Police Department Monthly Report

To: John Doan, City Administrator

From: Jon Weiks, Chief of Police

Date: April 15, 2023

Re: March 2023

Criminal Activity

2023-0359 Robbery 1st Degree - Tumwater officers were dispatched to a local grocery store for a report that someone had flashed a gun at an employee and then fled in a vehicle The investigating officers learned the suspect had been previously observed in the store concealing merchandise Another employee recognized the suspect from prior shoplifts and approached the suspect to ask if he needed help with anything and the suspect declined The suspect walked away towards the door, while removing the majority of the concealed items from his clothing. The suspect then diverted and re-approached the employee and made motion towards a firearm he had only partially concealed in his pocket The suspect verbally confronted the employee before leaving the store and fleeing in a vehicle, at which time an employee was able to obtain a photograph of the vehicle The investigating officers were able to positively identify the suspect before referring the case to Detectives for follow-up Two days later, the investigating detective responded to a home in Lacey to confirm it was the suspect’s address. As the detective was approaching the residence, he observed the suspect arrive at the home and enter the residence Tumwater officers, with the assistance of the Lacey Police Department, attempted to make contact with the suspect who refused to exit the residence Officers learned the suspect had a six-year-old child inside the home as well The initial investigating officer applied for and was granted a search warrant to enter the residence to take the suspect into custody and search for evidence of the robbery Based on the suspect’s criminal history, the fact he was believed to be armed, and was refusing to exit the home, the Thurston County SWAT and Hostage Negotiations Team were activated and responded. After hours of negotiations and de-escalation tactics, the suspect surrendered without further incident He was taken into custody and booked at the Thurston County Jail for two counts of Robbery 1st Degree. A search of the residence resulted in the recovery of the firearm used in the robbery.

2023-0493 Malicious Mischief 3rd Degree/Harassment - Tumwater officers were dispatched to a disorderly person complaint in the 5500 block of Littlerock Road. The reporting party called 911 and reported a person had smashed the windows of the bus stop located in that area The suspect was still in the area and believed to be in possession of a tire iron The suspect could be heard by Dispatch yelling in the background While enroute to the area, officers were notified that the suspect was now chasing an Intercity Transit employee in a nearby parking lot Officers and confirmed the damage to the bus stop An officer located the suspect in the parking lot, who was in possession of a large pipe. The officer approached the suspect, but still kept distance in an effort to de-escalate the situation The officer gave the suspect orders to drop the pipe, but he refused and began walking away, while yelling at the officer The initial officer observed and trailed the suspect while waiting for additional officers. The suspect was advised he was not free to leave and that he was under arrest, but the suspect continued to yell at the officer and refused orders to stop Arriving officers trailed the suspect in an effort to continue to deescalate while awaiting additional resources. The suspect walked into the roadway on Tyee Drive, where he was contained by Tumwater officers and Thurston County Sheriff’s Office deputies It was apparent the suspect was in crisis and was unable to participate in the de-escalation process. Once all available resources were on scene, officers approached the suspect and were able to take him into custody without injury or further incident When the suspect was in custody, an officer learned from the I ntercity Transit employee that the suspect had chased him with the pipe and threatened to harm him The suspect was transported and booked at the Nisqually Jail for Malicious Mischief 3rd degree and Harassment.

2023-0535 Robbery 2nd Degree - Tumwater officers were dispatched to a local retail store on Trosper Road for a theft complaint The reporting party advised the suspects, two males and two females, had already fled the location An officer contacted the reporting party and learned the four suspects had entered the store around 1950 hours. One of the suspects distracted the employee while the other three suspects grabbed merchandise totaling approximately $1500 An alarm was activated when the suspects ripped the merchandise from their security features. As the suspects fled the store, the two female suspects physically pushed past the two store employees to escape. All four suspects then got into two vehicles and fled the scene The employee provided the investigating officer information for the one suspect who had distracted the employee. The information, along with data located in other law enforcement databases, helped the officer positively identify that suspect, but not the other three The investigating officer attempted to contact the suspect, who resides in Pierce County. The officer spoke to an uncooperative male who refused to identify himself or cooperate with the investigation At this time, one suspect has been positively identified and the charge of Robbery 2nd degree has been referred to the Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office for consideration Attempts are still being made to identify the other three suspects.

PRESCRIPTION DRUG DROP BOX

The public deposited 80 pounds of prescription drugs in March and a total of 215 pounds for the year.

Budget

At the end of the month, the police department budget is 23% spent for the year.

K- 9 STATISTICS

Officer Mize & K9 James had three deployments this month:

• Compliance/Escape Deterrent o Assisted other Tumwater officers, who had located a Robbery 1st Degree suspect at a residence in Lacey. The suspect barricaded himself in the home and refused to exit. Officer Mize responded to the scene and deployed K9 James along the back perimeter of the property to discourage any escape attempt The scene was eventually turned over to Thurston County SWAT, who had Officer Mize and K9 James move to the front of the residence as part of the arrest team and to discourage resistance by the suspect SWAT negotiators were eventually able to talk the person into surrendering peacefully.

