some stuff you can't make up

◼ Why does the DA need assault rifles?
(From Gallegos' campaign website - assault rifles, his words, not mine)
Assault Rifles

The guns that are issued to the DA Investigators are standard issue, standard practice. The investigators are law enforcement officers and need proper protection. When faced with armed criminals, it is never okay to leave law enforcement officers without the tools necessary to protect the public. The investigators on my team are some of the best trained law enforcement officers in the county.

What is wrong with this picture? Let us count the ways.

CAN'T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS

On his grant applications, Gallegos routinely states:

...The communities of Humboldt County suffer from severe socio-economic problems, Historically, the northwest has sustained on primarily timber, commercial fishing and cattle ranching as its main sources of income. In the last two decades, these once abundant industries have been all but eliminated. The reulsts of this economic decline have been a slightly higher than state average unemployment rate (11.4%) and a high level of substance abuse. Because of the overwhelming amount of substance abuse there is an increase in crime such as: drug trafficking, rape, robbery, murder, child abuse, spousal abuse and child pornography....

◼ In this example Gallegos is looking to purchase a "critical crime response vehicle for about $160,000 plus $12,092.25 and more money for uniforms, badge, flashlight, boots and utility belt for $1,299.00 - the total cost to be $406,875.09 - AND he promises that EVENTUALLY we will be VERTICALLY prosecuting these investigations.

So - is crime UP or DOWN?

Guess it just depends on who he is talking to and what he wants at the moment.

The IRS - Buying Shotguns

◼ The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) intends to purchase sixty Remington Model 870 Police RAMAC #24587 12 gauge pump-action shotguns for the Criminal Investigation Division. The Remington parkerized shotguns, with fourteen inch barrel, modified choke, Wilson Combat Ghost Ring rear sight and XS4 Contour Bead front sight, Knoxx Reduced Recoil Adjustable Stock, and Speedfeed ribbed black forend, are designated as the only shotguns authorized for IRS duty based on compatibility with IRS existing shotgun inventory, certified armorer and combat training and protocol, maintenance, and parts.

Submit quotes including 11% Firearms and Ammunition Excise Tax (FAET) and shipping to Washington DC.
Solicitation Number: TIRWR-10-Q-00023
Agency: Department of the Treasury
Office: Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Location: Field Operations Branch Western (OS:A:P:B:W)
***
Contracting Office Address:
Internal Revenue Service OS:A:P:B:W
Office of Business Operations
1301 Clay Street, Suite 810S
Oakland, CA 94612 -5217

Getting ready for the legalization of Pot, I guess - getting ready to collect those taxes.

Hislop officially running

◼ Hislop officially enters Sheriff's race
The chief investigator of the Humboldt County District Attorney's Office is looking to become the county's top cop.
”It's my extreme pleasure to introduce Mike Hislop, our next sheriff of Humboldt County,” District Attorney Paul Gallegos said Monday at the Humboldt Bay Inn, introducing Hislop to a group of several dozen supporters.

Despite budget restrictions, Hislop said he was able to revamp the investigations unit, part by outfitting investigators with new equipment, uniformsin and crime-scene re-enactment technology, all without impacting the department's budget, by helping to secure about $750,000 in grant funding for the department from a variety of sources.

Related: ◼ Gallegos' Assault Team Blog entries being what they are, start at the bottom, and read your way up.

◼ Hislop's Supporters

Did anybody READ the DA's Grant Proposal?

Item D. 5 on today's Board Of Supervisor's Agenda
District Attorney
5. Workers' Compensation Grant Application.
RECOMMENDATION: That the Board of Supervisors approve the attached grant application and sign the attached board resolution; and Direct the Clerk of the Board to return the resolution to Chief Michael Hislop so it may be processed with the grant application. link

Who is assigned?
How many cases?
How many brought to trial?

It doesn't look very good to me.

Funny that this DA announced he was working to "wean" himself of grant funding, yet this is the second application in the last few weeks. One is for a nice new Hummer or something to go with his nice uniforms and semi-automatic rifles.

These are just applications. Whether he gets them, whether he should, and whether adheres to the promises made in these applications is another.

More to follow.

Buying what?

