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Uploaded: Friday, December 14, 2012, 4:25 PM
Updated: Monday, December 17, 2012, 8:27 AM
Firefighters duck gunfire in East Palo Alto
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by Sue Dremann
Palo Alto Weekly Staff
Firefighters returning to their East Palo Alto station ran for cover after two rival gangs engaged in a gun battle in front of their quarters about two weeks ago, Menlo Park Fire Protection District officials confirmed Friday, Dec. 14.
It was just one of many such dangerous gunfire incidents station employees have experienced in the past couple of months, including an incident that occurred on Thursday night, Division Chief Frank Fraone said.
Two weeks ago, as crew members were backing the fire apparatus into the station, they heard gun fire and sought cover inside the fire station and vehicles. The gun battle between the occupants of two cars caused a bullet to strike a bulletproof-glass window and ricochet into the window frame of the station on University Avenue. A second round struck the garage roll-up door where trucks and equipment are stored, Fraone said.
No one was injured during the incident, which was followed by another round of shooting outside the station Thursday, he said.
In the past two months, the station has been hit four times, he said. Bullet holes have damaged the fire station and firefighters' vehicles a number of times.
The department added two-inch-thick outside fencing to deflect bullets on the side of firefighters' sleeping and living quarters, bulletproof glass in the office window and extra-thick walls in the patio area, he said. Damage to the station has been the result of direct gunfire or stray bullets, he added.
Fire Chief Harold Schapelhouman, Battalion Chief Ben Marra and Fraone recently met with the City of East Palo Alto related to recent gang and violent activity, Fraone said.
The meeting with city officials offered "nothing assuring," other than an acknowledgment that violence has been on the rise and police are launching a crackdown with other city police departments and county agencies to dismantle the gangs, he said.
East Palo Alto police Chief Ronald Davis could not be reached for comment.
More than a dozen shootings and several murders in East Palo Alto and Menlo Park are attributed to a violent feud between the "Taliban" in Menlo Park and the "DaVill" in East Palo Alto, Davis said in November.
On Nov. 27 he announced a concerted violence-reduction campaign called Operation SMART. Palo Alto and Menlo Park police agencies are working with East Palo Alto to quash the crime wave.
Other programs, including Operation Ceasefire, call in gang members for face-to-face discussions with police and contact with faith leaders and social services agencies to bring services to those who want to opt out of the gang life.
At a recent officers' conference, chief officers and company supervisors reviewed and discussed precautionary safety measures related to gunfire incidents. Personnel don body armor when they respond to medical calls about shootings and extra police secure the scenes before emergency personnel and firefighters arrive, Fraone said.
The department will be building a new station, which could have bullet-resistant Kevlar lining in the sleeping and living area walls, he said. Temporary housing is about to be brought in so that the new station can be built, he said. Construction is planned to begin in spring 2013.Are you receiving Express, our free daily e-mail edition? See a sample and sign-up for Express.
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Posted by where's Ron, a resident of East Palo Alto, on Dec 14, 2012 at 6:41 pm What do you mean you couldn't reach Ron Davis?
The same guy who loves talking to the press about how good of a job he has been doing and bragging about his stats and parolee roundups?
Maybe he is busy cleaning up his resume for other PD's.
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Posted by EPA-Needs-Cleaning-Up, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Dec 14, 2012 at 6:45 pm It was only a few weeks ago that the Weekly ran an article about a $300K grant to some Berkeley "institute" to write up how the EAP "Shotspotter" had changed the way the EPA police deal with random acts of gun discharge. So, where is the "ShotSpotter"? Is'nt it doing the job the police seem to claim it's capable of doing? And what happened to the taxpayer's $300K? Another scan, perpetrated by the Berkeley "glitteratti"?
This is no way to live. If it takes bringing in the National Guard and putting EPA under martial law, that would be infinitely better than having firemen ducking bullets!
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Posted by A. A., a resident of Stanford, on Dec 14, 2012 at 6:56 pm [Portion removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]
I lived in E. san Jo during college, and my parked car got caught in the crossfire of gang warfare often enough that the insurance co stopped paying for repair until I moved into a real house with a locking garage. So I know what this is like, and nothing but the military can straighten it out. After a while, the cops get too scared.
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Posted by Hmmm, a resident of East Palo Alto, on Dec 14, 2012 at 7:04 pm Shotspotter & that grant have nothing to do w/gang violence. But then, you know that - you just want to have something to complain about. We're the ones w/something real to complain about & the folks in the east side even moreso & Shotspotter isn't it.
