up BHUSD school administration Page 3 briefs Government Affairs Committee to host Allen and Fluke Page 5 cover stor|es pages 6-9 Straight talk with the Congressional candidate in a Weekly exclusive BHPOA President Detective David Williams discusses their new board Who is Elan Carr? Rank and File guest column Jonathan Prince on the Board Page 5 Page 8 Beverly Hills Weekly coverstory RANK AND FILE 8hP0A Pres|deot 0etect|ve 0av|d w||||ams d|sc0sses the oew board By Nancy Yeang What are you goals as BHPOA President? It might sound like a clich, but my goal is to make the association the best associa- tion [or even better] for an agency our size. There are a lot of perceptions of our city from outside the City of Beverly Hills, be it from people from Los Angeles, Santa Monica, [or] abroad. The law enforce- ment community really holds us [in] high regards. My goal is to make sure that were not only meeting [those] positive perceptions but that we do what we can to exceed that. Tell us more about the size of the BHPD and the perceptions that you mentioned. Were a smaller agency. Were sur- rounded by the Sheriffs Department and by LAPD. LAPD [has] 10,000+ officers and with the Sheriffs Department youre talking somewhere around [10,000] or less. Some of the perceptions they have of us are they think of the unity, camaraderie, [and] our partnership with the community. The fact that we have police and commu- nity together on our cars is something we truly mean [and] stand by. You have to believe that. It cant be a simple thought, it has to be a way of life. Every day when you go out and work, you do the best that you can to keep that police and community together. We have to keep that slogan on our cars true to light on a day-to-day basis. The perceptions from agencies outside of us are that we have a lot of community support, that we take care of our citizens here, and that we make sure that we keep this city safe. Ive worked for three different agencies and in the police agencies that Ive worked for [Beverly Hills is] unparalleled in terms of the support we get from our community. The other ones didnt even come close. They were good agencies and we went out there and we did the best that we could do. But at the end of the day, I havent seen anything like [the BHPDs] relationship with our community. The other thing that parallels what I said would be community outreach. I know what our agency were like 11 years ago when I started here, and I want to make sure that they always get better. At the end of the year, we [should] say we really did [well] this year, we really provided the best service that we could provide, we kept the city safe, we held people accountable [who] come to this city and try to commit crimes. What are some of the changes youve seen throughout your time with the BHPD? We had quite a few officers retire in the last few years and our agency has gotten very young very quick. But with good recruitment weve been able to bring on brand new officers who [are] consider[ed] pre-service; people in the academy who are hired with no prior experience with the exception of the city academy we send them to. Then we have laterals; officers who worked at other agencies with at least one year [of] experience. I think the department has done a very good job in their efforts to replenish the amount of officers weve lost. Its created a lot of opportunity because when [offi- cers retire] year-to-year, it takes a little bit longer for you to get certain positions or exposure to certain positions. [When] these tenured [officers] retired, it actu- ally afforded the opportunity [for current officers,] with regard to their assignments or assignments that they were interested in, that they wouldnt have pursued until later and instead they pursued it a little bit sooner. Its created some benefits in some ways, but there are some growing pains when you get young really quick [and] then hav- ing to reestablish your experience. That experience only comes over time. But the quality of our work hasnt dimin- ished. Its a matter of mak[ing] sure that were much quicker to get people educated and maintain what our goal is day-to-day which is keeping the city safe. We interviewed outgoing BHPOA president Detective Sergeant Michael Publicker in the Weeklys cover story issue #701. He said that he wanted to set up succession planning so we have the younger officers and the younger generations becoming interested in the association and becoming an active part in it. What is the importance in having the younger generations become more involved in the association? First and foremost that is an outstanding idea. With our member- ship, which is a very good membership, we really try to encourage younger offi- cers to always be involved in the association. Its not a matter of simply say- ing, Well I voted. Get involved with your associ- ation because your associ- ation is going to be hands on with the community. You dont want your com- munity involvement to simply be whenever they see you in uniform [or] theyve called the police because they need assis- tance for something. You also want it to be a situation where [the com- munity] want[s] to reach out and actually see and talk to the people protect- ing the city. Thats one of the ways you can go about it, is being involved with your association. Im totally in agreement with succession planning. I believe that several of the officers dont know about it [and] theyre not sure if they can do it. Ive spoken to several officers and told them some of the new things we would like to do. One of the things is [in the association] meetings we would like to have Skype-like system. Sometimes its difficult [to attend meetings] for people who may have kids or they might live far away. They want that information but its not always readily [avail- able] to them. Why did the BHPOA members want a new Board of Directors? Were trying to look at something a little bit new. To a certain degree, it would prob- ably be unfair to have any one group or any couple of individuals to confidently have to float the boat