From Daily Republic
By Audrey Wong
SUISUN CITY - The "boogey man" waited for the police officers in a classroom of the old Crystal Middle School.
To get to their target, the officers swept across the deserted library. They crept around book shelves then slinked to the door at the rear of the library. One officer swiftly opened the door and the team poured into the room, each member racing into position.
Three of the officers pointed their weapons at an overturned table. Then Los Angeles police Officer Gus Chacon told them what to say.
"Suspect - let me see your hands!" Chacon barked.
Suisun City police Officer Pedro Arroyo was the designated "boogey man," as Chacon calls the pretend suspect. Arroyo stood up and sheepishly raised his hands.
Afterward, Chacon told the police officers how they could have better handled their weapons and approach the suspect.
For four days this week, officers from Suisun City, Rio Vista, Benicia and other local agencies will practice entering buildings and handling active shooters at the former Crystal Middle School campus. The skills the officers learn could be used in various situations, from serving search warrants to dealing with a barricaded armed suspect. The officers brushed up on their tactical training together so they could work together effectively during an emergency, Suisun City police Lt. Ed Dadisho said.
The abandoned campus was ideal for training because, with the different rooms, officers didn't know what to expect, Chacon said. Officers didn't use live ammunition or guns.
Four officers from the Los Angeles Police Department metropolitan division taught the course. The unit helps police throughout Los Angeles in special weapons and tactics, crime suppression, crowd control and other operations, LAPD Sgt. Andrea Balter said.
On Tuesday the officers began learning about clearing rooms of suspects. The basic skills officers gain in clearing rooms can be used for various situations such as serving search warrants, Balter said.
"Say you have two officers respond to a burglary alarm," Balter said. "They have to open the door and clear the building to make sure no one is in there."
On Wednesday, officers practiced apprehending active shooters, a police term for a suspect in the midst of attacking. The scenario was a school shooting with 18 dead and the suspect hiding somewhere on campus. Groups of officers cautiously trod through the littered hallways, their boots crunching on shattered glass. They systematically searched one end of the hallway before loud pops rang out.
The officers investigated the other end of the hallway. They slipped into one room full of cabinets and checked them. They opened one cabinet to find it splattered in red paint and Arroyo crouched inside.
Police developed active-shooter tactics because of the Columbine High School shootings in 1999, Dadisho said. The tactics can be used for situations other than attacks at a campus.
"It can be in a house where the suspect is actively stabbing somebody," Dadisho said. "It can be used whenever there is a need for an immediate reaction."
Training will continue today and Friday.
Reach Audrey Wong at 427-6951 or awong@dailyrepublic.net.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Suisun City police begin tactical training today
From Daily Republic
By Audrey Wong
SUISUN CITY - Police will conduct tactical training starting today through Friday at the old Crystal Middle School campus on Cordelia Road and School Street.
Officers will practice entering buildings and handling active shooters, said Suisun City police Lt. Ed Dadisho. Active shooter is a police term for a suspect currently firing on victims. That could be a situation such as a sniper or like the Columbine high school attack, said Suisun City police Sgt. Ted Stec.
Tactical building entries are for situations such as serving search warrants, a barricaded suspect, parole and probation searches among other things, Stec said.
Police will not use live ammunition or guns in the exercises, Stec said. Officers will use fake guns and dress in plain clothes. Stec said he did not expect a lot of noise from the training.
Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department will lead the training. Dadisho was previously an LAPD sergeant. The first part of the training will be classroom instruction followed by role playing.
All Suisun City police officers have learned to deal with active shooters and entering buildings to meet state requirements for officers training, Stec said. But officers need to practice and polish their skills so they are prepared for anything, Stec said. Suisun City police also provide assistance for other local police departments during major incidents.
The training sessions will be from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Reach Audrey Wong at 427-6951 or awong@dailyrepublic.net.
By Audrey Wong
SUISUN CITY - Police will conduct tactical training starting today through Friday at the old Crystal Middle School campus on Cordelia Road and School Street.
Officers will practice entering buildings and handling active shooters, said Suisun City police Lt. Ed Dadisho. Active shooter is a police term for a suspect currently firing on victims. That could be a situation such as a sniper or like the Columbine high school attack, said Suisun City police Sgt. Ted Stec.
Tactical building entries are for situations such as serving search warrants, a barricaded suspect, parole and probation searches among other things, Stec said.
Police will not use live ammunition or guns in the exercises, Stec said. Officers will use fake guns and dress in plain clothes. Stec said he did not expect a lot of noise from the training.
Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department will lead the training. Dadisho was previously an LAPD sergeant. The first part of the training will be classroom instruction followed by role playing.
All Suisun City police officers have learned to deal with active shooters and entering buildings to meet state requirements for officers training, Stec said. But officers need to practice and polish their skills so they are prepared for anything, Stec said. Suisun City police also provide assistance for other local police departments during major incidents.
The training sessions will be from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Reach Audrey Wong at 427-6951 or awong@dailyrepublic.net.
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Demolition of ranch house marks new beginning
From Vacaville Reporter
By Melissa Murphy/Staff Writer
Rush Ranch is getting a new nature center on its property, but not before some internal housekeeping is completed.
An excavator, manned by Ken Borders, an equipment operator with the Fish and Game Department, started in on Friday to tear down an old building that had once served as the ranch caretaker's house to make room for the future construction. Volunteers showed up on Friday and Saturday to help sort through the debris.
