Allowable Time to Set Out Parade Chairs for the 4th of July

**ATTENTION**

Placement of any chairs, barricades, coolers, tape etc. upon the sidewalk or street is prohibited prior to 6:00 PM on July 3rd, 2014.

Any chairs, barricades, coolers, tape etc. placed upon the sidewalk or street prior to 6:00 PM on July 3rd, 2014 will be removed and stored at the Redwood City Corporation Yard at 1400 Broadway.

 

RCMC 29.3

 

Pickup of confiscated items may be accomplished at the City Corporation Yard between 7:30 AM to 3:00 PMduring normal business hours. (Closed on 4th of July).

 

Questions regarding this procedure may be directed to Sergeant Greg Farley of the Redwood City Police Department   (650) 780-7143

 

The Redwood City Police Department Honors the Memory of Sergeant George Garrett: EOW May 8, 1981

 Today, the men and women of the Redwood City Police Department will honor the sacrifice made 36 years ago by Sergeant George Garrett who was killed in the line of duty. All ranks of sworn officers will be out on patrol, working the Detective Bureau, and running every operation in the organization in their Class "A" uniforms to honor the End of Watch (EOW) anniversary of Sergeant Garrett's death. The flags in front of our building will be flown at half-staff and all of our shifts will be briefed by Command Staff sharing the story of Sergeant Garrett’s death.

 Thank you Sergeant George Garrett for your service and sacrifice--you will not be forgotten.

 Your Redwood City Police Family

 Sergeant George Leon Garrett, Jr.

 Badge #5

 Tour of Duty: 1973 – May 8, 1981

 On Friday, May 8, 1981, at 12:04 PM, Redwood City Dispatch received a phone call advising of a possible bomb threat inside Bank of America located at 110 California Street. The call was followed by silent alarm activation two minutes later. Four plain clothes officers from the Vice/Intelligence/Narcotics unit responded to the bank from the police department which was then located at 1020 Middlefield Road. Sergeant George Garrett arrived first and entered the bank through the Winklebleck Street doors. Business appeared to be normal. Detective Dale Switzer arrived in another car with Detective Ron Brooks and the driver, Detective Robert Peele. Detective Switzer went in the El Camino doors followed seconds later by Detective Brooks. Detective Peele parked the car and notified dispatch of their arrival. The bank was crowded with customers. Sergeant Garrett walked to the desk of the branch manager, Sylvia Harris, where another man was sitting. Garrett put his hand on the man’s shoulder, asked him how he was doing, and the man immediately pulled a gun from his waistband. As he did so, Garrett reached across the desk and pushed Miss Harris out of the line of fire as he was reaching for his own gun. The man jumped up and shot Garrett once between the eyes and once in the chest. The suspect started to walk away as Switzer ran toward him. Switzer and Brooks opened fire on the suspect with Switzer killing him. As the shots rang out, Peele entered the bank from El Camino side and was told by Brooks to summon an ambulance. As Peele ran out the Winklebleck side doors (detectives did not have portable radios at that time), he was mistaken for a suspect and shot twice in the arm by patrol officers who had responded to the bank.

 The funeral for Sergeant Garrett was attended by 1,400 guests, most of which were police officers in full dress uniform. He was buried at Skyline Memorial Park. He was portrayed as a hero who took the time to shove a bank employee out of the line of fire before turning to face the robber. He was praised for his extensive work with the community’s youth, having given narcotics presentations to various school and public groups on his own time.

 The suspect was identified as Raleigh Porsche, age 36. Porsche was an ex-convict released in a Mexican prisoner exchange program. He was later connected to two other bank robberies.

 Sergeant Garrett is the only officer murdered in the line of duty in the department’s history. Thirty nine years old, Garrett was survived by his wife, who was eight months pregnant with their first child. Nineteen days after his murder, his daughter Nicole was born. In July 1981, city officials dedicated George L. Garrett Junior Memorial Park in his honor. On this date, May 8th, the thirty sixth anniversary of his death, we remember and honor our Brother Officer, George Garrett.

Tips For Boating In Shallow Water

 

We recently had a boat rescue were a family got their boat stuck in Redwood Creek Slough.  The family had been stuck for hours and was unable to free the boat.  The Redwood City Police Marine Unit along with Fire personnel were able to free the boat and assist the passengers.  No one was harmed and the boat was successfully freed.

While you should always be aware of your surroundings when you’re at the helm, you should be on full alert whenever you’re entering an area with shallow or “skinny” water. You can get you grounded, stuck or worse.

With the following tips, you can boldly cruise skinny water with confidence.