for everybody else. When your name is called, you have to be ready to get up there and say, You know what? This needs new ideas in and lets go forward and do these different things. Thats how you get people around you motivated. I think that the entire time that Ive been here there have been a couple of people on the board who have done an outstanding job. They maintain their service on the board through and through, with the exception that if they have to have a different assignment that may be conflicted with their involvement on the board. As thankful as I am for people like that [who] are dedicated and dont mind putting that kind of time in, you have almost even ask yourself, is that really fair? Theyre not given that opportunity to sit back and reap some of the benefits that either theyve estab- lished or that people [who] have succeeded them can established. Its a lot of work and its not easy. In its entirety, the membership as a whole [spoke] about a lot of different ideas, and it was a mat- ter of going into a direction where we can do a lot more outreach. We can get a lot of fresh people in, get them motivated, get them out there and be the best that we can be. What are some of the associations challenges? Its not so much what our challenges are. I think we have a real- ly good membership and [a] good group of people. I dont know if I could ask for a bet- ter group of [six board members] to work with. I dont see, when I think challenges, any- thing thats major. Our main thing is we have to be very disciplined, and [be] understanding [of] our relationship with our community. Im very big on com- munity relations. I think this was something that was taught to me when I got here. I can tell the difference when the police agency has a good relationship with their community and when the police agency is simply working in the community. The peo- ple in this town balance their rights with their responsibilities, and the mere fact that they address that they understand what the respon- sibilities are in the community is fantastic. I just think that we need to make sure were constantly breathing new breath into our relationship here and into our community and even into our agency. As long as we continue to do those things and be very disciplined about them, then our challenges can be more like tasks versus challenges. What type of cases do you specifically work on as a detective? Im assigned to the high tech crimes unit. I do computer forensic examinations. Our main goal is to provide support for our detective bureau for our detectives [who] work robbery, burglary, financial fines, [and] vehicle bur- glary. If we have suspects [who,] for instance, we catch during the commission of a crime [and] they have a phone. We would do the phone examinations that could determine who that suspect [was] talking to, who he talked to during the time that the crime [was] being committed, [and] what text messages were sent from him to maybe associate the individ- ual in that crime. We do that at the level of cell For this agency to be able to maintain that kind of a relationship and rapport where people unsolicited tell people they dont even know, We love our police department here, theres something to be said in that Detective David Williams July 10-July 16, 2014 Page 9 Canon City parking lot. Visit www.beverlyhillschamber.com/ events for more information. The Manor returns to Beverly Hills Returning for its twelfth year, The Manor re-opened yesterday at the Greystone Mansion in Greystone Park located at 905 Loma Vista Drive. The Manor depicts the wealthy MacAlister Family, standing in as the the fictionalized char- acters of the Doheny Family. Charles makes an illegal loan to Senator Alfred Winston, who rep- resents Secretary of Interior Albert Fall, where in the midst of a bribery scandal a violent death occurs in the MacAlister family. Attendees will watch the story unfold as they follow actors through the restored Greystone Mansion and witness the fictionalized story based on true, historical events that took place at the mansion 90 years ago. Weekday events at 6:00 p.m.: July dates: 10, 11, 12, 14, 17, 18, 24, 25 August dates: 7, 8, 15 Weekend events at 1:00 p.m.: July 13 and 26, August 9 and 16 Reservations are made by calling (310) 694- 6118 in advanced. Tickets are $55.00 and free parking is available. phones, but we go as far up as computers [and] Ipads. If its digital evidence, we bring it in, process it and give the case agency the information that they need to know to help further prosecute their cases. The Supreme Court recently ruled in the Riley v. California case that police must have a warrant to search cellphones or smartphones of the individuals they arrest. How has that affected what you do? That law says that from this point forward we can no longer go into a phone without a search warrant. It used to be that if you arrested an individual and he had a phone, prior to this Supreme Court ruling, they basically felt that a cell phone would be no different than your wallet. You can look at X, Y, and Z. Now the courts have ruled that if you want to get into a phone, because of the amount of information thats inside it, it goes beyond being considered a wallet of sorts, and there- fore youre going to need a search warrant. You have to have good reason and prob- able cause [for a search warrant.] This has to be all spelled out and provided to a judge. Weve done that in the past under the circumstances where it wasnt an inci- dent to arrest. Weve had to write warrants where maybe we arrest the person at their residence, via a search and arrest warrant, to arrest them there, take whatever property, we come back, we produce a search warrant, we take it to a judge, the judge reviews it in whole, they sign it off, and then theres a process that goes after that. This law isnt something were foreign to because there are situations that are going to require you to have a warrant to look at a phone. Not every phone youre going to get, youre going to automatically go into, even in the past. This is simply an