Tune in for the DA's item on the Board of Supervisor's Agenda today

◼ Item D-2 Apr. 14 agenda

District Attorney
2. Approve Appropriation Transfer in District Attorney's Budget Unit 1100 205 to Clear Mid-Year Edits. ($51,112)
RECOMMENDATION: That the Board of Supervisors approve an appropriation transfer to clear mid-year charges by transferring funds from object and fixed asset accounts within the same budget unit.

AND

Item DEPARTMENT REPORTS F-2
District Attorneys
2. Recovery Act: Rural Law Enforcement Assistance Grant.
RECOMMENDATION: That the Board of Supervisors Approve the Attached grant application and sign the attached certificates for the Rural Law Enforcement Assistance grant; and Direct the Clerk of the Board to return the certificates to Chief Michael Hislop so they may be processed with the grant application.

◼ details
"Total one time equipment cost is $172,092.25. The major expense in this component would be a critical crime response vehicle, which needs to be well equipped with radios, evidence collection equipment, computers, and recording devices, it must be big enough to conduct detailed interviews with involved parties of the incident. We estimate the cost of this vehicle to be approximately $160,000.00. Additional equipment cost would be 412,092.25 for a radio communications repeater. This piece of equipment will allow us to more effectively communicate from the rural areas of Humboldt county back to the District Attorney's Office.

The only supplies requested in this grant project would be uniform costs and equipment for the Community Services Officer. the Equipment would include uniforms, badge, flashlight, boots, and utility belt. The cost of this equipment is estimated to be $1,299.00.

Total cost of this grant project is $406,875.00. With the approval of this grant we will be able to more efficiently assist our rural communities in investigating serious and major crimes and increase the likelihood of a successful prosecution. essentially we will be vertically prosecuting these investigations since the District Attorney's Office will have a hands on approach to these investigations from the beginning.

First an assault team complete with uniforms, now this? Hislop likes his toys.



***

Then there was - this back in January: 12. Donation of District Attorney Department Vehicle to the County Motor Pool for Capitalization, Maintenance, and Insurance....

***
added 6/10: On his grant applications, Gallegos routinely states:

...The communities of Humboldt County suffer rom severe socio-economic problems, Historically, the northwest has sustained on primarily timber, commercial fishing and cattle ranching as its main sources of income. In the last two decades, these once abundant industries have been all but eliminated. The reulsts of this economic decline have been a slightly higher than state average unemployment rate (11.4%) and a high level of substance abuse. Because of the overwhelming amount of substance abuse there is an increase in crime such as: drug trafficking, rape, robbery, murder, child abuse, spousal abuse and child pornography....

◼ In this example Gallegos is looking to purchase a "critical crime response vehicle for about $160,000 plus $12,092.25 and more money for uniforms, badge, flashlight, boots and utility belt for $1,299.00 - the total cost to be $406,875.09 - AND he promises that EVENTUALLY we will be VERTICALLY prosecuting these investigations.

So - is crime UP or DOWN?

Guess it just depends on who he is talking to and what he wants at the moment.

Incidentally, it is worth looking into whether or not ANY VERTICAL PROSECUTION happens in the Humboldt County DA's Office as Paul Gallegos has stated that he likes to "move people around." Victims of crimes describe seeing one prosecutor after another thrust into the courtroom un prepared an uninformed.

Paul Gallegos to speak to code task force

Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos will attend the Code Enforcement Task Force meeting today in order to answer questions posed by task force members.

Humboldt County Community Development Director Kirk Girald will also attend today’s meeting....

According to past testimony from both Interim County Counsel Wendy Chaitin and Deputy County Counsel Richard Hendry, the District Attorney’s Office is supposed to have authority over code enforcement officers in the field, as they were deputized by his office.

Gallegos said in a previous interview with The Eureka Reporter that he didn’t want the “life and death” responsibility if someone was shot by a code enforcement officer when he has no oversight or authority over them.

He rescinded code enforcement officer’s police powers back in April, but Chaitin, who wasn’t sure if Gallegos could rescind that authority, voluntarily disarmed the officers.

The question of who has authority over code enforcement officers at any given time has been a topic of interest by the task force.

Both Girald and Gallegos are members of an oversight committee, not open to the public, which reviews procedures within the unit, as well as ongoing investigations.
ER D.A. to speak to code task force
TS DA may answer task force questions

Maybe they have room for a like minded DA!

Cops May Get Assault Weapons in Chicagostan Arming officers with assault rifles would make Chicago look like a developing nation.