• Check The Soundings

Although boat electronics were once priced out of the reach of many average boaters, today there are lots of reasonably priced devices out there to help in shallow-water situations. For most folks, it will be a depth finder. But if your conditions are extreme, it makes sense to consult a chart…either electronic or paper. They contain valuable information called “soundings” that show the depths of any particular area you may be traveling. What you’re really looking for are the areas where the water suddenly gets shallower. Steer clear of those areas.

• Know Your Limits

By all means, know your boat’s draft. That’s a number, normally measured in inches, that tells you how much of your boat is underwater, from the lowest part of your boat up to the waterline. The easiest (and most accurate) way to get this information is from your owner’s manual or the boat manufacturer’s website. In a pinch, you can estimate this number by dividing the overall length (measured from bow to stern at the waterline) by two. Keep in mind that unless you’ve got a jet drive, you’ll also have a spinning prop or two at about that depth, so always trim up when things starts to get shallow.

• Read The Water

This is where those high-tech polarized sunglasses really earn their keep. As you’re underway, you’ll be able to see a variety of different colors under the water. Look for drastic changes in color, and always be aware that darker usually means deeper. Some parts of the country have little jingles to help you remember such as: Brown, brown, run aground. White, white you just might. Green, green, nice and clean. Blue, blue, sail on through.

• Know The Tides

Even if you got through some skinny water yesterday without incident, you always need to check the tide schedule before trying it again. Many areas deal with a significant tidal change of up to several feet, making low tide extremely treacherous when you’re shoving off. Worse still, you could snake your way to some great flats fishing, then find yourself stranded for hours until the tide comes back in. Don’t let this happen to you!

• Slow Down

Unless you’re cruising on a pontoon, more than likely your boat has what’s called a “planing hull.” That means it will sit lower in the water until you reach an “on-plane” speed, which is different for every boat. Once on plane, your boat will lift and rise up out of the water, giving you a little more shallow-water clearance from the bottom. The problem is, if you’re running at planing speed and suddenly come up on a shallow area, your reaction will likely be to pull the throttle back completely. That can run you aground (as the boat drops off plane) or worse. Just run slowly and stay off plane if there’s a chance of shallow water. Better to bump something and be able to back off gently than run aground hard and risk damage to you, your passengers or your boat.

For more boating tips visit www.uscgboating.org

You can also check the tide chart at www.redwoodcityport.com/p7iq/html/tidechart.html

Telephone Scam Alert

The Redwood City Police Department is continuing to see an increase of telephone scams to residents in which the caller claims to be an IRS agent.  The caller tells the unsuspecting victim that there is a problem with their tax return and that they need to pay the amount immediately or they would be arrested.  The suspects tell the victims that they need to purchase pre-paid cards and provide them to the suspect.  Other scams include callers claiming to be law enforcement asking for payment over the phone or a “bench warrant” would be issued, and lotto scams where callers ask for money over the phone claiming that the victim has won a lottery sweepstakes.

We advise all residents-DO NOT WIRE MONEY OR PURCHASE PRE-PAID CARDS for un-solicited calls on the telephone.  These are all scams and the IRS and Law Enforcement do not operate like this.

The IRS will always send taxpayers a written notification of any tax due via the U.S. mail. The IRS never asks for credit card, debit card or prepaid card information over the telephone. For more information or to report a scam, go to www.irs.gov and type "scam" in the search box.

Here are some warning signs of telemarketing fraud—what a caller may tell you:

·         “You must act ‘now’ or the offer won’t be good.”

·         “You’ve won a ‘free’ gift, vacation, or lottery sweepstakes.” But you have to pay for “postage and handling” or other charges.

·         “You must send money, give a credit card or bank account number, or have a pre-paid credit card ready.” You may hear this before you have had a chance to consider the offer carefully.

·         “You don’t need to check out this out with anyone.” The callers say you do not need to speak to anyone including your family, lawyer, accountant, local Better Business Bureau, or consumer protection agency.

·         “You don’t need any written information about their company or their references.”

·         “You can’t afford to miss this ‘high-profit, no-risk’ offer.”

If you hear these or similar “lines” from a telephone salesperson, just say “no thank you” and hang up the telephone.  Call the Redwood City Police Department to report these scams 650.780.7100.

Here are some good general warming signs to avoid being scammed:

 •If the caller demands payment by phone.

•If the caller wants payment using a prepaid cash/credit card.

•If the caller wants payment via a Western Union Moneygram or other money wire service.

Be suspicious of unsolicited phone calls. If you have questions, or have fallen victim to a telephone scam contact the Redwood City Police Department 650.780.7100