Police Department Monthly Report

To: John Doan, City Administrator

From: Jon Weiks, Chief of Police

Date: June 15, 2023

Re: May 2023

Criminal Activity

2023-0711 Assault of a Child 3rd Degree - Tumwater detectives were informed of a 1-year-old child that had been transported from a local motel to a local hospital after experiencing symptoms consistent with a drug overdose. The Tumwater Fire Department Battalion Chief who made the phone call to detectives advised he suspected something seemed off with the situation. The family had reported the child was suffering some other medical issue and did not disclose the possibility of an overdose. On the way to the hospital, the child had actually become unresponsive in the ambulance, but medical personnel were able to revive her. When the child arrived at the hospital, first responders were notified by the doctor the child had suffered from a Fentanyl related drug overdose. The child was then transported to a Tacoma Hospital for further care. All members of the detective division responded to investigate, accompanied by a Patrol Sergeant. Detectives made contact with the child’s father at the hospital and learned the child had been left with her mother, who is a frequent fentanyl user, for a short period at the motel. When he returned, he found the child was lethargic and showing symptoms of being gravely ill. The mother and father concocted a story to provide first responders, blaming a fictitious person, before calling 911 to get help for their child. The mother then hid in the bathroom, as not to be found by police or medics. The father admitted to initially lying about what happened to the toddler and waiting an hour to call for medical help. The father then started to cooperate with the investigation, and admitted the child’s mother had been using fentanyl on the bed where the child had been sleeping. Detectives also responded to the motel to search the room and locate the child’s mother. Upon initial contact at the room, no one answered, but eventually the mother exited the room and admitted there were narcotics inside. Detectives applied for and were granted a search warrant for the motel room, which resulted in recovering items suspected to be fentanyl, cocaine, and drug paraphernalia. Both the mother and father were booked at the Thurston County Jail for Assault of a Child 3rd degree. The child was taken into protective custody and placed in the care of the Washington State Department of Children, Youth & Families.

2023-0762 Assault 1st and 2nd Degree - Tumwater officers were dispatched to a local funeral home for a suspect who had been asked to leave and was refusing. The reporting party advised the suspect was threatening to fight employees and had a knife. The information received was that the suspect also tried to stab an employee. The suspect was described as transient, who was pushing a cart and carrying a knife bigger than a pocketknife, similar to a machete Upon arrival, officers made contact with the suspect, where he was compliant and was detained without incident. The knife was recovered from the sidewalk where the suspect had been contacted. Officers interviewed the victims and learned that an employee observed the subject on the property and approached him. She was aware he had already been trespassed from the property, so she was asking him to leave. The suspect became verbally aggressive and then pulled out the knife. The suspect advanced towards the employee while yelling at her and she feared for her safety. Another employee observed the incident and responded to assist. The suspect then advanced on the other employee, making a stabbing motion with the knife, but the employee was able to create distance to avoid being assaulted. This created fear in that employee as well , so they called 911. The suspect was placed under arrest for one count of Assault 1st degree and one count of Assault 2nd degree. The suspect complained of pre-existing leg injuries and medical attention was requested. The suspect was initially evaluated at the scene by TFD personnel and then transported by ambulance to a local hospital for further evaluation. An officer followed the ambulance to the hospital and when the suspect was medically cleared, the officer transported and booked the suspect into the Thurston County Jail for the assault charges.

2023-0817 Robbery 2nd Degree - Tumwater officers were dispatched to a local convenience store for a report of a robbery that had just occurred. The victim, an employee, reported the suspect left the scene prior to officer’s arrival. The victim provided a detailed description of the suspect, which was relayed to responding officers. The first officer on scene observed a female in the area that matched the suspect’s description. He watched her while responding officers contacted the victim to determine what crime had been committed. The victim reported she observed the suspect enter the store and gather merchandise, including a bottle of alcohol. The suspect then started to leave the store without paying for the items. The victim confronted the suspect about the theft and the suspect attacked the victim, physically assaulting her repeatedly and throwing her to the ground while continuing her assault. The victim called out for help and others came to her aid and the suspect fled the store. There was physical evidence corroborating the victim’s account of what happened. The victim identified the items stolen, which totaled over $39. The investigating officer advised there was probable cause to arrest the suspect for Robbery 2nd degree. Officers then contacted and took the suspect into custody without incident. The suspect was transported and booked into the Thurston County Jail for Robbery 2nd degree.

Prescription Drug Drop Box

The public deposited 45 pounds of prescription drugs in May. The total deposited for the year is 320 pounds.

Budget

At the end of the month, the police department budget is 37% spent for the year.

