Davis Police Department

Location	2600 Fifth Street
Office Hours	Mon-Fri 7am-6pm Sat 9am-12pm & 1pm-4pm
Emergency Phone	911 from a Davis land line (530)758-3600 from a cell phone
Non Emergency	(530)747-5400
Fax Number	(530)757-7102
Website	http://www.city.davis.ca.us/police/ (a.k.a. DavisPD.org)]

Officers
Services
Daily crime reports
Police Community Relations
Racial profiling
Racial and Gender Makeup of the Davis Police Department
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Links

Related information on the Wiki

Media

External Links

The Davis Police Department (DPD) provides law enforcement for the town of Davis and investigates crime. On the UC Davis campus police services are provided by the campus police. Chief Landy Black joined the department in April 2007. The department has the unenviable job of keeping the peace between long term residents and students in a college town.

Officers

Officer Neves — Often seen downtown on a bike.
Lieutenant Tom Waltz — Badge number 51.

Services

They issue Residential Parking Permits and sound permits
They enforce laws including noise violations
They offer both a ride along (with an officer) and a sit along (with a dispatcher) program
While federal funding for the program lasted they provided free gun locks which could be used to lock your gun or your bicycle
On January 24, 2006, the Davis Police Department website introduced online crime reporting. You can report certain non-violent crimes from the comfort of your own web browser, without having to visit the station and wait for an available officer. There are also police logs online.
There is a Police Cadet program
A Vacation House Check program
If your bike is in the City of Davis, and you have lost your bike keys or your bike lock is malfunctioning, they can come out and cut your lock. Proof of ownership is required, and this service is only provided during normal business hours.

Daily crime reports

The Police Department maintains an online Crime Activity log and a crime map. You can read about all the police-related events each day. Most are runaway children and loud parties, but some are much more serious, such as people driving their cars into bicyclists, pedestrians, and parked cars.

Police Community Relations

The ASUCD Student-Police Relations Committee tries to create sustained dialogues between UC Davis students and both police departments. As part of the student-police relations work, the Davis Police Department answered a list of frequently asked student questions of the police - FAQ Student-Police. Prior to that, the City-UCD Student Liaison Commission had a Police-Student Relations Sub-Committee to create dialogues between students and both police departments (operational from January 2006 to January 2007).

The Davis Police Community Advisory Board, created in January 2006 and made up of local residents, business owners, and other community leaders, is charged by the Chief of Police to assist in community outreach efforts.

In the spring of 2006 an unknown group or individual sent out C.A.R.O.L.E. flyers calling for a Police oversight commission.

Racial profiling

On Aug 29, 2005, the Sacramento Bee reported that the Davis' Human Relations Commission may call next month for a commission to investigate an alarming number of racial profiling complaints against the Davis PD. The department has one officer assigned full-time to investigating racial offenses.
On May 23rd 2006 a large, mixed group of undergraduates, graduates, faculty and community members marched on the police department to protest racial profiling and police misconduct. The march began on the MU Patio and ended at the police department.

From January 1^st to August 19^th 2005:

Latinos, which make up 10% of the population, made up 20.5% of all arrests.
Blacks, which make up 2.4% of the population, made up 9.2% of all arrests.

The "UC Davis Concerned Campus Affiliates" released their racial profiling report on November 15, 2005. The report is available at http://www.policeracerelationsreport.net/ The Affiliates include Kristee Haggins, Donald Moore, Natacha Foo Kune, Fernando Socorro, Steven Baissa, John Ortiz-Hudson, Carla Lacey, Renee Lopez and Michele Dyke, Jesse Owen, Paul Ratanasiripong, Rahim Reed and Karen Roth.

According to the Civilian Oversight Board to Strengthen and Improve the Davis Police Department, Davis Human Relations Commission, examples of racial profiling that have taken place in Davis include:

In 2004, an African American college student was stopped twice within two weeks while driving on Davis streets late at night. The young driver was a Davis High School graduate and award-winning community servant. On one occasion, the DPD officer made a U-turn and flipped on his lights before he could have seen the back of the driver’s car. He issued a fix-it ticket for a tow ball (which helps a car tow other vehicles) obstructing the view of registration tags. On the other occasion, the young man was stopped on Russell boulevard for unclear reasons and the first words out of the DPD officer’s mouth were, “Is this car stolen?” The young man’s father called the President of Blacks for Effective Community Action, enraged and afraid for his son, whom he had raised as an upstanding young citizen in Davis.
In 2005, the wife of a prominent Muslim community member was driving to pick him up from a meeting at the DPD station. The wife was stopped by a police officer for not having stopped completely at a stop sign. She was adamant to the officer and to her husband that she had stopped. When the community leader spoke to a high level police administrator, he was told, “That officer is going to retire next month. Let it go. Go to traffic school.”

