As a firearms owner, you are responsible for knowing how to properly handle your firearms in a safe manner in your home. Firearm accidents in the home can be prevented simply by making sure that firearms are kept unloaded and safely stored, with ammunition secured in a separate location and inaccessible to children. As a firearms owner, your most important responsibility is ensuring that children cannot encounter loaded firearms. In keeping a firearm in the home, whether it be for safety, hunting, or target shooting, your objective should be to have the firearm readily available to you, yet not accessible to others.

Accidents involving firearms in the home have decreased significantly over the last 20 years, according to the National Safety Council. The Oxnard Police Department would like to ensure that this downward trend continues. With the help of Project ChildSafe, which is a nationwide program whose purpose is to promote safe firearms handling and storage practices, the Oxnard Police Department will be distributing free gun locking devices. The locking devices are available at the Oxnard Police Department Property Room, 251 South “C” Street, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday Through Friday. The property room may also be reached at 805-385-7738 if you should have any questions.

The ChildSafe program is supported by a Department of Justice grant, the National Shooting Sports Foundation and is a component of Project Safe Neighborhoods. To find out more about the ChildSafe program, their website is http://projectchildsafe.com.

The Oxnard Police Department is proud to have recently added a special tribute to those employees that retired with honor from our organization. The main hallway of the second floor in the Public Safety Building is now lined with pictures and engraved nameplates of sworn officers and civilians who retired with honor after twenty years or more with the Oxnard Police Department. The second floor hallway has always had historical pictures from throughout the 100-year existence of the Oxnard Police Department but seemed to be lacking a direct tribute to our predecessors.

In the fall of 2007, members of the Professional Standards Division began compiling past photographs and contacting retired employees hoping they would provide pictures of themselves from their career with the Oxnard Police Department. We have received a tremendous response from our retirees who seem excited at the prospect of adding some much needed nostalgia to our hallways. It is fascinating for our employees, both young and old, to walk the hallway and not only inquire, “Who is that?”, but to see faces of old friends and reminisce about forgotten memories.

The final step in the completion of the honor wall will be a special tribute to all former Chiefs of Police with the Oxnard Police Department. We are busy putting the finishing touches on pictures of every single Chief that has ever graced the halls of the Oxnard Police Department. We look forward to the completion of this exciting project and invite anyone that visits the Oxnard Police Department to take a minute to “walk the hallway” and enjoy the memories generated by our new honor wall.

The Oxnard Police Department has provided their Dispatch and Records personnel with customer service training throughout the month of January. The training was designed to enhance and support those skills which are necessary for the public to have positive police interaction. The department recognizes that our personnel are often dealing with people in crisis and it is our responsibility to make their experience as positive as possible.

The training was an eight hour class which was provided on four different occasions. The class covered such topics as ways to place callers on hold, recognizing communication pitfalls such as voice inflection or attitude, providing positive explanations, recognizing body language and facial expressions and understanding public expectations.

The class was interactive and provided a forum for open discussion. The Public Safety Dispatchers and Records Personnel participated in customer service scenarios and surveys. The class also utilized lessons that have been learned from other agencies.

The Oxnard Police Department is dedicated to enhancing the interaction that every citizen has when they call 911, a business line or walk into our lobby. This training was a reminder to our personnel to treat everyone as if it was their own family member, to remember that there is always more to the story and to recognize that everyone is an individual with specialized needs.

On July 1, 2008, two new laws took effect regulating the use of cellular telephones by California drivers. Do you know what conduct is prohibited and how the law is different for drivers under the age of 18? Click here to view the actual California Vehicle Code pertaining to cell phone use behind the wheel along with common questions and answers, courtesy of the State of California Legislative Council and the California Department of Motor Vehicles respectively. The DMV has posted an excellent instructional video on cell phone use here.

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On 01/31/08 Patrol officers received a call of an injury accident in the 900 block of Elm Ct. Upon their arrival they discover the victim’s vehicle abandoned in the front yard of a private residence. The vehicle had collided with a chain link fence. An additional call was received of a battery victim at 920 Cedar Ct. Patrol officers discovered the victim suffering from stab wounds. He was transported to SJRMC by ambulance. The subsequent investigation revealed that the victim was assaulted in the 900 block of Cedar Ct while attempting to park his vehicle. The victim stated he was approached by two suspects. The suspects stabbed the victim and then stole his vehicle. For reasons unknown the suspects drove around the block to Elm Ct. where they crashed the vehicle and then fled. The victim suffered multiple stab wounds and his condition was described as serious.

ANYONE WITH INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT DET. Ken Peeples @ 486-6297. CALLERS CAN ALSO REMAIN ANONYMOUS BY CALLING 982-7043

For anyone that has ever worked for a law enforcement agency, they know that one of the necessary “evils” of applying for any job with a police department is the dreaded background investigation. Applicants are often intimidated and scared of the whole background process and often times these unnecessary fears lead to the omission of certain items that may not have been that big of a deal if they had just been listed in the background documents. The background process with the Oxnard Police Department is a straightforward process that is aimed at identifying the best candidates for each position.

