DCSEA Summer BBQ

The Davis County Sheriff's Office Employees Association had it's annual summer party on August 3, 2011.
Detective Bob Hunt received an award for his years of service on the Bomb Squad.  Bob has experience that may not ever be matched when it comes to the Bomb Squad.

Tawnya Corbridge received the DCSEA Civilian of the Year Award.  Tawnya works tirelessly in the office making sure that all things are operating smoothly at all times.  We appreciate Tawnya for all she does each day.

Patrol Deputy Chris Benedict was awarded the Patrol Deputy of the Year.  Chris is one of the hardest working deputies in the Patrol Division.  He also runs the Youth Alcohol program through the State of Utah for DCSO.  He has done an outstanding job with that program, including the grants for funding, and has arrested many underaged drinkers over the years.  Below is a link to the story on the mock crash Deputy Benedict put together for Davis High School in the past year.
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=695&sid=12901133

Cole Meldrum received the DCSEA Correctional Deputy of the Year Award for his outstanding efforts throughout the year.  These awards are given by employees' peers, who witness their work ethics year after year. 

Brett Decow received the DCSEA Overall Deputy of the Year Award.  Brett was viewed by his peers as deserving of this award overall because of his contributions to DCSO as a whole.  Congratulations to all the winners!

RUDD CANYON FIRE STARTED BY TARGET SHOOTING

Davis County—July 28, 2011

A fire was started in Rudd Canyon at approximately 1820 hours on July 27, 2011.  The cause of the fire appears to be from target shooting by three individuals in the area.  The three adults attempted to put out the fire themselves, but were unprepared, so the fire got quickly out of their control.  They called 911 themselves and waited for law enforcement to show up.  When deputies arrived, the subjects were interviewed and they said they had been shooting at exploding targets with high-powered rifles.  The fire is believed to have been started by this. 

Currently, the US Forest Service has taken command, with multiple agencies assisting in the efforts to put the fire out.  The three individuals have been summoned into court on charges that include reckless burning. 

DCSO News Release:

http://bit.ly/dcsonewsrelease

News Links:
http://bit.ly/foxrudd
http://bit.ly/Ruddksl

DCSO CERT Team and the SPARTAN Race!



If you ever had a question in your mind whether the Davis County Sheriff's Office CERT Team was tough enough, take a look at how Nicholas Jensen, Mike Shelton, Daniel and Elizabeth Jaquez spent their day off:



They climb in between large bales of hay and take on guys menacingly holding sticks with foam barrels on the ends.

Still in the fight . . .

They dangle from bridges . . .

They run through muddy bogs . . .

and aren't afraid of a little dirt.

When it comes to fire . . . these cops run into the flames, not around them!

They will do it again, to show that they weren't afraid the first time!

These guys are dragging cinder blocks, just as the Spartans dragged their dinner. 

• A Spartan pushes their mind and body to their limits.
• A Spartan masters their emotions.
• A Spartan learns continuously.
• A Spartan gives generously.
• A Spartan leads.
• A Spartan stands up for what they believe in, no matter the cost.
• A Spartan knows their flaws as well as they know their strengths.
• A Spartan proves themselves through actions, not words.
• A Spartan lives every day as if it were their last.

CONGRATULATIONS CERT TEAM!  WAY TO DOMINATE!

Davis County Sheriff's Office Bomb Squad Wins Overall Champs!

Bomb squad blows up a suspicious geocache

By Loretta Park

Standard-Examiner

Tue, 06/28/2011 - 10:07pm

Copyright 2011 . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

FARMINGTON -- The Davis County Sheriff's Bomb Squad took first place in a two-day statewide competition, but only after disarming a geocache thought to be a bomb.
Squad members were on their way to the Utah County Thistle Range when a suspected bomb was reported across the street from the Syracuse Police Department, said Davis County Sheriff's Deputy Larry Nielsen, squad team leader.
The container, which was a camouflage military ammunition can, was about 25 feet from the opening of Syracuse Fun Center on 2000 West, said Davis County Sheriff's Sgt. Susan Poulsen.
Weber County Sheriff's Cpl. Chet Hartley and Deputy Brandon Miles, the two squad members, were heading to Farmington on June 22 to pick up the truck for the competition when the call came in, Nielsen said.
Weber and Davis counties have an interlocal agreement and work together on one team.
"I'm sure the container was picked because it was watertight, but it looked suspicious, being right across the street from the police department," Nielsen said.
Squad members realized, after it was blown up, that it was a new geocache site.
Geocaching is an activity in which participants use a global positioning system to hide and seek containers, called "geocaches." A typical cache is a small waterproof container holding a logbook where geocachers enter the date it was found and sign it with their established code names.
"We're asking anyone who puts anything in containers like that to please advise the local law enforcement agency it's there and what's inside, so we don't send the entire team out," Poulsen said.
This was not the first time a geocache site was thought to contain a bomb, Nielsen said.
About a year ago, the bomb squad was called to a suspected bomb behind the courthouse in Farmington, only to realize it was a geocache site.
After handling the geocache "bomb" call, Miles and Hartley headed to Utah County to compete against nine other bomb squads, including the Air Force and National Guard, in explosive ordinance disposal, Nielsen said.
The competition included wearing a bomb suit while running an obstacle course, answering technical questions, running a robot through an obstacle course, tactical exercises and hazmat exercises.
Nielsen said Hartley and Miles were chosen to represent Davis and Weber because of staff constraints.
"We're sure proud of those two."

