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Morgan Hill citizens, school officials and community leaders this week were still trying to make sense of an April 27 brawl in which police said they were attacked by several teens while attempting to arrest a juvenile who had brought a knife to the Britton Middle School carnival.

A 23-year veteran Morgan Hill police officer accidentally fired his service handgun at the end of a stolen vehicle pursuit on Sunday, injuring a teen who had just exited the vehicle, according to authorities.The officer has been placed on administrative leave while the Morgan Hill Police Department and the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office investigate the incident, according to Sgt. Troy Hoefling. Morgan Hill police declined to release the name of the officer who discharged his weapon before the investigation is complete.“We’re doing a joint investigation with the police department and the (DA’s office) in alignment with the county protocol on officer involved incidents, and we’re doing an administrative investigation that will identify the facts surrounding the incident,” Morgan Hill Police Chief David Swing said May 1.About 7:30pm April 29, Morgan Hill Police responded to the area of Cochrane Plaza after receiving information about a stolen van in the area, according to a May 1 press release.Officers located the stolen van traveling in the area and attempted to make a traffic stop. The van driver refused to stop for police, according to authorities. Police continued to pursue the van, eventually ending the chase in the area of Llagas and Del Monte avenues by using a collision technique that made the vehicle spin out.When the van stopped, two teenage girls exited and walked toward officers while the 16-year-old driver remained in the vehicle, police said. As officers were directing the girls to stop and lie down on the ground, an officer accidentally discharged his service weapon into the ground near them. The bullet broke apart, and a fragment of the projectile bounced up and struck one of the teenage girls in the eye.The girl was transported to Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital in Palo Alto, where the bullet fragment was successfully removed, police said.The teen has been released from the hospital, and is recovering, Swing said. He declined to name the girl or specify her condition because she is a juvenile.“We certainly wish her the fullest and quickest recovery,” Swing said.Three MHPD officers were at the scene when the van crashed and the teen girls exited, Swing said. Officers are trained to make a “high-risk stop” when approaching a stolen vehicle or a person suspected of committing a felony. That training requires that in situations such as the April 29 incident, officers approach with their service weapons drawn.“Sometimes, we have less-than-lethal options available, but in this case, because of the circumstances and the number of officers at the scene, they had their service weapons drawn,” Swing said.Swing noted that Morgan Hill officers’ service weapons do not have a safety mechanism built into them.The teen driver of the van was arrested on suspicion of vehicle theft, Swing added. The van had been stolen from Live Oak High School earlier in the evening.Also earlier in the evening, the two teen girls who were passengers in the stolen van had been reported missing to police. Swing said officers had been in contact with the girls’ families earlier in the day. Police are also investigating why the girls were missing.The vehicle pursuit with officers ended when the stolen van crashed into a light pole and a fire hydrant, police said.

In a matter of minutes—albeit a violent and scary few minutes April 27 involving local students and police officers—a $20,000 school fundraiser quickly unraveled.

