Summer 2008 Volume 2, Number 2 CACEO news California Association of Code Enforcement Officers Mean Streets: Blight Sweep Turns Dangerous for Officer By Stan Oklobdzija In this issue: Letter from the President p2 Man Sentenced to Jail After p3 Threatening Lancaster Officer Man Convicted of Assault p4 on a Code Enforcement Officer Legislative Corner City of Los Angeles Street Services Investigation and Enforcement Division Receives Grant p6 p7 Stan Oklobdzija weaves a harrowing tale about a Rancho Cordova code enforcement officer s surprise encounter with a gunman during a blight sweep one recent morning. After a few very tense moments, the man put down his gun and was arrested shortly thereafter. Here s Stan s report: RANCHO CORDOVA -- It happened so fast, yet it seemed like forever, Deb Coil said. In one moment, she was backing off from a guy with a chip on his shoulder, mad that someone with the city was taking photos of his house earlier in the day. In the next, that same guy was pointing a gun to the head of a fellow worker. The gunman had this look on his face, she said -- not crazy, but mean. Coil, a crime prevention specialist with the Rancho Cordova Police Department, was out on a blight sweep with Rancho Cordova Code Enforcement Officer Richard Hodnett in Rancho Cordova s Sunriver neighborhood the morning of March 19. She was walking the streets talking to residents about starting a Neighborhood Watch while Hodnett checked for any city code violations visible from the street -- cars parked in lawns or falling down balconies. She said she encountered a man on a motorcycle, later identified by Rancho Cordova police as Steven Quilling, 51, and tried to hand him a pamphlet. He asked if I lived around here, Coil said. She explained she didn t, that she worked for the police department and was out talking to residents. He made a comment that he knows where I live and where I sleep. It creeped me out. Figuring the guy just didn t like police, even though Coil wasn t wearing a gun or a badge and isn t a sworn police officer, Coil decided she d better just leave before the situation escalated. continued on page 4
Letter from CACEO President Michael J. Reynolds California Association of Code Enforcement Officers 1215 K Street, Ste 2290 Sacramento, CA 95814 Work Phone: 916/492-2223 Fax Number: 916/231-2141 www.caceo.us EXECUTIVE BOARD PRESIDENT MIKE REYNOLDS, City of Santa Rosa 1st VICE PRESIDENT DIRK VOSS, City of Oxnard 2nd VICE PRESIDENT DAVID BALL, City of Whittier TREASURER BILLY OWENS, City of Bakersfield SECRETARY RHONDA KNOX, City of Sparks REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVES REGION 1 - Alpine, Amador, Butte, Colusa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Lassen, Mendocino, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Yolo & Yuba Counties - PETE PICCARDO, City of Folsom - CHRIS WIGGINS, Municipal Compliance Consultants - DEBRA WRIGHT, City of Redding REGION 2 - Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano & Sonoma Counties - JOE GARCIA, City of Petaluma - TIM HIGARES, City of Alameda - CELESTE STORRS, City of Livermore REGION 3 - Calaveras, Fresno, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Mono, Stanislaus, Tulare & Tuolumne Counties - DAVID PAQUETTE, City of Bakersfield - ROGER ANDERSON, City of Madera - BRUCE KENDALL, County of Tulare REGION 4 - Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz & Ventura Counties - BRAD CLARK, City of Ventura - MIKE HINES, City of Thousand Oaks - CHRISTINA GALINDO, City of Oxnard REGION 5 - Los Angeles County - GARY HARRIS, City of Los Angelese - MIKE KATZ, City of Lancaster - KENNETH DAPEER, Dapeer, Rosenblit & Litvak REGION 6 - Riverside & San Bernardino Counties - LINDA MEJIA, City of Murrieta - JUDY JONES, City of Corona - KAREN DE VRIEZE, City of Ontario REGION 7 - Orange County - KATHY RAPHAEL, City of Santa Ana - ALYSIA GOMEZ, City of Riverbank - JOHNNY TERFEHR, City of Palm Desert REGION 8 - Imperial & San Diego Counties - DAVE WILSON, City of Vista - STEPHEN JACOBSON, City of Escondido - SUSAN GIBBERSON, City of Chula Vista STAFF Executive Director - Catherine Smith Deputy Director - Melissa Soria IT Manager - Justin Lewis Meetings & Membership Manager - Kaila Ricci Meetings & Membership Assistant - Elizabeth Miller Administrative Assistant - Simone Smith Greetings to all my fellow code enforcement professionals! The first six months of 2008 have been a very busy time for us. Across Michael J. Reynolds the state, as well as the country, code enforcement is being called upon to address an ever-increasing number of issues such as blight, foreclosures, vacant structures, and the problems that arise from these types of properties. Abandoned swimming pools exacerbate the West Nile virus exposure to a greater proportion