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Posted by EPA-Needs-Cleaning-Up, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Dec 14, 2012 at 7:30 pm > Shotspotter & that grant have nothing
> to do w/gang violence
Oh? It�s billed as being able to help police locate firearms discharges. Gangs are clearly the main source of weapons discharges in EPA. Get to the location where �shoot outs� are going, and just maybe you catch some of the cretins. Over time, you might even put one, or more of these gangs out of action. That�s how �Shotspotter� could have something to do with gang violence. [Portion removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]
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Posted by Sharon, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Dec 14, 2012 at 7:39 pm [Post removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]
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Posted by Hmmm, a resident of East Palo Alto, on Dec 14, 2012 at 7:48 pm [Post removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]
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Posted by Hmmm, a resident of East Palo Alto, on Dec 15, 2012 at 11:42 am So I'll say it again: ShotSpotter helps residents & the police. It's must easier for them to track gunfire via this system than it is via my phone call w/inexact guesses as to where the bullets are flying. Catching the shooters is something else, & isn't something that ShotSpotter can do - after all, it's not called Dirtbag Dragnet or Killer Catcher.
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Posted by The Good Samaritan, a resident of the Ventura neighborhood, on Dec 15, 2012 at 5:00 pm My African American family has resided in Greater Palo Alto, including East Palo Alto, since the late 1800's. East Palo Alto was originally an Ohlone settlement. It was also a beautiful country farm town. Many East Palo Alto homes have Japanese Shoji panel walls, Italian wine cellars and buried swimming pools. Many long term, educated, hardworking, middle class folks have either died or relocated.
Drug abuse, unemployment and related violence have plagued East Palo Alto, since the early 1960's. East Palo Alto remains infested with a small number extremely violent, well-armed gang bangers, who have no self-respect or appreciation for human life in general.
East Palo Alto is also building several hundred condos, town houses, offices and light industrial space. The City is experiencing another wave of urban gentrification, fueled by, mostly white and Asian, Facebook, Google and other monied Silicon Valley professionals, who are priced out of nearby Palo Alto. Long term East Palo prospects are extremely bright. East Palo Alto is quickly becoming the Emeryville of Silicon Valley. God bless the hard working East Palo Alto citizens and public servants and may lasting peace quickly come your way.
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Posted by Hmmm, a resident of East Palo Alto, on Dec 15, 2012 at 8:18 pm What the *hell* is going in tonight w/so much gunfire? Are the bullets hitting anyone?
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Posted by EPA-Needs-Cleaning-UP, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Dec 16, 2012 at 2:35 pm It’s pretty clear that the Shotspotter system is not very effective—
Shotspotter:
Web Link
Web Link
If it were, then the EPA Police would be documenting its effectiveness on a routine basis.
It would pay EPA to begin to install a network of video surveillance cameras that would provide additional “eyes” for the police.
Maybe gentrification will slowly cause the gangs/thugs/criminals to move elsewhere—but that is a slow process.
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Posted by Sharon, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Dec 16, 2012 at 9:00 pm [Post removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]
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Posted by Blah blah blah, a resident of East Palo Alto, on Dec 16, 2012 at 11:44 pm 1st Shotspotter is garbage.. So what good does it do.. Really? Telling the cops where a gun was discharged.
2nd How about good detective work for a change.. These cops come to a crime seen disrespect everyone are only talking about hot girls they've seen on this particular day and then just b. s. for a few minutes and on they go back to sitting outside of Starbucks.
3rd This so called chief is only here to add another line to his resume.. Nuff said.
4th We need a respectable police force not some youngsters here only long enough waiting for another department to pick them up into their ranks... Or Sgt Norrisis stuck here bitter at their inability to move on. :(
Come on people open your eyes it's this inept police that's the root of all the problems. Someone knows they can get away with these crimes, therefore they committ them.
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Posted by S.H., a resident of another community, on Dec 17, 2012 at 11:38 am East Palo Alto is not very large. The current police force is ill equipped to handle the new siege that is starting up again. Allowing sleazy criminals and those that have been released from prison back into this community is leading to the demise. It is time to bring in the San Mateo County Sheriffs Dept. as the FULL time law enforcement agency and then get all the outside state and local and federal law agencies to put a parameter around this city and move through the blocks street by street and eradicate the vermon. This recent incident is a reminder of what happened in the early to mid 1990's with all of the daily shootings and firefighters having to wear bullet proof vest when going on calls in this city. I know because I was a firefighter having to wear the vests!!
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Posted by Helen, a resident of the Charleston Meadows neighborhood, on Dec 17, 2012 at 12:00 pm [Post removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]
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Posted by Enough!, a resident of the Charleston Gardens neighborhood, on Dec 17, 2012 at 1:56 pm [Post removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]
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