Rialto Police Department

Rialto Now 2020 Voter Guide

28 Oct 2020 Leave a comment

Rialto you once again have way to many people to choose from when it comes to electing new leaders. We have spent years in Rialto and we know a lion share of the people running for this years open seats. This guide is not a paid opportunity and isn’t tied to one party over the other. These seats are all ones where we need people wo don’t toe a party line but are willing to do whatever it takes to represent the people.

Some School Board Candidates were left off the image above and a couple faces got cut off this was not done on purpose we promise.

So without further to do here we go:

Rialto Mayor

For Rialto Mayor we were excited to see this race develop. You have Ed Palmer a strong former City Councilman and Small Business owner coming back to apply what he learned about this race 4 years ago. While you have Lupe Camacho looking to come in to steal the show. We feel that Ed Palmer will be the best choice for Rialto moving forward. If your worried about what will happen to Rialto’s development movement you can be rest assured that Ed Palmer did a lion share of this work already and can keep us moving forward.

For Mayor vote Ed Palmer

Rialto City Council

Nobody sitting on the council right now has my support. Councilman Trujillo made National news by trying to hold a secret meeting at City Hall about making Rialto a Sanctuary City. He has shown since that he has little to no voice and can’t stand up for Rialto when they need him. Councilman Carrizales is no better he is so tied to the Mayor that he couldn’t see or choose to not look as the Mayor gifted funds and city buildings to select people and non profits. At best he is a good looking face to stand in front of businesses he had no hand in attracting to Rialto. He also can’t vote on many business items in Rialto as he has to recuse himself time and time again.

Our picks to replace these two poor choices are Andrew Karol and Stacey Augustine.

Andrew Karol I know well and have had the pleasure of working with him for more than 10 years. My haters will be happy to know that Andy has not been shy to tell me when he thinks I am wrong or going to far. He always did it with care and tact. About 6 years ago when racial tensions were at a tipping point and a group of black lives activists were planning a demonstration in Rialto Andy led a group of officers to meet with the protestors and start conversations about how minorities and police interact with each other. Andrew Karol would make a fine Councilman that will represent everyone.

Stacey Augustine I have not known for long and there was a time I did not trust him. It wasn’t anything that Stacey did it was more about the people he surrounded himself with, I was unsure of his agenda. Stacey was the Chair of the Budget Advisory Committee that I also served on. Stacey was a fair Chair and we had a lot on meaningful conversations. As a corporate leader he also decided to bring something to Rialto that is needed and took a gamble brining it to the heart of the city. Stacey is bringing a restaurant/pool hall to downtown Rialto. Many downtown business owners have shared with me that they feel abandoned or forgotten in the Downtown Area so Stacey will bring someone with skin in the game that I believe cares.

Rialto Unified School Board

With Joe Ayala stepping away it clears space for at least one new face to sit on the school board and everyone has their candidate lined up to take a seat and do their bidding. Three seats are up this year With Nancy O’Kelly and Joseph Martinez are running for re election. I am only backing two candidates this go around and you don’t have to vote for three.

My picks are Mirna Ruiz and Joseph Martinez.

Joseph Martinez has always been kind, thoughtful and not hard to get a hold of. He has always taken my call or found time to talk about a problem even when he knew I wasn’t happy with anyone at the moment. He also knows when to stay out of the way and let staff handle things he isn’t the guy that needs to have the mic or be front and center for the photo. Martinez known for his love of STEM will be found in the background support students and staff at his favorite events. Joe is an all around good guy and the type of person you need leading your schools.

Mirna Ruiz is what every student needs on a school board. Mirna is a Special Ed Mom and a Special Ed Advocate. All to many times districts fail to do what is in the best interest of SPED students. Most of the time it is out of shear ignorance to how SPED programs work, the rest is willful defiance of a legal document. To put 2020 and this election into perspective over 400 SPED parents have sued school districts this year for lack of serivces provided. That is over 400 students that their IEP’s are so messed up that the parents had no other recourse then to sue the school. Don’t you think having someone on the board that knows a thing or two about SPED would be a good thing?

So all that you have left to do is vote, its easy this year you don’t even have to leave your house if you don’t want to. If you don’t vote you can’t complain!

