09 | November | 2015

Rialto Police Department Experiences Highs and Lows This Week

Photo that rialto Police Placed on their Facebook Page to announce the passing of K9 from Rialto PD

With K9 programs that offer Canine Officers that are skilled in tracking and stopping dangerous criminals as well as locating drugs and firearms on a downward trend in the Inland Empire it is vital that the agencies that still use this very successful program be given kudos for the work they do. If the City of Rialto would have outsourced police operations to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department all those years ago Rialto would not have a lot of what we now have but most notably for this story there would not be a K9 program. The sheriff’s department disbanded their K9 program except for bloodhounds that work search and rescue which is a great service but when your looking for an armed suspect nothing compares to a German Shepard or Belgian Malanois that has pure speed and strength to subdue the ugliest of bad guys. These dogs also provide a great benefit of locating drugs and weapons from bad guys. The last time we spoke to Officer Anderson he told us that the K9 officers in Rialto get called all over Southern California to assist other agencies when a K9 Dog is required and what is cool about that is Rialto gets to bill that agency for the cost of sending that officer to the given call.

iecn photo/yazmin alvarez Rialto Police Departments Glen Anderson watches on as his K-9, Gilley, enjoys taking a bite out of Redlands Police Chief Mark Garcia during a fundraiser Aug. 30.

All of the K9 Police Handlers are great guys but Officer Anderson stood out to me as one of those special Officers that was a great representation of the K9 program and the Department as a whole. So when I opened up my Facebook and saw the message below I was sad to see the passing of a great Canine member of Rialto Police Department:

Today, as a Department and as a community we mourn the loss of our K-9, Gilley. Gilley was a Belgian Malanois who served along side his partner and best friend, Officer Glen Anderson, together they kept the citizens of Rialto safe. Gilley served our community, and all of his law enforcement partners for eight outstanding years. Gilley served as a Patrol, Narcotics and SWAT Canine. His impressive eight year stats are as follows: Gilley located and recovered over 108 pounds …of methamphetamine, 380 pounds of marijuana, 131 pounds of cocaine, 51 pounds of heroin and seized over $2 million dollars in cash. Additionally, Gilley saved the department countless man hours during searches for suspects and evidence. Gilley will truly be missed by us all.

**** Update ****

K9 Gilley was injured during a swat operation and when he was taken to the vet it was found that Gilley had a tumor on his heart which was causing fluid to collect around his organs which led to his death according to Captain Randy Deanda at the November 10th city council meeting.

**** Update *****

iecn photo/yazmin alvarez
Chewy, Rialto Police Departments Narcotics Unit K-9, enjoys a few belly rubs from children.

Last time we talked to Officer Anderson he told us that Gilley was on the older side of life and that his work days were almost to an end. So even though we knew he wouldn’t be here forever it makes us sad to see the time come at all. We will truly miss Gilley but now its time to help the foundation that makes our K9 program possible The Friend’s of Rialto K9 is a foundation that makes Rialto’s K9 program and you can help by donating to help because this will be the second dog they would had to have replaced in the last 12 months.

On a positive note our most recent K9 Officer/Canine team that have just been together as of July of 2015 won a 2nd place award at this last weekends K9 event hosted by Riverside Sheriffs department. Dane Stordahl & K9 Bunker were awarded 2nd place award for ‘article search’ during Saturday’s (11/07/15) Riverside Sheriffs K9 trial. In a statement released by Councilman Shawn O’Connell he gave praise to the Officer/K9 team:

It is amazing when you consider 61 dogs participated and you’ve only been partnered with Bunker since July 2015. On behalf of the City of Rialto, I appreciate the hard work and dedication you have shown this department and our city. The Rialto Police Department family should be very proud.

What’s On Tap For This Weeks City Council Meeting Tuesday November 10th

Hello Rialto Now readers as the year begins to draw to a close there is still plenty to keep our eyes on when it comes to the cast of characters known as the Rialto City Council. This weeks meeting is full of tasty little nuggets that are important for you to know about:

There are 8 presentations and proclamations here are the ones who stand out:

Proclamation-Small Business Saturday-Mayor Deborah Robertson – Not sure what Mayor Robertson knows about Small Business when she spends more time with big corporations like Wal-Mart.

Proclamation-Purple Heart City-Mayor Deborah Robertson – Looks like this is a way to honor a select few Purple Heart Veterans who support her as Mayor.

Proclamation-Law Enforcement Records and Support Personnel Day Mayor Deborah Robertson – Not sure when our Mayor began to LIKE our police

Resolution-Veterans Wall of Freedom-Council Member Ed Palmer – Not sure what this is but it may mean a Veterans Wall in Rialto.

Presentation-Excellence in Law Enforcement Research Award from International Associations of Chiefs of Police-Captain Randy DeAnda – The last award from the glory days.

Presentation-2015 CNN Heroes Award-Kim Carter Time for Change Foundation – This presentation upsets me because Mrs. Carter isn’t a resident here in Rialto her business is in San Bernardino and she has been all over the place talking about how this award and the potential $100,000 payoff is for a program for San Bernardino, made in San Bernardino she never references any other community.

MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS

Request City Council to Approve Resolution No. 6846 to Establish a New Full-Time Classification of Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and Establish the Basic Compensation Rate. Eliminate the Part-Time EMT Classification from the City’s List of Approved Classifications.

TAB ITEMS

TAB2 Request City Council to Approve the Community Services Department Athletic Field and Allocation Policy.

This is the Policy that the Recreation Commision and the City Council have been kicking back and forth leaving youth sports programs in the lurch.

TAB3 Request City Council to Consider Amendment No. 4 to Employment Agreement between the City of Rialto and Michael Story, City Administrator for changes to be effective from January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2017.

Looks like Mike Story is going to be made whole again after giving up a lot what we don’t understand is where is all this money coming from?

TAB8 Request City Council to Ratify the Termination of the Contract Services Agreement with Commercial Cleaning Systems and Approve a Professional Services Agreement with ABM in the Amount of $23,728.13 Per Month Not To Exceed Five Months for a total of $118,610.66 for Janitorial Services and an additional $31,359.37 for Consumable Supplies.

Yet another attempt to find someone that can clean up after the filth our local elected officials leave behind.

TAB10 Request City Council to receive and file a status update on the Concession Agreement Water and Wastewater Capital Improvement Program; provide direction to staff as appropriate. approving staff to return in February 2015 with a status update on the Concession Agreement Water and Wastewater Capital Improvement Program for the next three months.

Here is yet another opportunity for the Gang of four to try and save the poor water deal that they threw us into. Last time they met Ed Scott said he wanted to not charge the public the next scheduled rate increase but we know he was just saying that he really doesn’t care about the rate payers. What is scary is that were bringing in massive amounts of large developments and we have done ZERO to upgrade our old overtaxed system why are they letting Rialto Water Services get away with this? Well its because four of the five elected leaders have taken money from the Rialto Water Services gang and now they need to pay it back in the form of FAVORS!!!!!!!!!!!!!