BART Police
| Bay Area Rapid Transit District Police Department | |
| Abbreviation | BARTPD |
 |
|
| Logo of the BART Police | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1972 |
| Legal personality | Governmental: Government agency |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction* | State of California, United States |
| General nature |
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| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | Oakland |
| Officers | 206 |
| Unsworn members | 90 |
| Agency executive | Kenton Rainey, Chief of Police |
| Divisions | 4 |
| Facilities | |
| Stations | 11 |
| Website | |
| Bart PD Website | |
| Footnotes | |
| * Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction. | |
The BART Police Department is the police force of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART).
The BART Police Department has more than 296 police personnel, of which 206 are sworn peace officers. BART Police officers derive their powers of arrest from Section 830.33(a) P.C. Although their powers extend throughout the state, like most California peace officers, they have a primary jurisdiction, which in their case is on BART property. They may, however, take enforcement action for crimes in progress, including traffic infractions, away from BART properties.
Chief of Police Kenton Rainey commands the department which provides all police services including law enforcement, parking, and community relations. To prepare for major emergencies, critical incidents, and tactical responses, the department is part of the San Francisco Bay Area's mutual aid pacts and maintains teams for special operations such as tactical response and crisis negotiation.
The BART Police have recently come to national attention on account of the shootings of three BART passengers in separate incidents within the last three years.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Organization
Sworn peace officers, Community service officers, communications/9-1-1 dispatchers, revenue protection-guards, CAD/RMS administrator, and clerical staff comprise the department’s civilian employees. Most officers are assigned to patrol, with some assigned to special operations teams.
[edit] Patrol Bureau
Patrol Bureau is decentralized into four geographical police zones, each with its own headquarters and field offices. Zone lieutenants are assigned the personnel, equipment, and resources to manage their respective police operations. There are BART police facilities and field offices in Oakland, Concord, Walnut Creek, Pittsburg, El Cerrito, Dublin/Pleasanton, Castro Valley, San Leandro, Hayward, San Francisco, Colma, and San Bruno.
[edit] Support Services Bureau
The Support Services Bureau consists of the following units: Criminal Investigations (Detectives), Personnel and Training, Records, Warrants, Crime Analysis, Traffic Administration, Property and Evidence, and Revenue Protection Guards.
[edit] Office of the Chief
The Office of the Chief is composed of Internal Affairs and Budget Coordination.
[edit] Special Services
BART police has placed emergency callboxes in parking lots and on train platforms that connect directly to the BART police 9-1-1 communications center. The District also utilizes video-surveillance systems in trains, stations, and parking lots.
Specialized assignments include field training officer, K-9 Handler, SWAT operator, detective, bicycle patrol, personnel and training officer, applicant background investigator, crime analyst, administrative traffic officer, FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) investigator, and undercover anti-vandalism and special-enforcement teams.
[edit] Mission and focus
Since 9/11, more emphasis has been placed on hardening BART’s infrastructure against the threat of terrorism. The department hosts drills for the region’s first-responders and participates in local, state, and federal counter-terrorism working groups. One officer is assigned full time to the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force and a command officer is designated as the department’s mutual-aid, counter-terrorism, and homeland-security liaison. All BART police K-9's are certified in explosives detection only. To prepare for major emergencies, critical incidents, and tactical responses, the department is a signatory to the Bay Area's mutual-aid pacts.
[edit] Department goals
The BART Police Department’s goal is to build a more community-oriented police force that is tough on crime and strong on customer service. Zone commanders and their personnel are forming working partnerships with BART riders, fellow employees, community groups, schools, and business owners. Together, the goal of the stakeholders is to ensure that personal safety, quality of life, and protection of property remain among BART’s top priorities.
[edit] Qualifications and training
Qualifications and training for BART police officers exceed the guidelines of the California Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST), which certifies all California peace officers. In addition to meeting POST requirements, every BART police officer applicant must have at least 30 semester (or 45 quarter) credits of college course work from an accredited college or university. At least one half of the credits must be obtained in analytical subjects requiring written reports or examinations. Most officers are assigned to the Patrol Bureau and are eligible for specialized assignments.
