GCN Founder Zak Bushey is currently attending the 31st class of the Glendora Police Department Citizen’s Academy. He hopes to further his relations between members of the community and its police force while gaining a perspective from officers. The class runs once a week from September through November and each week Bushey will have a brief overview of what the class experienced.
The 31st class of Glendora Police Department Citizen’s Academy kicked off Wednesday night. A diverse mix of 25 area residents, students and business owners were welcomed by Sergeant Mike Henderson and Chief Tim Staab, who is the eigth Chief in the department’s history. The academy, which is a 12 week course, will delve into behind the scenes operations, training and methodology of GPD.
Some of the areas that were broached in the first week focused around GPD history and the booking process in the jail itself. A good part of that history is remembering Officer Louie Pompei and the 31st class has been dedicated to his honor on this 20th anniversary of his death.
Chief Staab talking to class 31 during the opening week of GPD Citizen’s Academy. Photo Courtesy of GPD Facebook Page
On June 9th, 1995 he was killed while attempting to stop a robbery of the Von’s Supermarket in San Dimas while off duty. He was shot but still managed to return fire, injuring two of the suspects who were later arrested at a hospital in West Covina while being treated for their injuries.
There was an internal video made by the department discussing Pompei as a person and as a police officer. The video showcased relationships he had built with those who knew him within GPD. It was apparent by Chief Staab’s comments and interviews with police personnel in the video how much Pompei is truly missed. The emotional outpours in the interviews are beyond words in describing how the wounds will never heal for those he left behind.
The class was also taken through the booking process which leads inmates from initial check in, search, fingerprinting, mugshot, tattoo photographing and finally how they are divided up to be placed in one of the five cells on site. The jail itself is maxed out at 18 inmates who can be held for a maximum of 96 hours at the type 1 facility.
Some of the differences between how juveniles are processed and treated were also looked at. One of the main differences between juvenile inmates and adults are that juveniles can only be held at GPD for 6 hours before being released or transferred. Furthermore, they need to be under constant supervision while adults only require hourly checks.
On average, Glendora arrests 208 suspects per month, based on 2014 stats, that are processed through the jail. Each inmate takes up to one hour for booking which leads to a very busy jail for processing purposes.
Chief Staab, while discussing the number of arrests, also talked about his duty to keep the quality of life superb for the residents while dealing with smaller issues on a daily basis, such as minor disputes to even barking dogs.
“It’s the quality-of-life issues that the Glendora Police Department focuses on. We respond to all calls and try to address small issues before they get out of control. We never forget who the customer is”, Staab noted.