Fifty-four shootings in two weekends. Shot-up bodies recovered in groups of three and five. Is this Ramadi? Basra? No.

Welcome to Chicago.

After a recent outbreak of gun-related violence, Mayor Richard Daley is now pushed into supporting a plan by new Police Superintendent Jody Weis to arm 13,000 Chicago police officers with assault rifles. Depending on how many weapons are eventually deployed, this may develop into the largest militarization of police patrol officers in United States history. If the department arms 10,000 of their officers with M4s, the police will have 9,900 more assault rifles in Chicago than the U.S. Marines presently have in Fallujah, Iraq. h/t: KT

Paul Gallegos would fit right in.

Assault Teams and Code Enforcement?

The DA who plans to use his ASSET FORFEITURE FUNDS to buy semiautomatic weapons (AR-15s) and outfit his investigators with assault team gear to go with the weapons now wants the CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS to be under his control?

Isn't that the only conclusion you can reach after reading today's article? At first it looks like he is trying to disassociate from the Code Enforcement guys following the contentious upheaval of the past couple of weeks, but read all the way through...

Remember that? - The controversy stemmed from a number of residents who say that county code enforcers are collaborating with law enforcement and using building code inspections to obtain access to private property and go after marijuana growers.

If Gallegos wants to arm his regular investigators with semi-automatic weapons to go on ASSET FORFEITURE RAIDS, won't the Code Enforcement Team be invaluable? And will they then be armed with AR-15s?

DA rescinds code enforcement officers’ police powers

Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos said he has rescinded the Code Enforcement Unit officers’ police powers granted under his authority, but county staff said the move doesn’t stick.

The county’s Code Enforcement Unit controversy has been broiling publicly since April 4 when the Civil Liberties Monitoring Project held a town hall meeting in Garberville to hear rural residents’ allegations of excessive police force to remedy building code violations.

While it is not directly in response to that meeting, Gallegos said Wednesday that he doesn’t want the “life-and-death” responsibility to deputize those officers who could shoot someone or may be shot if he has no authority over them.

“To ask me to deputize someone with those responsibilities and to have no oversight over them is wrong,” Gallegos said. “I refuse to participate in that.”

...Interim County Counsel Wendy Chaitin, whose office oversees the Code Enforcement Unit’s two armed officers, said Wednesday that Gallegos’ action isn’t so simple.

She and other county administrators don’t believe the officers’ police powers have been stripped because of Gallegos’ action to rescind his authority.

However, because the DA doesn’t want to participate in the current structure where he deputizes her employees, Chaitin said she voluntarily agreed last week to disarm Code Enforcement officers Jeff Conner and John Desadier while everything is being sorted out.

“We are all in discussions and are working on ways to best structure the unit,” Chaitin said.

Also in agreement that the DA’s action doesn’t rescind the officer’s deputized status is County Administrative Officer Loretta Nickolaus, who said she learned of Gallegos’ announcement in an e-mail circulated Wednesday.

Nickolaus said the DA can’t direct personnel actions for employees not under his control.

That’s not how Gallegos sees it and he said the intent of his action was to remove the Code Enforcement Unit officers’ weapons and badges under his authority, which he said he believes he’s effectively done.

Despite the apparent inter-department conflict, Gallegos said he supports Chaitin, the Code Enforcement Unit and the work they are trying to do, although he might not necessarily support everything they have done.

...Just how the issue will be resolved is uncertain, but Gallegos offered his preference for where the code enforcement officers should end up.

Because the officers are armed and due to the nature of their work, Gallegos said he believes code enforcement might better fall under his direction.

“It’s a natural fit in this office,” Gallegos said.

If they were assigned to work under him as investigators, Gallegos said he would deputize them.

“But as it stands right now, the arrangement isn’t good for anyone,” Gallegos said.....

Just take a look at what he has done to the other programs under his control and you';ll have a pretty good idea what he can do to this one.

Guns - UPDATED

UPDATED:

◼ Former Blue Lake Police Chief David Gundersen has been cleared of all major charges first filed against him in 2008. - Arcata Eye MARCH 2012

****

The DA wants weapons, Blue Lake has more weapons than even he planned to get, Mendo's DA Vroman had weapons - do they need 'em?
TS Blue Lake's gun arsenal called shocking

Until recently, the Blue Lake Police Department had a chief, a sergeant, two officers and 27 submachine guns.

