The Corpus Christi Police Department would like to remind all users of West Guth and LaBonte parks that we will be monitoring both parks throughout Easter Sunday. Officers will be enforcing the city ordinances for parks. Below are some of the rules:
West Guth & Labonte Park Rules and Regulations
Park Curfew: 10pm – 6am—City Noise ordinance enforced City Code of Ordinances: Chapter 31 Noise (Ord.No.027440)
No lifeguards are on duty–Children must be supervised at ALL times. (LaBonte Park)
Dogs must be on leash & owners must pick up pet wastes.
When parking allow enough room for emergency vehicles to pass through.
The following are not permitted:
Littering
Alcohol
Motorized vehicles (ATV, go-carts, motor-bikes or scooters)
Glass containers
Fireworks or campfires
There will be limited number of portable toilets made available for public use.
Customer is responsible for cleaning the reserved campsite area after use and disposing of all trash in receptacles.
The Corpus Christi Police Department provided an increased patrol presence on the beach from March 8 through March 18, 2013 for Spring Break. Police Officers are pleased there were no significant injuries at the beach and the major problem addressed were for glass containers and dogs on the beach.
The Corpus Christi Police Officers assigned to work on the beach for the ten-day period conducted 329 traffic stops on the beach, issued 170 citations, and impounded 21 vehicles. The Corpus Christi Police Officers assigned to the beach arrested 49 people in which 17 arrests were for those with warrants for their arrest, 13 for public intoxication, 4 for possession of marijuana, and 1 for furnishing alcohol to minors. Four minors received citations for consumption of alcohol.
There were 127 warnings given to those with dogs on the beach and 72 warnings given to those who had glass containers on the beach. There were 7 lost children returned to their parents by Corpus Christi Police and there was 1 wallet found with $100.
Corpus Christi Police responded to 18 disturbances and 90 general calls by the public for police service.
Captain Anthony Sanders was the supervisor for the Corpus Christi Police beach patrols. Captain Sanders said, “A good time was had by all. This was the safest Spring Break in years and we attribute that to good, pro-active patrols.”
Lieutenant Mike Pena (center) stands with his wife, Velma Pena (left) and his sister Norma Pena at his promotion ceremony
Corpus Christi Police Chief Floyd Simpson promoted Michael Pena from the rank of Senior Officer to Lieutenant in a ceremony at the Police Headquarters building Tuesday morning.
Lieutenant Pena began his employment in the Corpus Christi Police Department in August of 1993. He was previously employed in the United States Air Force where he served in Operation: Just Cause in 1989 (which was the invasion of Panama); Operation: Desert Shield and Operation: Desert Storm in 1990 and 1991 (known as the Persian Gulf War).
Lieutenant Pena was born in Dallas, Texas and moved around as his father served in the United States Army. Lieutenant Pena graduated from American High School in Stuttgart, Germany.
Lieutenant Pena’s badge was fastened onto his uniform in the ceremony by his wife of 8 years, Velma Pena. Congratulations, Lieutenant Mike Pena and good luck with your new assignment as first line supervisor of officers in the street.
The Corpus Christi Citizens Police Academy Alumni will host their fifth annual All You Can Eat Waffle Breakfast on Saturday March 30th. This fun event will take place at the First Christian Church, 3401 Santa Fe Street from 8:00 am to 11:00 am.
The Waffle Breakfast is one of the biggest fundraisers of the year for the CPAA, which has been in existence for over twenty years. All proceeds from the event are donated to the officers of the Corpus Christi Police Department in the form of equipment and other support. Over the years the CPAA has generously made over $100,000 in contributions to our men and women in blue. Past donations include roads spikes, trauma kits, emergency response tools, digital cameras, digital recorders, hostage negotiation communication equipment, and life preservers for the CCPD Rescue and Recovery Dive team. The equipment donated by the CPAA is generally equipment that the Police Department is unable to budget for, but still essential for our officers to safely serve our community. By filling that gap, the CPAA performs a tremendous service to all the citizens of Corpus Christi. In addition, CPAA members volunteer at the Police Department on a daily basis, working alongside our officers to achieve our mission of reducing crime, reducing the fear of crime and enhancing public safety.
This year’s waffle breakfast promises to be the best ever. For a $6.00 donation, customers are treated to all you can eat waffles, a serving of sausage, and their choice of juice, milk or coffee. For the youngsters, there will be clowns, balloons, and free children’s fingerprinting. Grownups can take advantage of free VIN etching for their vehicles, courtesy of the CCPD Auto Theft Task Force and their new VIN etching machines donated by the CPAA. There will also be a silent auction, with many valuable items available.