(link)
(pdf document of report

Racial and Gender Makeup of the Davis Police Department

Data taken from the Annual Data Sharing Meeting on March 2004. link to PDF
94 full time permanent employees
White ––69 (73%)
African American ––2 (2%)
Hispanic ––17 (18%)
Asian/Pacific Islander ––6 (6%)
Native American ––0 (0%)
Male ––58 (61.7%)Female ––36 (38.3%)

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Various people have different opinions about police enforcement no matter where you live. Due to their strict enforcement of Davis' famed noise laws, they are sometimes referred to as "Professional Party Poopers." However, the police department issues almost no "minor in possession" or "distribution to minor" citations for alcohol offenses. Others point out that theirs is a thankless job, and that you can't make everybody happy at once, especially while enforcing laws that you didn't write. The DPD even went as far as producing Davis Police Department Trading Cards to boost their image. The DPD printed and distributed trading cards with interesting information about each officer. Read about them in a Maxim article from April 2000 titled "To Serve and Collect".

As many as eight Law Enforcement Officers hanging out in front of Starbucks on a Tuesday night in May 2005As many as four police cars park in the University Mall parking lots while officers enjoy their lattes and frappachinos

As you can see, Davis police carry a special device that disrupts the speed of light, causing all pictures of them to become dubiously blurry...Except for this one:

Media

Read about bicycle officer Pete Faeth in the May 09 issue of Davis Life Magazine.

External Links

Rate My Cop rankings for the Davis PD

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2005-11-09 12:38:56 While I was biking near a cop car the other day, I noticed that the gun in the front seat wasn't a standard shotgun, but what appeared to be some sort of asult rifle. Are Davis cops rolling with M4s Carbines? —ArlenAbraham

- SWAT team members opt to carry a rifle instead of the shotgun. Any other rifle-certified officer may carry one also. Not all patrol officers carry them. They are also not M4's. - Anon

- Yes. The DPD now has Carbines. Someone broke in to a business downtown, I was there, and the cop got out of the car, and he had an M4 in the trunk. There were a few other cops there with M4s with scopes and laser sights. I think. - JulienBiewerElstob

However, unlike the weapon described in the above-linked wikipedia article, DPD patrol carbines are not automatic weapons (machine guns). They are semi-automatic.—CameronMenezes
Not all of them have M4 carbines, but every patrol car is equipped with a shotgun. -Anon.

2005-11-09 13:32:42 A few months after the Sterling Riots, a fight broke out in the parking lot. It was broken up by a Davis police officer who got out of his car carrying what looked like and M4 and, strapped to his back, was a shotgun. My room mate noted that he wanted an AWP because the scene was too counter-strike to be real. —MichaelGiardina

2005-11-25 01:35:15 I've had my fair share of gripes about the police, but when I needed them the other night in an emergency, they were there in no time. It turned out to be alright, but they didn't mind rushing out at all and were very cool about it. Its good to know they're there when you really do need them. —DaveCar

2005-12-08 15:56:09 If the police start carring m4's and mp5's i am gona be more careful around them cause those things pack a punch —SeanReedy

Yes, because you are impervious to their .45 sidearms... - arlen

Any sensible person buys the kevlar and helmet every round! - KenjiYamada

2005-12-08 18:11:34 I live in South Davis, and there is this one cop that is always turning on his siren....couple times a night every night. Is that really called for? —DudeNude

—Sirens are turned on when police are rolling code 3 to an emergency call. Code 3 means an officer is driving faster than normal, and cops only do this when rushing to an emergency. Sirens are used to warn other motorists. If sirens were not turned on, and a motorist collided with a cop rushing to an emergency, the police department would undoubtedly be sued for not providing sufficient warning that the police officer was driving fast.—CameronMenezes

2006-01-01 21:29:20 I've lived in the East Bay for about 20 years and always had a high opinion of the law enforcement officers in the various cities I've in. That said, I really dislike Davis cops. And so do all of my friends. They seem to have nothing better to do than hassle people over trivial issues. There's too many of them, they have no connection to community values, and they need to act like people instead of a team of misguided robocops. —GrumpyoldGeek

—"there's too many of them?" You sound like the same kind of person who would bitch if an officer didn't respond to your 911 call quickly enough, because there were too few officers working on the day/night you called in. Concerning police officers' connection to community values, just look at the extremely low crime rate in the city of Davis. DPD Officers ENFORCE city community values, and help make this such a safe, great city. When's the last time you feared for your personal safety while walking down a Davis street? Your statements sound foolish.—CameronMenezes

—I agree with Grumpyoldgeek - how many police officers does it take to make the community safe? I would feel just as safe if there were half as many police officers. I grew up in a town, about one quarter the size of Davis, and we did not have a police force at all - the town was probably safer than Davis. There also seems to be a cultural problem within the group of officers hired by Davis, where acting out of control and being dishonest is accepted practice. Davis would benefit if the entire DPD was shut down and let the UCDPD perform all police work. Shift the culture to something better.

