Category Archives: Community Outreach

Community Outreach, Narcotics/Vice Division

Turn in your Prescription Drugs, No Questions Asked

Drug Enforcement Administration and the Corpus Christi Police Department
Conduct Third Prescription Drug Take-Back Day

“Living Drug Free Starts at Home”

On April 28th,  from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  local law enforcement agencies  and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will give the public another opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs.  Bring your medications for disposal to one of the designated sites in Corpus Christi, Kingsville, Aransas Pass, Portland, Cuero and Sinton.  The service is free and anonymous. 

Last October, Americans turned in 377,080 pounds—188.5 tons—of prescription drugs at over 5,300 sites operated by the DEA and nearly 4,000 state and local law enforcement partners. (The Gulf Coast area collected almost 1000 pounds.) In its three previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners took in almost a million pounds—nearly 500 tons—of pills. 

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue.  Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.  Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—both pose potential safety and health hazards.

Four days after the first event, Congress passed the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010, which amends the Controlled Substances Act to allow an “ultimate user” of controlled substance medications to dispose of them by delivering them to entities authorized by the Attorney General to accept them.  The Act also allows the Attorney General to authorize long-term care facilities to dispose of their residents’ controlled substances in certain instances.  DEA is drafting regulations to implement the Act, a process that can take as long as 24 months.  Until new regulations are in place, local law enforcement agencies and the DEA will continue to hold prescription drug take-back events every few months.

Coastal Bend Collection Sites are listed below:     

  • KIII TV~5002 South Padre Island Drive, Corpus Christi
  • HEB~3500 Leopard, Corpus Christi
  • HEB~3033 S. Port Avenue, Corpus Christi
  • HEB~5313 Saratoga Boulevard, Corpus Christi
  • HEB(Flour Bluff)~1145 Waldron Road, Corpus Christi
  • HEB(Annaville)~11100 Leopard Street, Corpus Christi
  • HEB~1600 Wildcat Boulevard, Portland
  • HEB~409 E. Kleberg, Kingsville
  • HEB(Aransas Pass)~101 E. Goodnight Avenue, Aransas Pass
  • HEB(Sinton)~106 S. San Patricio, Sinton
  • Cuero City Hall~201 E. Main Street, Cuero
Community Outreach, Delta District

If you received a text stating “CREDIT UNION…YOUR CARD IS NOW DEACTIVATED – PLEASE CALL 361-xxx-xxxx” Don’t Stop Reading

Information Provided by Corpus Christi Police Department’s Financial Crimes Unit

Over the last few days, customers have made their banks aware of a scam that is hitting the Coastal Bend area.

The customers are receiving a text on their phone that typically reads “CREDIT UNION…YOUR CARD IS NOW DEACTIVATED – PLEASE CALL 361-xxx-xxxx” Customers are then asked to put in their account number.

This is a scam and an attempt to obtain your account number along with your PIN. DO NOT respond to any messages that are similar to this.

If you receive a message like this, contact your bank/credit union in person or by a verified phone number and advise them. If you have responded to the text advise your bank immediately.

Community Outreach, Criminal Investigations Division

Copper Theft Crime Of The Week

  Burglary of a Habitation

Crime of the Week # 17-2012

Air Dates: April 25- May 2, 2012

1204200025 and 1204230046

I am Senior Officer Kirk Stowers with your Corpus Christi Crime Stoppers Crime of the Week.

This week we are at the 13,900 block of Whitecap at a house under construction. The owner told police that an unknown person broke the rear door to the house to gain entry. Once inside, the person stole the Air Conditioner coil made of copper tube. The estimated cost for this AC coil is $2,500.

This house was targeted by criminals days earlier when the exterior Air Conditioner unit valued at $3,500 was stolen.

Copper thefts have increased nationwide in recent years which results in increased costs for consumers.

If you know who is responsible for these thefts call Crime Stoppers at 888-TIPS, or log on at 888tips.com. We want your information, not your name. The information you provide could earn you $1000 in cash.

Community Outreach

April 25th Is Denim Day

Please join us on April 25th by wearing jeans to work in order to bring awareness to Sexual Assault. It’s time to talk about it!

Connect. Respect. Prevent Sexual Violence.

