Sacramento County Animal Control Officer Roy Marcum was killed while attempting to deal with pets at a foreclosed home after the occupant had been evicted. Arrested was Joseph Corey, who police say killed Marcum and injured two others after firing a shotgun through the front door.
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| Sacramento County Animal Control Officer Roy Marcum |
Before the violence erupted, it was the type of service local animal control officers are called out to handle every day, said officials in San Joaquin County.
It's typical for the officers to be folded into local law enforcement agencies. They don't have the same training or weaponry as a sworn law enforcement officer, but they can encounter some of the same kinds of dangers faced by police.
"There's actually no routine call; you always have to be aware of your surroundings," said Officer Joseph Silva, a spokesman for the Stockton Police Department.
Because of the number of foreclosed properties in Stockton, animal control gets calls about abandoned animals several times a week, he said. "You don't know who you're going to meet there on the property."
The city's animal control officers are part of the Police Department, but they are not law enforcement officers and don't carry weapons.
That's also the case for animal control officers for the unincorporated areas of San Joaquin County. County animal control officers are issued bulletproof vests. Stockton animal control officers are not, but they may wear their own.
County's animal services is part of the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office, though it made the switch from the county's agricultural department in recent years.
It's a safer arrangement, because the law enforcement agency's technology, supplies, support and training are backing the animal control officers, said Sgt. Frank Boesch, animal services supervisor.
When a call for service first comes in, it can be determined from the outset whether a patrol car should accompany the animal control officer, he said.
The agency keeps track of animal control officers in the field just as it does with deputies.
Even before the county animal services folded into the Sheriff's Office, the law enforcement agency's dispatchers began handling the calls for service after animal control officers raised concern about safety when sent out on solo calls after hours.
"Not only do animal control officers have the danger of dealing with animals, but they also have to deal with the owners of the animals," Boesch said.
Another of San Joaquin County's neighbors saw tragedy during an eviction in recent months. In April in Modesto, Stanislaus County sheriff's Deputy Robert Paris and locksmith Glendon Engert were killed during an eviction.
It prompted the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office to make changes to improve safety when dealing with similar situations, said Deputy Les Garcia, a Sheriff's Office Spokesman.
"Any time a tragic situation like this occurs, we in law enforcement take a hard look."
(recordnet.com - Dec 1, 2012)
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