—I must disagree with you. First and foremost: Please do not judge an entire department based on unproven allegations against a few officers. Second, you are an idiot if you think that the UCDPD could take care of all policing in the city of Davis. The Davis PD is already swamped with calls on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, as it is. Your idea of the UC Police doing all police work in the city of Davis is not practical, and really, not very well thought out.

Excellent idea. As soon as the whole police department accepts responsibility and makes amends for the ex-chief's and officer Ly's behavior in the Halema Buzyan affair, I'll not judge the whole department on their behavior. —GrumpyoldGeek

Why should anybody "assume responsibility" for what happened, when Officer Ly's arrest of Halema Buzyan was entirely in compliance with applicable law? Stop being so grumpy, Grumpy.—CameronMenezes

If the Davis PD were "shut down" to "shift the culture," no longer would students have to deal with traffic cops. Cops wouldn't be busting up parties anymore, and students could drink and/or smoke pot wherever they wanted to. Sounding good so far? How about this: Property crime rates would skyrocket, as well as personal crimes. More people would be injured in traffic accidents, and there would be more pedestrian injuries at elementary, junior high, and high schools. Gangs would get a foothold in Davis. Still sounding good? Your ideas are ridiculous. Just out of curiosity, though: have you ever been on a police ride-along? Going for a ride-along might further your education on the life of a police officer. I encourage you to give it a try.—CameronMenezes

Right! - and if we were to leave Iraq the terrorists would immediately march into Davis and blow up the water towers. The Davis Police might have brain washed you into thinking the gangs are at the doorstep of Davis and they desire to destroy all civilization as we know it. The reality is that very little would change if the entire Davis Police Department decided to take a six month sabbatical.
There are many 90,000 person towns (Davis & UCD combined) with single police departments - having two police departments is inefficient. Obviously, the UCD police staff would have to grow in order to cover the entire city, but much of the administrative duplication could be eliminated. Davis would end up with a better managed police force and would also save money.—SteveHayes

—As I said, ride-alongs are both interesting and informative. You are assuming quite a bit in your assertions, though your mention of Iraq and water towers is pretty funny. I suppose we'll have to agree to disagree. :)—CameronMenezes

2006-05-19 18:28:44 I really like the police station a lot. It reminds me a great deal of the police stations seen in the game 'Earthbound'. —SteveKent

2006-06-07 21:27:06 The two traits that I have found most disturbing about Davis Police Officers are the lack of honesty and how they cover for each others mistakes. I will never believe another police report after my experience with Davis Police reports. There is no honor there, at all! —SteveHayes

—Care to share your problem with the Davis police? I'm curious what happened. In the meantime, unless every single officer in the Department issued you a false citation, I think it's best you limit your criticisms to the officers who wronged you, instead of denigrating the entire police force.—CameronMenezes

—You seem about the age of my sons, you'll have to forgive me, are you Latino? Your name looks like it, but you never know. My sons grew up in Davis, and they were regularly questioned by the police as to where they were from or what they were doing walking around our neighbor as teenagers. Not once were they given citations. I'm 55 years old, I have graying hair, and a few months ago I got pulled by the Davis PD and asked if I were a gang members. I told the officer I used to march with Cesar Chavez and I asked him if he knew who that was. He knew the name. We had a good conversation. I wasn't breaking any law. I got no ticket. I know countless stories of the same kind. There is a problem here. It started at the top, the lack of leadership by the police chief. It started before that by getting rid of Police Chief Jerry Gonzalez. Hell I lived here since the early 70s and there has always been a problem. Rick Gonzalez, Jerry's brother, said the other day that when they started the Human Relations Commission in 1983, there was a problem. It still hasn't been resolved.—Henry Bianco

—I have dark skin and black hair, and yes, I am often mistaken for being Hispanic (I am not). I've lived in Davis for five years, and have never been treated poorly by any police officer. Cops are on edge around ANY person that they don't know, and simply being respectful (Yes, sir. No, sir) goes a long way in benefiting community/police relations. (And I don't mean to imply that you or your sons are/were impolite, that's not my intention at all) Every good cop is a bit suspicious by nature, and it is this suspicion that stops many crimes before they happen. I was pulled over once in Davis, because my car matched the description of a car that had just burglarized an apartment complex. The officer was a bit on-guard with me, but I was very polite, and the officer let me go within two minutes. —CameronMenezes

