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Community
February 21 - March 6, 2015
www.SanTanSun.com
February 21 – March 6, 2015 www.SanTanSun.com
Chandler police make plans for more body-worn cameras BY CURT BLAKENEY
Sometime soon during a routine traffic stop, Chandler police officers may approach drivers wearing a pager-sized, chest-mounted video camera. Chandler Police Chief Sean Duggan proposed the purchase of 180 body-worn video cameras during a Jan. 29 City Council subcommittee meeting. The Chandler Police Department has always prided itself on being forwardthinking and civic-minded, Duggan says. The department has been awarded the prestigious Gold Standard Assessment with Excellence by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies for seven consecutive years, so it’s no surprise that it took a proactive approach on equipping police officers with body-worn cameras (BWC). The national controversy over police use of force has sparked public protests and cast police officers in a negative light. Videos of police interactions gone awry often wind up on YouTube or social media, but only a portion of the interaction is being captured by bystanders recording an event from their cellphones. Now, police departments across the country, including Chandler, are working to quell critics, and for many departments, BWCs provide a possible solution. “Cameras will demonstrate that we are committed to implementing best practices in policing and that we are transparent and responsive to the community,” Duggan says.
Police departments are equipping officers with body-worn cameras to increase transparency and accountability, as well as to improve behavior by officers and citizens. Photo courtesy Taser International
“Technology is changing the nature of police work. It’s changing how we receive information, how we process information
and how we disseminate information. This is an opportunity for us to move forward to help ensure accountability and enhance
public trust.” The price tag for the additional Axon Body cameras, manufactured by Scottsdale-based Taser International, is roughly $991,000 for a five-year agreement, which includes the cameras, docking stations/chargers, data storage and monthly service. The City is expected to purchase the cameras with funds accumulated by RICO forfeited assets that police seize during arrests. A normal supplement to the budget, the funds will not come out of the Chandler general fund. The cameras could be fully implemented within three months of City approval. Another presentation by Duggan is planned in March during a council retreat. The police department’s request to expend funds on this technology will be considered part of the City’s budget process, which runs through June 30. According to Taser research, some police departments are getting as much as a 300-percent return on cost savings just by reducing civilian complaints, which in many cases paid for the hardware in the first year of use. “There really are no downsides to having the best available evidence when law enforcement interacts with the public, especially in use-of-force situations or when there is doubt and uncertainty,” says Steve Tuttle, spokesman for Taser. “Police are already being recorded by citizens with cell phones, but they don’t record the full context of the events.” SEE CAMERAS PAGE 4
SRP closer to siting line on GRIC Pollack continues improvements along Alma School Road
BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI
Salt River Project has gained the support of the Gila River Indian Community (GRIC) ownership to put a power line on its land, eliminating many of the private land route options in Chandler. “This is a very positive development for a lot of people in Chandler,” says Scott Harelson with the SRP media relations department. The project manager, Tom Novy, explains that originally all of SRP’s options would have crossed through densely populated residential areas. “Nearly all have been replaced with routes on the Gila River Indian Community,” he says. “There is a very short segment from the GRIC boundary on the west to the new proposed RS-28 receiving station and about 3 miles from the Schrader Substation south to the GRIC boundary where there’s an existing railroad
and existing transmission. “Although in some places there is residential adjacent to those features, much of it is adjacent to a golf course, commercial industrial areas or farms. We feel we have a good alternative in from Schrader to the reservation without near as much proximity to high-density residential.” SRP has forecasted increased demand for energy in the Price Road Corridor. As a result, SRP needs to construct 230-kilovolt (kV) overhead power lines and two new 230kV substations to accommodate the growth of high-tech companies and industrial manufacturers in Tempe and Chandler. “The City of Chandler has their own Price Road Corridor development plan where they’re looking for commercial and industrial customers,” Novy says. “They need power to serve them.”
SEE SRP PAGE 5
WHAT IS YOUR HOME WORTH TODAY? SEE PAGE 18
BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI
Real estate entrepreneur Michael Pollack, who has been instrumental in the revitalization of the Alma School Road corridor, will introduce in March the AZ Elite Youth Sports and Gym, a premier fitness club for adults, teens and children in the Pollack Paseo del Oro shopping center. AZ Elite will house a state-of-the-art gym, swim school, gymnastics program, batting cage and training center. The 42,000-square-foot facility will allow parents to work out in the gym, while their kids are immersed in activities and classes. “It’s an incredible facility,” Pollack says, adding it will feature an Olympic-sized indoor swimming pool for Olympic training. “It’s an incredible family-oriented fitness SEE IMPROVEMENTS PAGE 5
Michael Pollack calls EZ Elite Youth Sports and Gym “and incredible facility.” STSN photo by Sam Nalven
F E AT U R E STO R I E S Neighborhood Excellence winners highlight mayor’s address. . .COMMUNITY . . . . . . . . . . Page 12 Springfield Golf Resort offers challenging course. . . . . . . . . . . .BUSINESS . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 18 Winnie-the-Pooh Brunch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .YOUTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 33 ‘Dog Whisperer’ visits Chandler to train ‘bad people’. . . . . . . . . .NEIGHBORS . . . . . . . . . . .Page 47 Vision Gallery looks back at Eye Lounge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ARTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 53
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More Community . . . . . . 1-16 Business . . . . . . . .17-24 Youth. . . . . . . . . . .25-34 Opinion. . . . . . . . 39-40 Neighbors. . . . . . . 41-52 Arts . . . . . . . . . . . .53-59 Spirituality . . . . . 60-63 Directory . . . . . . 64-65 Classifieds. . . . . . 66-67 Where to eat . . . 68-70