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BPD Weekly Update
Happy Birthday BCAP!
Volunteers make a difference. The Bremerton Citizens Auxiliary Patrol (BCAP) program entered its 4th year on July 1st. In their first three years, BCAP members have volunteered 4,165 hours. BCAP is a volunteer branch of the Bremerton Police Department that is intended to supplement and support, not supplant, commissioned police officers. BCAP members serve as "eyes and ears" of the Police Department. They patrol city streets, business districts, parks and city-owned garages, and marinas by vehicle and on foot looking for suspicious activity or unsecured property. BCAP also conducts vacation house checks for residents who live inside the city limits. If BCAP volunteers encounter a situation that requires enforcement action, they request an officer. BCAP is managed by Tom Danaher (pictured below), a retired US Navy Captain. Current BCAPPERs are Robert Dixon, Tracy Larson, Betty Maples, Ken Nelson, Pat Sullivan and Katherine and Joe Weigel. Their work is greatly appreciated. We are always looking for more volunteers for BCAP. If you have any questions about the program, please contact Community Resource Specialist, Joe Sexton, at 360-473-5231. Applications can be found on the City's website



Someone is a Little Full of Themselves
Earlier last week, covert photography captured Lt. Mike Davis making himself comfortable in the vacant Chief's Office. Later in the week, this desk plaque appeared in his office. The training presentation Mike was supposed to give on "Service with Humility" has been canceled until further notice.



In Memoriam: Vic Talvi
Former BPD Officer Vic Talvi passed away in Sequim June 11th. Vic worked for Bremerton PD in the 1960's before continuing his law enforcement career with the Clallam County Sheriff's Office. He later returned to Kitsap County and worked as a Correction Officer. Retired BPD Corporal JD Miller and and Officer Russ Holt worked with him at the jail in the early 90's. He will be missed.



Blast from the Past: We've got nothing on the Sun when it comes to witty titles



A story from retired BPD Officer Russ Holt that occurred sometime around the early 2000s: 

"The Gateway pursuit started the night before when the pictured vehicle had eluded me on National Avenue the night before. On this night, I found the vehicle driving recklessly on Kitsap Way. The pursuit began again. We chased back then! The vehicle headed east on Callow Avenue where it headed south at Callow. The suspect vehicle made a crazy left turn through some construction road blocks at Burwell heading east. A large plume of dust appeared which completely engulfed the area and blocked sight of everything. Once the dust settled we found the vehicle as pictured [Note: The above picture is a clipping from the Kitsap Sun. Used with permission]. The suspect had driven right into a large construction hole, crashing underneath a live natural gas pipe in the process. After the Bremerton Fire Department gave the all clear regarding the gas pipe, Officer Mike Davis (now Lieutenant Mike "I'm Kind of a Big Deal" Davis) noticed Sun photographer Larry Steagall on scene. Officer Davis, not wanting to waste an opportunity to show boat, quickly grabbed a ticket book (I never knew him to have one as he was K-9 you know) and posed himself perfectly for the picture. [Russ Holt]"

Assault with a Knife
Officers were dispatched to the report of an unwanted, knife-wielding and highly intoxicated man at a convenience store on 6th Street. The suspect had stabbed the window of a customer's vehicle. Officer Dave Hughes arrived on scene, located the male, and took him into custody without incident. He learned the young knife-wielding man celebrated his birthday by drinking too much alcohol. When he became too much to handle, his friends left him to cool down with the promise they would return later and pick him up. At some point between the cooling down period and the return of his friends, the intoxicated young man attempted to pirate his own ride home. Unfortunately, alcohol overrode his better judgment and the result was a trip to the jail where he was booked for Assault 2 and Malicious Mischief 3. Fortunate for everyone, no one was injured. [Corporal Byers]

Parking Violation?
While on patrol in the early morning hours, Officer Hughes discovered a collision in the area of Warren and Clare Avenue. A white 2003 Ford Taurus severed a street light pole and pushed through a full section of the guardrail, carrying both to its final resting location. The air bags were deployed. However, the driver was not located. Based on what officers observed inside the vehicle, it appeared as if the driver avoided any serious injury and left the scene prior to the arrival of law enforcement. The driver was never identified or located. The registered owner of the vehicle is well known to law enforcement. There should be more to the story. [Corporal Byers]



