Escondido Sunrise Rotary; Meeting to Serve our Community in Person and via Zoom; and “Police Critical Incident and Hostage Negotiations from an Inside Perspective”… March 31, 2022
As we all try to conduct our professional pursuits in new ways, it’s appropriate to remind ourselves of who we are as a Serving Organization… Our accomplishments, our fellowship and the reminder of our many successes is valuable as we seek new opportunities to serve…
We met again in person at the Chamber of Commerce… Great to enjoy the fellowship again and see all your smiling faces…
As a Club, we honored our nation with a salute to our Flag led by Mark Quick…
And, an invocation was offered by Past President, Jim Ponder…
Guests and Visitors:
None this week…
Now, some Sunrise Rotary member milestones…
Birthdays:
March 31: Donna Aeling… The month-long celebration!!
April 5: Susie Miller
6: Alta Farley
Happy Birthday Blessings to all of you…
Anniversaries:
None this week…
Rotary Anniversaries:
None this week…
Sunrise Rotarians Serving, and Announcements:
Mark you Calendars…
Note some service opportunities coming up…
San Pasqual Union School Entry Sign Getting a Facelift…
This project is in the final painting stage… Installation is likely to take place on April 12… Watch for more details to come…
Special Club Meeting on Wednesday May 4 at the California Center for the Arts…
On Wednesday May 4 at 7:00 AM, our meeting will be part of the Palomar College event at the Arts Center. As part of the morning’s event, John Masson, Past President if Sunrise Rotary and a City Council member, will be posthumously honored with the 2022 Comet Award from the Palomar College Foundation…
Plan to attend…
Support for Fisher House at Camp Pendleton
A Thank You Note was shared with Sunrise Rotary Club members for the donation items that were shared on March 17…
Thanks to all who contributed…
Neighborhood Health to Become a Regular Part of “Feeding San Diego’s” Efforts to Support Community Hunger… Volunteers needed…
President Elect, Tina Pope shared that food distribution from Feeding San Diego, through the efforts of Neighborhood Health will take place on the 1st and 3rd Saturday’s, beginning April 2 …
Volunteers are needed to help with food distribution.. The events will run from 12 Noon to 3 PM on those Saturdays… Look for an email from Tina with details…
Rotarians Having Fun and Serving…
All kinds of fun and service and fun…
Pictures are worth a thousand words…
No fun this week…
Hi-Fives…
San Pasqual Union School Foundation Golf is April 2…
Past President, Kelly Mayberry was online and reporting on the upcoming golf event for the San Pasqual Saints Foundation… The event was held on Saturday April 2…
Kelly also expressed her appreciation for the school sign refurbishment project,,,
Escondido Chamber Golf Challenge is May 6…
John Schwab reported that the Chamber Golf Challenge will take place at the Vineyard Golf Course on May 6…
Program
SGT Chris Leso of the Escondido Police Department, and a Sunrise Rotarian, was our program presenter today… He was introduced by President Richard… Chris is the Traffic Sergeant for the PD, a member of the SWAT Team, and serves as a negotiator during critical incidents…
Chris began his presentation describing the timeline that led to the critical incident… On December 21, the suspect in this case was suspected of committing a murder in Vista. Law enforcement in Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos and Escondido were all on the lookout for the suspect. During the late evening hours of December 26, the suspect was seen in Escondido and a high speed chase began along the Highway 78 corridor. Speeds up to 115 MPH took place during the pursuit which lasted about 3 hours… SGT Leso’s presentation was a combination of a video which consolidated various elements of data from the incident and his personal perspective as the designated negotiator during the incident…
SGT Chris Leso speaking to his fellow Sunrise Rotarians…
The video presentation was opened with comments by Police Chief, Ed Varso… The information in the video would ultimately serve as the basis for reviews of the action by the District Attorney, the State of California and the FBI…
Included in the video was body camera footage from the police officers involved in the pursuit and their ultimate actions to conclude the action with the arrest of the suspect and freeing the hostage…
Also included were infrared recordings from a police helicopter monitoring the action from overhead…
Chris discussed the tactics that were used to overtake the suspect, including spike strips at multiple locations such that when he ultimately was stopped, he was driving on rims. Of interest too was that the Police Department gained the support of GM OnStar to ultimately disable the suspect vehicle; although, it took OnStar one and one-half hours to positively respond to the PD request to disable the vehicle…
Another tactic Chris described was the positioning of the armored vehicles involved with the pursuit; one from Oceanside and one from Escondido… The tactics involved positioning the vehicles behind and in front of the stalled suspect vehicle to ensure there was no escape, and to block any stray bullets fired at the suspect vehicle from leaving the immediate area and impacting nearby neighborhoods…
The outcome of the critical incident was the freeing of the hostage (unharmed), the death of the suspect, and the wounding of an Escondido Police Officer…
All in all, the presentation was an eye opener for Sunrise members as they gained insight into the many varied tactics and aspects of such a pursuit, and dealing with a hostage in a mobile environment…
SGT Chris Leso pictured with President Richard…
The Opportunity Drawing…
Big Opportunity this week was $126… Gerry Fay had the ‘lucky’ ticket, but drew the unlucky card…
Past President, Jeff Johnson got the consolation ticket and the second prize of $12… A nice, modest lunch awaits…
See you in Person or on line on April 7…
Next Week’s Meeting:
Will be in person and on line… We will meet at 7:30 AM at the Greater Escondido Chamber of Commerce, 720 N. Broadway…
Our program will be June Cutter of the California Women’s Leadership Association…
Thanks for Attending Today’s Meeting…
Support for our Escondido Community …
Our great community and the success of its businesses is all of our responsibilities… Support the businesses that are doing all they can to survive during this challenging time… Take out some chow… Be ready to support them when the economy begins working again…
The ‘Giving Arch’ on Grand Avenue and Centre City Parkway reminds us that Escondido is a caring, giving community…
To all; be safe and be well…. God Bless those men and women that carry the load at our medical facilities, and God Bless our first responders… May our governmental leaders be wise, thoughtful and smart as this pandemic is overtaken by our hard work and collective support…
Online Meetings:
Technical Support for Online Meetings:
Our meetings will begin as a hybrid setting with in-person and on-line opportunities…The meetings will be technically managed by President Richard Agnew… Thanks for that Richard… And, Richard is prepared to support all of our attempts at joining the on-line meetings… Look for his email with details and links to log on to the upcoming Zoom meetings…
Watch for emails defining the next meeting. The system works fine, dependent upon your technical support available through your PC or laptop…
SEE YOU SOON…… In Person or ONLINE… Next meeting; Thursday, April; 7:30 AM… Check President Richard’s email for the Zoom Link…