K-9 STATISTICS

Officer Russ Mize & K9 James

• No deployments this month, as Officer Mize was out of the office all month

Officer Chase Grimmett & K9 Thor

• Evidence Search o Assisted the Lacey Police Department with attempting to locate an article (possible firearm) from an in-custody suspect that was believed to have been discarded during a foot pursuit. Officer Grimmett responded to the scene and deployed K9 Thor from the start of the foot pursuit. K9 Thor was able to follow the track of the foot pursuit, but did not locate any items of evidentiary value.

• Tracking o Assisted the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office with attempting to locate an Assault 2nd Degree – Domestic Violence suspect, who had fled the scene on foot. The suspect was believed to be living in a nearby encampment and was known to carry a knife. Officer Grimmett responded to the scene and deployed K9 Thor in the area where the suspect was last seen. K9 Thor was able to acquire the suspect’s scent and led officers through a couple of residential back yards and over fences. The track then continued into a wooded area and led to a deep swamp. The swamp was also next to the encampment where the suspect was known to stay Officer Grimmett terminated the track upon encountering increasing environmental hazards (traps) on the trail leading to the encampment and due to the unknown number of people living in the multiple structures of the encampment.

Sro Activity

School Resource Officer Tyler Boling:

• Responded to Bush Middle School to address an angry parent who was in the school office yelling and swearing at staff prior to the start of the school day. SRO Boling addressed the parent and was able to de-escalate her. The parent was angry with a staff member for yelling at their child and she was angry at the administration for not taking care of the situation the way she wanted it handled. SRO Boling directed her to the school district office, but instead the parent withdrew their student from the district.

• At the request of a parent, counseled a Bush Middle School student about online cyber safety The student had recently made a friend online and sent him money. The parents are concerned about their student engaging in risky behaviors online.

• Participated in the 6th grade transition information night for students moving up to Bush Middle School in the fall.

• Conducted a teaching lesson to the Bush Middle School 7th grade regarding the consequences of drug and alcohol use.

• Conducted Run, Hide, Fight instruction to the leadership students at Bush Middle School

• Assisted multiple students with vehicle lockouts and one student with a jump-start in the Tumwater High School parking lot.

• Provided a Tumwater Police Department station tour to the Black Hills High School Life Skill class. He provided information about Tumwater Police Department and being a police officer.

• Alerted to a transient male who had walked onto Tumwater High School grounds and entered the school during lunchtime SRO Boling located the male, but he was already being escorted off school property by the campus security supervisors. SRO Boling notified patrol officers of the male’s last known direction and when he was located and contacted, the man refused to cooperate, nor identify himself. It appeared the male suffered from mental health issues The male was notified he was not allowed back on school grounds

• Attended the East Olympia Elementary Fiesta event to provide SRO presence and security.

• The SRO program purchased, cooked, and served a hot dog lunch to the Tumwater High School senior class, providing 144 hot dogs and chips to the students on their last day of high school.

• Investigated a theft report regardi ng a student’s stolen Apple AirPods from the Tumwater High School weight room. The victim reported a Bush Middle School student was in the weight room when the AirPods went missing. The victim was also able to track the AirPods and the location notification directed them to Bush Middle School . The Bush Middle School student was contacted and he admitted to stealing the AirPods. The student’s guardian was notified and agreed to pay for the stolen airpods because the student had thrown away one of the pods and the charging case. No report was taken because the involved parties agreed to handle it between themselves The discipline was handled by the school.

• Investigated a report of a Bush Middle School student all eged to have a weapon at school (20230794). The student was contacted and lied about having a weapon and a backpack. Video surveillance footage was reviewed, which showed the student had lied; the backpack was placed in someone else’s locker. The backpack was recovered and a folding knife was located in the student’s backpack. A report was taken due to the student already being on probation and discipline was handled by the school.

• Investigated a report of Tumwater High School students drinking in the parking lot of Fred Meyer during school hours. A school administrator from a different school observed it and photographed it. When confronted by the Vice Principal, one of the students lied and did not want to cooperate. When contacted by SRO Boling, the students admitted to stealing and drinking the alcohol. The other student had already left campus prior to contact, so his parents were contacted. The school handled discipline and the students were referred to True North for an alcohol assessment.

• Investigated a report of a physical assault that occurred at Bush Middle School The fight was also recorded and encouraged by other students. SRO Boling met with the students and discussed consequences, making good choices, and hear something/say something. Discipline was handled by the school.

• Investigated a reported sex offense involving two Tumwater High School students. During the course of the investigation he determined the acts were consensual and the students were at the age of consent, therefore no crime had been committed. The investigation was resolved by having conversations with the reporting student a nd their family.

• Investigated a report of a missing Life Skills student from Cascadia High School. SRO Boling began looking for the student and ultimately located him at Tumwater High School SRO Boling returned the student to Cascadia High School The student’s family was notified and staff resolved the incident.