Chaos erupted at the Britton Middle School Home and School Club Carnival Friday night, as dozens of police officers from throughout the area responded to a violent incident that escalated within the crowd of hundreds.By the end of the night, several officers had been assaulted by teen suspects, eight children were arrested and the carnival—which was scheduled to continue through Sunday evening—was shut down for the rest of the weekend. A total of 59 officers responded to the incident in order to help disperse the unruly swarm and calm what quickly became a “hostile environment” for police, according to a press release from the Morgan Hill Police department.The incident started on Britton Middle School grounds, 80 W. Central Ave., at 5:48pm April 27, when school staff contacted two uniformed MHPD officers who were assigned to patrol the annual carnival, police said. The officers were told that a male juvenile on the carnival site—on the northern edge of downtown Morgan Hill—was in possession of a knife that another student had given him.Police contacted the juvenile with the knife while he was in line for one of the carnival rides, authorities said. The child was arrested without incident.Immediately after that arrest, school staff then told police the identity of the juvenile who had given the knife to the other suspect, police said. In addition to providing the knife, that student had also caused a disturbance on campus earlier in the day and was asked to leave.When officers contacted the juvenile who provided the knife, he “responded in an aggressive manner, took a fighting stance and threatened officers with bodily harm,” the press release states. Additional officers responded and the second juvenile was taken into custody.During the arrest, the suspect and two other juveniles attacked and assaulted MHPD officers, resulting in minor injuries to the officers, according to authorities. These additional two juveniles were also arrested.The crowd surrounding the incident grew to about 200 people, “many confronting police and refusing to disperse,” police said. The incident started on the basketball courts adjacent to Keystone Avenue on the Britton campus, according to witnesses and a video shot by a carnival patron.This growing hostility resulted in police response from multiple agencies, including Gilroy, San Jose, the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office, California Highway Patrol and CalFire, reads the press release.Before police were able to disperse the crowd, four additional juveniles were arrested by MHPD and assisting agencies, bringing the total number to eight arrests. All eight juvenile suspects were booked at Santa Clara County Juvenile Hall on suspicion of multiple charges, including possession of a knife on school grounds; assault on an officer; felonious threats on officers; inciting a riot and resisting, delaying and obstructing an officer.Police did not release the names of the arrested juveniles.Throughout the incident, numerous suspects and others in the crowd displayed gang signs, shouted gang slogans and wore gang-related clothing, police said.By about 7:30pm April 27, Morgan Hill Police were warning that anyone who remained in the area was subject to arrest, and used social media to ask parents to get their children home from the carnival as soon as they could.MHPD and Morgan Hill Unified School District officials opted to shut down the carnival Friday night, and cancel the event’s remaining two days due to the violence.On Saturday morning, crews were calmly breaking down the carnival rides and other equipment at the site of the fundraising event. Carnival organizers said that in more than 40 years of operating the annual event at various locations, this was the first time it had been shut down before scheduled.

Morgan Hill Police and multiple agencies in the area shut down the Britton Middle School carnival Friday night after officers responded to reports of a violent incident that required significant crowd control.

Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith would like to eliminate the carotid control hold from the sheriff’s office use-of-force policy, because there is too much room for injury-resulting error.Local law enforcement agencies say the use of the carotid restraint is not common. However, they train for it and reserve it as a use-of-force technique in the field to compel disobedient, violent subjects to submit to arrest.The carotid hold recently gained local attention when Gilroy Police reported that officers used the restraint, among other non-lethal techniques, to attempt to arrest an unarmed suspected prowler, Steven Juarez on Feb. 25. Juarez died after a struggle with officers in the Old Gilroy neighborhood. Police said at least one officer applied a carotid hold and used a Taser and other use-of-force techniques on Juarez while he tried to resist.An investigation into Juarez’ death is ongoing, and authorities have not yet said identified the cause of his death.The written use-of-force policies for the Gilroy Police Department, Morgan Hill Police Department and Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office each contain a section on the officers’ use of the carotid control hold. The restraint—popular among many departments nationwide—is typically applied by wrapping an arm around a subject’s neck from behind, and putting “lateral compression” on one of the the arteries on each side of the neck, according to Morgan Hill Police Sgt. Mario Ramirez.The Hollister Police Department does not use the carotid hold, according to Hollister Police Sgt. Don Pershall. Officers in Hollister are trained to use and carry Tasers in the field.A correct use of the carotid hold does not cut off or restrict the subject’s breathing, Ramirez said. Rather, it is intended to briefly restrict the blood flow to the brain so the subject is momentarily rendered unconscious, allowing the arresting officer to handcuff them. When applied, the restraining officer’s elbow should form a “V” in front of the subject’s throat with a “pocket” between the elbow and throat, ensuring that no pressure is placed on the trachea or back of the head, Ramirez explained.