Chief's Community Update - June 2, 2024

On May 27, Officer Sanchez was patrolling the 200 block of Azalia Drive in East Palo Alto when he heard the sound of screeching tires emitting from the area of the Boys and Girls Club.  Officer Sanchez quickly drove to the intersection and watch a black pickup truck with smoke emitting from the rear tires, spinning "donuts" in the intersection.  The smoke of burnt rubber was in the air.  Officer Sanchez pulled the driver over, arrested him from reckless driving, and impounded his truck for 30 days.

There are likely other reckless drivers in our community spinning donuts just like this.  If you witness such an act, please capture the activity on video and send it to us.  

Fireworks season is quickly approaching.  This year we embarked on a partnership with the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, Menlo Park Police, and Menlo Park Fire Protection District to form a Fireworks Task Force.  We plan to address fireworks through a few different approaches, including the Sheriff's Fireworks buyback program.  To learn more details, please visit their Facebook post.

https://www.facebook.com/SMCSheriff/posts/pfbid02yFh4rWtDJbTh9zvZB34qNwz...

Anonymous tips and immediate service

We appreciate all the anonymous tips we have been receiving.  It is important to note that anonymous tips are not a resource for immediate police response as it is not monitored 24/7.  For immediate police response, either call 9-1-1 or our non-emergency phone number 650-321-1112.  For complaints related to property violations, please contact Code Enforcement department, which operates under our building department (https://www.cityofepa.org/building/page/code-enforcement).

When providing information to the police, we need specific information about the crime or criminal.  As an example, if you are reporting someone for dealing drugs, we need to know:

where and when they are selling the drugs

a detailed description of them (white female, blue jeans, red jacket, baseball cap)

any description of a vehicle

any other information you have about the crime. 

While we don’t expect you to jeopardize your safety to get this information, it is very important information if we make an arrest.  Not only will your tip provide us with accurate information about the suspect, but we are also able to serve as a witness to the crime and we can testify in court.  Please use these options for providing an anonymous tip.

You can make an anonymous tip to the police by calling or texting to (650) 409-6792.

If there is a topic you would like addressed in the next update, please feel free to send an email at jliu@cityofepa.org. 

Thank you,

Jeff Liu

Chief of Police