MPD The Beat Issue 11

MA KI NG MOBI LE T HE S A FES T CI T Y I N AMER I C A WI TH RE S PEC T F OR E V ERYON E

MPDTheBeat

LIP-SYNC BATTLE VIDEO GOES VIRAL

HIGH-SPIRITED PROMOTION CEREMONY

FIRST JR. POLICE SUMMER CAMP NATIONAL NIGHT OUT 2018 CELEBRATION

JULY/AUG 2018 ISSUE 11

Jonathan Rivers Officer of the Month

A MESSAGE FROM THE

CHIEF OF POLICE “Work in silence. Let your success be your noise.”

Oftentimes we have to search for reasons to celebrate, or only observe the service of law enforcement during times of sorrow or some critical situation. This, however, should not be the case. Mobile is so very fortunate to have a corps of law enforcement personnel (sworn and civilian) that overshadows the sometimes cheerless nature of crime prevention and law and order. I would be remised if I neglected to thank you for your outstanding service to the communities of Mobile. Your consistency in providing a high level of professional law enforcement service to our city is commendable.

We are now at the start of a new school term as our city’s children return to the classrooms. I would encourage each of us to continue imposing positive models in our communities that influence our young impressionable future leaders in progressive ways. I would also say continue to make great leaps to open positive dialogues with our high school students and impress upon them positive outlooks of their future while they are cognizant of making wise choices in their lives.

Let us commit ourselves to constant practice of a strong work ethic, realizing that we possess talents and gifts that serve to influence and garner effective changes. They will oftentimes open doors that lead to a more intensified feeling of gratification in our lives.

Major Kara Rose recently retired after 30 years of valued service and enthusiasm.

Our congratulations and best wishes are extended to her for an enjoyable and constant fruitful future.

Congratulations to Officer Jonathan Rivers for your exemplary work and being selected as the Officer of the Month for June. In addition, congratulations to CRO Angel Howell who was selected as Civilian Employee of the Month. Your valued service to the department and community is greatly appreciated.

Major Linda Tims leads a host of department members who were recently promoted. Congratulations to you all on all of your accomplishments. We look forward to the contributions that you will make in your respective positions.

On Saturday, August 4 we had a very enjoyable outing at the MPD family picnic held at Camp Grace. It was a great day for fellowship, food, swimming, fishing, horseshoes, paddle boating and loads of fun!!!

The department participated in the national lip-sync challenge. Our very talented group of law enforcement officers gave a great lip-sync and dance performance featuring a variety of music and dance moves – with a special appearance by the alter-ego of “The King of Pop” Michael Jackson. We had a great time, but I confess that I did not win an award, as I am neither an actor, singer and definitely not a dancing machine. My thanks to Charlette Solis and Corporal LaDerrick Dubose for coordinating the lip-sync performance and to all of the officers who participated.

We gladly passed the challenge along to the Birmingham Police Department.

Thank you all for all that you do. I remain humbly appreciative to each of you and may God bless you all.

The Mobile Police Department has named Jonathan Rivers the Officer of the Month for June 2018. Serving as a police officer since November 2013, Rivers works patrol in Precinct 2.

During the month of June, he provided exceptional and unparalleled service to the citizens of Mobile that perfectly encapsulate his professionalism and dedication to protect and serve.

Rivers responded to 89 calls for service and 41 backings. He made 19 felony and 33 misdemeanor arrests, wrote 17 citations, recovered five firearms of which three were stolen, and recovered four stolen vehicles. His dedication, attention to detail, and impeccable efforts to prevent criminal activity are valuable assets to the Mobile Police Department and to the city.

On June 5, 2018, Rivers responded to a domestic dispute on Carol Plantation Road. Upon arrival, he observed the male subject in a vehicle preparing to leave. He stopped and detained the subject without incident. Through his investigation, he discovered the vehicle was listed as active stolen out of Prichard. Read more about Rivers’ accomplishments.