attention to detail. We totally understand it [and] no ones bitter about it. Its the law and its our responsibil- ity to follow the law. How did you get involved in detective work? I worked patrol at [the Monterey Park Police Department and the Cal State University Police], and when you come here you start off working patrol. It just so hap- pened that the City of Beverly Hills had the opportunity to start up their own forensic unit. They were looking for collateral offi- cers who would work patrol, or whatever their full time assignment was, and come in and learn [to] work in forensics. The full-time positions are detective positions because it involves a lot of investigations and processing of digital evidence. I [was] interested in the collateral divi- sion. Ive always been [involved in technol- ogy] and Im into gadgets. I [applied for it,] interviewed for it and I got the opportunity to come into the unit. I learned a lot, and Im still learning. Its ever changing Eventually a detective position [be]came open. I maintained my collateral duty but I went into the detective bureau working with investigations in identity theft, which was very rewarding. The investigations are a little intense [since] youre dealing with a lot of information [and] a lot of data. You have a clientele of citizens, businesses and business owners. It was really an introduc- tion to me as to how financial crimes work [and] how identity theft, fraud, and forgery work. If I had leave the unit that I am in now, I would actually go back and work in financials. High tech crimes [are] very interesting because it gives you a slightly different per- spective of how your offenders operate, on how they function, [and] on the things that they do to conceal digital evidence. Its very rewarding, I love it. How did you come to Beverly Hills? I used to do recruitment for both the Monterey Park Police Department as well as the Cal State University Police. I actually came across [retired officer] Ray Valdillez, who used to be a background investigator here, and he also did recruitment for Beverly Hills. We used to run into each other at the recruitment expos. I hadnt done a full year yet [and] the first time I ran into him was at Cal State L.A. and he tells me, You ought to consider coming over to Beverly Hills, and I still didnt know a lot about Beverly Hills. I didnt think much of it. I was still in my honeymoon stage of being a full-time police officer. After that we ran into each other about three or four more times and then he told me, Why dont you come out to the depart- ment and Ill give you a tour. I came out, he gave me a tour and the environment seemed very professional and very polite and I said, Wow, this is neat. This is a little different than where Im from. That was probably half of it. But the true turning point that made my decision easy to come here was [when] I [went] on my ride along in 2002 with Sergeant Mark Rosen. [Hes] a captain now. When you ride with LAPD, nine times out of ten youre going to be riding with a ser- geant. When you ride with San Gabriel PD, Monterey Park, or Cal State, youre going to be riding with an officer. There are only some agencies where theyll only let you ride with a supervisor. I was enjoying the ride along and hes explaining things to me. I decided to ask him, Im just curious, what is the commu- nity support like here? He looks over at me and he says, Oh, our community loves us. My initial reaction was, Oh really? and he goes, Yah. I [thought] Well you know, thats kind of a loaded question to be asking. What was he supposed to say? It wasnt that I didnt believe it, but I kind of expected him to say that. [Rosen] responds to a traffic collision, and the collision was on little Santa Monica and Wilshire. He says, Were going to go to this accident, and I said, Okay. When we get there, I was in a suit and tie and he was in uniform. We got out of the car, he said, Sit tight. Im going to walk over here and see if these people are okay. This guy comes up behind me and he says, How youre doing officer? and I [said] Im okay. He goes, Is everybody okay in this accident? I said, Oh yah, I think everybodys okay. I think it was a non-inju- ry but were over here to check and make sure everybodys okay. Then he looks at me, saw my badge and said, Oh, are you in Beverly Hills? and I said, No. He said, Oh, where do you work? and I said, I work for Cal State University Police. He said, Are you thinking of coming over here? and I said, Yah, Im in the process, Im thinking about making the move and coming over here. Unsolicited, he looks at me and he said, We love our police depart- ment, and I sat there and looked at him and went, Wow. [When] we have so much going on in the world right now, if you bring it down and talk about the communities and the struggles that different communities have to go through, for this agency to be able to maintain that kind of a relationship and rapport where people unsolicited tell people they dont even know, We love our police department here, theres something to be said in that. I think that was the true turning point. As a member or even as a board member of the POA, how can you not want to main- tain that? What are some upcoming events for BHPOA? We have the pancake breakfast thats coming up. We have the Black and White Ball. We have our holiday party which involves our retires as well as our current employees. Our retirees dont necessarily show up to talk shop, but when you get to mingle with them, it affords us the opportu- nity to show our retirees, look have far the department has come and we can also show our existing people, look at where weve come from. briefs cont. from page 5 briefs cont. on page 10 Pedram Salimpour Los Angeles County Medical Association names Salimpour as president Dr. Pedram Salimpour was installed as the 143rd President of the Los Angeles County Medical Association at the Riviera Country Club on June 21. Sailmpour will represent 6,500 member physicians in the L.A County are from every medical specialty and practice. Shelby Kocee and Esther Levy Richman