TS Feds eye firearms in Gundersen case

Both state and federal law are fairly clear about possessing a submachine gun or a pistol with a silencer: It's illegal in California, and illegal in the United States without a special permit from the ATF. Under California law, the penalty for possession of a machine gun is an unspecified prison term, up to a $10,000 fine, or both. For possession of a silencer it's the same.

But state law allows a law enforcement agency to buy machine guns, and for officers to have them and silencers -- as long as they use them in an official capacity and within the scope of their duties. In fact, there is no limit on the number of submachine guns an agency can have, said California Department of Justice spokesman Abraham Arredondo...

So far, Gallegos has charged Gundersen with two gun crimes. They are related to the H&K MP5 submachine gun reportedly found in a safe in his garage and the pistol with a silencer. Gallegos alleges Gundersen was in unlawful possession of both under violations of penal codes related to individuals.

updated Related coverage, with links

UPDATED:

◼ Former Blue Lake Police Chief David Gundersen has been cleared of all major charges first filed against him in 2008. - Arcata Eye MARCH 2012

****

Gallegos' Use of Force Policy

Click here

Anybody see anything confidential in here? Anything to cause the DA to refuse to release it until forced to do so with a public records act request from the Times Standard?

She has a point

I don't know about her statistics, but the fact that the weapons the DA investigators already carry working perfectly well when needed is a good one.

Dear Editor,

Regarding your article in the Sept. 1 paper titled “DA Gallegos can get his guns,” I think the “kill rate” (55 percent) by Eureka police shows the armament they have works just fine. Don’t you?

I, for one, would rather see the money spent on “nonlethal” weapons, which appear to be basically nonexistent to the Eureka Police Department.

Janet Busch
Fortuna

You just have to wonder - why does Paul want those weapons? Is it because Hislop wants them, and Paul can't say no? Is that the same reason he keeps jumping his new hires up the salary ladder? He's just a guy who can't say "No!"

Or is it the opposite - he wants them so bad because he was told "No."?

Does he really want in on the asset forfeiture raids because his department gets a higher payout if they conduct the raid than if they just tag along? It would seem like political suicide because in asset forfeiture raids he is targeting the very people who gave him barrels of cash in his elections. But he's shown a willingness to corrupt the system to gather cash to pay Cotchett to go after Palco - is that in the twisted plan?

Does it make sense to anybody? Why the DA wants to set up an assault team?

Paul Gallegos' Asset Forfeiture Team will be armed with AR-15s and hollow point bullets

.
He's an elected official. He's untouchable. No one can stop him.

DA Gallegos can get his guns

Humboldt County Administrative Officer Loretta Nickolaus confirmed Friday that District Attorney Paul Gallegos had satisfied her office’s requirements in his bid to arm his investigators with semiautomatic rifles.

“Technically, I guess he’s OK with the use-of-force policy,” Nickolaus said by phone late Friday. “Financially, he has the money from the asset forfeiture account. So it’s really a judgment call for him whether or not he wants to do this.”

But Nickolaus stopped short of endorsing the plan.

“I still have my concerns over the potential for conflict of interest and liability exposure for the county, and I’m still not convinced that with this direction (investigators) will be able to maintain their independent perspective if one of their own is involved in a critical incident,” she said.

“But he can do what he wants. He knows how I feel about it, and he has completed the things I’ve asked him to complete.”

The controversy over the guns request began mid-May, after The Eureka Reporter learned that Gallegos’ seemingly routine allocation request for $58,462 in asset forfeiture funds was intended to outfit his eight investigators with AR-15 assault rifles, body armor, tactical vests, 5,000 rounds of hollow-point ammunition and matching parkas, polo shirts and pants.

The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors approved the request March 6, but purchases were stopped midstream by Nickolaus in May over liability, scope of work and conflict-of-interest concerns.

Nickolaus said Friday she asked the DA to add a rifles section to his revised use-of-force policy and to provide assurances that investigators would receive appropriate training and would qualify before using the rifles.

She was still troubled, though, by the possibility of a conflict of interest, particularly when the District Attorney’s Office is called on to investigate incidents in which it has been involved.

“Having DA investigators on the front line would seem to present a serious conflict for the DA in conducting an unbiased and independent investigation of the facts,” Nickolaus said.