RAPE is a crime: talking about it isn’t

We celebrate Denim Day in honor of a woman who was forcibly raped by her driving instructor. The woman pressed charges, but the case was dismissed because the chief judge decided that, “…because the victim wore very, very tight jeans, she has to help him remove them and by removing the jeans it was no longer rape, but consensual sex.”

Show your support for survivors on Denim Day

Community Outreach

Crime Stoppers First Quarter Report

The Corpus Christi Crime Stoppers organization would like to thank the Corpus Christi community for the support provided to bring criminals to justice. The Crime Stoppers board is pleased to provide the statistical information for the first quarter of 2012 which spaned from January 1 until March 31, 2012.

The Corpus Christi Crime Stoppers organization received 1,456 calls that resulted in 34 arrests between January first and March 31, 2012. The tips called into Corpus Christi Crime Stoppers recovered $3,825 in stolen property, resulted in $7,260 in seized drugs, and obtained 4 contraband weapons in the first quarter for 2012. There were 12 fugitives captured through information provided to the Corpus Christi Crime Stoppers program in this first quarter of 2012.

The Corpus Christi Crime Stoppers approved 27 rewards for $4,178 paid to those that provided tips that resulted in arrests of offenders.

Crime Stoppers is a non-profit organization certified by the Governor’s office and solely supported by donations and the local media. This organization is independent from the Police Department, and consists of a non-paid volunteer board that works with Corpus Christi Police Coordinators.

The coordinators serve as liaisons between the Board, the Police Department, the media and other law enforcement agencies. Crime Stoppers provides an avenue for the citizens of Corpus Christi to report crimes anonymously through the use of a hotline and pays rewards to tipsters.

Anyone with any information about an unsolved crime is encouraged to call the Crime Stoppers Tip Line at 888-TIPS (8477) or 1-800-827-TIPS. The information provided is anonymous and could earn the caller a cash reward.

Secure tips can be submitted online at www.888TIPS.com or visit the TipSubmit mobile app.

Community Outreach, Delta District, Patrol Division

In Memory Of A Fallen Officer, Roy Smith

By: Captain John Houston

On April 20, 1953, 59 years ago, Patrol Officer Roy Newton Smith was responding to a fight call when his patrol car was struck by another car at Staples and Lipan. Smith died of his injuries that day. Smith was 21 years old and had been on the department for just 4 months at the time of this tragic accident. Roy was married to Laverne Smith and had come here from Wichita Falls, Texas to work at the department. Roy and Laverne had one daughter Gail. Roy served with distinction in the Army having served in the Korean conflict before joining the department. Please take a moment out  of your day to remember our fallen brother. Our prayers remain with him and his family and may we never forget him and his sacrifice. Roy Smith is the fourth officer to die in the Line of Duty for the Department.

As a side note, we were able to locate his only daughter Gail Michalsky of Spring, Texas who never had a chance to know her father and she attended her first Police Officers Memorial Service last year. She was given a copy of the Wall of Honor photo by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott.

Community Outreach, Delta District

9-Month-Old Infant Rescued From Locked Truck

Occurred on 4/12/12, 11:09 am   Child Rescue    2961 Port Avenue     1204120054

A 9-month-old baby was locked in her grandmother’s red 2008 Ford F150 when the keys were accidentally left inside.  The distraught grandmother no longer able to wait for a locksmith requested the Officer to break the window fearing for the baby’s safety.

Officer R. Soliz used his tactical rescue knife to break the window.  The unharmed infant was quickly rescued and back  in grandma’s arms.

The rescue knives were donated by the Corpus Christi Police Academy Alumni to all Patrol Officers and Criminal Investigation Division Detectives and they will also be providing knives to the new Police Academy Cadets graduating Friday, May 11, 2012 at the Selena Auditorium beginning at 2:00 pm.

These tactical knives have proved to be valuable as they have been used to rescue a man locked in his vehicle suffering from a heart attack and cut seatbelts off trapped accident victims as well as saving children from locked vehicles. The rescue knives are used on a daily basis and the Police Department thanks the Corpus Christi Police Academy Alumni who have graciously provided Officers with the tools and equipment needed to make our community safer.

Police Department MetroCom Supervisor Cheryl Daubs encourages anyone with children to be sure to have an additional key, especially with the approaching hot weather.   It only takes a few minutes for the vehicle to get overheated and for a child to be in distress.