“It is not a chokehold,” Ramirez said. “At no point are we restricting the airway of an individual.” He added that when applied correctly, “Most are rendered unconscious within five to 15 seconds of the application. Most regain consciousness within 20 to 30 seconds.”The written policies for both Morgan Hill and Gilroy police spell out precisely under what conditions an officer can apply a carotid hold: when the subject is “violent or physically resisting,” or the person “has demonstrated an intention to be violent and reasonably appears to have the potential to harm officers, him/herself or others.”The policies require that officers can only use the carotid hold if they have successfully completed their respective department’s approved training in its use, “due to the potential for injury.” Gilroy and Morgan Hill police departments’ use of force policies also note that after a carotid hold has been applied to a suspect, that person “shall be promptly examined by paramedics or other qualified medical personnel.”In Morgan Hill, Ramirez said officers rarely use the carotid hold, which can only be used in tight “body-to-body” contact when an officer is “in an active fight and other forms of force may not have been effective,” Ramirez said. In fact, he said he can’t remember the last time a local officer used a carotid hold in the field.“But it is a technique we train for, because it is effective when other methods aren’t working,” Ramirez said. He added it’s also an option to avoid using “impact weapons,” also an approved use of force method for local departments, which are more likely to injure the suspect. Gilroy policy unchangedGilroy Police Sgt. Jason Smith said trained officers are still permitted to use the carotid hold in Gilroy following the Feb. 25 death of Juarez. The department has not made any changes to its use-of-force policy since Feb. 25, but Smith said, “The Gilroy Police Department constantly evaluates our policies to make sure they are lawful, relevant, and they meet the needs of the department and the community.”Officers in Gilroy are trained every two years in the application of the carotid hold, Smith said. This training is conducted by California Peace Officer Standards and Training certified instructors. The most recent training for Gilroy officers was a four-hour session in the fall of 2017.Gilroy Police Department’s “Control Devices and Techniques” policy lists other non-lethal use of force techniques that officers are trained and permitted to use. These include batons, tear gas (for crowd dispersal), Oleoresin Capsicum or pepper spray/projectiles and “kinetic energy projectile” launchers.The policy addresses the proper escalation of force, noting that an officer should use verbal warnings before resorting to physical force on a subject refusing to comply. “When using control devices, officers should carefully consider potential impact areas in order to minimize injuries and unintentional targets,” the control devices policy states.Gilroy Police also have a “Conducted Energy Device” policy, which lists the procedures and proper use of Tasers.In Gilroy, officers in the field generally use the carotid hold less often than Tasers, Smith said. Sometimes, even just displaying a Taser is enough to compel a suspect to comply, he said.Smith added that there might be some circumstances when an officer has to use force that is not spelled out in the written policies.“If you’re in a fight for your life, there might be a metal stick next to you,” Smith said, without referring to a specific incident. “There are times, in a fight for your life, when you use what you can.”Ramirez said a similar list of control devices, including Tasers and even a flashlight as an impact weapon, is available for Morgan Hill officers. He added that officers may use “personal body weapons”—a technical term for fists, feet and knees—in “close combat altercation.”Officers also carry firearms, which are used only as a last resort because they are lethal.Sheriff has concernsSheriff Laurie Smith said while the sheriff’s office includes the carotid hold in its use of force policy, she would like to see it removed from approved use in the field because sometimes “people don’t do it right.”The carotid hold is not approved for use by officers in county jails, which are under the sheriff’s jurisdiction.Sheriff’s deputies do not carry Tasers in the field or in the jails, but Smith thinks they should be permitted in both environments.“I think it’s a good intermediate step,” Smith said. “I believe Tasers would decrease deadly force. We’ve had deputies shoot people who were attacking them with a knife, where I think they would have had time to get their Taser out, and that may have stopped the deadly force.”