“It is still my opinion, and maybe it’s his opinion, too, that the DA’s investigative and prosecutorial authority is at its best when it is independent of other law enforcement agencies.”

Attempts to contact Gallegos after normal business hours Friday were unsuccessful.

In his initial request for funds, Gallegos said the expenses represented permissible uses of asset forfeiture trust funds, and if the request was not approved, his investigators would “continue to face compromising health and safety risks when responding to criminal matters due to lack of proper equipment and communication mediums.”
***
TS - DA force policy cleared by county administrator

You know. It really isn't funny.

More discussion on Eric's blog
but the defenders are on the Times Standard's comments trying to justify this. "oh it is so inportant for the DA's investigators to have guns so that they will be s-a-a-a-f-e.." Insanity.

DA gun request still on hold

A Humboldt County District Attorney's Office request from May to purchase eight AR-15 assault rifles is still on hold, but a decision may be coming soon...

...The guns were part of an order that included protective vests, badges, fatigues and other police officer equipment. The money for the purchase comes from the District Attorney's Asset Forfeiture trust funds. Read the full story

For more info, click on the Gallegos/Assault Team, and Public Records labels/links below.

More hilarity!

After you read the letter to the editor in either the TS or the ER...
Give the DA assault rifles
Investigators with the DA's Office need to have assault rifles
Then, read this:
Yeap, Bigfoot hunters giving out advice on firearms to DAs. Only in Humboldt County would this not seem odd.

Weigh in - who wrote the letter to the editor? Compare the well-organized repetitive talking points in the letter to the way the guy really writes in the "Bigfoot sighting." Are they the same person?

hat tip to anon.R.mous

Now he's "updating" the use of force policy

County keeps safety on DA rifle request
After the meeting (between Gallegos, his Chief Investigator Mike Hislop, Assistant District Attorney Wes Keat, Assistant County Counsel Wendy Chaitin and Risk Manager Kim Kerr) Wednesday, Hislop delivered a copy of the district attorney's use of force policy to the Times-Standard. The paper had asked Gallegos for the policy through a California Public Records Act request on May 18, after Gallegos said the document was not public and refused to turn over a copy.

Gallegos said in an e-mail that he forwarded the request to Hislop, who was on vacation last week.

Hislop said he receive the paper's request on his Blackberry on the way back from Baja California. Hislop said he had already finished working on the policy before the Times-Standard requested it, and has since given it to county counsel for analysis.
”This is still under review,” Hislop said.

UPDATE:
Bringing policies up to date 06/01/2007 The Times-Standard
The office of the Humboldt County district attorney made public its “use of force” policy this week, after initially claiming it was not a public document. It was a good decision. Such a policy provides guidelines for use of force to reduce indecision in a crisis situation. Plus, as the California Peace Officers' Association says, it helps create public confidence in law enforcement.

We also feel a sense of assurance that the county, before giving its approval for the district attorney to buy investigators eight AR-15 assault rifles, is asking for an updating and modernization of the use of force policy, and that Chief Investigator Mike Hislop is planning to ramp up weapons training for his people from once a year to four times a year.

The rationale for making sure that investigators have state-of-the-art equipment, including weapons, is sound. In a county such as ours, with a lot of wild remote corners hiding Mexican cartel pot farms and meth labs, officers should be ready for surprises.

But it's important that, in its policy update, the district attorney's office view its role as investigators and not enforcers. They're not Lone Rangers, and have plenty of trained backup to support them.

Comments at TS

But the Times Standard did not print the policy?

Further UPDATE:
On Thursday, I received a call from Gallegos' Chief Investigator, Mike Hislop. He asked about the Public Records Act Request (CAST), if I had gotten what I asked for. I said no, and explained that I had gotten 2/3 of one of the 6 items on the list, and that it looked like I was going to have to resubmit it, since it doesn't seem to me that meeting agendas, minutes and attendance sheets are "evidenciary" in nature, among other things. He seemed to agree. The end result of the conversation was promising. Perhaps there is a possibility that the DA's Office will comply with the request and put an end to the game-playing. I will keep you 'updated.'

Enough secrecy in the DA's office!

I couldn't agree more.

Enough secrecy in the DA's office
The Times-Standard Editorial Article Launched: 05/25/2007 04:29:32 AM PDT

The chief prosecutor of Humboldt County has us scratching our heads with his waffling over making his office's “use of force” policy available to the public.