[edit] History
In 1969, three years before BART opened for revenue service, the transit district’s board of directors recommended that local police and sheriff’s departments patrol the stations, trains, rights-of-way, and other BART-owned properties that were within their respective jurisdictions. The police chiefs and sheriffs, forecasting that BART’s proposal would create jurisdictional disputes and inconsistent levels of police service, rejected the board’s proposal. As a result, legislation was passed to form an autonomous law enforcement agency, the BART Police Department.
During BART’s first 13 years of revenue service, police officers reported to the transit district’s headquarters in Oakland. In 1985, a team of officers was assigned to report to the Concord transportation facility, where a police field office was established. By not having to travel the 20 miles between Oakland and Concord, the officers were able to patrol their beats longer and become more familiar with the community. BART riders, station agents, and train operators benefited from having more police presence and interaction with the same officers. This led to three additional field offices within six months.
In July 1993, then-police chief Harold Taylor recommended a comprehensive plan to decentralize the department into four geographical police zones, each with its own headquarters and field offices. Zone commanders would be given personnel, equipment, and resources to manage their respective police operations. A peer-review panel, which included four police chiefs and the safety-audit administrator from the American Public Transportation Association, gave Chief Taylor’s plan its endorsement, along with other recommendations on how the BART police could work more closely with other transit employees, communities, businesses, and schools that the transit district serves.
Today, there are BART police facilities and field offices in Oakland, Concord, Walnut Creek, Pittsburg/Bay Point, El Cerrito, Dublin/Pleasanton, Castro Valley, San Leandro, Hayward, San Francisco, Colma, and San Bruno. Police command-level officers provide input to planners for BART’s future extensions to Warm Springs and Santa Clara County.
[edit] Passengers killed by BART Police
In 1992 an unarmed 19 year old, Jerrold Hall, was shot in the back by a BART Police officer at the Hayward station. On May 28, 2001, a mentally ill man named Bruce Edward Seward was shot and killed by another BART officer at the same station after he was woken up and grabbed the officer's nightstick.[2]
[edit] Oscar Grant
On January 1, 2009, a BART Police officer, Johannes Mehserle, fatally shot Oscar Grant III.[3][4]
Eyewitnesses gathered direct evidence of the shooting with video cameras which were later submitted to, and disseminated by media outlets and watched hundreds of thousands of times[5] in the days following the shooting, peaceful and violent demonstrations occurred.[6]
Mehserle was arrested and charged with murder, to which he pled not guilty. He was convicted of involuntarily manslaughter on July 8, 2010. On November 5, 2010 Mehserle was sentenced to two years, minus time served. He served his time in the Los Angeles County Jail, occupying a private cell away from other prisoners. He was released on June 13, 2011 and is now on parole.[7]
Oakland civil rights attorney John Burris filed a US$25 million wrongful death civil lawsuit against the District on behalf of Grant's daughter and girlfriend.
[edit] Charles Hill shooting
On July 3, 2011, Charles Blair Hill was shot to death by two BART Police officers at San Francisco's Civic Center / UN Plaza station. BART police have said that Hill was drunk and armed with 2 knives and a broken bottle. Approximately 23 seconds after arriving on scene, the officers fired 3 rounds, striking Hill in the chest. BART police chief Kenton Rainey stated lethal force was appropriate; witnesses reported that a taser was available but not used.
[edit] Demonstrations against BART Police
The shooting led to a non-violent but disruptive demonstration by approximately 75 protesters inside the Civic Center and 16th St Mission stations on July 11[8]. Demonstrators departing the 16th St Mission station returned downtown on Mission St, blocking traffic and engaging in acts of vandalism en route.[9] One citizen was arrested for intoxication.[10]
[edit] Cell phone network shutdown
On August 11, BART officials, acting in anticipation of another anti-police protest announced during the evening commute hours, and acting on information that the protest would be coordinated live via Internet and text messages, successfully prevented the demonstration by shutting down the public cell phone network serving their jurisdiction in and between the downtown San Francisco stations.[11] This action immediately garnered public criticism of BART[12] The cell phone shutdown generated even more negative publicity than the Charles Hill's shooting itself.[13] It is the first documented instance of any government agency in the United States shutting down public communications to disrupt a protest.[14] The American Civil Liberties Union called the decision "in effect an effort by a governmental entity to silence its critics."[15]
Initially, numerous media outlets quoted BART officials making the claim that the planned protest was a threat to public safety, but did not offer any analysis of the claim's merit.[16] [17]. BART released a statement on August 20th, 2011 saying that a protest on July 11th in Civic Center Station had led to safety concerns for passengers and protesters inside the cramped quarters of the station. "During that protest, one person climbed on top of a train and many other individuals blocked train doorways and held train doors open. During the course of the event, which occurred during the peak of rush hour, individuals used BART trains to move between stations, and caused the shutdown or partial shutdown of other stations."[18] This led BART to action, disabling cell phone service in the tunnels on one day and closing stations that were the targets of protests on subsequent days.