—Glad to hear that, I know a lot of people who have had bad experiences with the cops. Most people of color either have a personal experience or know of someone who has. A lot of my friends have moved out of here over the years because they grew tired of it. My sons don't like to come back here that much, they feel safer in LA than they do here. That's a sad statement to make. In meantime, according to my sources, there have been four new complaints filed in the last month, and two new pending lawsuits. One involves a 20-year-old Muslim kid, allegedly beaten by five Davis Police Officers. If you live in South Davis and go to Safeway, you've probably met the kid.—Henry Bianco

Sorry to hear that, I know a lot of people who have had good experiences with cops. Again, I've found that mutual respect is a very useful tool to use when talking to police officers. I have not heard anything about this alleged beating. Just out of curiosity, what does the 20 year-old man's religion have to do with his alleged beating? Why are you telling us that the man is a Muslim? I am not sure why you included that in your response... are you trying to say that the man is dark-skinned? Correct me if I'm wrong, but being a Muslim means you are a believer in the honorable religion of Islam. There are believers of Islam in all corners of the world, who have many different colors of skin... CameronMenezes

I love broad-stroke allegations without a shred of supporting evidence — DaveZavatson

2006-06-14 20:12:20 Did anyone hear about the police chief resigning? —CindySperry

Yes, Jim Hyde claimed that the Human Relations Commission was disrupting police work, but really it was because another department offered him a better salary. - Paul Amnuaypayoat

—Did Chief Hyde tell you this himself? Paul, that's quite an assertion. I don't doubt money has something to do with his resignation, but I'm sure the activities of the HRC were also factored into his decision.—CameronMenezes

Really Cameron? Then can you explain why he applied for a position in several places over a year ago, before any of the HRC stuff occurred? He was even offered a job at one point, but ended up turning that one down. Word is that Hyde has been looking to a bigger pond since he got here. The Antioch Job and pay raise gave him the excuse to do so.—David Greenwald

David, you are right! The actions of the HRC and people of the same ilk had nothing at all to do with his decision! Get real, man. Many cops in other cities cringe at the idea of being a police officer in Davis, because the citizens of Davis treat their cops as if the officers themselves are the primary villains in this town. I have never seen a more ungrateful citizenry in my entire life. It is amazing that we have such quality police officers, considering the flak that Davis officers get just for doing their jobs. Can you honestly blame Chief Hyde for throwing out his application to a few other agencies? All police officers have to be constantly on guard for their own physical safety, but Davis police officers have to live with the additional fear of being fired/sued by people like you. I respect your opinion, but boy, do I disagree with you.—CameronMenezes

I must have missed the part where I said it had nothing to do with his decision. But, I was pointing out to you that he was looking elsewhere before any of this came up. Certainly, Hyde had to know that the council was considering getting rid of the HRC and its chair long before he resigned. It was mentioned in early February. So Hyde had to know that had he stayed on the HRC would not have been around, although his blame probably hastened the move, but I had been told in April that it was in the works for after the election. So I don't buy the explanation. I do take issue with your notion of "ungrateful citizenry"—I think there are serious problems with the Davis Police Department. In fact, there are 14 pending cases, many of which will become lawsuits and there are very serious allegations raised. Davis Police Officers if they abide by the law and the constitution have nothing to fear. When they cross the line, then it becomes a problem. Unfortunately, some of the bad seeds in the department have tainted the good name of the majority of officers. That has to and will be corrected.—David Greenwald

Fair enough, David. Nor am I making the bold statement that all cops, everywhere, always abide by the rules. By way of explanation, however- I am appalled by the way some Davis citizens rush to judgement when issues arise concerning the conduct of police officers.—CameronMenezes

Must be pretty hard being a police office in Davis, having to be take verbal insults and all. I bet officers would rather be stationed in big cities with more violent crime and more guns on the streets. Cops have a tough, dangerous job. However, I am going to have to say its safer to be a cop in Davis then most major urban areas. There are good cops in Davis, but there also bad cops. And when there is no disciplinary actions taken against bad officers, when citizen's feel their complaints are not being heard, when misconduct is rewarded like a remake of Catch-22, something has to change. The city needs to get into a 12 step program to solve this issue... the first step is to admit there is a problem. Hell, I might even be happy if someone on the city council said they wanted to investigate the possibility of a problem....but that has yet to happen. -JimSchwab
James, what's with the constant need to ridicule police officers? Davis is probably a safer place to be a cop than in some other cities...duh. What's your point? Are Davis cops not as important as cops in other cities? I don't see where you're taking this. This thread was about the police chief's resignation, and your rant has little to do with that. You've mutated this thread into Jim Schwab's reasons-why-I-hate-davisPD. Issues? Catch 22? 12-step program? What are you talking about? Please be specific when throwing out allegations.—CameronMenezes