The issue arose when District Attorney Paul Gallegos and his new investigator, former Eureka police Sgt. Mike Hislop, proposed to beef up their firepower with the purchase of eight AR-15 semiautomatic rifles. This triggered questions from Loretta Nicklaus, Humboldt County's administrative officer, who wondered whether the DA had the need, training and policies in place for such an arsenal -- a use of force policy, in particular.

While working on a story about the new weapons, two Times-Standard reporters sought a copy of the DA's policy. Gallegos initially said he would get them a copy, then changed his mind and wouldn't even let them view the document. The Times-Standard then made a formal request a week ago under the state Public Records Act. Gallegos has 10 days to release the use of force policy, or to explain his legal reasons for withholding it.

Since then, Gallegos has offered these comments about the issue, via e-mail:

* “I never said that the information was not available under the Freedom of Information Act. Quite the contrary, I informed you that our use of force policy is not a public record.” To throw around some legal Latin, that's a non sequitur. A FOIA request is the federal equivalent of the California Public Records Act, and is a tool used to pry PUBLIC records out of reluctant PUBLIC officials.

* “I have some reluctance to make use of force policies public information . . . especially when there is no claim that anyone (in the DA's office) has unlawfully used force.”

That has no bearing on whether a policy is public or not. But perhaps Gallegos and his team are being overly sensitive to community polarization about four shooting deaths involving Eureka police officers, going back to Cheri Lyn Moore more than a year ago. DA investigations and findings on three of those deaths are pending, including Moore's.

* “I also informed you that, if you heard from others that (our use of force policy is a public record), to let me know and I would consider others' determinations.”

The Eureka Police Department and the county sheriff's department say their use of force policies are open to the public, as does the DA in San Diego County. So do two open-records experts we checked with -- attorneys who said the law is clear: The public not only has a right to view use of force policies, but to receive copies.

Also, the California Peace Officers' Association says such policies are important in creating public confidence in law enforcement. To do that, of course, the public must know what the policy is.

We have to wonder: Why all this bobbing and weaving, especially by somebody who should know the law? If the DA's office has a use of force policy, let's see it. If it does not, then it should 'fess up and create one (the California Peace Officers' Association has a sample you can adapt). Then put it online, so everyone can see it. That should free up time to produce the long-overdue report on Moore's death.

Gallegos' answers don't add up

New questions arise after Gallegos' answers about rifles

Asset forfeiture operations, investigations and gang and probation sweeps are among the explanations provided by Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos for his proposed purchase of eight AR-15 semiautomatic rifles, currently waylaid by county administrators over liability and conflict-of-interest concerns.

But some of these explanations have raised more questions than they’ve answered, including why DA investigators would need heavier firepower than other law enforcement officers participating in the same operations.

Officials said Humboldt County Gang Task Force members conduct gang sweeps armed with standard-issue sidearms, and probation officers participating in the same sweeps carry no firearms at all.

In his initial Feb. 14 request for supplemental funds from the asset forfeiture trust fund managed by the California Attorney General’s Office, Gallegos said the purchase of unspecified clothing, safety equipment, portable radios, bullet-proof vests, rifles, a gun safe and other miscellaneous equipment would “directly contribute to further seizures and forfeitures by enhancing the district attorney’s current and future forfeiture operations and investigations.”

On May 15, when he was asked by The Eureka Reporter in what capacity investigators would use the gear, Gallegos did not mention asset forfeiture and said instead, “For investigations.”

He was asked the same question in various forms by Arcata Eye Editor Kevin Hoover during a radio interview Thursday, broadcast live on KHUM-FM, and Gallegos responded that the items would be used in a number of contexts, including in sweeps conducted by the Humboldt County Gang Task Force.

“They wouldn’t be wearing this stuff … on their everyday duties,” Hoover said. “You don’t go out in the world with assault rifles and vests on, the full regalia.”

“They would wear it whenever they are out doing things like gang task force sweeps,” Gallegos said, “all those sorts of things that they have to do. So absolutely they would.”

In the course of the KHUM interview, Gallegos twice mentioned the gang task force, a multi-agency group that conducts an average of two sweeps each year, according to Eureka Police Capt. Murl Harpham.

The task force had not conducted a sweep since September, Harpham said, until Friday, the day after the interview took place.