Tickets can be purchased at the door or from any CPAA member. So come on out, enjoy a great breakfast, have some fun, and support the wonderful men and women who support our officers. For more information or to make a donation, contact CPAA President Cheryl Daubs at 886-2784.
Young boy enjoys a balloon at 2012 Waffle Breakfast
Gucci and her rescue pilot, Wade Roberts of Pearland, Tx.
A nine-year old canine whose future once looked bleak enjoyed a first class flight to Houston Tuesday afternoon, thanks to an enterprising Corpus Christi Animal Control Officer and a non-profit animal rescue network called “Pilots N Paws”.
The dog named “Gucci” arrived at the Corpus Christi Animal Shelter last Thursday when her owner surrendered her. Gucci’s owner was forced to make the difficult decision to surrender her when apartment management informed the pet’s owner that she was only allowed two pets; Gucci sadly became the odd dog out.
When Gucci tested positive for heartworms the next day, Animal Control Officer James Matt Ray realized that placing her for adoption would be difficult due to her age and health issues. Ray quickly went into action and found an animal rescue group called PugHearts of Houston that specializes in rescuing that particular breed. Ray contacted the group and they agreed to rescue Gucci, but there was still the problem of how to get her to Houston. Undaunted, Ray continued to search the internet and found “Pilots N Paws”, a non-profit website that serves as a meeting place for those who rescue, shelter or foster animals, and volunteer pilots willing to assist with the transportation of at-risk animals.
Pilots N Paws was founded in 2008 by animal-lover Debi Boies and pilot Jon Wehrenberg. The idea first took flight when Jon agreed to help Debi by flying a rescued Doberman from Florida to South Carolina. The trip was a success and the two brainstormed on how to rescue other animals. As a result of their collaboration, the website, http://www.pilotsnpaws.org was soon launched. Today the organization has 3,168 pilot volunteers and 10,551 volunteers responsible for saving thousands of animals each year.
Through the website Officer Ray contacted Wade Roberts, a pilot from Pearland, Texas, who agreed to pick up Gucci and fly her back to Houston. ACO Ray met Roberts Tuesday morning at a small airport in Port Aransas and by 11:30 am Gucci was on her way to a new life in Houston-all thanks to a caring pilot and the Animal Control Officer who went beyond the call of duty to save her.
Gucci soars off to new life in Houston, thanks to Pilots N Paws, PugHearts of Houston, and ACO James Matt Ray.
The Corpus Christi Police Department remembers fallen officer, Lieutenant Stuart J. Alexander who was killed in the line of duty March 11, 2009. A Corpus Christi Police Patrol Officer initiated a traffic stop and the violator attacked and physically assaulted the officer. The violator fled from the traffic stop and scene of the assault of the police officer in a vehicle. The violator used the vehicle as a weapon against responding officers and rammed several pursuing patrol vehicles.
Lieutenant Alexander positioned himself on the grass median on State Highway 358 near Agnes for road spike deployment. The violator abruptly swerved and intentionally struck Lieutenant Alexander.
The suspect continued to use his vehicle as a weapon against officers until he was shot by Corpus Christi Police Officers and arrested.
Lieutenant Stuart Alexander was 47 years old, a 20 year veteran of the Corpus Christi Police Department and is survived by his wife, his son, and three grandchildren.
The Corpus Christi Police Department invites qualified men and women to apply for a rewarding and dedicated career as a police officer. Accept the Challenge and visit one of our Pre-Assessment Workouts or Women in Policing Seminars.
The Pre-Assesments will allow anyone wanting to be a police officer to visit the training center and take the fitness test prior to the actual test. The assessment will allow police candidates to work on achieving a passing score at the time of the test.
No reservation required is required and walk-ins are welcome. The Pre-Assessment Workouts will be scheduled for the following dates and held at the Corpus Christi Police Department’s Training Center, 4510 Corona.
Thursday, March 7, 2013 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm
Thursday, March 14, 2013 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm
Saturday, March 16, 2013 from 9:00 am to 11:00 am
Thursday, March 21, 2013 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm
Thursday, March 28, 2013 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm
Thursday, April 4, 2013 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm
Saturday, April 6, 2013 from 9:00 am to 11:00 am
The Corpus Christi Police Department’s Training Division will also host a “Women in Policing” Seminar on Friday, March 22, 2013 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. A second seminar will be held Friday, April 5, 2013 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at the Police Department’s Training Center, 4510 Corona Drive.