Corporal Chet Hartley and Deputy Brandon Miles

Group photo of all area bomb squads competing

Putting on the bomb suit during the competetion

Applying a bomb collar

Congratulations to you guys.  Thanks for what you do and for your professional representation!

DCSO CANYON PATROL GEARING UP FOR JULY FOURTH WEEKEND



Canyon patrol team dedicated to back country rescue

By Loretta Park

Standard-Examiner

Mon, 07/04/2011 - 10:26pm

Copyright 2011 . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Images

FARMINGTON -- Davis County Sheriff's Deputy Mike Ditolla gave up his career teaching at the University of Utah to rescue people.
Ditolla joined the sheriff's office two years ago and is one of four officers who make up the sheriff's canyon patrol team. Ditolla had taught at the U of U's Centers for Emergency program.
"It sounds cheesy, but when I was a teenager I pulled a boy who was drowning out of a lake and since then, I wanted a career where I could help people," Ditolla said. "It's an unbelievable high when you can rescue someone."
Ditolla joined deputies Jason Sorensen, Greg Murray and Cory Cox. Two years ago, the sheriff's office formed the canyon patrol team after receiving a federal grant of $7,500, which paid for equipment and some training.
At least one member of the team patrols the back country beginning in May until the end of October.
The team does not replace the sheriff's Search and Rescue team, said Davis County Sheriff's Sgt. Susan Poulsen.
"They are the experts," Poulsen said.
The canyon patrol team trains once a week with the all-volunteer search and rescue team.
The canyon patrol team are the first responders who travel the canyon roads almost daily on almost every shift. The county has contracted for many years with the U.S. Forest Service to patrol the national forest lands above Davis County, Poulsen said.
Before the patrol was formed, all the deputies took turns patrolling the back country.
Having four deputies specifically assigned to patrol the area is an asset to the county, Poulsen said.
"There's so much area in the mountains that we run the risk of our own deputies getting lost," Poulsen said.
Sorensen, who has been with the sheriff's office for the past 14 years, said he loves the back country.
The biggest problem deputies run across is underage drinking. The biggest challenge is that, when they do come across a group of teenagers drinking, the nearest back-up is usually 45 minutes away, Murray said.
And the time it takes for an ambulance or helicopter to arrive at an accident scene is also just as long, Murray said.
"It's a big difference up here versus down there," Murray said from Farmington Canyon.
If they come across a vehicle that has gone over a cliff, they are the ones who begin setting up the ropes for rescue. Search and rescue team members are volunteers and sometimes it takes awhile for them to arrive.
Because the four deputies train with the search and rescue team members, the search and rescue team is confident that the deputies know how to set up the basic rope system.
"Search and rescue do the actual rescue, we're there to assist," Sorensen said.
"We just hope by being here we're making a difference and that translates into saving lives," Murray said.

DCSO's Canyon Patrol Unit is getting ready for the Fourth of July holiday coming up.  In anticipation of the holiday, Canyon Patrol refreshed their training on rappelling.  On this day, Standard Examiner Reporter, Loretta Park and photographer, Nick Short, were on scene to do a story on our Canyon Patrol.



Our newest member of the Canyon Patrol is Deputy Mike Ditolla, sets up the rigging for the descent.

Canyon Patrol Deputies Greg Murray and Jason Sorensen prepare for their descent.

Not used to being in the story.   Smile Loretta . . .

Working together to set up a rigging.

Deputy Murray

Preparing to rappell off the bridge, it is a multi-facetted descent.  They must take into account all factors, including the raging river below them. 

Getting ready

Come on, Loretta, you want to rappell, right?

This is how you do it.

Waiting

Deputy Ditolla securing photographer, Nick, so he can get the right shot.

Come on, guys.  Look up at the camera.

One down, but ready for another.

Heading over for another go at it.

Being a photographer is sometimes a dirty job.

Look up . . .

 I'm pretty sure there's a lot more to life than being really, really, ridiculously good looking.

