Police Department Monthly Report

To: John Doan, City Administrator

From: Jon Weiks, Chief of Police

Date: January 15, 2023

Re: December 2022

Criminal Activity

2022-2324 Possession of a Stolen Vehicle - At 0713 hours, Tumwater officers were dispatched to a report of suspicious circumstances at the intersection of Capitol Boulevard and Tumwater Boulevard Officers were advised the victim reported his son had stolen his car in Cheney, Washington and the victim had tracked it to this area in Tumwater. Officers arrived in the area and located the vehicle parked in the 700 block of Dennis Street SW, occupied by one male. Orders were given to the occupant of the vehicle and he complied. The suspect was taken into custody and, identified as the victim’s juvenile son. The victim wished to pursue charges against his son for the crime. The suspect was booked at the Thurston County Youth Services Center for Possession of a Stolen Auto

2022-2407 Assault 1st Degree, Attempted Robbery 1st Degree, Hit & Run Attended, Possession of a Stolen Vehicle, Possession of Stolen Firearms, and Unlawful Possession of Firearms - At 0952 hours, Tumwater officers were dispatched to a report of a recklessly driven vehicle on I-5, with the driver having already hit multiple vehicles. As officers were responding, they received information that the suspect, who had crashed on 93rd Avenue and Lathrop Industrial Drive and fled on foot, may have fired a gun at one of the victims. Thurston County Sheriff Deputies and Tumwater Officers responded to investigate. It was determined the suspect had stolen a vehicle from a business in Olympia earlier in the morning. The victim was able to track the vehicle to Chehalis and both he and his father responded in separate vehicles to locate the vehicle The vehicle and a suspect were located and they followed the suspect back towards Tumwater. The suspect tried to evade the victim, put the stolen car in reverse, and rammed the vehicle driven by the victim’s father at the roundabout on 93rd Avenue SW. They proceeded through onto Lathrop Industrial Drive and the suspect rammed the father again, and launched the stolen vehicle into a tree. The suspect exited the vehicle armed with a firearm and pointed it at the father, and demanded he exit his vehicle, which he did not. The suspect then demanded the victim’s cellphone. Before the victim could hand it over, a bystander scared the suspect away and he fled on foot, still armed with the firearm. A Tumwater K9 was used to track the suspect, but the track was terminated when it was apparent the suspect had crossed I-5 (heavy traffic)

Officers canvassed the area and businesses along both the east and west sides of I-5, but were unable to locate the suspect The stolen vehicle was recovered, but damaged. There were firearms in the vehicle that did not belong to the victim, including an empty case for a rifle. As such, the stolen vehicle was impounded by the Tumwater Police Department in order to obtain a search warrant to conduct a thorough search for additional evidence. A few hours later, an employee of Lincoln Creek Lumber called and reported the suspect was in their bathroom. Officers responded and detained the suspect. The suspect was positively identified by the victim and the suspect was placed into custody without incident. A search incident to arrest revealed the suspect was in possession of pills believed to contain Fentanyl. The suspect was no longer in possession of the firearm he was observed fleeing with. It was also discovered the suspect had attempted to prowl a vehicle nearby. The suspect was booked at the Thurston County Jail for Assault 1st degree, Attempted Robbery 1st Degree, Hit & Run Attended and Possession of a Stolen Vehicle.

The investigating officer applied for and was granted a search warrant for the stolen vehicle. The officer served the search warrant and recovered three firearms, a case for a fourth firearm, and several other items suspected to be stolen. The officer was able to identify the firearms owner and discovered they had been stolen from a vehicle prowl in Olympia five hours before the auto theft. The victim reported there was a fourth firearm missing from the case. A Tumwater Detective later coordinated with Thurston County Search and Rescue and they responded back to the collision scene. They searched the area and located the stolen fourth firearm Unlawful Possession of a Firearm and Possession of a Stolen Firearm charges were referred to the Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office for consideration.

Prescription Drug Drop Box

The public deposited 60 pounds of prescription drugs in December. The total deposited for the year is 803.5 pounds.

