Those attending the District 1 event will have the opportunity to hear from Chief Ford and meet several of the city’s officers. The two-hour community forum will be at Contra Loma Estates park at 1203 Sycamore Drive.

Earlier in the day on Sycamore Drive, police responded to calls about a possible shooting near Peppertree Way just after 10:45 a.m. A man, who suffered at least one gunshot wound, was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. It was the city’s first homicide of the year.

The police department plans to hold community forums in each district, rotating them throughout the year.

In limited initial details, a police spokesperson said officers responded to Sycamore Drive near Peppertree Way just after 10:45 a.m. for a report of a possible shooting.

A victim found suffering from at least one gunshot wound was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Police did not share any suspect or vehicle descriptions Tuesday afternoon. The shooting is the city’s first homicide of the year. According to reporting by this news organization, Antioch police investigated eight homicides in 2022.

Anyone with information may call Antioch police’s non-emergency line at 925-778-2441, or may text a tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using the key word ANTIOCH.

Check back for updates.

Contact George Kelly at 408-859-5180.

Pittsburg man Damond Lazenby Jr. disappeared Jan. 1 after his green Volkswagen was found abandoned with its engine running near a Highway 4 overpass at Port Chicago Highway in Concord.

After family members reported his absence, they marshalled multiple search parties to canvass roadways around the region up to Jan. 7, when Lazenby’s body was found on an embankment near the shoulder of eastbound Hwy. 4 between Port Chicago Highway and Willow Pass Road.

On Monday, the CHP’s Golden Gate Division posted a statement to social media saying that investigators believe Damond Lazenby Jr. was struck by the right front part of a dark-colored sedan whose driver fled the scene.

Investigators have yet to share additional details about Lazenby’s death, pending results of an autopsy.

Anyone with information may call the CHP’s 24/7 tip line at 707-917-4491.

Contact George Kelly at 408-859-5180.

“The holiday shopping, dining and self-care season is a critical time for the viability of small businesses. It was wonderful to work with (former) Mayor Schaaf and the Oakland Police Department in receiving a grant to fund the full-time, on-street safety ambassadors,” Swafford said. “The hope is that the public saw the broad effort to make commercial districts, and in this case the Montclair Village shopping area, places we can come to with a sense of safety.”

Safety ambassadors during the 30-day trial period that ended Saturday were on the streets eight hours a day, seven days a week except for Christmas and New Year’s days. Direct mobile phone numbers were made available to the public for requesting assistance, and flyers explaining safety ambassador services were delivered to merchants. Kevin Gilmore, of Oakland, served as one of the ambassadors. In an interview Jan. 13, the second-to-last-day of the program, he reflected on the experience.

“I come from the inner city, so coming up here was entering a different walk of life,” Gilmore said. “At first, it was touch-and-go if I was going to do it. But once I was up here and felt welcome, it made me want to do it and to live up to their expectations.”

Gilmore downplays his skills when asked what he brought to the position, mentioning only that he has experience in security work.

“To be honest, it was just me being me. It’s not one set skill; I just take my job seriously,” he said. “I know not to judge but to observe and not act on impulse. Like with certain style cars, a person can be judgmental. But coming from the inner-city, I can feel a person out, and 95% of the time, I can use instinct.”

Gilmore’s interactions ran a gamut, from escorting people to vehicles and reminding shoppers to place purchases in trunks instead of on car seats to providing directions to parking locations to reporting suspicious or actual criminal action to Swafford, who then communicated the information to Oakland police.

“I approached one circumstance in a way so the police could get there,” he said. “I can’t say the specifics, but let’s just say security isn’t about putting your hands on people. If you talk to people, if you tell them you don’t have to do this or that, once you make them feel you’re not judging them, it makes a situation way better. There’s no violence.”

Asked if he will participate if the program receives more funding and continues, Gilmore responded in the affirmative.

“Yes, hands down. Why? Because not only from the good business perspective but in the way the community and Dan have welcomed me, I feel comfortable. People in the community say they see a difference. Merchants thank me, and there are even people who come check on me and bring me coffee when I’m working. Just making a little difference along the line, we might make a bigger difference to keep people from hitting on the elderly or other people or doing crimes.”

Swafford said Gilmore was an ideal candidate for a position that required people who are outgoing, able to communicate effectively and quick to establish and reliably maintain relationships with local merchants.

“We leaned on Bay Alarm Company supervisors who knew the people best suited for these posts. We had to move quickly, and so we relied on their partnerships for referrals.”