Taiko drumming and martial arts demonstrations were on display Sunday, April 22 at the annual Morgan Hill Haru Matsuri and Nor Cal Taiko Expo.The spring festival, in its 58th year was accompanied by arts and crafts vendors, cultural displays, delectable Asian-style cuisine, ikebana flower arrangements and farmers market to name a few.The Renkishin Dojo of Morgan Hill flexed its martial art muscles for the crowds and Taiko groups from around the region descended on the city of Morgan Hill—all in the celebration of spring and Japanese culture sponsored by the Morgan Hill Buddhist Community.

After more than a year, Santa Clara County planners are almost complete with the Environmental Impact Report for the Cordoba Center mosque and community center project in San Martin.Proposed by the South Valley Islamic Community, the project will eventually be built on a 16-acre undeveloped parcel near the intersection of Monterey Road and California Avenue. The proposal consists of a two-story, 9,000-square-foot mosque; a two-story, 14,500-square-foot multipurpose building; a four-acre Islamic cemetery; a one-third-acre campground; and additional support and ancillary structures, according to plans submitted to county officials.Planners began the environmental study of the project, which is designed to accommodate up to 300 people at a time, in January 2017. Santa Clara County Planning Manager Rob Eastwood said Tuesday that the initial draft of the EIR is slated to be complete by “mid- to late-May.” After that will follow a minimum two-month public review period “for folks to read the EIR and provide comments.”Planners will conduct at least one public meeting on the Cordoba Center EIR in San Martin, and county staff will spend several weeks responding to each comment on the EIR submitted by the public, Eastwood explained.After that, the project will be filtered through the San Martin Advisory Committee and the county planning commission before the board of supervisors takes a vote on the Cordoba Center’s site plan, Eastwood added. He estimated the public hearings before those bodies could begin in fall of 2018.The Cordoba Center has generated ongoing skepticism from South County residents who fear the project will be significantly larger than typical existing commercial or religious uses in the rural, unincorporated town of San Martin.Eastwood noted that the top three concerns that San Martin residents have identified about the project are the potential impact of the cemetery on the groundwater, increased vehicle traffic associated with the site and the visual impact. The EIR will offer a detailed analysis of these and other potential impacts of the Cordoba Center on the surrounding community.At previous public hearings on the Cordoba Center project—which was first proposed in 2012—some residents expressed more hateful concerns related to the SVIC members’ religion, culture and beliefs. County planners have told the residents that the county cannot legally reject a project based on the religion of those who proposed it.The SVIC includes about 400 residents of South County. These families currently attend prayer services in a barn in San Martin.SVIC spokesman Hamdy Abbass said the SVIC remains committed to developing the new Cordoba Center as a modern central religious and cultural center for the local Muslim population. On occasion, they also plan to open up the Cordoba Center to the surrounding community for events.Family fights intoleranceThe SVIC and the Cordoba Center proposal gained national publicity last week when NPR and National Geographic published a lengthy story about the discrimination faced by local Muslim families. The story featured a teen in Gilroy who has been bullied in class because of her religion, and her efforts to use education to eliminate such ignorance.The teen’s mother, Noshaba Afzal, told the Times recently that one of the initial town hall meetings on the Cordoba Center—which drew hundreds of residents—“felt like we were living in the 1600s in the deep south” due to the procession of prejudicial comments submitted by attendees opposed to the SVIC.While the effort to build the Cordoba Center continues, Afzal and her daughter—who the Times is declining to name at her mother’s request—have made ample progress toward creating a more comfortable environment in the Gilroy school.The teen and her family have worked with Gilroy Unified School District to eliminate culturally insensitive classroom lessons and encourage more education of different cultures. The Christopher High School sophomore’s academic experience has thus improved since she spoke to National Geographic more than a year ago.“At this point of time, it’s old news,” said Afzal, who hopes the bullying behavior does not return with the recent publicity.Reporter Scott Forstner contributed to this story. 

Storage and impound fees for vehicles towed by order of the Morgan Hill Police Department will soon rise, in order to offset the city’s increasing costs, according to city staff.The Morgan Hill City Council approved the new fees April 4 as an update to the city’s “Two Franchise Agreements” with two local towing companies: Community Tow, and California Tow and Salvage.Under the new towing agreements, the towing companies’ tow fee charges to vehicle owners will rise from $180 per hour to $225 per hour; the daily storage fee for vehicle owners will increase from $60 to $100; and the towing companies’ “franchise tow fee” paid to the city will rise from $97 to $128 per police-ordered vehicle towed.The franchise tow fee is designed “to ensure 100 percent cost recovery” for the police department and its staff who order vehicles to be towed and process the related paperwork, according to MHPD Sgt. Carlos Guerrero.In the last three years, MHPD has towed an average of 612 cars per year from local streets and properties. Police order parked vehicles to be towed when they are in violation of city ordinances, abandoned or illegally parked.The fee increases will also “maintain consistency throughout the region,” reads a staff report by Guerrero.Besides the franchise tow fee, the city also charges impounded vehicle owners $165 each to release their vehicle to them.Morgan Hill’s franchise tow program was started in 2009, and was revised in 2011 to cut down on some of the labor costs involved in administering it, Guerrero added.Since then, the city’s costs associated with towing and processing vehicles has risen, and the city has been losing money on towed vehicles.In 2017, Morgan Hill Police recovered a total of about $113,300 in vehicle release fees ($165 each vehicle) and franchise tow fees ($97 per vehicle, paid by towing companies). But the city’s cost to administer the towing program is about $126,177, or about $206 per hour of staff time, according to Guerrero’s staff report. Staff positions involved in administering the program include sergeants, officers, dispatch and records personnel.Thus, police calculated that a higher franchise fee of $128 would recover the difference in costs, and the council agreed.Before 2011, the city was charging the franchised towing companies 20 percent of the revenue recovered from police-ordered tows. However, this required too much officers’ staff time, and that fee was changed to a flat rate of $97 per vehicle, Guerrero explained to the council.