Can't You Just Enjoy the Best Fireworks Show in West Sound?
As the Bridge Blast was coming to a close, Cencom dispatched of an assault in the area of 6th Street and Washington. The caller told Sgt. Billy Renfro that he confronted a man who picked up a small child and acted as if he was going to throw the child over a fence. Our caller confronted the man and the two nearly came to blows. Officers located the child thrower a short time later. He admitted the he had consumed too much alcohol and, while his behavior was odd, he was cooperative and was eventually told he was free to go. After initially walking away, he returned and began pacing back and forth in front of the officers saying, "I'll f%_k your s#&t up." After his brief display of drunken posturing, the subject walked into the street and impeded the flow of traffic. At one point, the subject tried to open the locked door of a nearby vehicle. The subject then requested a trip to jail when he slammed his palm on the back windshield of the vehicle. The male was taken into custody and transported to the jail where he was booked for disorderly conduct. [Corporal Byers]



Loan Your Car to a Drunken Friend and Guess What Happens
Officers were dispatched to a single car collision at Naval Avenue and 13th Street where the occupants were fleeing and one had a gun. Officers arrived on scene to locate two females still on scene who claim they were passengers, but two males had fled the scene. At the collision scene, one of the females, who we will call Kyra, initially claimed she was not the driver. However Officers Felty, George, and Cpl. Polonsky were able to obtain enough evidence to counter that claim. Officer Felty obtained a voluntary blood draw from Kyra. Once she was medically cleared from the hospital, she was transported to jail where she was booked for DUI. As the story goes, the owner of the Subaru purchased a bottle of liquor. Kyra drank said bottle then borrowed the Subaru. Kyra was driving the Subaru at a high rate of speed and failed to navigate a right hand turn, at the high rate of speed (even though there is a stop sign there), drift into oncoming lane of travel, and collide with a tree in front of the cemetery fence. The Subaru center punched the tree, deploying both airbags, and destroying the car. Fortunately, no one was driving southbound at Naval Avenue or standing on the sidewalk in front of the tree. Officers were unable to determine if anyone had a gun. [Sergeant Keith Sargent]

Officer George standing in the damaged portion of the car to demonstrate how significant the impact was.

Motorcycle vs Sedan Collision
Officers were dispatched to an early morning collision between a motorcycle and a car. The motorcyclist was launched approximately 45 feet through the air and he landed on some grass/sidewalk. One witness said they looked over to see the motorcyclist "flying through the air." Neither driver was under the influence. They were just going to work when the car changed lanes and did not see the motorcyclist. Thankfully, this ended up being a minor injury! [Sergeant Sargent]



Happy Independence Day!
This was a typical July 4th in the City of Bremerton. Fireworks, intoxicated neighbor disputes, and barbeques. There was nothing significant to report. Officer George really wanted to join in on the fireworks fun, but of course he couldn't because he was on duty. We bought him a sparkler, but it just wasn't enough. [Sergeant Keith Sargent]



The Best Predictor of Future Performance is Past Performance
That famous business management saying applies to the behavior of bad boyfriends as well. BPD Officers responded to Callow Avenue to investigate a report of domestic violence. They arrived to find the victim outside her apartment holding a coffee cup. The victim used the coffee cup to strike the suspect, which gave her enough time to get away. The victim reported that she kicked her boyfriend out a couple days earlier because he assaulted her. This night, she had let the now ex-boyfriend come take a shower because he has been sleeping in cars the last few nights. No good deed goes unpunished. Now back in the house, the ex-boyfriend continued his former assaultive behavior, striking and strangling her. At the same time, he told her this was going to be a "murder-suicide." She was able to free herself by striking him in the head with the coffee cup. The suspect fled on foot. K9 tracking team was called in, but were unable to locate the man. According to the ex-girlfriend, he has a past conviction of homicide. The victim went to the hospital to be checked out. [Sergeant Keith Sargent]

Single car rollover into a tree
Seriously, this is the second car/tree collision in the last four days and this is the second serious collision on Charleston Blvd in the last three days. This collision involved a car that was racing southbound Charleston Blvd. At some point, the driver lost control, hopped over the center median into oncoming lanes, corrected himself and hopped back over the center median, continued to lose control bounce up onto the sidewalk, slide on top of the tree which force the car to rollover. The driver and only occupant crawled out from the car, unharmed. Officer Felty responded to the scene, performed Field Sobriety Tests, and took the driver into custody for DUI and Reckless Driving. Since there was marijuana paraphernalia around the crash scene, Officer Felty applied for and served a blood search warrant. The initial investigation showed the driver start lost control about 450 feet before the final resting place. The 21 year old driver was taken to the jail. [Sergeant Keith Sargent]