2006-07-30 16:03:10 The DPD’s conduct in general is not appropriate for a small city like Davis, where most of the arrests are alcohol-related, not hardened criminals. DPD use excessive force and come the end of the month, they seem to pick you up for anything they can possibly muster up. They have created a negative aura around downtown, and I fear for my safety because of the police when I go out to drink at the bars. I spoke to the Sheriff at the Yolo Co. Detention Facility this morning, and last night 40 Davis students were picked up. The night before one of my friends got arrested for attempting to break up a large fight near the bars. My friend is huge, and surely intimidating, but was not instigating anything. The DPD are hurting morale in Davis, when people become too scared to go out fearing run-ins with hard-ass cops. This is not the proper environment for police actions that belong on an episode of Cops in Buttholeville, AL. —CamelJoe

Camel Joe- Your intimation that alcohol-related crimes are not as bad as crimes committed by "hardened criminals" is a bit misguided, at best. I went for a ride-along with a Davis police officer, and we were called to the scene of an accident a few blocks north of Fraternity Row. A drunk, 19 year old UCD student crashed his car into someone's house. He could have killed people walking on the sidewalk, or even someone sitting in front of that house. And what do you mean, 'how are we expected to get home from downtown if we can't drive?' Ever heard of walking? Or better yet, drink responsibly so that your BAC is low enough to be legal. Finally, Joe, the only time I EVER fear the police is when I know that I'm somewhere/doing something that I shouldn't be. (For example: when I'm at a very late, loud party... when I'm speeding in Davis... when I do a "California stop"... when I remain close to a bar where people are fighting.) I suppose I disagree with everything you said, Joe, even the part about Buttholeville, Alabama. I heard it's a rather nice place.—CameronMenezes

Cameron - I certainly didnt mean to say it was ok to drink and drive. I meant that since we are under threat of arrest for drunk in public while WALKING home, there is a dilemma.—CamelJoe

Look, dealing with cops requires that you have COMMON SENSE. Don't do stupid things, don't talk smack to the officers, and a person will probably have a very brief (and pleasant) encounter with the police! It is certainly not illegal to remain at loud parties, but if a person has a shred of common sense, said person will leave before the cops arrive to shut the party down. When cops shut down parties, as we all know, it can be fairly chill, or extremely tense. CameronMenezes

We will have to agree to disagree. You are right about the education thing, thats why I said this is not the case for all DPD. There are good people there, too, I'm sure. I'm just sick of the cowboy cops.—CamelJoe

Cowboy cops? I've never seen their stetsons. Get a grip, dude. Try to remember that UCD students aren't the only Davis residents. Truth be told, Davis cops spend an inordinate amount of time preventing intoxicated college students from doing stupid things that hurt other people.—CameronMenezes

Of course, UC Davis students are not immune to alcoholism and other dependency issues which keep the DPD very busy, especially on weekends. This does not mean that they are the only problem citizens in the downtown area face. I am personally proud of our police department for their handling of recent issues that have confronted our community. Hopefully, they will have continued vigilance.—Paul Guess

2006-07-30 16:24:45 "CamelJoe": WTF? Are you really saying that it should be OK to drink and drive? —GrahamFreeman

You should bring your concerns to the attention of the UCD Student/City Liaison Commission. I think they are actively engaged in addressing these issue. - SharlaDaly

2006-10-07 12:31:56 Gave me a ticket for not having my headlights on! What a freak!!!!! —ChiragPatel

How absurd. Clearly there is nothing wrong with driving with your lights off during darkness. It isn't like it is a safety issue or anything. — DaveZavatson

2006-11-14 22:43:40 What happened to the police logs? They changed it to unsearchable scanned pdf copies! —JohnWong

2006-12-28 23:59:17 They don't seem to care or do much after you file a police report. —JohnWong

2007-02-11 17:11:21 They give you tickets and don't even listen to your explanation. What happened to first time warnings? —KiwiSelina

So did you receive first time warnings in the past? And now no longer are? Doesn't that mean it isn't the first time any longer? — DaveZavatson