of our population. We have seen articles from across the country where acts of violence have been directed at public workers in our field who are attempting to deal with these issues within our communities. We belong to an organization such as CACEO to address these problems in our industry. The larger our membership, the stronger our voice! Our Legislative Committee and our lobbyist, John Lovell, have spent many hours coordinating the submittal of legislative bills to gain recognition of our duties, as well as the difficulties we encounter in performing those duties. This is has been a very difficult year for the processing of legislation as the budget crisis has dominated the attention of the state legislators. But our issues are too important to abandon, and therefore will require persistence and determination to bring them back to the forefront. The 2008 CACEO Annual Seminar has developed into the 2008 Annual Code Enforcement Seminar, as we are teaming up this year with the members of the Nevada Association of Code Enforcement (NACE) to bring an even broader focus to our event. The seminar will be held at the Embassy Suites in South Lake Tahoe, October 7-10. This is a wonderful opportunity for you to meet and network with your fellow CEOs, as well as get updated on prevalent code enforcement issues. If you haven t already, you can register for this seminar on our website at www.caceo.us. Our Education and Certification Committee is constantly working on finding instructors that can provide specialized training for subjects such as foreclosures and abandoned swimming pools, to empower our members with the necessary knowledge required to mitigate these nuisances. This committee is also entrusted with 2 the responsibility of evaluating our education, training and certification process to find areas that require change or improvement. The Membership and Marketing Committee has met on several occasions to develop strategy to attract and maintain membership of people working in our field. Ideas are proposed and tested to better educate the public, as well as government jurisdictions, as to the importance of providing trained and certified people to perform the valuable function that the public expects of their local government agency. The Communication Committee has worked to improve the CACEO website and the CACEO listserv, which provides each member the ability to reach members across the state. This enables members to obtain information to better perform their jobs at a local level. It is the goal of this Board to provide the best possible service for the members of CACEO. It is the goal of this Board to provide the best possible service for the members of CACEO. This Board is dedicated to constantly developing and improving the ability of this organization to meet the needs of our members. Please remember to check in with the CACEO website as often as you can; and please contact your local representatives with issues, concerns or recommendations for improving our organization. I look forward to seeing you all in Tahoe! Thank you Michael J. Reynolds, President CACEO 2008
NEWS Lancaster Code Enforcement Association joins PORAC By Gary Harris, City of Los Angeles The Lancaster Code Enforcement Association, a newly formed employee organization consisting solely of the city s code enforcement officers, recently joined the Peace Officers Research Association of California (PORAC) and enrolled all 14 of its members in the PO- RAC Legal Defense Fund (LDF). The LDF is available to public safety employees through their member associations. The program provides legal representation to participating members for matters relating to their employment. The association membership felt it was important to have enhanced legal protection and desired affiliation with PORAC. As PORAC members, the code enforcement officers now have access to a variety of PORAC member benefits including the PORAC Hazardous Exposure Listing Program (HELP), which allows officers to document potential exposures to hazardous substances and diseases in the event this information is needed in the future. The association also hired the law firm of Lackie & Dammeier as general council due to their expertise handling unique public safety matters. Man Sentenced To Jail After Threatening Lancaster Officers By Michael Katz, City of Lancaster LANCASTER Don Lee Goins, 50, of Lancaster, Calif. was sentenced in April on two counts of threatening a public officer in an attempt to dissuade Lancaster Code Enforcement Officers from performing their duties (Penal Code 71). His sentence was to 43 days in jail and three years formal probation. Lancaster Code Enforcement Officer Justin Lewis posted a vacate order at Goins house after an extensive investigation that revealed severe