Citizens need to understand that Stockton PD is grossly understaffed. I've lived in the city since 1982 and I saw one incident of an officer harassing my neighbor. I walked over, stood by until the officer asked what I wanted. I told him I got his badge number and wanted to witness the harassment. He acted embarrassed and left. Most people wouldn't believe how many stupid calls police get. If you have a seriously dangerous situation, say you hear gun shots fires. Police will show up fast. Don't do this frivolously. I see some one in my back yard, I'll fire a gun into the ground...shots fired. Don't shoot at the person. Police won't respond to burglar alarms unless two burglar units go off. They don't send police to burglaries, you go on line and fill out a report. The department is understaffed and in many cases it's pointless to call them unless you need a report for insurance or your life is in danger but in this town only a truly naive person would rely entirely on the police or sheriff (and if you're none white you might not want to call even then since Stockton officers carry the same baggage as those in other cities. I was a police officer decades ago and things were different then. Today, police are over-armed and under-trained in use of non-lethal force, and American society is generally imbued with institutional racism. Just the other day, Stockton PD and the Sheriff -~Coroner were accused of covering up a homicide (using excessive force) of a Hispanic male two years ago by police. This seems to happen with sickening regularity almost everywhere.
All USA
Citizens need to understand that Stockton PD is grossly understaffed. I've lived in the city since 1982 and I saw one incident of an officer harassing my neighbor. I walked over, stood by until the officer asked what I wanted. I told him I got his badge number and wanted to witness the harassment. He acted embarrassed and left. Most people wouldn't believe how many stupid calls police get. If you have a seriously dangerous situation, say you hear gun shots fires. Police will show up fast. Don't do this frivolously. I see some one in my back yard, I'll fire a gun into the ground...shots fired. Don't shoot at the person. Police won't respond to burglar alarms unless two burglar units go off. They don't send police to burglaries, you go on line and fill out a report. The department is understaffed and in many cases it's pointless to call them unless you need a report for insurance or your life is in danger but in this town only a truly naive person would rely entirely on the police or sheriff (and if you're none white you might not want to call even then since Stockton officers carry the same baggage as those in other cities. I was a police officer decades ago and things were different then. Today, police are over-armed and under-trained in use of non-lethal force, and American society is generally imbued with institutional racism. Just the other day, Stockton PD and the Sheriff -~Coroner were accused of covering up a homicide (using excessive force) of a Hispanic male two years ago by police. This seems to happen with sickening regularity almost everywhere.