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Message from the Chief
Just when you thought "murder hornets" would be the icing on the cake for a difficult first half of 2020, the past week has brought us more tragedy, hurt, and yes…Anger. The tragic killing of George Floyd at the hands of former Minneapolis officer, now inmate, Derek Chauvin, and the inaction of the other, now also former officers, left us all with a storm of emotions including anger, frustration, sadness, and despair.
Nationwide, and in our own community, law enforcement leaders and police unions alike have spoken out against Chauvin's actions and the inaction of the other officers who were with him. I serve as the American Canyon Police Chief and Captain in the command team of Napa County Sheriff John Robertson. I am proud to join our Sheriff and other partner agencies in speaking out against what we saw from that May 25th video.
As a law enforcement community, we also hurt. Not only the Floyd family but also because we know that the events that occurred 1,900 miles away will tarnish and erode the shine of our badges nationwide. Years of progress in improving community relations will suffer. A generation of young people will be lost from our future recruitment pool, as this otherwise noble profession is demonized. If there is any silver lining to come from such tragedy, it's the countless examples of protesters and law enforcement officers uniting, hugging, and peacefully demonstrating together. Locally, on Tuesday, June 2nd, a group of young American Canyon citizens exercised their First Amendment rights and demonstrated at the intersection of Highway 29 and American Canyon Road. They did so safely and peacefully. Their demonstration was in the middle of a hot day, however, so my officers and I approached them with an ice chest full of cold water bottles. They were polite and thanked us and expressed that they were not looking to cause any trouble and that they just wanted to save lives. Who can argue against that?
Several massive demonstrations around the country have been peaceful and effective at communicating their message. Unfortunately, there have been other violent and criminal elements that have succeeded in "hijacking" otherwise peaceful demonstrations in some areas. These actions have changed the newspaper headlines from the messages of protest to the news of the destruction of riots and looting.
We saw examples of mass looting next door, with our neighbors in Vallejo. On Saturday, May 31st, we responded to assist them briefly, as they experienced a large gathering that started vandalizing some businesses. Unfortunately, that was just a sneak preview of what would occur in Vallejo on Monday, June 1st. On that day, a large scale coordinated attack of looters in vehicles broke into businesses all over the City. The looters who attacked Vallejo on June 1st were not from Vallejo or even Solano County. We increased our staffing that night and ended up sending several officers to Vallejo to assist them. At the same time, we still maintained a significant presence locally to protect our residents and businesses. We did have a home invasion robbery involving several suspects from Contra Costa County during the mass looting attacks of June 1st. Due to our increased staffing, we were able to respond quickly and successfully arrested five of the six suspects.
Based on Monday's events and the days prior, and based on social media postings, at least one of which specifically listed American Canyon as a target city, American Canyon City Council passed an Emergency Proclamation and a Curfew Order. For the next two nights, ACPD continued to up-staff shifts, posted officers at various businesses as a protection presence, and provided saturation patrols in the residential neighborhoods. No incidents of looting were reported during the two curfew nights, and the curfew was not extended.
Our residents, as they always are, have been fantastic partners during these past few days. Our residents followed the terms of the curfew, called in suspicious vehicles and suspicious activity (which is how we were able to arrest the robbers from Contra Costa County.) The kind text messages, phone calls, emails, and social media posts communicating your support have been both humbling and inspiring. We have a good thing here in American Canyon, and your partnership, along with your trust, is important to us.
Please remember that ACPD is committed to providing ALL of our residents with a high level of police service. We want to continue to keep American Canyon safe and a great place to live, work and play. We appreciate the relationship we enjoy with our community, and we are fortunate to call ourselves your police department.
Respectfully,
Oscar Ortiz
Police Chief |
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 A massive congratulations to the entire Class of 2020!! Whether you are promoting or graduating, we are proud of you!!
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Community Events Update
Every year, ACPD looks forward to National Night Out in August. On this night, we are able to visit several neighborhoods, taste some delicious bbq or homemade lumpia, and have great conversations. National Night Out can’t come soon enough, but due to the Pandemic, it is now being re-scheduled to October 6th. Stay tuned for more information as the date comes closer. We are, however, exploring a virtual version of “Coffee with the Cops” so please standby for more news on that.
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P.S.
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