Candidates for the position of Entry Level Police Officer (Public Safety Trainee) are first asked to complete a “Pre-Employment Questionnaire.” This is a 7-page document that gives us a snapshot of the candidate’s work history, education, drug and alcohol use, past criminal activity, and other items of interest. This document is used as a screening tool for the Department and allows us to identify those candidates that we wish to have continue in the background process. Those candidates that successfully pass that portion of the process are then asked to complete a P.O.S.T. Personal History Statement (PHS). This is a 30+ page document that asks candidates to provide detailed information on a wide range of areas in their life. This completed PHS is then given to a background investigator who conducts a 6-8 week investigation into all of the areas identified in the PHS. Candidates should expect to have their friends, family members, and neighbors contacted during this process (To view a copy of the PHS, please go to http://www.post.ca.gov/forms/2-251-phsPeaceOfficers.doc).

Upon the successful completion of the background investigation, the final phase of the background process is a polygraph examination. A licensed polygrapher will conduct an examination of each applicant which will include the review of various items in the background investigation. These polygraph examiners are highly-skilled and very knowledgable in the use of counter-measures by candidates to defeat polygraph examinations so candidates should not be deceptive in any manner during the examination. Upon successful completion of the polygraph examination, candidates will have successfully passed the background process and move one step closer to becoming an Oxnard Police Officer.

The areas in which candidates are most often disqualified from the application process are: Deception, Excessive Drug use, Poor Driving Record, and Past Criminal Behavior. While none of the latter three are automatic disqualifiers, Deception will always get you disqualified from the process. We encourage all candidates to be honest throughout the process. We would much rather be able to investigate and discuss a sensitive matter with a candidate than discover that they attempted to hide it or lie about it. There is zero tolerance for lying!!!

We encourage anyone interested in a career in law enforcement to apply for any of the various positions within the Oxnard Police Department. Please don’t ever let the fear of a background process hold you back. We work with all of the candidates to make it as painless and easy as possible.

DETAILS: Detectives from the Oxnard Police Department arrested a third suspect in the 2006 murder of Octavio Lopez and attempted murder of three additional individuals who suffered gunshot wounds during the September 4, 2006 attack. Twenty Five (25) year old Alejandro “Alex” Salas was arrested Monday afternoon at the Ventura County Jail where he was in custody for a Parole violation.

Salas is the third person who has been arrested for the murder of Lopez and attempted murder of the three other individuals who suffered gunshot wounds during the attack. Brothers Lino, 25 years, and Alvino Hernandez, 27 years were arrested for murder on January 18, 2008. Detectives have reason to believe that several additional people have conspired to try and create an alibi for Salas’s whereabouts at the time of the shooting. The investigation is continuing with the possibility of additional arrests of those people who continue to be untruthful with detectives.

On June 4, 2008 Officer Richard Marquez and Officer Eric Alinaya received the Oxnard Police Department Medal of Merit pin from Chief Crombach for their actions during an officer involved shooting on April 15, 2008. On that date, Officer Richard Marquez, Officer Eric Alinaya, Officer Raymund Mosones and Officer Jon Keller were working as part of the Special Enforcement Unit. These officers were conducting a surveillance regarding information they had received of a gang member being in possession of two handguns and selling narcotics from a residence. The surveillance of the residence confirmed that the suspect was standing outside the home. When Officer Marquez and Officer Alinaya attempted to contact the suspect he immediately fled, discarded a firearm, and entered the residence. As the officers attempted to force entry into the home they were met with gunfire from a second suspect who was also armed. Officer Marquez quickly returned fire at this suspect protecting Officer Alinaya and himself.

Officer Mosones and Officer Keller quickly arrived to assist their teammates. They quickly set up a perimeter around the home keeping the suspects from fleeing. Shortly thereafter the two suspects were taken into custody.

Officer Marquez, Officer Alinaya, Officer Mosones and Officer Keller’s actions while confronting the two armed violent suspects put them at risk of great harm. Their brave and professional demeanor during this potentially life threatening situation earned Officer Marquez and Officer Alinaya the Medal of Merit, and Officer Mosones and Officer Keller Letters of Commendation.

Officer Marquez and Officer Alinaya will be formally recognized for their actions and receive the actual medal during the annual Employee Recognition Awards Luncheon in April of 2009. They will also receive the POAVC Medal of Merit in 2009.

On Wednesday, May 14, 2008, at 1000 hours, The City of Oxnard and the Oxnard Police Department welcome you to the ninth annual Police Memorial Ceremony. The ceremony will occur in front of the Public Safety Building, at Third and C Streets, Downtown Oxnard.

This week of May 11-17 is National Police Memorial Week. It has been so designated for the past 46 years.

In Oxnard, California, we pay tribute to all of the Law Enforcement Officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice, but particularly we are here to honor our own fallen, our seven Oxnard Officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty over the past century. They each made the ultimate sacrifice while proudly wearing the badge of the Oxnard Police Department while working to keep this City safe.

The fallen Officers are:

• Deputy Constable Andrew M. McNaughton
• Constable William E. Kelley
• Officer Albert Gasperetti
• Officer Frederick J. Clark
• Senior Officer John Adair
• Officer James E. O’Brien
• Officer James R. Jensen, Jr.

More details about these fallen officers can be found on our memorial page.

For further information, contact Sergeant David Villanueva, at (805) 385-7777, or email davidvillanueva@oxnardpd.org

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