A news release issued Saturday by the Eureka Police Department reported the participation of the DA’s Office, and Harpham confirmed Monday that one DA investigator was present.

But during the sweep, rifles, semiautomatic or otherwise, were reportedly not in use by anyone.

“EPD officers just used standard sidearms,” said EPD Public Information Officer Suzie Owsley, who went out with one of three teams during the sweep Friday. “I didn’t see anyone with a big gun.”

Brenda Godsey, public information officer for the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, said the deputies who participated in the gang sweep also used standard sidearms, in this case .40-caliber Glocks.

“Gang task force sweeps are just knock-and-talks,” Harpham said. “That’s usually how they go. We don’t do the high-profile arrests. If we had someone that was highly dangerous, we wouldn’t use the gang task force to go after them. We’d use SWAT or the (Humboldt County) Drug Task Force.”

HCDTF Commander Jack Nelsen confirmed Monday that the DA’s Office also participates on the more active and heavily armed drug task force, but Nelsen said only one DA investigator was involved.

In the KHUM interview, Gallegos also mentioned probation sweeps, but Humboldt County Probation Division Director Bill Damiano said his officers, who participate in both gang and probation sweeps, do not carry firearms.

“We have an arming policy,” Damiano said Tuesday, “but we currently do not have any officers who have applied and qualified to carry firearms.”

Gallegos has maintained that the purpose of the equipment is to ensure the safety of his investigators.

“Our officers have to be adequately armed,” he told Hoover. “The hope is that they would never have to use them, but that doesn’t mean you don’t arm them.”

All five members of the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors were questioned in an e-mail sent Thursday by The Eureka Reporter about whether they clearly understood from Gallegos’ original budget request that he planned to purchase semiautomatic rifles for each of his investigators and whether, knowing that now, they would support the expenditure of funds for this purpose.

Only 5th District Supervisor Jill Geist responded to the e-mail.

“The item on [the] consent calendar prepared and submitted by the district attorney and approved by the board was to authorize a supplemental transfer of funds for the purchase of safety-related equipment,” Geist wrote.

“The DA hired three investigators who needed supplies and safety gear, including firearms. The DA has sufficient funds to transfer from the Fixed Asset Account, and that action requires board approval. Our staff is responsible for processing requisitions, purchasing and ensuring that items authorized for purchase do not expose the county to unnecessary liability.

“While processing the requisition, a concern was raised due to the expansion of firearm (rifle) to include assault rifles. County staff is exercising due diligence in raising the question. The [County Administrative Officer] is scheduled to meet with the DA on the 30th of May to review the request and receive necessary clarifications.”

The second question Geist did not answer, stating that it presented a potential violation of the Ralph M. Brown Act, possibly because a response to it by all five supervisors could be construed as an informal, undisclosed meeting held by elected officials.

But there was little danger of that.

E-mail receipts indicate Supervisor John Woolley opened the e-mail Thursday morning, and Roger Rodoni opened it Monday afternoon. Jimmy Smith deleted it Monday morning without having opened it, and as of press time Tuesday, Board Chairperson Bonnie Neely has taken no action on the e-mail at all.

None of the four has responded to the questions.

Copyright (C) 2005, The Eureka Reporter. All rights reserved.

DA investigators assist Gang Task Force Parole/Probation Sweep

Saturday, May 19, 2007
Parole/Probation Sweep Conducted Friday Night

The Humboldt County Gang Task Force (HCGTF) conducted 15 probation and parole searches throughout the greater Eureka area on Friday night...Agencies that participated in the sweep included the: Eureka Police Department, California Highway Patrol, Humboldt County Sheriffs Office, Parole and Probation Departments, and the Humboldt County District Attorneys Office.

###
Gang task force sweep nets five arrests
But were they properly armed?

Update:
New questions arise after Gallegos' answers about rifles

Does he have a "Use of Force Policy"?

Concerns raised over DA investigator weapons

"He (Gallegos) said his office has a use of force policy, but refused to turn over a copy to the Times-Standard, saying it's not public record.

The Eureka Police Department and the Humboldt County Sheriff's Department said their use of force policies are public record. The EPD immediately faxed over a copy.

The San Diego County district attorney's office also said its use of force policy is public record."

I say when he does finally come up with one, you ought to google the terminology.