EDITORIAL CONTACT PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE

Charlette Solis ext. 1918 Corporal LaDerrick Dubose ext. 1926

THIS ISSUE CONTRIBUTORS Major Kara Rose Captain Jonathan Lee ON THE COVER: Corporal Joshua Jones Submit ideas and info for the next issue!

EMAIL: charlette.solis@cityofmobile.org

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January 2013 - Newsletter Template July 2018 | MPDTheBeat

Uniting families through summer picnic at Camp Grace

Officer Santuan McGee brings his two daughters to the family picnic.

Detective Bryan Johnson takes a picture with his wife and sons at the family picnic.

Daughter of Officer McGee is very proud of the fish she caught.

Major Philip McCrary fishes in the lake while other families paddle boat in the background.

It was a picnic for the entire family at Camp Grace on a pleasant summer day. Believer in uniting our families together, Chaplain Ed Connick organized the event for a exciting and adventurous experience.

Along with lots of food and refreshments, there were plenty of activities to do for creating fun memories.

Families had a good time on the paddle boats, swimming and fishing. A bounce house was also set up for the kids to enjoy. The picnic was held Saturday, Aug. 4, and plans are that it will be held again next year.

MPD Praise & Recognition from the Community I’m submitting this [feedback] form simply to thank an officer, whose name I could not hear, who dropped by to check on my house this afternoon. I saw him on video via my Ring doorbell, but I couldn’t get my own audio to work so I could speak with him (I’m traveling in Europe right now, and that may be the problem).

The officer clearly knew about the Ring, and kindly told me via the video that there had been a report of a possible attempted break-in at our home, but there was nothing to substantiate the report. It was most likely a package delivery, since there was a package on the porch. Once again, thank you to this officer for responding and for the message! —Gideon Jeffrey, McDonald Avenue January 2013 - Newsletter Template July 2018 | MPDTheBeat

New volunteer chaplains The MPD Chaplain Corps welcomes seven new volunteer chaplains dedicated to spiritually serving in law enforcement. Each precinct, the Traffic Safety Unit and Communications Unit have assigned chaplains.

Chaplain Darius Evans and Chaplain Morris Bettis are assigned to Precinct 1. Chaplain Keith Myrick and Chaplain Dan Good are assigned to Precinct 2. At Precinct 3, the other three chaplains are assigned.

They are Chaplain Dominic Grant, Chaplain Thomas Heard and Chaplain Patricia Evans.

With these additions, the MPD Chaplain Corps is now staffed with 17 chaplains to assist police officers in the field by providing spiritual comfort and counseling to victims and their families.

Our chaplains are also responsible for making notifications to families whose loved ones are injured or have been killed. They respond to the scene if there is a death of a child, fatal traffic accident, or a suicide threat, attempt or completion, or any other major violent crime.

We often see our chaplains in attendance at graduation ceremonies, promotion ceremonies and other events offering invocations and benedictions.

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Jr. Police Summer Camp gets peek into law enforcement

Police Academy Officer Ivan Norfus leads the Jr. Police Summer Camp participants in physical training.

What did you do this summer? How impressive would it be for the student to say that she attended Jr. Police Summer Camp! For 22 girls and boys, ages 9 to 12, that will be a real conversation.

The 5-day summer camp was offered for the first time ever July 9 through July 13 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Each day for 30 minutes the kids participated in physical training. Then they were off to get a peek into law enforcement.

The kids were introduced to the Cyber-Intelligence Unit.

They went to the 911 Communications Center to learn what happens before an officer is called to the scene. Other places

they toured included Strickland Youth Center and Metro Jail.

At the Mounted Unit, they fed the horses carrots and cleaned stalls all while learning about the role of mounted police. They also met K-9 Officer Lawrence Battiste and his dog Pedro who performed a bomb detection demonstration.

To give the kids a sense of serving their community, Jr. Police Summer Camp organizer Officer Gary Owens required them to bring a canned food item each day. On the last day of camp, the kids went to Feeding the Gulf Coast. Together they donated 128 pounds of food, which provides nearly 110 meals to individuals and families in need.