Image by rialto-now

Rialto Mayor Robertson Ignores Constituent Over Minority Arrest Stats

01 Oct 2020 1 Comment

In what is going to be the last meeting for the Rialto City Council until after the November 3rd Election the public comment section was rocked with comments from a Rialto resident seeking help and answers.

Mr. Simmons shows up to address the political members of our community after being ignored by the mayor and even blocked from joining her virtual townhall. This coupled with many other developments over the last 3 years are a direct result of why the mayor has 2 people challenging her for her job as mayor.

One of the most troubling things that residents heard in this communication from Mr. Simmons is that we are still using money as a way to deter people from seeking public records. In this digital day and age one would think that the need to charge people hundreds of dollars for public records would be a thing of the past. Earlier this summer the mayor had BLM ask for her resignation and people that support her say she stands for her community. So now we have to ask, who is her community? BLM wanted her to resign so they are not showing much faith in her. Mr. Simmons is being ignored and locked out of her virtual townhall so he must not be a part of her community. Add to that her complete distain for anyone who even questions her motives, her habitual lies and playing favorites with tax dollars WHO IS IN HER COMMUNITY?

The fact of the matter is that Mr. Simmons who we have reached out to but not spoken to yet is simply asking for questions and is seeking to create some sort of civilian oversight. The fact that the mayor who does not know how to spin another angry minority group in her favor is why Mr. Simmons is being ignored and left out in the cold.

Video by rialto-now

Rialto Police Ignore Rules During The Covid-19 Outbreak

17 Apr 2020 4 Comments

by rialto-now in Andy Carrizales, Ca, Corona Virus, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Currupt, Deborah Robertson, Ed Scott, Inland Empire, Rafael Trujillo, Rialto, Rialto, Rialto Police Department

A local Rialto resident posted photos of Rialto Cops eating inside the Tacos Galvan restaurant on the corner of Riverside and Baseline on Thursday night. Even though the governor closed all restaurants to inside dining and everyone is asked to be masked up when entering places of business that are still open these two Rialto Cops were seen in violation of this order inside the business eating, without masks on.

“when did become ok to sit and eat at restaurants again because I’m headed to the first bar I find”

Even though Mayor Robertson and the Chief of Police Mark Kling have posted numerous videos telling you to follow the rules the employees seem to be above the law or rules. In the video below the mayor talks about covering your face and she applauds Gavin Newsome for his actions during this time.

So if we have to follow the rules shouldn’t our cops to? If this is really as scary as the mainstream media is making it out to be shouldn’t every Front Line Cop be masked up?

Ex-Rialto police officer sentenced to 2 years in prison for having unregistered firearms, silencers

13 Mar 2020 1 Comment

A Corona lawyer and former Rialto police officer was sentenced Thursday to two years in federal prison after unregistered weapons and bomb-making materials were found in his possession.

Sergio Lopez de Tirado, 44, was sentenced for possessing unregistered firearms, silencers and a hand grenade that were found inside his truck during a law enforcement stop, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.

He plead guilty in April 2019 to one count of possession of unregistered firearms and a destructive device.

Law enforcement officials found Lopez de Tirado asleep and apparently intoxicated in the passenger seat of a pickup truck that was parked with its door open, blocking a Norco driveway, on Dec. 21, 2018.

Image by rialto-now

Former Officer Glen Anderson Gets Case Heard On Appeal

24 Nov 2019 1 Comment

by rialto-now in #CA31st, and the unincorporated communities of Bloomington and Muscoy, Andy Carrizales, Burglury, Ca, city attorney, City of Rialto, Colton, Crime, Currupt, Deborah Robertson, Ed palmer, Ed Scott, Fontana, Freinds of Rialto K9, Friends of Rialto K9, Grand Terrace, Inland Empire, Joe Baca Jr, Mike Story, Paul Stella, Public Safety, Rafael Trujillo, Rialto, Rialto, Rialto Parks, Rialto Police Department, rialto unified school district, San Bernardino

On November 6th former officer Glen Anderson took his lawsuit over wrongful termination to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Officer Glen Anderson’s case was dismissed on summary judgement and his legal team is seeking an appeal of that ruling to send his case before a jury.

Officer Anderson’s attorney does his best to nail down that the career of Officer Anderson was ended because the text he sent to James Freeman was then forwarded to Councilman Ed Scott. He works to show that all of the other cases leveled at Officer Anderson were because they could not legally fire Officer Anderson over the text messages alone.