substandard housing code violations and utilities theft. Nearly one month later, Goins threatened both Officer Lewis and Officer Scott O Connor while they were investigating an unrelated violation at a nearby property. Goins told the officers that he would pull them through their car window and beat their asses if he saw them near his property again. The officers reported the incident to L.A. County Sheriff s Deputies but, determined to dissuade further investigation, Goins then contacted the city manager s office and reiterated his threats. According to Officer Lewis, who was subpoenaed to a preliminary hearing as a witness, Goins initially rejected a plea deal that would have included immediate release from custody. I will not bow down to the government, Goins stated in court. Goins later pled no contest after Lewis and O Connor testified. Goins probation conditions included a prohibition against possession of any dangerous, deadly or concealable weapons and orders to provide DNA samples, complete anger management classes, stay 100 yards from Lewis and O Connor, and comply with Officer Lewis previously issued order to vacate his house. Incidents involving officer safety should be reported so that CACEO can continue pursuing legislative and training objectives that protect code enforcement officers across the state. You may report an incident involving officer safety by contacting the CACEO Legislative Committee or your regional representatives, or using the CACEO form online by visiting www. caceo.us, and clicking on Resource Library and then Incident Report. Zoning Problem Photo by Debbie Morgan, City of Redding This industrious Redding resident was spending a nice afternoon repairing his vehicle when interrupted by Redding Code Enforcement Officer Debbie Morgan. He was advised that he would have to find an area zoned for helicopter repairs.
Mean Streets (continued from page 1) He obviously doesn t like our department, and that s cool, Coil said. So I told him to have a nice day. The man took off on his motorcycle, she said. As he drove down the street, something told Coil to write down his license plate number, which she did on a neighborhood watch flier. She and Hodnett were about to step back into their truck when Quilling came around the corner, Coil said. He pointed a gun at me, she said. I just had knee surgery, so you know how well I can run. Then, Hodnett stepped between the two of them. Quilling stuck the gun against Hodnett s head, Coil said. He asked Richard, Why were you on my property? Why were you taking pictures? Coil said. Hodnett stayed calm and told Quilling he d better get going, the cops were on their way and that he was already in enough trouble. While the man focused on Hodnett, Coil called her boss at the police department. I said, Hey Sarge, it s Deb, I need Code 3 cover, she said. Quilling saw Coil with the phone, lowered the gun and told them both, It s your lucky day. Then he turned and left. Coil called police dispatchers with Quilling s license plate number. Police cordoned off the area around Klamath River Drive, said Detective Sgt. Pete James of the Rancho Cordova Police Department. Using the license plate number, they tracked Quilling to his house around noon in the 2000 block of Klamath River Drive, about a mile from Chemo River Court where the incident took place, James said. Police took him into custody and then got a search warrant for the house, which he shares with his mother, James said. Inside, they found the gun he allegedly used earlier. Quilling was placed into custody on $1,000,000 bail. He s being charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of threatening a public officer, jail records indicate. They both handled themselves extremely well under pressure, James said. Last weekend, Coil introduced her family to Hodnett over a pancake breakfast, she said. By being so calm and steadfast, I wanted Richard to see what he saved, she said. Man Convicted of Assault on a Code Enforcement Officer A Merced man was convicted in March for a December assault with a deadly weapon on Code Enforcement Officer David Fuentes, Merced County Planning Department. The assault occurred when Fuentes went to inspect a property on a complaint of excessive roosters. He was able to view about 10 roosters and coops from a neighboring property and he could hear others that were out of sight. While photographing the roosters and coops, he was confronted by a male adult. He identified himself as a code enforcement officer for the county and explained why he was there. He explained that the property was zoned for only five birds, of which only two may be rosters. The male became visibly angry and argued with Fuentes. He then bent down behind a fence and re-appeared, throwing a large object at Fuentes. Fuentes