The Police Department recommends the following tips to avoid accidental lock-ins:

  • If a child is locked in a car, keep calm and call 911 immediately
  • Keep a spare key in your purse, pocket, or wallet
  • Make sure the vehicle is empty before remote locking
  • Always take children with you
  • The driver should always keep the keys, never leave them in the ignition, give them to the child or place them on a car seat.
  • Never let your child play with the car keys
Community Outreach

April 11 Crime Of The Week

Corpus Christi Crime Stoppers Crime of the Week

This week Crime Stoppers is asking for your tips to help investigators solve a brutal sexual assault that occurred recently in an industrial area on the North Side of Corpus Christi.

On Tuesday March 20th, 2012 at around 9:00 pm a Port Police Officer saw a woman stumble from the bushes near Brewster and Sam Rankin Streets. The woman was rushed to the hospital and placed in intensive care with critical injuries.

Corpus Christi Police Department Detectives discovered the woman was sexually assaulted and brutally beaten by her attacker in an area of brush near the road.  Investigators need your help to provide more details to identify the person responsible for this attack.

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Don’t allow this violent predator to remain in our area.

If you have any additional information about this violent attack, call Crime Stoppers at 888- TIPS, or log on at 888tips.com. The information you provided could earn you $1000 in cash.

Follow the CCPD on Twitter for other Police Department news: http://twitter.com/#!/CorpusChristiPD

Community Outreach

Tips Lead Detectives to Capital One Bank Robber

 

Arrested on  4/10/12, 11:16 am  Aggravated Robbery   321 John Sartain   1204090064

On 4/9/12, Officers were dispatched to the Capital One Bank located at 4060 Weber Road for a bank robbery.  Bank employees reported a White male with a dirty blond mustache handed the teller a note demanding money.

The teller fearing for her safety handed the robber an undetermined amount of money which included a dye pack.  The suspect fled in a white vehicle, possibly a Chevrolet.

Once the photographs of the suspect were shown on the our local media outlets, callers began calling the Police Department and Crime Stoppers with tips.

Detectives with the Homicide/Robbery Bureau were quickly able to identify the suspect and obtain an arrest warrant.  Officers began to search for William A. Enderle III (08/25/53) and found him in the area of Brawner Parkway and Alameda Street.  He was found to be in possession of numerous bills with red dye on them. 

Enderle was arrested and charged with Robbery and booked at the City Detention Center.  His bond was set at 75,000.

The Corpus Christi Police Department would like to thank our Community and the Media in helping Keep Corpus Christi Safe.

Community Outreach

911 What’s Your Location!

 

National Public Safety
Telecommunicator’s Week
April 9-13, 2012 
                                       

 

In 1991, Congress proclaimed the second week of April as a nationally recognized week of recognition for public safety communicators. For the past several years, Public Safety Agencies nationwide have recognized the dedicated men and women who play a pivotal role as telecommunicators, dispatchers, communications operators, and radio control personnel, who support Law Enforcement, Fire Services, Emergency Medical Services and other governmental field personnel.

The Corpus Christi Police Department would like to recognize its MetroCom Division this week with a week-long celebration to honor the call-takers and dispatchers for their hard work and dedication. The Corpus Christi Police Officer’s Association, the Fraternal Order of Police, the Corpus Christi Fire Fighter’s Association, Navy Army Community Credit Union, Carino’s, and Texas Roadhouse, have also joined in the recognition of these telecommunicators by sponsoring activities and giveaways, along with providing meals throughout the week.

MetroCom’s 80 Dispatchers and Call Takers handled over 600,000 emergency 911 and non-emergency telephone calls last year for the city and county’s Police, Fire and EMS agencies. They also dispatch and coordinate the city’s police patrol officers, fire units and ambulances.

We thank them for the role they play in ensuring effective and efficient emergency response, in times of crisis. Please join us in recognizing our local dispatchers on Tuesday, April 10, 2012 at 11:30 a.m. in the Council Chambers, as the proclamation declaring National Public Safety Dispatcher Week is read.

If you would like to join to join our team of hardworking and dedicated dispatchers, we are currently hiring MetroCom Technicians.  Please visit www.cctexas.com/jobs for more information.