ARS, "Felony" means an offense

for which a sentence to a term of imprisonment in the custody of the state department of corrections is authorized by any law of this state.• This makes any felony suspect

extremely dangerous as many do not want to go or return to prison. A felony is a felony is a felony.

MCSO’s website states“CAUTION!…ONLY CERTIFIED POLICE OFFICERS should ever attempt to effect the arrest of any person named in this database. All felons should be considered armed and dangerous. If you have information on the current location of any person listed, call your local sheriff or the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office at (602) 876-1011 or send us a tip by clicking this icon on the right side of an individual's information.”

What we are trying to prevent…

4 Police Officers Killed in the Line of DutyEOW – March 21, 2009

Oakland Police Department

Sergeant Daniel Sakai35 years, 9 years OPD

SWAT

Sergeant Mark Dunakin40 years, 18 years OPD

Traffic Motor Officer

Sergeant Ervin Romans43 years, 13 years OPD

SWATOfficer John Hege

41 years

What we are trying to prevent…

• KIA by SWAT

Lovelle Mixon, 26 year old Police Officer Murder (X4)

Outstanding Felony Failure to Appear Warrant; “He did not want to go back to prison”

“He is the monster every wife/husband of a cop fears when their loved one goes off to work

every day.”

19•Mesa has had 19 close calls involving suspects with current MCSO Felony warrants, where officers employed deadly force to save themselves or others.

Solutions• Give primary responsibility to ONE agency-The Sheriff’s Office.• Hold Sheriff’s accountable for cooperation and coordinating apprehension efforts between all Police agencies regarding outstanding warrants.

• Close the gaping hole that exists in law enforcement that allows criminals to roam our streets and re-offend before drawing the attention of law enforcement.• Require agencies to cooperate/coordinate; much in the same manner DPS is the repository of criminal justice information and is required to cooperate by state statute.

Why task Sheriff’s with this duty?

• They already have all the information. No additional taxpayer costs for databases or infrastructure.

• Sheriff’s already do all the extraditions.

• MCSO has jurisdiction over 53 agencies that contribute to MCSO felony warrants.

• One warrants task force can save taxpayers from considerable expense of one for each agency.

• Most Sheriffs already provide this service.

Protect the public and Police

• Legislature can improve communication and efficiency in handling felony warrants.• Save taxpayers money.• Require coordination and

cooperation between agencies.• Increase public and officer

safety by ensuring accountability in serving felony warrants.