Chief's Community Update - January 8, 2023

Thank you for visiting our website and taking a moment to read this community update.

Yesterday we came together to honor Officer Rich May, 17 years after he sacrificed his life for our community.  Rich served this community with his heart.  After his passing we learned of things he quietly did while working patrol which proved to be impactful to those he connected with.  Rich did not tell anyone, but he spent time with the owners of the Oakwood Market, he mentored foster kids at a local group home, he would show up to Little League practices with Capri Suns for the kids, and he took two young Police Explorers under his wing.  One of the Little League players is now a Police Recruit finishing his training in the police academy.  The Police Explorers are Officer Jose Luaorozco of our East Palo Alto Police Department and Deputy Marco Marquez of the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office.  They did a fantastic job coordinating our memorial service yesterday.  Anyone who would like to watch the service, please use visit our Facebook page at https://fb.watch/hXuiMWUm0D/.

Storm Watch:

New Years Eve our whole county was caught off guard by the sudden storm.  Our community suffered some damage, but not as bad as some other cities in our county.

This past week, our City team was prepared for the second wave of storms. 

This coming week we are expecting more wet weather.  Stay prepared and please check the City of East Palo Alto website for the latest information https://www.ci.east-palo-alto.ca.us/community-resources/page/storm-information-and-resources.

Personnel:

CSO interviews should be occurring Wednesday and Thursday this week.  We are trying to fill one Full-time position and 2 Part-time positions.

We have 3 Police Recruit and 2 Reserve Officer applicants in the background investigation portion of their hiring process.

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

Interim Chief of Police