Montclair Village regularly engages with Bay Alarm for safety patrols in the district. Limor Margalit, Bay Alarm’s director of sales and security agent services, said that in setting up safety ambassador service for Montclair, one of three districts covered by the company, his role centered on working closely with merchants. By addressing their concerns with the on-street presence of a uniformed ambassador during the holiday season, Gilmore said residents and visitors also benefited.

“Long-term merchants told us having a guard trained to help in different situations was important,” Gilmore said. “For people shopping, the guards made them feel safe by walking with them. Escorting someone to a car is just one example of something they did that the police cannot do.”

Swafford walked the shopping district;s streets during the holidays, introducing the ambassadors to owners and staff at key businesses. He held briefings and relied on digital reporting from the ambassadors to receive updates and provide feedback.

“There was an auto burglary and we advised (that) they connect with a neighboring business and relay that to me so I could get any camera images to pull and relay that to OPD,” Swafford said. “That happened on multiple occasions, unfortunately. We also saw shoplifting and theft that spills beyond store security.

“In one case our ambassador provided information that led to an arrest. Proactively, we consulted on casing the neighborhood. Kevin just being present on the street led to deterring crimes and also he reminded people to put items in secure places out of sight.”

Swafford hopes the program will continue.

“I’d love to take the feedback and report what the ambassadors were able to do to the mayor,” he said. “We had boots on the ground, investment in crime reduction and a good partnership with OPD that allowed them to be more efficient. These are the obvious gains. We don’t have the budget for it, so we’ll look to funding from the city of Oakland and put whatever resources we have in the (Montclair) Village toward continuing it.

“Merchants in the area are still struggling, and, to be honest, some might not make it, so we don’t want to see people taking their money out of the area because they don’t feel safe. An investment in this type of program in Oakland’s General Fund will pay for itself with increased economic activity throughout the city. If given the opportunity, that’s how I will present it to city officials.”

Lou Fancher is a freelance writer. Contact her at lou@johnsonandfancher.com.

The driver of a stolen ambulance led officers on a chase of more than 50 miles through three Bay Area counties on Monday evening, the California Highway Patrol said.

The ambulance was finally abandoned in Oakland, and the thief fled on foot and escaped.

The chase began around 7 p.m. when the ambulance, which had been left unoccupied, was taken from near 47th Avenue and Irving Street in San Francisco’s Outer Sunset neighborhood.

Police officers tried to stop it near 19th Avenue but it headed onto Interstate 280. The CHP took over the pursuit as the ambulance headed south on I-280, then east on Highway 92 and across the San Mateo Bridge.

From there the chase headed north on Interstate 880. The ambulance exited at High Street in Oakland and traveled about two miles on surface streets before stopping at 12th Street and 17th Avenue. The driver got out and ran.

According to San Francisco Deputy Police Chief Raj Vaswani, the suspect had not been found as of 9:45 p.m. Monday, and the investigation was ongoing.

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Richard Raymond Klein’s scheduled 1:30 p.m. arraignment will come six days after he was arrested in Mexico by United States law enforcement officers, with help from Mexican police, on suspicion of the December murder in Suisun City.

Klein was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service while he was in Rosarito, just south of the U.S.- Mexico border and part of the greater San Diego-Tijuana region.

He was then transported back into the states and held for a time in San Diego, where he was arrested early Friday by Solano County Sheriff’s investigators and booked into custody later in the day.

Also, Klein was held on a felony warrant out of Contra Costa County on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm, possession of narcotics for sale, possession of a controlled substance while armed, and possession of a controlled substance for sale.

He remains in Solano County Jail without bail for the murder allegation and $450,000 in bail on the charges listed in the warrant.

Suisun City police said that at about 9:50 p.m. Dec. 15, a 37-year-old man was killed in the 1200 block of Potrero Circle.

Investigators, working closely with the Solano County District Attorney’s Office and the Major Crimes Task Force, were able to identify Klein as the suspect and locate him. He was taken into custody at about 11:15 a.m. Wednesday in Rosarito.

Klein was arrested on suspicion of the murder and likely will face additional felony charges once arraigned on Tuesday.

In a social media post last week, Suisun City police officials, saying the investigation remains ongoing and no more details would be released at this time, ask that anyone with relevant information about the December shooting should call 421-7373.

The Solano County Coroner on Monday declined to identify the second murder victim, saying his name was “protected” by the Suisun Police Department. Suisun City Police Commander Jeff Henderson did not return the Reporter’s request on Monday for more information.