[edit] BART Police Department Review Committee
In response to the Grant shooting, BART created an oversight committee to monitor police-related incidents.[19]
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.baycitizen.org/blogs/pulse-of-the-bay/bart-warns-about-possible-protest/
- ^ Henry K. Lee (July 18, 2001). "Family condemns BART police / Mother, brother of mentally ill victim shot at station lash out". San Francisco Chronicle. http://articles.sfgate.com/2001-07-18/news/17608804_1_bart-police-bart-officials-police-officer. Retrieved 2011-08-22.
- ^ Jill Tucker; Kelly Zito, Heather Knight (2009). "Deadly BART brawl - officer shoots rider, 22". San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/02/MNB9152I2Q.DTL. Retrieved 2009-01-05.
- ^ Eliott C. McLaughlin; Augie Martin, Dan Simon (2009). "Spokesman: Officer in subway shooting has resigned". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/01/07/BART.shooting/index.html?iref=hpmostpop. Retrieved 2009-01-05.
- ^ Elinor Mills (2009). "Web videos of Oakland shooting fuel emotions, protests". CNET Networks. http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10137796-93.html. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
- ^ Demian Bulwa; Charles Burress, Matthew B. Stannard, Matthai Kuruvilaurl (2009). "Protests over BART shooting turn violent". San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/07/MN2N155CN1.DTL. Retrieved 2009-01-08.
- ^ Bulwa, Demian (July 13, 2011). "Johannes Mehserle, ex-BART officer, leaves jail". The San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/06/13/BAIJ1JT7CV.DTL.
- ^ "Protesters storm BART, slow commute out of San Francisco". San Francisco Examiner. http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/2011/07/protesters-storm-bart-slow-commute-out-san-francisco. Retrieved Aug 22, 2011.
- ^ "Protesters storm BART, slow commute out of San Francisco". San Francisco Examiner. http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/2011/07/protesters-storm-bart-slow-commute-out-san-francisco. Retrieved Aug 22, 2011.
- ^ http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/crime/2011/07/bart-police-chief-says-officers-had-right-defend-themselves-against-knife-bottle
- ^ http://news.yahoo.com/cellphones-blocked-sf-hinder-transit-protest-041114962.html
- ^ "As criticism mounts, BART stays the course". San Francisco Examiner. Aug 16, 2011. http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/2011/08/criticism-mounts-bart-stays-course. Retrieved Aug 22, 2011.
- ^ "As criticism mounts, BART stays the course". San Francisco Examiner. Aug 16, 2011. http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/2011/08/criticism-mounts-bart-stays-course. Retrieved Aug 22, 2011.
- ^ "BART’s cellular shutdown: Safety or suppression?". KALWnews.org. Aug 12, 2011. http://informant.kalwnews.org/2011/08/barts-cellular-shutdown-safety-or-suppression/. Retrieved Aug 22, 2011.
- ^ "Free Speech and BART Cell Phone Censorship". American Civil Liberties Union. http://www.aclu.org/blog/free-speech-technology-and-liberty/free-speech-and-bart-cell-phone-censorship. Retrieved Aug 22, 2011.
- ^ "As criticism mounts, BART stays the course". San Francisco Examiner. Aug 16, 2011. http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/2011/08/criticism-mounts-bart-stays-course. Retrieved Aug 22, 2011.
- ^ "BART’s cellular shutdown: Safety or suppression?". KALWnews.org. Aug 12, 2011. http://informant.kalwnews.org/2011/08/barts-cellular-shutdown-safety-or-suppression/. Retrieved Aug 22, 2011.
- ^ "A letter from BART to our customers". BART. 2011-08-20. http://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2011/news20110820.aspx. Retrieved 2011-10-05.
- ^ Maria L. La Ganga (2009-01-13). "BART board creates commission to oversee transit police". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-bart-shooting13-2009jan13,0,5145211.story.