• Investigated a hit & run collision in the Tumwater High School parking lot involving a student hitting a staff member’s car. Video surveillance was reviewed and the student was identified and contacted. The student admitted to what they had done and the incident was handled between the parties through an exchange of information.

School Resource Officer Rosco Rollman:

• Conducted teaching lessons to the Black Hills High School freshman health classes about the dangers of alcohol /narcotic use and about making good choices.

• Conducted teaching lessons to the 6th grade health class at Tumwater Middle School about his role as a police officer, about cyber safety, and making good decisions during the summer months.

• Worked with a Black Hills High School parent regarding their child being harassed by other students while the child is at home. The child did not feel safe at school due to the harassment, so they met with the child and administration, and the parent responded to the school to pick up their child A police report was filed with the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office due to the residential jurisdiction of where the harassment was occurring.

• Assisted Peter G. Schmidt Elementary staff with a staff-only lockdown drill.

• Attended and provided security at the Black Hills High School Prom in Centralia.

• Provided a teaching lesson to the Tumwater School District bus drivers about lockdowns and they debriefed the incident that occurred at Tumwater Middle School (2023-0736).

• Assisted patrol regarding a report of a man with a gun at Overlook Park, near T umwater Hill Elementary (2023-0790) SRO Rollman responded to Tumwater Hill Elementary and provided perimeter security, where he remained until all students and parents had left school grounds.

• Received several reports of habitually poor driving habits involving a Black Hills High School student. SRO Rollman identified and located the student, and discussed the consequences of those poor driving habits. The incident was resolved with counseling.

• Assisted Tumwater Middle School staff with a student who was acting out aggressively towards staff and cursing. The student’s parent arrived at the school and the student turned on their parent as well. The student was provided their medication and allowed to de-escalate before returning to class.

• Assisted Peter G. Schmidt Elementary staff regarding a complaint of a neighbor who had jumped the fence onto school property to confront students who were using poor language and throwing things at the person’s motorcycle. SRO Rollman had a conversation with the person and advised they were not allowed on grounds during school hours and the incident was resolved.

• Investigated a possible hit and run that occurred in the parking lot of Tumwater Middle School involving a parent and a teacher’s vehicle. During the course of the investigation, he learned the parent did in fact notify the owner of the vehicle they hit via a note and the incident was resolved between the two parties.

• Investigated a physical assault between two Tumwater Middle School students, who had prior incidents of bullying (2023- 0722) One student slapped the other student on the side of the head, rupturing the student’s eardrum. The other student reportedly cursed at and spit on the other student, but there were no witnesses to that and it was not captured on the video surveillance. The parent of the injured student obtained an order of protection against the child and requested the case be prosecuted. SRO Rollman conducted his investigation and referred the charge of Assault 2nd degree to the Thurston County Juvenile Prosecutor’s Office for review.

• Investigated a report of a student aged person walking towards Tumwater Middle School on Littlerock Rd during school arrival hours, whom was reportedly carrying a handgun, per a report of a passerby (2023-0736). Multiple law enforcement resources were dispatched to the area to locate the student, taking student’s safety into the utmost consideration. The school was placed in lockdown while they conducted an investigation to identify and locate the person. With the assistance of video surveillance and school administration, they were able to identify and locate the student who had already made it onto school grounds. The item the student was carrying appeared to be a gun, but was in fact a Transformer toy shaped like a gun. When reviewing video surveillance, they observed the student come onto campus and show other students the toy and pointed it like it was a gun, but none of the other students appeared to be alarmed. The incident was resolved and handed over to the school for follow-up and any potential discipline.

• Investigated a report of a physical altercation that occurred between a Black Hills High School student and their parent after Prom ( 2023-0749). The student is over the age of 18 and did not want to disclose much to SRO Rollman. SRO Rollman completed a written report regarding the information that was received.

• Investigated a parking complaint at Tumwater Middle School in reference to parents parking on adjacent private property during pick-up hours. SRO Rollman was able to resolve the situation by talking with parents who were arriving and parking in the area.

• Investigated a report of a stolen Chromebook from a T umwater Middle School student (20230966). At the conclusion of the investigation, he was unable to locate the stolen laptop, nor was he able to identify the suspect.

Code Enforcement

Code Enforcement opened two cases this month:

• Report of overgrown vegetation from an undeveloped residential property

• Over height fence constructed on a residential property

Code Enforcement closed two cases this month:

• Unpermitted modifications and use of an airport hangar was brought into compliance after 2 years of work between Community Development and the owner’s attorney.

• An abandoned junk vehicle was removed from a residential property after a notice of violation was issued.

Code Enforcement currently has 17 open cases.