A Solano County Superior Court judge in November ordered Klein to face a jury trial for the April shooting in Fairfield.

After a held-to-answer arraignment, Judge Robert Bowers told Klein to return to Department 15 in the Justice Building in Vallejo for the trial at 9 a.m. Jan. 25.  The judge also scheduled some pretrial matters, among them a trial management conference at 9 a.m. Jan. 23.

Klein, who is represented by criminal defense attorney Dustin M. Gordon of Vallejo, is accused of killing a man on April 21.

Court records showed Gordon submitted a motion for adequate bail and release on Nov. 10 and Klein submitted a fingerprint card and appears to have been released from jail on Nov. 14.

Arrested May 3 in the 1200 block of Vine Drive in Fairfield and booked into Solano County Jail, Klein is accused of fatally shooting Anthony Fuimaono, 56, of Fairfield, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Police records show that around 11:30 p.m. on April 21, a group had gathered outside a home in the 300 block of Manzanita Avenue.

An investigation revealed that an argument occurred and guns were drawn, police said. Fuimaono was shot during the chaos.

On May 5, Klein, a large man at 6 feet 7 inches tall and weighing 280 pounds, appeared in Department 11 in Fairfield for an arraignment on the charges. Solano County District Attorney’s Office filed its criminal complaint on May 5.

If convicted at trial for the April killing, Klein, who was convicted of a felony in 2006 in Contra Costa County, faces 25 years to life for the murder and likely more time for using a firearm and being a previously convicted felon.

The collision happened about 8:47 p.m. Sunday in the 8400 block of San Leandro Street.

Police said that a stolen Kia was traveling westbound on San Leandro Street when it collided with a concrete barrier along the south curb line.

The male driver fled before police and emergency personnel got to the scene. Investigators are trying to confirm his name.

An 18-year-old Oakland woman who was a passenger sustained major injuries in the crash and was taken to a hospital where she was initially listed in critical condition but was later upgraded to stable.

A 19-year-old Oakland man who was also a passenger was hospitalized in stable condition.

Investigators said it has not yet been determined if speed, alcohol or drugs were factors in the crash.

Police and Crime Stoppers of Oakland are offering up to $5,000 in reward money for information leading to the arrest of the driver.  Anyone with information may call police at 510-777-8570 or Crime Stoppers at 510-777-8572.

Police said they began investigating after learning seven vehicles near Brentwood Boulevard between Sunset Road and Homecoming Way had been struck by BB pellets or other objects from 5:40 a.m. Friday to 1:40 a.m. Saturday.

After asking residents and pedestrians in the area to take care and share any suspicious activity, investigators managed to recover undisclosed evidence that led to a 31-year-old man’s Almond Street home just after 5 p.m. Saturday.

Within the hour, the 31-year-old was arrested and booked into Martinez county jail on suspicion of recklessly discharging projectiles at moving vehicles. He was listed in custody at the jail and held on $140,000 bail, according to a county records check Sunday night.

It was the department’s second such investigation within two months, following the arrest of a 19-year-old man later charged by the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office with shooting into an occupied home.

Police were asking anyone with information to call Brentwood police at 925-809-7911.

Contact George Kelly at 408-859-5180.

Diane Hendry, who filed a retaliation lawsuit against the city in August 2018, received a $2.6 million payment as part of the settlement, ending a five-year legal battle between the former fire captain and Fremont.

Fremont is still facing two other lawsuits that accuse city officials of retaliatory behavior. In November, the family of the late Fremont Police Capt. Fred Bobbitt filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city for allegedly contributing to his death last year, saying he was harassed by senior officials after refusing to violate state law during negotiations with the Fremont Police Association. The same month, senior Fremont police detective Michael Gebhardt filed a retaliation lawsuit against the city in which he claimed to be targeted for criticizing the Fremont Police Department.

Hendry, who joined the Fremont Fire Department in 1993 and agreed to retire later this year as part of the settlement, sued after experiencing two years of what she calls “a campaign of retaliation” by the leaders of the fire department.

According to the Fremont native, the retaliation began following her role in the investigation of the dismissal of a female recruit in 2016, when Hendry was a division chief of administration. The recruit had been released from the city’s training academy for failing performance tests, but disputed that she had failed the tests.

Hendry and then-Fire Chief Geoff LaTendresse reviewed tapes of the tests and determined that the recruit had indeed passed.

