Mr. Bruce Davis used his Feb. 22 guest commentary, "Of meters and maids," to voice his opinion and displeasure with the Jackson Police Department, which I have no problem with as I believe in the First Amendment to the fullest!
Mr. Davis did speak to me regarding this incident and was very polite in doing so. He explained in detail how he felt humiliated and discriminated in the way he was treated.
After listening to Mr. Davis, I looked into the incident and found that there was another side to the story, too.
Our parking enforcement officer observed Mr. Davis stumble as he walked to his vehicle. Note: Our parking enforcement officer is an honorably retired California state law enforcement sergeant and is a currently certified registered nurse. The parking officer continued to observe Mr. Davis enter his vehicle, start it and drive forward several inches. With this, the parking officer approached and knocked on the driver window. The parking officer then spoke to Mr. Davis and asked him if he was OK, while also explaining he had seen him stumble while walking. Mr. Davis denied this, but exited his vehicle. After checking Mr. Davis further, the parking officer determined that Mr. Davis had a medical issue regarding his blood sugar and took steps to help him. The parking officer also requested that a police officer respond for further action.
Upon the police officer's arrival, that officer decided that EMS should respond for further evaluation of Mr. Davis. The police officer that responded is a 20-year police veteran, who served as a law enforcement sergeant for a large Bay Area agency before transferring to this area. Once medics arrived on scene, they checked Mr. Davis' condition and ultimately decided he was in a normal range for his condition.
The police officer felt that had the parking officer not intervened, Mr. Davis would have driven away while less than coherent and possibly injured himself or others. The police officer felt that Mr. Davis had not used good judgment and felt this kind of situation could occur again, so the police officer submitted a reevaluation request of Mr. Davis to the DMV. The same police officer had attended the DMV's Drivers License Revaluation class a month or so before this incident and followed respective guidelines. The police officer did not make light of or brag of this incident as mentioned. Quite the contrary.
Subsequently, I spoke to witness merchants. They corroborated the statements of the parking officer and the police officer. I learned that Mr. Davis had been seen in this condition before and had been assisted before he either continued walking or driving.
Our police officers and other police personnel are highly trained and each of them either meets or exceeds state and federally mandated training. The Jackson Police Department just received its annual audit from the California Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training, which resulted in a very good report.
However, we/I can always do a better job. That is to say, when I looked into this incident, I found that we could better scrutinize reevaluation reports before they are routed to the DMV for further action. It may be of no consolation to Mr. Davis, but it is because of his commentary that I will be enacting new policies in this regard.
I meet with members of the public each and every day, as well as speak to many on the telephone. I also respond to calls for service and, while I am on duty, I respond to every emergency call for service. I am also on emergency stand-by 24/7 and have responded to many calls in the middle of the night. I enjoy this job very much and I care very much for this city and our larger community.
As far as caring about the needs of our seniors in this community, I do! This is a very large retirement community, from which I have received great lessons in life. I might add that I will officially be a senior citizen myself in less than five years and will be amongst the retired in the same time span.