WATCH NBC 15 COVERAGE of the Jr. Police Summer Camp

Left, the Jr. Police Summer Camp participants get the opportunity to meet Judge Naman at Strickland Youth Center. Above, the kids feed the horses carrots during their visit at the Mounted Unit barn.

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July 2018 | MPDTheBeat January 2013 - Newsletter Template

Angel Howell receives Civilian Employee of the Month Award Angel Howell, community resource officer, was named the Civilian Employee of the Month for June 2018. Howell has been employed with the department since August 2015. In April 2017, she was transferred from the Impound Yard Detail and assigned to the Communications Teleserv Unit, which exists to facilitate calls for service from the general public by securing information necessary for investigating and reporting.

Since her move to the Communications Teleserv Unit, Howell has successfully completed training on the Tyler Management System, the department’s software program. She’s learned the protocols of handling calls for service as a Teleserve Unit. Even though Howell is a part-time employee, her work productivity is noted above average.

In addition to her excellent work ethic, she is always courteous, respectful and empathic to the needs of the citizens. On several occasions, Howell has apologized to a citizen for the unfortunate situation they were going through, which conveys to the citizens that the Mobile Police Department cares.

Howell is very organized and takes pride in her work product. This is evident in her report writing skills. She is always upbeat and enjoys helping people no matter if it is a citizen, an officer or a peer.

Along with her current responsibilities, Howell is cross-training so that she can assist with other functions of the Communications Teleserv Unit.

MPD Praise & Recognition from the Community

NWTF makes donation to Billa Family

I am a sexual assault nurse examiner at USA Children’s & Women’s Hospital . I would like to let you know that every single officer and detective who have come over the years have been awesome.

They are slight courteous and gentle with our clients. You don’t know how much this means to me and our clients. I would like for you to know if there’s any way you can get a memo out to your officers and thank them for me I would certainly appreciate it. MPD always goes above and beyond. They need recognition and I want to give it to them. I thank each and everyone for your service.

—Mary Todd USA Children’s & Women’s Hospital

The Mobile Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation made a generous donation of $1,000 to the Justin Billa Family. On hand to receive the check are Major John Barber, Major Randy Jackson and Major Phillip McCrary.

Corporal Sharon Lewis 1996-2018 22 YEARS OF SERVICE Sergeant Michael Barber 1992-2018 26 YEARS OF SERVICE Captain Douglas Parmenter 1991-2018 27 YEARS OF SERVICE January 2013 - Newsletter Template July 2018 | MPDTheBeat

Corporal John Sprinkle 1991-2018 27 YEARS OF SERVICE Officer Charles “Chuck” Hall 1991-2018 27 YEARS OF SERVICE Major Kara Rose 1988-2018 30 YEARS OF SERVICE

Corporal Pam Cazalas 1986-2018 32 YEARS OF SERVICE

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Kids Day Under the Big Top Event: Precinct 2 Gives Backpacks & More Precinct 2 joined the Southwest Chamber of Commerce’s “Kids Under the Big Top Event” to help give back to the Tillman’s Corner community.

Over 5,000 people attended the event held Saturday, July 28.

Through reaching out to local businesses and churches, the precinct was able to provide 300 backpacks for the kids in the community. That amount was included in the chamber’s total of approximately 1,000 backpacks to give away.

The kids pose to make a “Monster Book Bag Picture” because of all the many awesome school supplies inside their bags.

In addition to donating backpacks, the precinct was able to help seven children in need who lived in the Precinct 2 area. On the morning of, members of the precinct picked up the kids from their residences and took them to the event to enjoy the festivities. Afterward, they presented the children with school uniforms, backpacks and school supplies.

It was a wonderful opportunity to help the community said Captain Jonathan Lee. A special thanks goes to records specialist Anita Otis, FIT specialist Gloria Hill, CRO Regina Lomax, Corporal Mike Schaffer and Officer Shaun Hall.