Thinking Outside the Box for Some Creative Police Work 
Officer Greenhill investigated threats at the rescue mission. One denizen reminded another to clean up after himself which of course incensed the accused mess leaver. An argument erupted and the shambolic subject suggested they take the matter off campus. The victim said he'd call the man's Department of Corrections (DOC) officer to let him know about his explosive temper. This, of course, charged the already angry subject's batteries even more, causing him to threaten to kill the victim if he called his DOC officer. I'll bet your first thought here is RCW 9A.46.020 Harassment, right? That may have been the case, but generally speaking, harassment cases aren't prosecuted when there is a "conditional" threat like "if you do this, I'm going to do this to you in response." Officer Greenhill instead went with RCW 9A.36.070-Coercion, which prohibits threats against someone engaged in something they have a legal right to engage in...like calling someone's DOC Officer when they're acting up. [Corporal Schaefer]

Malt liquor and fireworks - An elegant pairing for a summer evening
Officers were summoned to a local convenience store for a shoplifter. The owner said the man is a frequent shoplifter and tried to abscond with a couple of tall boys, but was caught. The investigation was not able to determine if the suspect actually left the store with the high gravity lager so the store owner just wanted him trespassed. While taking the report, the store owner told Officer Faidley that the perpetrator had damaged his car with fireworks the other night. He showed him a couple of scorch marks in the paint that were caused after Mr. Shoplifter threatened to "burn his car." The suspect walked up to his car and lit a firework and held it up against the paint causing the damage. It was unknown why the store owner didn't call 9-1-1 for the arson, but the shoplifter was now trespassed. Fast forward to Saturday morning, Officers Spencer Berntsen and Sara Felty were dispatched to an unwanted subject at the convenience store. Surprise! It was the same suspect. He was placed under arrest and transported to jail. Officer Felty questioned him about the arson and he said he didn't remember that night. Unfortunately for him, the store owner remembered. The man was booked for trespassing and arson. [Corporal Schaefer]

But "they" said we could come over
Officers Donnelly and Shaw were dispatched to an abandoned house at Warren Avenue, you know, the one that was condemned due to a SEWAGE problem. Apparently, there were two people squatting inside. Upon arrival, Officer Donnelly contacted a couple of transients who said they were given permission to be there. When asked by whom, they couldn't come up with a name.

In case you're not familiar with this dwelling, let me use an excerpt from Officer Donnelly's narrative to give you an idea:

"They both claimed the obvious state of disrepair, mess, odor, and fecal matter strewn about the hallways of the house were not an indicator to them that they should not be inside."

Both subjects were arrested for criminal trespass and searched prior to arrest as one of them revealed suspected meth. Both were taken to jail. [Corporal Schaefer]

James Burchett, Interim Chief
Bremerton Police Department
1025 Burwell Street
Bremerton, WA 98337

360-473-5224
Fax: 360-473-5890
Assistant: Barbara Forbes
July 10, 2018
Contact 
Interim Chief 
Jim Burchett
About  |  e-mail

Captain Tom Wolfe
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Lieutenant Mike Davis
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Lieutenant Randy Plumb
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Headquarters
1025 Burwell Street
Bremerton, WA 98337
(360) 473-5220
 www.BremertonWA.gov

BPD Staff Directory
OFFICERS
Ryan Avery
Spencer Berntsen
Jason Butler
Dana Clevenger
Joseph Corey
Jennifer Corn
Kenny Davis
Cory Ditmer
Trevor Donnelly
Derek Ejde
Jordan Ejde
Christopher Faidley
Sara Felty
Jared France
Steven Forbragd
Martin Garland
Alexander George
Brandon Greenhill
Ross Guiney
Bryan Hall
David Hughes
Jeffrey Inklebarger
Kent Mayfield
Allan McComas
Michael Nelson
William Prouse
Johnny Rivera
Frank Shaw
David Shohradov
Ian Sipple
Jacob Switzer
Matthew Thuring
PROFESSIONAL STAFF
David Boynton
Rena Brown
Tom Danaher
Barbara Forbes
Donna Goodwin
Marie Hansen
Dennis Hughes
Elena Rinonos
Marixa Scott
Joseph Sexton
Samantha Switzer
Debra Williams
CORPORAL
Beau Ayers
Todd Byers
Steven Polonsky
Rodney Rauback
Dahle Roessel
Jeff Schaefer
Matthew Strombach
Jason Vertefeuille
  SERGEANTS
Kevin Crane
Richard Cronk
Aaron Elton
Timothy Garrity
Ryan Heffernan
Kelly Meade 
Billy Renfro
Keith Sargent
  LIEUTENANTS
Michael Davis 
Randy Plumb
  CAPTAINS
Tom Wolfe
INTERIM CHIEF
James Burchett