2007-06-18 23:56:08 I don't mean to come off as rude or inconsiderate towards anyone, but I've been feeling lately like the DPD have become 'by-law' enforcers, rather than 'law' enforcers. Not intentionally or maliciously, necessarily. It seems the DPD spends alot of time and attention unnecessarily. This might be because they have to meet a certain quota, and there are too many officers to meet the quota on regular terms (thus racking up #'s on by-law charges instead of real crime), or because the davis residents themselves have become pampered and use the police for unnecessary and often absurd reasons (I've seen some silly situations). Either way, i think the officers in Davis are just as much victims of the police system as those at the receiving end of the law. I don't mean to make anyone angry, I just thought I'd share my views. —KatieDavalos

hey katie, your comment is good to have here. could you be more specific in the "silly situations" you've witnessed? xie xie ni, and i hope things are going well for you.—JessicaRockwell

hey jessica!!! well, i was generally speaking about some of the absurd calls the police get as i read them in the Aggie, but if you want a personal account i was walking down Alvarado and listened in on a conversation between two police officers and a local home owner. the home owner was upset that his neighbors' sprinklers watered his lawn. I of course don't know the specifics, but i remember chuckling because the police dispatch came on the radio and announced some code, and both officers turned around to listen to this 'serious' radio message, clearly giving it more importance than the situation they were currently involved in. To me, that seems a little absurd, and I'm sure other people have witnessed something similar. One quota example i can give is when i saw a UC police car parked in front of the BioSci parking garage flagging down every biker without a headlight on their bike and giving them each tickets. no one was given a first warning, and there were 10 bikes lined up at a time while their owners waited for tickets. Although they were violating the law, i really feel like this was unnecessary, and almost sneaky (waiting for violators in one spot, like fish in a net). But those are off the top of my head. I haven't seen you in a while, hope everythings well for you as well!! —KatieDavalos

2007-07-04 15:22:59 A ticket for not parking within 18 inches of the sidewalk as the last car in a row at the outskirts of town. Seriously? The parking zone has enough space for construction vehicles to park diagonally in. Who the hell has time to stop their car, get out of the car, look up the vehicle information, and write a ticket for not being 18 inches from the curb. —LiRic

2007-08-06 12:52:33 I got a ticket for making a U turn on a dead end street, over by the spca he did not even want to give a warning just gave ticket and said have a nice day. If that is how cops are i want nothing to ever do with them that is mean and abuse of power in my book and tons of other people books! —Brians

2007-09-12 11:32:04 I have lived in Davis for a few years now, and none of my interactions with the Davis police have been positive. While they seem to be more into warning me then issuing me a ticket, they do detain or pull me and people I know over quite often and for bogus reasons ("your third taillight is out", "You were walking erratically" and, my personal favorite, "You are out pretty late.") The officers I have interacted with have been all male, patronizing, and threatening. I have started to request identification whenever I run into an officer. While I understand that they do work very hard to protect us from ourselves and our fellow men, some officers have proven themselves to be all too human. With guns.

I would like to know if there is some sort of citizen watch group for the actions of the officers. I know that there have been investigations, liaisons, and committees, but I would also like to see if there is interest in a group that will just serve to watch and make note of the Davis police force's actions, whether they pertain to race, gender, age, etc. Perhaps if they know we watch them just as they watch us, they will act more like civil servants. —JillBenciWoodward

2007-10-17 23:53:15 I got a ticket for going 35mph in a 30mph zone while it is dead empty (on the bridge on russell after exiting 113 S), on a dry condition, clear weather and perfectly safe. I thought the officer job is to "enforce public SAFETY" not to hand out ticket on every single chance they got. When is the last time they took a traffic survey anyway? I think most people go pass 35mph down russell now a days. And, correct me if I'm wrong, but has anyone notice that the cop become very aggressive on certain days of the month? Anyone know when is the schedule for their "Non-existence Quota". But to be fair, I have encounter an officer who are dedicated to do their job right, which is to enforce public safety. He stopped me after making a rolling stop on a flashing red light at russell at around 3 am. And after he make sure I was not under the influence, he let me go. He told me that he is just looking for DUI. —UCD

2008-02-08 11:29:13 Officer Ramos is gorgeous! —tgdavis

2008-04-22 02:01:14 I live quite far (over near Mace/Chiles) from campus/downtown area, and I happen to enjoy walking, so I'll commonly stroll home. Generally, it's not a problem, but I've noticed some extremely over-zealous officers; for instance, coming home from the library around one am on a Wednesday evening I was stopped on THREE separate occasions by different officers. Each of them questioned me, and one searched me. While I recognize that the Davis Police do a very good job, honestly, if they have so many patrolling that they have nothing better that three of them will find the time to pull over clearly sober individuals walking in the evening, it kind of indicates that perhaps we have a few too many officers around; either that, or they're mis-managing resources.