The donations of the uniforms were made possible with the assistance of a charitable citizen of Precinct 2 who wished to help her community.

MPD Praise & Recognition from the Community Car 140 was patrolling Wacker Lane and the officers noted no vehicles at the house and the front door open. The officers came to the front door and announced themselves to get my attention and to be sure that we were not experiencing burglary. We had experienced a burglary previously. Please thank these officers for me. It is assuring to know that the MPD is alert and proactive.

—Joseph Anlage, Wacker Lane North

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Top 5 Facebook most engaging posts for July Engagement means the number of unique people who engaged with the post by commenting on, liking, sharing, or clicking upon particular elements of the post.

1. Who said Mobile can’t battle? You made the call and we answered. This is the Mobile Police Department official #LipSyncChallenge video [115,150 engagements] 2. Foreign & Domestic Autocare burglary suspects need identifying [6,712 engagements] 3. Fellow Mobilians, you’ve asked us to join the national police lip sync battle [5,846 engagements] 4. Congrats Officer of the Month Jonathan Rivers! [4,267 engagements] 5. DR Horton burglary suspects need identifying [2,648 engagements] July 2018 | MPDTheBeat January 2013 - Newsletter Template

MPD Lip-Sync Battle Video gets more than 320,000 views

Who said Mobile can’t battle? Our fellow Mobilians made the call and we answered. Joining other law enforcement departments across the nation to battle in lip sync and dance, the Mobile Police Department released its official #LipSyncChallenge video and has gotten more than 320,000 views. The video was posted on Facebook July 27 with a challenge to the Birmingham Police Department.

Sergeant Tina Zanca, Sergeant Jeremy March, Officer Lawrence Battiste, Corporal Joshua Jones, Officer Jayvien Banks, Officer Jon Kriss, Officer Skyler Wright, Officer Mona Wade, Officer Preston McGraw, Officer Ryan Bice, Officer Joshua Pounds and Laurina Parker. And, several citizens joined in the opening scene on Dauphin Street.

WKRG chief photojournalist Arnell Hamilton shot and edited our #LipSyncChallenge video. Practiced and ready with outlined script, the video took a total of 3.5 hours to shoot. All officers volunteered their time while off duty.

The video scene locations were Central Events Precinct, Dauphin Street, Royal Street, Cooper Riverside Park, Mobile Convention Center skywalk, Renaissance Hotel and Cathedral Square.

Officer Anthony Williams and Sergeant Tina Zanca have a dance battle of their own performing “Tootsee Roll” in Cathedral Square.

Corporal Miranda Hayes performs her solo lip-sync to “I Gotta Feeling” on top of the parking deck of the Renaissance Hotel.

The officers featured in the lip-sync battle video included Officer Anthony Williams, Corporal Miranda Hayes, January 2013 - Newsletter Template July 2018 | MPDTheBeat

Our battle video received tons of favorable comments!

• Julie Marie Loving this from Pennsylvania! The officers’ MJ performance was great! Loved them! Thank you for doing what you do and then some!

• Jay-Wanna Matthews They did an awesome job! I’m proud to say that’s my citys law enforcement.

• Martishia Montgomery-Graff I have never visited Mobile, but this showcased some lovely spots in your city.

The Mobile police dept have some talented dancers too!

Be sure to check out the story behind our video at https://bit.ly/2LVlISx and watch Corporal Joshua Jones Fox 10 News interview as MJ!

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26 officers achieve new rank, honored at promotion ceremony

Getting promoted was a life milestone for these officers and a proud moment as you can see from their expressions. The Promotion Ceremony was held July 18 at St. Catherine Catholic Church Parish Hall, 2605 Springhill Ave. VIEW MORE PHOTOS It was a high-spirited promotion ceremony for the 26 officers who moved up in rank this summer. Chief Battiste was most proud of their hard work and commitment to the department, which earned them their promotion.