• Two Tracking o Assisted other Tumwater officers at the scene of a domestic violence assault Probable cause was established to arrest an adult male suspect for felony assault, choking and slapping his ex-girlfriend The suspect was reported to have exited the vehicle and walked away Officers were able to contact the suspect by phone, but the suspect refused to return to the scene Believing the suspect was still in the area; Officer Mize deployed K9 James to track the suspect K9 James was able to obtain the suspect’s scent and tracked the suspect through a residential neighborhood Throughout the track, Officer Mize provided several K9 warnings to the suspect about the potential of being bitten if he did not surrender. As the team approached a dirt trail leading into some brush, a supervisor notified Officer Mize the suspect was on the phone and wanted to surrender. The suspect reported being just ahead in the brush and then used his cell phone light to identify where he was hiding Officer Mize put K9 James into a down position, and then began providing commands to the suspect The suspect followed the commands and was taken into custody without incident o Assisted Tumwater and Olympia officers attempting to locate a Robbery 1st suspect. Tumwater officers had responded to an apartment complex on Mottman Road for a vehicle prowl now complaint. The reporting party provided the description of a female who had just tried to enter the driver’s side of her vehicle The description matched the suspect description from a robbery in Olympia approximately 30 minutes earlier Officer Mize was able to locate a photograph of the robbery suspect and showed it to the reporting party, who positively identified the female as who opened the car door The suspect was last seen fleeing towards Mottman Road. Officer Mize deployed K9 James at the scene, who was able to detect the suspect’s scent K9 James began tracking the suspect and after a short period of time, Officer Mize was able to determine that K9 James was tracking where the suspect had come from and not the direction she had fled Officer Mize returned to the original starting point and tried again, but K9 James was unable to reacquire the suspect’s scent The track was terminated at that point.

Officer Grimmett & K9 Thor had two deployments this month:

• Building Search o Assisted other Tumwater officers at the scene of a possible commercial burglary on Custer Way. A glass window was shattered and the hole in the glass was large enough that someone may have entered A responsible party responded to the business and provide officers a key to make entry into the building. Officer Grimmett provided several K9 warnings, which went unanswered K9 Thor was used to search the interior of the building, but did not locate anyone inside.

• Tracking o Assisted the Centralia Police Department with tracking two commercial burglary suspects who had fled on foot from the business Upon arrival, Officer Grimmett learned several officers and the business owner had contaminated the scene by entering/exiting the business several times However, they believed the suspects were associated with a nearby suspicious vehicle Officer Grimmett deployed K9 Thor at the vehicle K9 Thor was able to acquire a scent and tracked the person(s) a short distance before losing the scent along a roadway.

Sro Activity

School Resource Officer Tyler Boling assisted a Bush Middle School student, who had a mental health crisis and suicidal ideations, with developing a safety plan.

School Resource Officer Rosco Rollman assisted Tumwater Middle School staff with a student who was in crisis The student was being disruptive and hitting things SRO Rollman responded to the classroom and helped calm the student so they could return to class.

SRO Rollman made a traffic stop of a parent, who was driving erratically in the parking lot of Tumwater Middle School The parent was angry about the pick-up/drop-off situation and the traffic at the school SRO Rollman explained the consequences of reckless driving and listened to the parent vent about the situation SRO Rollman resolved the situation with a verbal warning

SRO Rollman assisted Tumwater Middle School staff with de-escalating a student who was angry and physically assaultive towards staff members. The student was throwing things, threatening, and swung at a teacher SRO Rollman was able to calm the student and waited until parents arrived to pick the student up. Any discipline was handled by the school.

SRO Boling assisted Tumwater High School administrators with developing Shelter in Place instruction.

SRO Boling attended a re-entry meeting for a Peter G. Schmidt Elementary student who had been involved in a physical altercation at school the week prior SRO Boling talked with the student about her safety plan and her options when she feels anger so she doesn’t resort to being physical. SRO Boling talked with the same student again two days later when they were caught at school with a vape The situation was resolved by the school and counsel from SRO Boling.

SRO Rollman provided cyber-safety instruction to the 6th grade Health class students at T umwater Middle School

SRO Boling counseled a Bush Middle School student who had been involved in a physical altercation They discussed making good choices and consequences for fighting Discipline was handled by the school.

SRO Boling assisted Tumwater High School staff with a Black Hills High School student on the Tumwater High School campus The student told SRO Boling he had been having problems at home with his parent, but was unable to provide a good reason why he’d gone to Tumwater High School The student had not been reported as a runaway, so SRO Boling resolved the situation and transported the student to Black Hills High School

SRO Boling met with a Bush Middle School student, who reported he was being bullied daily. SRO Boling talked to the student about their options and how to resolve the situation The student was referred to the campus supervisor for additional resources and investigation of specific incidents that were not criminal in nature.