I do want to say that Officer Pineda happens to be an extremely friendly and considerate member of the police force. —TimCoady

One AM is evening to you? What a nightowl. ;) I took a quick look at the handy-dandy crime map (linked above)...looks like in that area there were eight burglaries/thefts in the last month. I wonder if they were trying to pay more attention to that area because of that...? I imagine most burglars are male, so a lone male walking that late at night might look suspicious. —DukeMcAdow

2008-07-08 01:30:45 I have always felt that the police seem to get a bad rap from people who don't really appreciate the situations that police encounter on a regular basis. I also have never had any opportunity to experience the quality of our own police force first hand, besides one time when an officer gave me a fix-it ticket for a broken headlight. Both of those being said, tonight I witnessed a police officer use their lights to get through an intersection that would otherwise have caused them to have to wait an interminable minute at most. While I still would like to give them the benefit of a doubt, this seems like an abuse of power. I can imagine that they might have needed to get somewhere with some haste, but the officer in question turned off their lights again as they drove off, which is not something that would happen if they were really in a legitimate hurry. I still support them, but this sort of behavior erodes the confidence of the law-abiding public. —JoePomidor

2008-10-07 08:05:30 I've had a few troubling experiences, 2 having to do with what I feel was racial profiling, however the incident that really took the cake was how the DPD handled my hit-and-run. I stopped at the red light in front of IHOP and a bright yellow (with racing stripes, mind you) Acura slammed into the back of me and took off with a smoking car. We had a witness stop, a partial license plate number and seriously, it was a bright yellow car with racing stripes that was now smoking (and we saw it get right on I-80). When the police officer finally made it out to us, he took our statement and pretty much said he wouldn't help us at all since he was off work in a 1/2 hr. He also said he wouldn't be sending anyone else out to look for the car either. Instead I got chewed out for having my parents name (and not mine) on the car's registration (I was on the insurance, of course). Way to go Davis PD. —AmLin

2008-11-08 11:06:08 I live in a South Davis apartment complex for disabled people and we have an ongoing problem with one of the tenants who sexually, verbally and physically harasses other tenants; peeks in the windows; bangs on the doors at all hours of the night yelling vicious, nasty things; violates the famed noise ordinance (constantly); steals (if he can find an open door) and in general makes us feel so threatened that we worry if we need to go out (say, to do laundry) after dark. Keep in mind that he isn't in a wheel chair and most of us are, also, if you are a woman it's even worse. The Davis Police (not all, but most) simply don't have enough experience and/or disability awareness education. They either seem to think that because we are disabled we are also nuts or they are afraid of possible ramifications if they take any action, so they don't do anything. All of this aside, the poor man is simply not getting the help he so clearly needs. After many, many months of this, with no police action, we finally convinced the landlords (based in Minnesota)to begin eviction proceedings. We feel that if the police were doing their job he would be getting the help he needs instead of having to go through an eviction process. —KatyMartin

The police department saw this post and came out to our complex to see how they could work with us to resolve this situation. I do feel they have a thankless job and am amazed (and thankful) that they continue to choose to do it at all. —KatyMartin

2009-03-13 18:56:05 I was riding my bike downtown, saw a police officer ahead of me just watching people stop at a four way stop sign, I approached the stop sign, came to a complete stop, and kept going but was asked to stop as soon as I passed the intersection. I was then questioned on how well my bike brakes worked and rudely lectured on how lucky I was to not get a ticket for "running a stop sign" because I stopped at the second white line and not the first one. I now understand that I have to stop at the first white line, but was telling me that I was lucky to not get a ticket for "running a stop sign" in a threatening voice really necessary when I told him I honestly didn't not know the law was the first white line? (how many people know that was the law for bikes anyway?) Not a big issue, but it still reflects on the nature of Davis Cops. —rocknice

Perfectly legit on the officer's part. Since you didn't know the rules, obviously they made the right call with stopping and educating you. You really ARE lucky they didn't ticket you. Bikes are vehicles and share the road, if you want to keep the privilege of at least having the right to be recognized or respected then you should follow the rules (at *least* when there are cops obviously watching you). You must follow all the rules that a car follows, stopping where cars must stop, yielding to pedestrians, etc. There are also other rules you must follow in addition to those: you must let faster traffic pass you when it is safe to do so (generally if you are going half the speed limit), you must ride as far right as it is safe to do so (if the lane is narrow, then the safest spot might be in the middle of the lane so nobody tries to pass you in the same lane or to avoid the door prize). If you went past the first line because you wanted a better view of cars who are waiting to the right or left of you, you should take the middle of the lane. You can see them, and they can see you easier as well. http://dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/vc/tocd11c1a4.htm —KellyM

Downtown has turned into Bike School. While I realize this is Kelly M's idea of utopia (see above) I was stunned 7/24/09 at being instantly double ticketed by Officer Faeth a) for allegedly not stopping at a stop sign (I didn't put my foot down) while b) wearing an iPod. A caution / some attempt to educate me would have been appreciated. The ticket alleges I went straight through the junction at "12 mph."