raised his arm to protect his head from the object, which hit his arm. The object was later found to be a 2 ½ pound rock. My left arm was in great pain, Fuentes wrote in a report. I was somewhat disoriented when I overheard the subject make a comment of a gun as he walked away from the fence, returning to the house. The subject, Edward Noukay, came back outside and attempted to get Fuentes to come to him. Fuentes instead called 911. The subject was arrested. He was sentenced to serve 180 days in jail and 36 months probation. NOTE: This information was gathered from a CACEO Incident Report. If you have been threatened or injured on the job, please take the time to go online and fill out a report. This information helps support CACEO s attempts for legislation to protect code enforcement officers throughout the state. 4
Legislative Corner By John Lovell CACEO has had a very successful legislative session as our profile in Sacramento continues to increase. CACEO s presence has been felt in connection with a number of public policy issues impacting quality of life and public safety issues in our communities. Two of our sponsored bills AB 2245, which permits Code Enforcement Officers to carry batons; and AB 1910, which permits the use of auxiliary, volunteer illegal dumping enforcement officers have been signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger. In addition, AB 2754, by Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, was passed by both houses of the Legislature and awaits action by the governor. This legislation will add methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) skin infection as an additional condition that is presumed to be Briefs (continued) work-related for safety members, INCLUDING ILLEGAL DUMPING ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS. If this bill gets signed into law (and CA- CEO is actively lobbying the Governor s Office on its behalf), it will be an important first step toward obtaining work-related presumptions for all Code Enforcement Officers. Our efforts at a shield of DMV information is continuing as the Legislature winds down, but it appears that we will be re-introducing this bill again next year in a more streamlined form while still giving full protection to CACEO members. CACEO has been active in the upcoming election and has endorsed a number of candidates for the Legislature. We ve been endorsing both Democrats and Republicans. We don t get hung up on partisanship, we are interested in supporting those Legislators who have a record of supporting Code Enforcement, regardless of party. Here then, is a list of the candidates whom CACEO is supporting in the fall elections: ASSEMBLY MEMBERS 1st District: Wesley Chesbro (D) 2nd District: Jim Nielson (R) 3rd District: Dan Logue (R) 4thDistrict: Ted Gaines (R) 5th District: Roger Niello (R) 6th District: Jared Huffman (D) 7th District: Noreen Evans (D) 8th District: Mariko Yamada (D) 9th District: Dave Jones (D) 10th District: Jack Sieglock (R) 11th District: Tom Torlakson (D) 12th District: Fiona Ma (D) 13th District: Tom Ammiano (D) 14th District: Nancy Skinner (D) 16th District: Sandre Swanson (D) 17th District: Cathleen Galgiani (D) 18th District: Mary Hayashi (D) 19th District: Gerald Hill (D) 20th District: Alberto Torrico (D) 21st District: Ira Ruskin (D) 22nd District: Paul Fong (D) 23rd District: Joe Coto (D) 24th District: Jim Beall (D) 25th District: Tom Berryhill (R) 26th District: Bill Berryhill (R) 27th District: Bill Monning (D) 28th District: Anna Caballero (D) 29th District: Mike Villines (R) 31st District: Juan Arambula (D 32nd District: Jean Fuller (R) 33rd District: Sam Blakeslee (R) 34th District: Connie Conway (R) 35th District: Pedro Nava (D) 36th District: Steve Knight (R) 37th District: Audra Strickland (R) 38th District: Cameron Smyth (R) 39th District: Felipe Fuentes (D) 40th District: Bob Blumenfield (D) 41st District: 42nd District: 43rd District: 44th District: 45th District: 46th District: 47th District: 48th District: 49th District: 50th District: 51st District: 52nd District: 53rd District: 54th District: 55th District: 56th District: 57th District: 58th District: 59th District: 60th District: 61st District: 62nd District: 63rd District: 64th District: 65th District: 66th District: 67th District: 68th District: 69th District: 70th District: 71st District: 72nd District: 73rd District: 74th District: 75th District: 76th District: 77th District: 79th District: Julia Brownley (D) Mike Feuer (D) Paul Krekorian (D) Anthony Portantino (D) Kevin De Leon (D) John Perez (D) Karen Bass (D) Mike Davis (D) Mike Eng (D) Hector De La Torre (D) Curren Price (D) Isadore Hall (D) Ted Lieu (D) Bonnie Lowenthal (D) Warren Furutani (D) Tony Mendoza (D) Ed Hernandez (D) Charles Calderon (D) Anthony Adams (R) Curt Hagman (R) Norma Torres (D) Wilmer Amina Carter (D) Bill Emmerson (R) Brian Nestande (R) Paul Cook (R) Kevin Jeffries (R) Jim Silva (R) Van Tran (R) Jose Solorio (D) Chuck DeVore (R) Jeff Miller (R) Mike Duvall (R) Diane Harkey (R) Martin Garrick (R) Nathan Fletcher (R) Lori Saldana (D) Joel Anderson (R) Mary Salas (D) STATE SENATORS 1st District: Dave Cox (R) 3rd District: Mark Leno (D) 7th District: Mark DeSaulnier (D) 9th District: Loni Hancock (D) 11th District: Joe Simitian (D) 13th District: Elaine Alquist (D) 15th District: Abel Maldonado (R) 21th District: Carol Liu (D) 23rd District: Fran Pavley (D) 25th District: Rod Wright (D) 27th District: Alan Lowenthal (D) 29th District: Bob Huff (R) 31st District: Bob Dutton (R) 33rd District: Mimi Walters (R) 35th District: Tom Harman (R) 37th District: John Benoit (R) 39th District: Christine Kehoe (D) Legislative Day Members of the CACEO Legislative Committee swarmed the State Capitol in April, educating legislators about code enforcement officers, our unique duties, our importance to communities and the dangers we face in the field.
City of Los Angeles Street Services Investigation and Enforcement Division Receives Grant By Gary Harris, City of Los Angeles FORECLOSED Along with the epidemic of foreclosed proper- ties come some unique code enforcement issues above and beyond dead lawns and green swimming pools. The owner of this foreclosed Corona house had a garage sale just prior to moving out, according to neighbors. She sold all exterior doors, including the garage door. She also sold the toilets, granite counter tops and, yes, even the kitchen sink. The bank wasn t much interested in handling the problem until they were convinced that if they didn t act soon to secure the house, they would be lucky if anything was left other than the foundation. Another house of similar construction in the city was stripped of drywall, wiring and plumbing. Salvagers have hit the mother lode with these properties. The City of Los Angeles Street Services Investigation and Enforcement Division received a grant from the California Environmental Protection Agency under the Environmental Enforcement and Training Grant Program as authorized by Penal Code Sections 14300. This grant funded the creation of an Environmental Law Enforcement Program designed for personnel granted the peace officer authority pursuant to California Penal Code Section 830.7(j). The Environmental Law Enforcement Program included California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Level III Reserve Peace Officer Certification, which requires 162 hours of training in general law enforcement. In addition, 80 hours of specialized training in laws related to environmental crimes, illegal dumping, hazardous materials, waste tires and related subjects are included in the program. The total program is 242 hours of instruction. The program was developed in cooperation with the Rio Hondo College, Department of Public Safety and taught by POST certified instructors from the college police academy. Additionally, the Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles City Attorney, Los Angeles Fire Department, California Fish and Game, California Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Toxic Substance Control provided instructors for the program. The upgraded training program will better equip City of Los Angeles Street Services Investigators in protecting the environment and cracking down on illegal dumping.
Annual Code Enforcement Seminar Another Great Annual Seminar in the Works Mark your calendars for this fall, when CACEO will meet at the Embassy Suites South Lake Tahoe, October 7 10, 2008. The CACEO Board and staff have been working hard to make this another great seminar packed with learning experiences, networking and fun. Find the conference brochure and registration information online at www.caceo.us. The 2007 Annual Seminar at the Mandalay Beach Resort and Hotel in the beautiful city of Oxnard was an outstanding success. More than 400 attendees representing more than 200 cities and Best seminar I ve ever been to The seminar exceeded my expectations counties participated in CACEO s best-attended event to date. 2007 Annual Seminar Chair Dirk Voss said, [I heard] comments such as best seminar I ve ever been to and the seminar exceeded my expectations. A number of instructors want to come back next year. This was not the result of one person or a person s role, but rather [a desire] to raise the quality bar, provide great customer service, and to let the membership know that we are there for them. We look forward to seeing you in Tahoe! South Lake Tahoe October 7 10, 2008 CACEO California Association of Code Enforcement Officers 1215 K Street, Suite 2290 Sacramento, CA 95814