Budget

At the end of the month, the Police Department budget is 97% spent for the year and 94% of the biennium.

K-9 STATISTICS

Officer Chase Grimmett and K9 Thor completed 400 hours of training and earned Patrol Canine Team certification from CJTC this month Officer Grimmett and K9 Thor have assumed the primary K9 tracking role for the department Officer Russ Mize and K9 James will continue to have primary responsibility for narcotic-related searches and secondary responsibility for tracking. K9 James will retire at the end of 2023, and Officer Mize will continue to be involved in the K9 program as a mentor/coach.

Five Deployments:

One Tracking

 Officer Mize and K9 James assisted the Lacey Police Department with tracking an AssaultDomestic Violence (multiple counts) suspect who had fled a residence on foot. Officer Mize responded to the scene and deployed K9 James at the driver’s door of the vehicle the suspect had arrived in. Prior to starting to track the suspect, Officer Mize provided several K9 surrender announcements. After receiving no response, Officer Mize provided a track command to K9 James. K9 James acquired the suspect’s scent and tracked the suspect for approximately 40 minutes and for several blocks It was apparent the suspect was trying to get back to his vehicle, as he was going in circles through the neighborhood. The track was terminated when K9 James tracked the suspect beyond the perimeter set up by LPD officers.

One Tracking/Evidence Search

 Officer Grimmett and K9 Thor assisted other Tumwater officers at the scene of an incident involving a stolen vehicle recovery and assault involving a firearm. Officer Grimmett responded to the scene and deployed K9 Thor at the driver’s door of the stolen vehicle. Based on the suspect being armed and the opportunity to be ambushed, no K9 warnings were provided. K9 Thor acquired the suspect’s scent and began tracking the suspect through a heavily wooded area. The track led to I-5 and indicated the suspect had crossed the freeway. Due to heavy traffic on I-5, the track was terminated. Officer Grimmett and K9 Thor returned to the stolen vehicle for an evidence search. K9 Thor was able to lead officers to a handheld police scanner, but did not locate any further evidence.

Two Building Search/Compliance

 Officer Mize and K9 James assisted other Tumwater Officers at the scene of a residential burglary/domestic violence incident. The suspect was the daughter of the homeowner, who had forcibly entered the residence in violation of a protection order. The suspect could be heard inside the garage, but was unresponsive to officers. Officer Mize provided several K9 surrender announcements. After receiving no response, Officer Mize and K9 James entered the garage and Officer Mize could immediately see a person hiding under a blanket a few feet away. Several more commands were provided to the hiding person, but the person was unresponsive. Officer Mize maintained positive control of K9 James while he reached down and removed the blanket from over the person. The person pretended to be asleep, but eventually surrendered to officers without incident.

 Officer Mize and K9 James assisted the Lacey Police Department at the scene of a commercial burglary. Upon his arrival at the scene, Officer Mize was advised LPD had one suspect in custody and they were requesting assistance searching the interior of the business for any other suspects. Officer Mize deployed K9 James at the rear of the business and provided several K9 surrender announcements, which went unanswered. Officer Mize then provided a search command to K9 James and K9 James searched the interior of the business and did not locate any further suspects.

One Compliance/Deterrent

 Officer Grimmett and K9 Thor assisted the Lacey Police Department with attempting to contact a suspect wanted for multiple felony crimes, to include firearms. Officer Grimmett and K9 Thor, along with LPD officers, approached the front door of the apartment Officer Grimmett provided several surrender orders, with K9 Thor barking between the orders. There was no response from the apartment and LPD officers could not establish probable cause to obtain a search warrant. Officer Grimmett and K9 Thor then cleared the scene.

Sro Activity

December is a short month for the SROs due to the Tumwater School District winter break. During the break, both SROs returned to the Investigations Division for a week and then took time away from work for a week. The following is an overview of the work conducted by the SROs while schools were in session:

 School Resource Officer Tyler Boling counseled an East Olympia Elementary student, who had sent another student inappropriate videos and messages that alarmed the student’s parents. They discussed making good choices and cyber safety.