After giving me the ticket Officer Faeth acknowledged he'd watched a truck reverse directly into my path — then shrugged there was nothing he could do about it. To paraphrase Kelly M: "Cars are vehicles and share the road, if you want to keep the privilege of at least having the right to be recognized or respected then you should follow the rules (at *least* when there are cops [except Officer Faeth, alas] obviously watching you)". — Biggins

> An update 7/25/09: In response to "complaints about cyclists' infractions" and "data concerning the number of incidents in Davis in which bicycles are involved" Davis Police "instructed Officer Faeth to strictly enforce all cycling laws and to issue cyclists with as many tickets as possible," according to Davis PD's Captain Pytel. So long as the zero tolerance policy against cyclists is in force, I'm going to be uncomfortable riding in downtown. Not quite what I had in mind living in the city of bikes.

FYI, there is no law in California that requires you to put a foot down at a stop sign. To ride on the highways, you must be able to place one foot on the ground w/o dismounting (cvc 21201(c), so no tall bikes or pennyfarthings), but that's not the same thing. All that is required that you come to a stop, no matter how brief. If a cop indeed ticketed you for this, you need to challenge the ticket and report the issuing officer to his supervisor for retraining. —wl

Thanks for that info wl. Regardless of the law, Davis PD seems to have independently decided that putting a foot to the ground is confirmation that you've really, REALLY stopped. Perhaps they could ask drivers to open and close their doors at stop signs to prove the same thing? Captain Pytel told me on the phone that as far as he is concerned whatever speed was written on the ticket is immaterial so long as the officer testifies that I was perceived to be moving forward. So much for accurate observation.

1/9/09: I have been bailed at a staggering $358. Because the alleged offenses happened when I was riding a bike, I'm not allowed to attend Traffic School and reduce the bail to 60 bucks — only drivers are allowed this privilege. I've asked for a trial.

Police Chief Landy Black denies the existence of the policy to write cyclists as many tickets as possible, but data from Davis PD shows that the number of tickets pinned on Davis cyclists doubled 2007-8 to a cool 1203 tickets. In that time Davis PD has at the very least doubled the police time for issuing tickets to cyclists, adding a police officer exclusively to the task, full-time. Based on figures up to 08/2009 the rate of ticket issuing is still increasing — 2000 tickets for Davis cyclists looks like a possibility for 2008-9, once the new academic year starts and many more people arrive downtown on bikes. Chief Black says that the fairness of this surge is a matter of "perspective," while Captain Pytel denies it is linked to $$ revenue. However, on request Davis PD was unable to produce any evidence for the "complaints about cyclists' infractions" which Captain Pytel says initiated the surge, and the "data concerning the number of incidents in Davis in which bicycles are involved" appears to be completely superficial. —Biggins

11/23/09: Well folks it's been four months since the alleged offenses took place, and I still don't have a judgment, as the courts and the City sit pretty on my $358. And meantime, the whole rig — bike and kid's trailer — has been stolen (compare Mario M below). With such vigilant policing I can surely look forward to their return ... seriously, if anyone sees someone who looks like they're running away to the circus on a funny white mini-bike made out of triangles with tiny wheels, that bike is mine, it could only be mine, so please, hey-ho, call the police. And a word of advice to all, it looks like there really is a real crime wave in Davis (between the ticketing). A spike in thefts and burglaries. Conceal and lock your stuff wherever possible, especially bikes.

2009-08-12 01:14:46 After receiving two bike-tickets for not having my bike registered and another for crossing a red light, having my bike lock sawed through on a Tuesday afternoon in Down Town Davis and had my bike stolen in broad daylight, I've come to the conclusion that the Davis PD is WORTHLESS. They patrol the wrong parts of the city and give bikers trouble instead of actually preventing crimes. However, I like the fact that if I ever need to find a police officer I can be assured to find one at the U-Mall, either at Starbucks or outside of AM-PM(Arco gas station). —MarioM

> The red light ticket doesn't surprise me, but ticketed for not having your bike registered? Are you kidding? Very sorry to hear about your bike being stolen. —Biggins

2009-09-02 12:21:36 As a frequent driver downtown, I appreciate when bikers stop at a stop sign. Most do not and it makes driving very frustrating when I have to slam on my brakes in the middle of an intersection because a clueless biker is speeding thru the stop sign. Maybe the tickets will aid bikers in remembering bike laws. —EricaMacGregor

As a driver and cyclist downtown, Erica, I agree bikes — and cars (yes, including police cars) doing their usual are-they-aren't-they "rolling stops" — should stop at stop signs. But since I stopped at the stop sign on my bike, what was my ticket meant to teach me, do you think?

2009-09-02 19:50:07 FWIW most of the cops I ever see at the U Mall Starbucks are UCDPD. —ARWENNHOLD

Yes, the city of Davis ones seem to like the Starbucks on Covell better. —jo