This seminar will give prospective female applicants an opportunity to hear from successful female officers and ask questions about how they juggle family life and a law enforcement career. Topics of discussion will include; the application process, the police academy, and career opportunities within the Corpus Christi Police Department.
Please join us and explore an exciting career in law enforcement and hear from women who have very successful careers with the Corpus Christi Police Department.
For additional information please contact Maryann Carrillo at (361) 826-4071.
Texas DECA President Kate Hogan stands with donated bears at the American Bank Center.
The Corpus Christi Police Department, Corpus Christi Fire Department, and Driscoll Children’s Hospital received a load of stuffed animals from high schools from all over Texas on Friday at the DECA state conference at the American Bank Center.
The Distributive Educational Clubs of America (DECA) organization had a state conference in Corpus Christi this past week. The purpose of DECA is to prepare emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high schools and colleges. The participating schools raised money to buy and construct stuffed animals from the “Build A Bear” company for the purpose to donate the bears to the Corpus Christi Police Department, the Corpus Christi Fire Department, and to Driscoll Children’s Hospital.
The bears were staged at the American Bank Center with a fire truck, police patrol car, and an ambulance while a representative from the Police Department, Fire Department, and Driscoll Children’s Hospital delivered a message of gratitude to the students for the generous donation.
The Corpus Christi Police Department received 100 bears and intend to use them to provide comfort to victims of traumatic events. This donation will offer comfort directly to victims of traumatic events by police.The Corpus Christi Police Department thanks the DECA organization for their generous donation and kind offer to help members of our community who need comfort most.
Left to right: Janice Barrera, Lt. P. Bintliff, Officer J. Cantu, Officer R. Cantu, Officer B. Cordell. G. E. Dreggors, Officer G. Luna, Officer E. Perez, Captain R. Sherman, Officer J. Tello & Officer A. Thurman. (Not all honorees shown)
The Corpus Christi Police Awards Banquet was held at Yorktown Baptist Church Thursday night. The Master of Ceremonies was Police Captain David Cook. Corpus Christi Police Chief Floyd Simpson and his assistant chiefs Mike Markle and J.V. Garcia presented a variety of citations to employees of the Corpus Christi Police Department for outstanding performance.
Corpus Christi Police Chief, Floyd Simpson said, “This is a great time and a great opportunity for us to recognize the meritorious conduct of members of our police department throughout 2012”.
Certificates of Merit were awarded to Senior Officers Rodney Cantu, Brenda Garza, Emily Perez, and John Shultz.
Life Saving Awards were presented to Lieutenant Phillip Bintliff, Senior Officers Gracie Luna, Jason Tello, Adam Thurman, Armando Vasquez, Luis Rodriguez, Thomas Bauer, Ross Richards, Brandon Cordell, and Officer Alan Miller.
The Police Shield was awarded to Senior Officer Douglas Rush.
Police Captain Russell Sherman was awarded the Medal of Valor.
Glenn Ellen Dreggors was named the Volunteer of the year.
Lieutenant David Kureska was named Supervisor of the year, and Detective Richard L. Garcia was recognized as the Investigator of the year.
Janice Barrera was the Police Employee of the year.
Senior Officer Javier Cantu was awarded Officer of the Year.
This week the Corpus Christi Police Department received the first order of cars that will be rotated into patrol. The Ford Motor Company will no longer manufacture the Crown Victoria model cars and the Corpus Christi Police Department will replace the sedans with the Ford Police Interceptor. The fleet of patrol cars does not increase, these vehicles replace others which are rotated out of the Police inventory because of the normal wear and tear of the equipment.
The Police Interceptor is a five passenger sedan with a 3.7 liter V6 engine and 6 speed automatic transmission. The new cars are a white exterior with black cloth and vinyl interior.
Some of the features of this vehicle are 18 inch steel wheels, a full size 18 inch spare tire, underbody deflector plate, key locks for the driver door, truck, and passenger door, black vinyl floor covering, tilt and telescoping steering column, all wheel drive system, and dual spotlights. Some features that were included with the vehicle from the manufacturer are for safety such as the strobing lights on the interior of the trunk. The lights in the trunk provide visibility while the open trunk shields the overhead lightbar. There are also front, side, and safety canopy airbags on the interior of the cars.
The new vehicles arrived on February 27 from the manufacturer and must be outfitted with the decals, radio and computer console, light bars, push bumpers, cages, and other accessories installed locally. Much of the needed accessories will be able to be transferred from outgoing patrol cars into the new vehicles. The public can expect to see the new cars on the road in the Fall.
CCPD Blotter 
You must be logged in to post a comment.