The attorney for the City of Rialto claim that the claim that Officer Anderson was fired over a text message was false. The attorney for the city of Rialto states that nobody fired officer Anderson over Free Speech issues.

The text in question was sent to Political Consultant James Freeman who then in error sent that text message to Councilman Ed Scott. Once Councilman Ed Scott found out that Officer Glen Anderson was texting out the council he became irate. When speaking to Councilman O’Connell and former Councilman Ed Palmer at the time of the investigations there was a clear message that Officer Anderson needed to be dealt with over that text message.

We found the words of the Attorney for the city of Rialto puzzling because he claims that neither the Chief or Mike Story the City Manager had any knowledge of the K9 yard or its construction. The K9 yard was well known throughout the department and the community. The only way Chief Farrar or Deanda could claim not knowing about the K9 yard would be because they are lying or ignorant! City Administrator Mike Story sent years back where the K9 yard used to be located as he was on a mission to build Councilman Joe Baca Jr the 2nd most expensive park in the city Bud Bender park.

No matter if the 9th circuit allows this case go to a jury the people of Rialto should question the leadership of city hall and of the police department. Even no the current leadership of the police department allow people who broke more rules and laws continue to work and hold high ranking jobs within the Rialto Police Department still. The only difference between Glen Anderson and other officers is that the other officers protect Ed Scott and don’t hold him accountable. Remember this all started with a text message sent to Councilman Ed Scott!

Rialto Officers Widow Say Lip Service Isn’t Going To Pay The Bills

18 Sep 2019 2 Comments

The widow of fallen officer Sergio Carrera appears to be having issues getting paid from her husbands death back in 2007. Louise reached out to our staff with angst and frustration over her workman’s comp payments being short, wrong or lost in the mail altogether. Louise says that this has been an ongoing issue for years.

Our city council and city leadership are quick to jump on their soap box and tout that they care about and want to make sure that the families of our fallen officers are taken care of. Sadly this is just lip service it appears because time and time again we hear stories that those families feel tossed aside and not cared for.

In the case of Louise Carrera and her two kids these wrong checks and missing checks are more devastating than most would think. Could you imagine having to borrow money to pay for utilities or being late on your house payment just because the city can’t seem to get your money to you? Rialto touts how 21st Century the city has become yet instead of allowing people like Louise Carrera to have their money put into their bank account via direct deposit, that option isn’t available leaving more opportunities for errors.

Louise said that she has grown tired of the firm the city has hired to process her payments. “Both the city and LWP seem to care less what happens to me and my kids and it is sad” Louise Carrera.

So it seems that the next time a council member or a ranking member of the city leadership claims to care about our staff and their families we can point back to this situation and say, What about Louise Carrera?

Image by rialto-now

House Fire Rocks Rialto Neighborhood

23 Jun 2019 Leave a comment

Around 1:15 pm on Saturday June 22nd in the area of Driftwood and Rosewood in the city of Rialto a fire erupted from the garage at a single family residence. According to officials on scene a fire started in the garage and the smell of smoke alerted the family that were in the backyard at the time.

People living East of the fire were alerted to the smell of smoke and said that there was an electrical smell to the smoke from the fire. Rialto fire had six units respond to the fire along with two Rialto Police units. Rialto Fire worked quick to contain the the fire mostly to the garage from appearances.

This fire is a reminder as to why our garages contain fire doors, sheet rock and other materials that are rated to hold up a little longer to give people a chance of escape. Our garages are full of combustible materials including our cars in most cases.

The garage was a total loss and the roof had collapsed on two cars inside. Even though this is a horrible event the upside is that there no injuries or loss of life in this fire.

Video by rialto-now

Two Dead Bodies Found in Rialto Neighborhood

28 Apr 2019 Leave a comment

Photo of crime scene at Sycamore and Jackson Streets from Loud Labs IE

RIALTO (LoudLabs News)

On Saturday morning, April 27, 2019, the Rialto Police Department along with the City of Rialto Fire Department responded to reports of a two people down. The incident was reported around 6:19am in the 100 block of E. Jackson Street.

