Police steamed after small fire sets off sprinklers at headquarters

It wasn’t the heat, it was the humidity that got to members of the Richmond Police Department when a small fire broke out in the department headquarters Sunday morning. The fire-activated sprinkler systems extinguished the flames, but the sprinklers caused water damage severe enough to force the temporary relocation of 30 detectives and supervisors. Smoke damage…

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Mourners remember man killed during struggle with Richmond police

More than 100 people gathered at Nicholl Park Saturday to remember a 24-year-old man shot and killed during a midnight scuffle with a Richmond police officer. Family and friends recalled Richard “Pedie” Perez III as a good-natured prankster. One family member described him as a man, “who chose to be with the homeless, the addicts…

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Five Richmond police officers promoted

From left: newly promoted Richmond Police Sergeants Tim Simmons, Brian Gard and Armando Moreno, and Lieutenants Rahn Carmichael and Darren Monahan. (Photo by: Rachel Waldholz)

Five Richmond police officers were promoted in a ceremony Thursday morning, and Code Enforcement Officer Dave Ragowski received a Lifesaving Award for successfully negotiating with a Richmond resident who had threatened to commit suicide.

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Council looks forward after election

Richmond City Council

The City Council returned to business – with the meeting going into the next morning and the occasional spat between councilmembers — at its first post-election meeting Tuesday night. Before the meeting started, audience members were told to wait outside while fire and police officials responded to a carbon monoxide leak in the council chambers…

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Restoring Richmond’s Tree Canopy

Planting duo

W hat is the solution to Richmond’s environmental woes? Trees, some say. More than one hundred trees have been planted in Richmond soil in the last month and last weekend nearly 60 volunteers transplanted 30 trees to Roosevelt Avenue and surrounding streets. Richmond Trees and Groundwork Richmond hosted Saturday’s harvest festival, complete with art and…

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RPD discrimination lawsuit prepares for Federal Court

Five months after a jury cleared Richmond Police Chief Chris Magnus of racial discrimination allegations, the case is now set to reappear in federal court in November. The plaintiffs — seven prominent African-American police officers — originally filed a suit in 2007 that alleged that Magnus discriminated by race when choosing officers for promotion. In…

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Jail expansion, bail reform on table for $19 million realignment funding

Contra Costa County officials are expected to vote tomorrow morning on how to spend a $19 million grant from the state to help deal with crowded county prisons. The funding follows the state’s decision last year to transfer responsibility for many non-violent offenders to local agencies. Members of the Contra Costa County Community Corrections Partnership…

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LGBT teens, RYSE Center, mobilize Richmond against hate speech

On Tuesday night at Richmond’s City Council meeting, upset residents and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, mostly dressed in purple t-shirts and yellow armbands, signed a unity pledge against hate speech and asked council members to do the same. The standing-room-only crowd also heard 65 people voice their concerns about homophobic comments they heard during the last public meeting.

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