”
Dear Red Phone, At 8:32 a.m. Friday, Feb. 13, I placed a call to
the Gilroy Police about a man defecating in the middle of a trail
at Las Animas Park. It was right where children play around the
bleachers of a ball diamond.
“Dear Red Phone, At 8:32 a.m. Friday, Feb. 13, I placed a call to the Gilroy Police about a man defecating in the middle of a trail at Las Animas Park. It was right where children play around the bleachers of a ball diamond.
“I got in my car and followed the man out of the park until he went into a nearby apartment complex. I provided police with his physical description, including the bicycle he was pushing. The dispatcher said she’d have someone come right over, so I pulled to the side of the street (Wren Avenue) and waited, and waited.
“My call was placed at 8:32 a.m. and 21 minutes later there was still no officer. Ironically, I watched a black and white traveling east on Mantelli Drive cross over Wren within 300 yards of where I was waiting. He was simply patrolling. Finally the guy loaded his bike into a pickup with two other guys and drove off at 9:03 a.m. What was the immediate crimes going on between 8:32 and 9:03 a.m. Friday that kept police so occupied that they couldn’t respond? Is that not a severe health hazard for our kids?”
Dear Chasing the Bad Guy,
Your dedication to keeping Gilroy a nice place to live certainly does not go unnoticed, but there were other things going on in the city at that time as well and your information may have been incomplete.
Red Phone contacted Sgt. Jim Gillio, Gilroy Police Department spokesman, who said this call was actually received at 8:43 a.m. and not at 8:32 a.m., according to the police department’s phone log.
“About 9:05 a.m., we had an officer in the area to look for the person who defecated in the park. The officer handled this call as a patrol check,” said Gillio.
The officer headed out there immediately after doing a welfare check on two very young unsupervised children, Gillio said.
“I listened to the original call for service and, unfortunately, it was not relayed to the dispatcher that the reporting party was following the suspect, only that the suspect was seen headed to the apartments. The caller did provide a good description. Also we did not get the reporting party’s name or contact information or his desire to prosecute. We may have been able to do a better job with getting this information from the caller and I will forward this to the dispatch supervisor to do a quality check,” Gillio said.
So, good caller, if you want to help the police with a bit more information, contact Sgt. Gillio at 846-0323.
Getting a salary, for the record
“I’d like to know if the city clerk of Gilroy has a contract with the city or is she still an at-will employee? And how much does she make a month? Thank you for your help.”
Dear Checking on the Numbers,
With these tough economic times, it is good to know how much we are spending on everything.
“The Gilroy City Clerk Shawna Freels is an at-will employee appointed directly by the City Council with no contract,” said Joe Kline, Gilroy’s public information officer.
The position’s salary ranges from $7,679 to $10,238 per month. Her current salary is $7,909 per month – or roughly $95,000 – as of January 2008, said Kline. This figure does not include benefits – such as retirement contributions and healthcare.
How fast can I go anyway?
“What is the speed limit on Chestnut Street, between 10th Street and Luchessa Avenue? I’ve been driving that way for months now and the speed limit is ambiguous at best. Thanks.”
Dear Radar Watcher,
It is always good to know, and maybe even memorize, the speed limits for areas in which you frequent.
Red Phone contacted Joe Kline again to clarify this. He said the speed limit on that section is 40 mph.
Hope this doesn’t mean you’ve been breaking the law, good caller.