In the Chief’s address, he told the promotees to not take the promotion as simply a pay raise. He reminded them of the scripture that says to whom much is given, much is expected.

Moving forward, the command staff will depend greatly upon them as they hold the officers in the field accountable.

Corley, Sergeant Allison Garafola, Sergeant Paul Hosford, Sergeant Byron Sutherland, Sergeant John Young, Corporal Joshua Coleman, Corporal Scott Davis, Corporal Matthew Degeer, Corporal Miranda Hayes, Corporal Brian Heathcoe, Corporal Patrick Palmer, Corporal Jermaine Rogers, Corporal Tilford Saunders, Corporal John Spottswood, Corporal, Benjamin Towarnyckyj, Corporal Archie Townsend, Corporal Demetrius Watts and Corporal Raymond Williams.

“The uniform and badge is something of honor,” Chief Battiste said. “You represent something more than yourself, and you are part of something greater than yourself. Always put your best foot forward so that this city is always represented in a positive light.”

There were cheers and applause throughout the Promotion Presentation. The excitement from family, friends and fellow officers made the ceremony most joyous.

Congratulations to Major Linda Tims, Captain Matthew Garrett, Captain Rodney Greeley, Captain Keith Stallings, Lieutenant Paul Check, Lieutenant Scott Hanks, Lieutenant Theodore Johnson, Lieutenant Angela Prine, Sergeant Jeffrey

Ronald Greeley, promoted to captain, poses for the camera as his wife Candace pins on his badge.

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John Young, promoted to sergeant, receives his badge from Chief Battiste with a “JY” celebration!

Captain Paul Prine is proud of his sister’s promotion. Angela Prine was promoted to lieutenant.

July 2018 | MPDTheBeat January 2013 - Newsletter Template

National Night Out celebrates the city’s fight against crime Make Mobile safer through police-community partnership and neighborhood camaraderie is the message our Crime Prevention Unit broadcasted to the city in its annual National Night Out event. It was a celebration of the city’s efforts to fight against crime.

Held at the Civic Center with more than 45 exhibitors and a dozen demonstrations, participants got an eye opening into public safety. Special thanks the Mounted Unit, Traffic Safety Unit, Marine Unit, SWAT and the Citizens Academy Alumni for making the event a success.

Officer Gary Owens, Crime Prevention Unit, and NBC 15 news anchor Darwin Singleton serves as hosts for National Night Out.

It was non-stop action from start to finish. Games such as Let’s Make a Deal provided surprise give aways. In between the segments, Officer Owens walked around the arena giving exhibitors an opportunity to promote their services.

There was a police presence at National Night Out. From left, Lieutenants Paul Soulier, Ernest Treubig and Ronald Brown.

Officer Julian Nettles on the obstacle course that is set up to show our motor officers’ talent. WATCH NBC 15 coverage of the event.

The Mounted Unit was the first on the arena floor to provide a live demo.

Officer Cathryn Cormier shows off one of the police horses.

Chief Battiste and Iris Smith, Family Intervention Team specialist, take a picture with exhibitors from the U.S. National Reserve Corps.

The finale of the event was a rappel from the arena’s ceiling by Officer Daniel McCarthy, Lieutenant Paul Hosford and Officer Tanner Whipkey dressed as superheroes Superman, Batman and Robin. They came to save the city to make it the safest in America. VIEW MORE PHOTOS. In conjuction with the National Night Out activities at the arena, runners were gathering for the 21st Annual Crime January 2013 - Newsletter Template July 2018 | MPDTheBeat

Prevention 5K Run/Walk. With the starting line at Royal Street, participants ran or walked through downtown Mobile to cross the finish line at Bienville Square. There were a total of 268 race finishers. WATCH VIDEO of Crime Prevention 5K Race.

Last year, MPD placed 22nd nationally in it’s population category for presenting the best National Night Out. More than 16,000 communities across the country host the event.

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