“It was my assignment at the time and I did my job. It was indisputable that this woman passed these tests,” Hendry said in an interview. The recruit was reinstated, and an investigation was launched. The recruit filed a lawsuit against the city and settled in 2017.

As a result, Division Chief Rick Cory was removed from his position as head of the training academy. The deputy chief of training at the time, Chris Shelley, retired before the investigation was complete, and a captain who was an instructor at the academy, Matt Loughran-Smith, retired two days after the results were released, according to court documents.

“I was widely blamed for what happened. I was left out of meetings, people stopped talking when I entered a room, nobody would sit next to me. It got to the point where people began making complaints about me, and I knew I was on the way out,” Hendry said. “I had been part of the city for 25 years; I was promoted up through the ranks and I built all of these relationships and suddenly I was completely shut out. It was horrible.”

Hendry said that she was isolated, removed from certain duties and excluded from critical meetings regarding the recruit’s reinstatement.

In depositions provided to Hendry’s lawyers, her accusations were backed up by two other division chiefs who worked at the department at the time. “It seemed she was blamed for everything,” one said during a deposition.

In 2018, Hendry decided to transfer to the city’s police department on a temporary basis, but said her requests to transfer back to the fire department were never approved, despite a number of positions opening up in the department. Hendry was also still paid by the fire department, rather than the police department, during this time.

A performance evaluation written by LaTendresse in June 2017 said that Hendry was “one of the most dedicated people” and was consistently positive, professional and trustworthy.

“One of the first things we look at with these cases is performance history, but her performance reviews are the most glowing I’ve ever seen,” Hendry’s attorney, Deborah Kochan, said in an interview.

In an email sent in 2020, Jacobson told Hendry that her duties had been reassigned and that her return to the department would be “disruptive” because of reasons that included the COVID-19 pandemic and wildfire season.

In another email sent in response to a further request by Hendry to be transferred in 2021, Jacobson told Hendry that he could not accommodate the request as she had not served in the department for two years.

In a later deposition, Jacobson said that he felt Hendry’s presence on the force would disrupt team cohesiveness if she were transferred back.

“Based on my personal experience of having people that have left organizations and/or brought lawsuits against organizations that they still are members of, it just doesn’t end well,” Jacobson said during the deposition.

Hendry said she believes her gender played a role in how she was treated. “There were five women in Fremont Fire for most of my career. I was hired in 1993, and we didn’t hire another woman until 2013. By that time, the others had retired, so there were only two of us in the department,” Hendry said. “I was actively trying to recruit more women, which was part of my duties, but I think people didn’t like that. There was a perception that we were lowering our standards. But, I also think I was targeted for simply speaking up; for going against the culture.”

Two investigations were launched after Hendry took her concerns to human resources, but she was told that sufficient evidence was not found to support her claims.

During a deposition, former Deputy Chief Amiel Thurston claimed that the issues came down to Hendry isolating herself from members of the department after he became interim chief following LeTendresse’s retirement in 2017.

However, Hendry maintained that she had fully supported Thurston’s appointment and that she had recommended him for the position, which LaTendresse and Assistant City Manager Brian Stott confirmed in court.

“Thurston came up through the ranks with Diane, and they always had a good working relationship,” Kochan said.

“His best friend was one of the people disciplined after the 2016 investigation. After that, he turned against her. I asked him why everything between him and Diane changed, and he realized he needed an answer and came up with this idea that she was jealous of him – and the city ran with it.”

Thurston confirmed in a deposition that Rick Cory was his best friend, and the godfather of one of his children.

A trial date was scheduled for November, but the city reached a settlement with Hendry in early December.

In response to a request for an interview, the city’s communications department said in an email that no one was available to comment as the case involved a “personnel matter.”

The two other lawsuits alleging retaliation by Fremont city officials are still pending. Bobbitt died by suicide on Feb. 21, 2022, at age 54, after serving on the Fremont police force for more than 32 years. He allegedly faced retaliation from former Fremont City Manager Mark Danaj, who was charged with embezzlement last March, and retired Fremont Police Chief Kimberly Petersen.

Bobbitt filed a complaint with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing in March 2021, and a claim with the city in May 2021. That December, an arbiter found that the city’s anti-retaliation policy had been violated. Bobbitt was also mentioned in the retaliation lawsuit filed by Gebhardt.

“I truly thought that when I spoke up, city leadership would step up,” Hendry said. “But these things will happen again. The needle hasn’t moved forward.”

The sheriff’s office said they arrested Johnson with the help of officers from the Oakland Police Department.