"It's always sad to get rid of things you're familiar with," Kirsti Muskat, a volunteer with Solano Land Trust, said Saturday morning after watching the frame of the house shake every time a part of the roof was pulled off. "But we're generally excited to see it go to make way for a better place. This is just one step in the process of building the nature center."
The State Coastal Conservancy (SCC) approved a $500,000 grant to the Solano Land Trust for construction of a nature center at Rush Ranch. This grant adds to the $500,000 awarded last year from the San Francisco Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, according to the ranch's Web site.
The Patwins, the Native Americans who lived in the Solano County area and areas to the north, resided on what is now Rush Ranch for hundreds of years, the Web site said.
The Suisun Marsh is billed as the largest estuarine marsh in the entire United States. Now protected by state law, the whole of the marsh is a local environmental treasure that is a home to a variety of wildlife and birds.
The new facility will include a nature center and adjoining caretaker residence, as well as lab, living quarters, public toilets and office space for visiting scientists, said Ken Poerner, a member of Solano Land Trust.
The sorted debris will be given to a landfill to reuse. According to Poerner, who also organized the demolition project, 70 to 80 percent of the lumber gathered will be chopped up and reused, while about 10 to 15 percent of the metal will also be reused in some capacity.
Poerner put aside some floor beams that he plans to use to help restore the ranch's corral. He pointed out that the old house only sits on dirt and that a concrete foundation was never poured.
Muskat's children were also sorting through debris, finding chunks of insulation, window frames, pipes and water faucets. The Muskats regularly volunteer at the ranch, but this was the first time they've been a part of a demolition project.
"Sometimes (volunteering) is a lot of fun," said Tallin Muskat, 15, wearing work gloves while tearing through drywall. "We've been able to drive a bulldozer before."
More volunteers showed up to help Saturday morning.
One volunteer, Jessica Schneider, who works with the National Estuarine Research reserve, said she is very excited about the new facility. She watched, mesmerized, as the building was being torn down. She said that she's looking forward to having a convenient lab on the property in which to do research.
"We have a strong investment in this project," said Schneider, who also works with the weather station that sits close to the demolished building. "We have a great partner -ship with Solano Land Trust, plus it's a lot of fun."
Members of Boy Scout Troop 481 also showed up Friday to volunteer their time.
"A lot of people care about Rush Ranch and what it has to offer," Poerner said. "This is for the future."
Melissa Murphy can be reached at dixon@thereporter.com.
By Melissa Murphy/Staff Writer
Rush Ranch is getting a new nature center on its property, but not before some internal housekeeping is completed.
An excavator, manned by Ken Borders, an equipment operator with the Fish and Game Department, started in on Friday to tear down an old building that had once served as the ranch caretaker's house to make room for the future construction. Volunteers showed up on Friday and Saturday to help sort through the debris.
"It's always sad to get rid of things you're familiar with," Kirsti Muskat, a volunteer with Solano Land Trust, said Saturday morning after watching the frame of the house shake every time a part of the roof was pulled off. "But we're generally excited to see it go to make way for a better place. This is just one step in the process of building the nature center."
The State Coastal Conservancy (SCC) approved a $500,000 grant to the Solano Land Trust for construction of a nature center at Rush Ranch. This grant adds to the $500,000 awarded last year from the San Francisco Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, according to the ranch's Web site.
The Patwins, the Native Americans who lived in the Solano County area and areas to the north, resided on what is now Rush Ranch for hundreds of years, the Web site said.
The Suisun Marsh is billed as the largest estuarine marsh in the entire United States. Now protected by state law, the whole of the marsh is a local environmental treasure that is a home to a variety of wildlife and birds.
The new facility will include a nature center and adjoining caretaker residence, as well as lab, living quarters, public toilets and office space for visiting scientists, said Ken Poerner, a member of Solano Land Trust.
The sorted debris will be given to a landfill to reuse. According to Poerner, who also organized the demolition project, 70 to 80 percent of the lumber gathered will be chopped up and reused, while about 10 to 15 percent of the metal will also be reused in some capacity.
Poerner put aside some floor beams that he plans to use to help restore the ranch's corral. He pointed out that the old house only sits on dirt and that a concrete foundation was never poured.
Muskat's children were also sorting through debris, finding chunks of insulation, window frames, pipes and water faucets. The Muskats regularly volunteer at the ranch, but this was the first time they've been a part of a demolition project.
"Sometimes (volunteering) is a lot of fun," said Tallin Muskat, 15, wearing work gloves while tearing through drywall. "We've been able to drive a bulldozer before."
More volunteers showed up to help Saturday morning.
One volunteer, Jessica Schneider, who works with the National Estuarine Research reserve, said she is very excited about the new facility. She watched, mesmerized, as the building was being torn down. She said that she's looking forward to having a convenient lab on the property in which to do research.
"We have a strong investment in this project," said Schneider, who also works with the weather station that sits close to the demolished building. "We have a great partner -ship with Solano Land Trust, plus it's a lot of fun."
Members of Boy Scout Troop 481 also showed up Friday to volunteer their time.
"A lot of people care about Rush Ranch and what it has to offer," Poerner said. "This is for the future."
Melissa Murphy can be reached at dixon@thereporter.com.
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