Richmond Police Department
The Richmond Police Department knows thieves are on the prowl during the holiday season, and held its annual Holiday Safety Event last Saturday to help residents be prepared.
Three masked men robbed a Point Richmond pharmacy on Friday afternoon, taking a large amount of prescription medication and leaving two store employees tied up.
“Two months ago we were celebrating a low and all of a sudden, it just reoccurred. So now we are all just baffled at what’s going on.”
Just before Thanksgiving last year, a UPS Store employee turned over a box containing about 5 lbs. of marijuana to Richmond police officer Joe Avila. But the marijuana he carried from the shop that afternoon was never booked into evidence at the precinct. According to a search warrant issued by the Contra Costa Superior Court in September, the drugs didn’t make it to the Richmond Police Department’s property vault, but ended up at Avila’s home in Oakley, 44 miles away.
Richmond homicides have plummeted almost 70 percent over the last decade, and recent police data shows that the downward trend continues, with 12 homicides this year, the lowest in over three decades. Police and city officials credit community cooperation and outreach programs designed to help likely offenders.
The Richmond Police Department is interested in having all high school students in the city take an anonymous survey in which they could express their thoughts and feelings about local police.
The arrests and seizures were part of Operation Road Trip, a multi-agency, years-long effort led by California Department of Justice task forces, as well as federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, including the Richmond Police Department.
Magnus was invited by federal officials to “look at protocols, procedures, training and supervision,” will return to Ferguson next month to help complete a report on what the local police can do to reduce deadly force and avoid crises in the future.
On Tuesday, Oct. 7, the Richmond City Council whether to spend $85,000 on body cameras for the Richmond Police Deparment. If approved, the cameras will be mandatory to wear during an officer’s shift. If approved, the body cameras are set to be rolled out in early 2015.