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Police urge patience on investigations; fire volunteers logged sharp increase in responses after Measure N
Summary
The police chief urged the public that investigative information is limited to protect victims and case integrity; the fire department reported a 300% call increase since Measure N, short response times and heavy volunteer involvement.
Police Chief (Plummer) told the council that recent investigations and posts about incidents require limited public information to protect investigations and victims’ privacy. He said the department will share information only when an immediate public-safety threat exists, citing constitutional and state law constraints on investigative methods and evidence gathering.
Chief Plummer said the department has identified many suspects in cases ranging from burglaries to homicides but emphasized the need for evidence to meet prosecution standards and cautioned against drawing conclusions from social media posts.
Fire Chief (Bridal, as named in the transcript) reported that in 2024 the department recorded 1,056 total incidents—a roughly 300% increase since Measure N—and 4,938 individual volunteer responses, averaging about five volunteers per incident. He said about 568 calls were EMS‑related and 488 were fire‑related; average response time for fires was 4 minutes, 2 seconds (below the NFPA 6‑minute benchmark) and 2 minutes, 49 seconds for EMS. Volunteers rode in an ambulance 119 times and used Lucas devices 11 times.
Ending: Police reiterated their limited-release policy to protect victims and evidence; fire staff thanked volunteers and highlighted response performance metrics.