When Officers arrived they located two males, down in the front yards of two different addresses, roughly 200 feet apart. Both victims were pronounced deceased at the scene. Homicide Detectives as well as the Coroner’s Office were just arriving at the scene around 8:30am.

Police investigators working the crime scene where 2 dead bodies were found on the corner of Sycamore and Jackson Streets photo from Loud Labs IE

Details surrounding the two deaths are limited as Police will only say they are conducting a death investigation. No further information was immediately available.

Why are murders and deaths on the rise in Rialto?

Image by rialto-now

Rialto City Hall Hemorrhages High Ranking Staff

03 Apr 2019 3 Comments

by rialto-now in #CA31st, Andy Carrizales, Budget, Burglury, Ca, City of Rialto, Deborah Robertson, Ed Scott, Inland Empire, Joe Baca Jr, Public Safety, Rafael Trujillo, Rialto, Rialto, Rialto Fire, Rialto Parks, Rialto Police Department

In a sign of what is going on under the surface of Rialto City Hall another high ranking longtime employee of the City of Rialto’s management team has left the city of Rialto. Human Resources and Risk Management Director Lucy Garcia has left the city of Rialto for another unknown agency. For the last year and a half the city has lost seven main leadership positions and has only managed to fill one of them. We learned late last month that Development Director and Assistant City Administrator Robb Steel will be leaving this August.

To make matters worse is the City is on its 3rd Interm City Administrator, the people that the city has offered code enforcement and city engineering jobs to turned them down and nobody wants to be our police chief so we brought back Kling who is on a mission to destroy the relationship between the community and the police. Nobody wants to work here and we should strongly question anyone who chooses to except a job here.

Sources inside city hall say that Lucy Garcia left because she was being asked to withhold information from employees and do things that were not ethical. The information coming out of city hall isn’t surprising to me since I watched Lucy get attacked by the city council over giving the Budget Advisory Committee the information we asked for and not holding things back.

I will point out once more there is no plan for dealing with our $150 Million in Unfunded Liabilities and they just keep adding more and more public safety positions. Just in the last Council Meeting in March the Police and Fire Departments have added staff that were frozen over future cost concerns. Now Rialto has a new police captain we can’t afford and the fire department is adding a Deputy Chief to the payroll.

Never in my life have I looked at such a blatant disregard for financial ethics and common sense.

Rialto Middle School Holds Annual Career Day

06 Mar 2019 Leave a comment

On Wednesday February 27th Rialto Middle School held their annual career day where fifty three different presenters came out to expose the students to a wide variety of potential careers. Many were your traditional careers like law enforcement, teaching and the medical field. Yet there were many presenters that were from career fields we may not think of when we are preparing kids for their future!

One presenter was John Merchant a local voice actor, professional beat boxer and a radio DJ personality. John Merchant showed off his latest project he worked on was the Missy Elliot Project where musician Christina Hall pays homage to one of the most influential female rappers of the 20th century. John also spoke to the kids about how to be successful in life with something you are passionate about. John Merchant didn’t talk at the students he spoke with them.

We came to this interview unprepared because we thought that Kenny Landreaux just worked for the Dodgers organization in the front office. We were not aware that he played professional baseball. Kenny came to speak to the filed of being a professional athlete and working in other facets in the professional sports arena. It was pretty cool to see that Rialto Middle School had him out to speak to the kids.

We wanted to see Mike Kindrich’s presentation just because of our knowledge of what his employer Mercy Air does. Mercy Air operates private air ambulance service helping get critically injured people to a care facility as quickly and safely as possible. When we found out Mike was a helicopter mechanic that was even better. Mike spoke to his body of work and the many different opportunities that existed in the field he worked in. Mike is a A&P Mechanic this A&P license has given Mike the ability to work as a civilian for the army, a ride mechanic for Disneyland and now a Mechanic for Mercy Air.

One thing that was clear at this career day was that the staff were invested in seeing the students succeed now in school and in the future. This career day event was inventive, exciting and totally an out of the norm type of event for a public school. This event was something you normally see in a private school not a public school setting. I was honored to be able to get a chance to attend and cover this event.

Big thank you has to go out to Mr Rod Campbell who invited us to this event, the principal who was so welcoming, school counselors for going the extra mile and the school security staff that always had a smile each time we saw them on campus!

Video by rialto-now