See you in the canyons on the Fourth of July!

Reggie Ann Peck Case

Davis County Sheriff's Office Deputies and Detectives worked hard to develop a case against a Logan mother who was placed under arrest by DCSO for intentionally harming her two children.  DCSO would like to recognize their efforts in a particularly difficult and disturbing case that involved the intentional harm of innocent children.  The following Standard Examiner story details how this case has finished out.  Thanks to all involved in this case!

Tearful mother pleads guilty to harming children

By Loretta Park, Standard-Examiner Davis Bureau

Wed, 06/15/2011 - 10:39pm

Images

1 of 1

FARMINGTON -- A North Logan woman has entered two guilty pleas to second-degree felony charges of trying to harm her two toddlers.
Reggie Ann Peck, 36, appeared in 2nd District Court on Wednesday with her attorney, Todd Utzinger.
She agreed to enter the pleas to one count of inflicting serious harm to a child and one count of administering a substance surreptitiously, and prosecutors agreed to dismiss the other two counts.
"She was crying and choked up during the hearing, but she made her way through it," Utzinger said.
Peck has been held in Davis County Jail without bail since her arrest in August 2010.
Deputy Davis County Attorney Richard Larsen said his office agreed to the plea deal as long as Peck understood that both counts covered the actions done on both children, who were ages 4 and 2 at the time.
A sentencing hearing is set for July 27, when Peck could be sentenced on each count to serve one to 15 years in Utah State Prison.
Utzinger said the judge will look at everything in the presentence report, as well as Peck's mental health history.
On Aug. 30, 2010, Davis County Sheriff's deputies found Peck and her two children inside her locked Dodge Durango in South Weber after residents reported a suspicious vehicle parked next to the canal. According to the probable cause statement, Peck had "administered prescription controlled substances to her two children in an effort to sedate them to a level of unconsciousness."
Police had been looking for Peck after she failed to return the children to their father in Bountiful the previous night.
Peck is currently on probation out of 1st District Court in Cache County.
She had entered a plea in abeyance in that district's mental health court Jan. 20, 2010, to two counts of second-degree felony surreptitious administering of a certain substance, and two class B misdemeanors.
A plea in abeyance means if the defendant complies with the terms of probation, the charges will be dropped when probation ends. If the defendant does not successfully complete probation, guilty pleas could be entered and the defendant could be sentenced to jail or prison.
The Cache County case has been continued until the Davis County case has been resolved, according to the court website.

http://bit.ly/SaltLakeTribune
http://bit.ly/StandardExaminer

Gravel Pit Taking On Water

The Davis County Sheriff's Office received a call from employees at Staker/Parson's Gravel Pit on Monday, June 13, 2011, that they had identified water coming through the wall of their pit.  They said they regularly get water in the pit from multiple sources, but never anything like this.  Their engineers advised that if it was the Weber River that had breached the wall, and if the land breached fully, the river could fill the gravel pit within approximately 18 hours. 

It was the determination of the Davis County Emergency Management Coordinator that if that wall were to breach, it could become a public emergency, because that would be an uncontrolled situation.  All homes west of the pit would be at risk of being flooded, and evacuations would be necessary.  Davis County Sheriff's Office released a press release to notify the public of a potential risk to public safety: 
http://on.fb.me/m8cTNG

Lake being formed at the bottom of the gravel pit on Monday

Landslides visible from wet and weakened soil, Monday.  On the right is the side of the river.  Notice there are small trickles of water running in on the ground, but ground is mostly dry.

This picture was taken on Tuesday.  There is a visible difference in the amount of water on the ground.  Water and ground erosion has picked up greatly and workers noticed.

Another shot from Tuesday with increased water coming in.

Experts with the State of Utah came down on Tuesday to evaluate the stability of the situation, and see if they could identify the source of the water.

Engineers and Specialists in a briefing about the situation and the stability.

Due to the increase in water flow, the continued landslides and erosion, experts were in agreement that action needed to be taken immediately to correct any potential breach.  Staker/Parson got to work, doing what they do best, and worked around the clock to remedy the problem. 

The amount of work Staker/Parson's crews had completed to stabalize the hillside by Thursday morning, June 16th, was visible and impressive.  Water is still coming through, but it is clear and not bring hillside out with it.  Staker/Parson's crews created a filtration system, which allows the water to flow through the hillside without bringing soil with it.  The project was basically completed by Thursday morning.  

http://bit.ly/Fox13News

http://bit.ly/StandardExaminerVideo

Completed filtration system

Completed filtration system and stabalized hill.

Completed project.

Below is a link to the updated press release.
http://www.daviscountyutah.gov/documents/sheriff/media_releases/2011/20110616_gravel_pit_leak.pdf