SRO Rollman instructed Cascadia High School staff on the concepts of Run, Hide, Fight.

SRO Boling participated as a community member pane list in Senior Exit Interviews at Tumwater High School

The SROs investigated the following incidents:

2023-0476 Suspicious Circumstances - SRO Boling investigated a threats complaint involving a Bush Middle School student that brought ingredients to school that could be used to make an explosive The student showed the items to another student, causing fear. SRO Boling interviewed the student and they revealed the student had plans to make the explosive and other i tems in a park near his home because he was curious The student did not threaten anyone or make any threat to the school The school handled the appropriate school discipline, and a report was completed by SRO Boling and sent to the Thurston County Juvenile Prosecutor’s Office for review.

2023-0485 Assault - SRO Rollman was called to investigate a report of an assault that occurred at Black Hills High School involving a student and a teacher The student grabbed ahold of the teacher’s arm during class and refused to let go, hurting the teacher The student was angry the teacher had touched the student’s headphones This is an active investigation.

2023-0507 Sexual Assault - SRO Boling and SRO Rollman investigated a report of a possible sexual assault that occurred in 2020, involving a Black Hills High School student and their parent The student was taken into protective custody and removed from the home while the allegations are being investigated This is an active investigation being conducted by SRO Rollman.

2023-0528 Sexual Assault – SRO Rollman is investigating a report of repeated assaults by one Black Hills High School student on another Black Hills High School student One student is alleging that the other student repeatedly kept trying to put his hands up her shirt and touching her inappropriately at school This is an on-going investigation.

SRO Rollman investigated a report of a possible assault involving a Tumwater Middle School student and their parent SRO Rollman talked to the student and responded to the residence and talked with the involved family members At the conclusion of the investigation, SRO Rollman was unable to establish a crime had occurred The incident was resolved with counsel to the involved parent and juvenile.

SRO Rollman and SRO Boling were called upon to investigate a possible repeated trespassing issue by an unhoused person at New Market Skills Center Staff reported the person repeatedly walks near the school when it is in session The SRO’s were able to locate the person and talked with him They learned the path he takes is not actually on school property, but he also agreed not to walk on school property while school was in session The situation was resolved.

SRO Boling and SRO Rollman investigated a report of one student pepper spraying another student at Cascadia High School. Through the course of the investigation, it was determined a crime had not occurred The student sprayed the other student with consent The school handled the discipline regarding the student taking pepper spray to school.

*Self-Initiatedincludes: investigativefollow-ups,civilpaperworkservice,areachecks,businesschecks, schoolvisits, residentcontacts,trafficstopsandback-upactivity.

CODE ENFORCEMENT

Code Enforcement opened two cases this month:

• Multiple inoperable vehicles in the driveway of a residential property.

• Barbed wire spooled along the bottom of a fence surrounding commercial property

Code Enforcement closed three cases this month:

• Unable to establish any presence of roosters at a residential property.

• Accumulated garbage attracting rodents at a residential property. The property owner removed the garbage after issuance of a courtesy letter.

• Multiple inoperable vehicles were removed from a residential property after in-person contact with the tenant and owner of the property.

Code Enforcement currently has 14 open cases.

PERSONNEL

• Rosco Rollman, School Resource Officer – 25 years of service

• Peter Navarro, Officer – 5 years of service

• James Moran, Officer – 5 years of service

• Dr. Oliver Bowers, Management Analyst – 1 year of service

TRAINING

• Three members attended a three-day leadership conference

• Three members attended a one-day Use of Force Reporting course

• One member completed a two-week Patrol Tactics Instructor course

• One member attended a two-day Mission Planning for Law Enforcement course

• One member attended a one-day Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events course

• One member attended a one-week Crime Scene Investigation course

• Two members attended a three-day Training Management and Risk Mitigation course

• Four TPD member of Thurston County SWAT attended monthly training

• 30 members attended a department training day (less-lethal, firearms, defensive tactics, and patrol tactics)

547 total training hours

COMMUNITY ACTIVITY

Detective Lieutenant Jennifer Kolb attended a Coffee- with-a-Cop event in Lacey with other female law enforcement representatives.

Commander Jay Mason, Detective Lieutenant Jennifer Kolb, and Detective Sergeant Chuck Liska, along with Olympia PD Detective Lieutenant Dan Smith, held a meeting with our Independent Investigation Team community representatives for both cities to debrief the 2022 IIT call-outs and lessons learned.

COMMENDATIONS/LETTERS OF APPRECIATION

Detective Lieutenant Jennifer Kolb received a letter of appreciation from the Lacey Police Department for her assistance with two separate promotional testing processes over two days