 SRO Boling assisted the East Olympia Elementary principal with an unruly student, who refused to follow directions given by staff. SRO Boling counseled the student. SRO Boling then stood by with the principal and student until the student’s guardian arrived to take the student home.

 School Resource Officer Rosco Rollman was assigned a follow-up detail narcotics-related of a narcotics related issue that occurred at Black Lake Elementary. Staff had discovered someone had inadvertently dropped a container in the school office that was believed to contain methamphetamines. The principal viewed video surveillance and identified the parent who dropped it. SRO Rollman located and interviewed the parent. SRO Rollman referred charges of Reckless Endangerment and Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance to the Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office.

 SRO Rollman participated in a two separate threat assessment processes for re-entry of two Black Hills High School students who had previously brought a weapon onto school grounds.

 SRO Rollman provided training to Tumwater Middle School staff on Run, Hide, or Fight response

 SRO Rollman provided social media and cyber safety presentations to the 6th grade Health classes at Tumwater Middle School

 SRO Boling and SRO Rollman worked with the Tumwater School District security consultant to identify future security needs and measures for the schools within the district.

 SRO Boling attended the monthly Tumwater Youth Program (TYP) event

Code Enforcement

Code Enforcement opened two cases this month:

 Subject living in an RV and accumulating trash on undeveloped commercial property.

 Accumulating trash on undeveloped residential property.

Code Enforcement closed two cases this month:

 An unoccupied residence was secured and an inoperable vehicle and garbage were removed from outside the residence after issuance of a courtesy letter.

 Garbage and furniture on undeveloped commercial property were removed upon issuance of a courtesy letter.

Code Enforcement has 12 open cases.

Quantifiable Activity

* Self-Initiatedincludes:investigativefollow-ups,civilpaperworkservice,areachecks,business checks,schoolvisits,residentcontacts,trafficstops, andback-upactivity.

Personnel

 Jon Weiks, Chief – 34 years of service

 Bryent Finch, Sergeant – 13 years of service

 Sawyer Smith, Officer – 3 years of service

 Seth Stauffer, Officer – 3 years of service

Training

 Two members attended an online Active Shooter Incident presentation

 One member attended a one-day Glock Armorer course

 One member attended a one-day Concepts in Leadership course

 One member attended a three-day Street Crimes Seminar course

 One member completed BAC Refresher

 One member completed K9 Handler training

 One member continued in the Basic Law Enforcement Academy

 Two TPD members of Thurston County SWAT attended monthly training

 19 members attended a department training day (EVOC & Patrol Tactics)

450 total training hours

Community Activity

Officer Stacy Brown, Evidence Tech Jennifer Heath, Officer Tyler Boling, Officer Oran Thompson, Officer

Tyler Brown, Officer Hannah Ritter, Officer Rachael Black, Sergeant Chris Tressler, Officer Peter Navarro, Officer Seth Stauffer, Lieutenant Jennifer Kolb, Detective Brandt Baker, Sergeant Chuck Liska, Officer

Tim Rios, Officer Danielle Dawson, Management Analyst Dr. Oliver Bowers, Administrative Manager

Laura Wohl, Chief Jon Weiks, and numerous family and friends participated in the Shop-with-a-Cop event. The Tumwater Police Guild, with help from our community, provided seventeen youths, ages 8-14, the opportunity to shop for Christmas presents for themselves and their families The youth were paired up with an officer, and then they caravanned to a local retailer to do the shopping. All then returned to City Hall where the officers, the officers’ family members/friends, and other TPD members helped wrap the gifts. The night ended with food, games, and prizes.

COMMENDATIONS/LETTERS OF APPRECIATION

Police Specialist Ashleigh Clark received a verbal commendation from a citizen she assisted with a concealed pistol license renewal. The citizen left a voicemail with our Administrative Manager stating that Ashleigh was absolutely wonderful, delightful, and he very much appreciated her service.