SWAT team members headline second annual police chief's luncheon
By Darleen Principe darleen@theacorn.com

Brandishing his handheld battering ram- a device used by police to knock down the doors of suspected criminals who won't come out- Sgt. Bob Brill of the Simi Valley Special Weapons and Tactics team showed the audience at the second annual Police Chief's Luncheon that even tough cops have a sense of humor.

"We like to call this the universal key to the city," Brill joked, drawing laughter from the more than 100 community members and local dignitaries who attended last Thursday's luncheon at Paul's Italian Villa.

Brill and one of his colleagues, Sgt. Darren Muehler, were featured speakers at the event. They gave a presentation on Simi's award-winning SWAT team, one of the police department's many tools supported by the Simi Valley Police Foundation, which hosted the luncheon.

"Most of what you know about the SWAT team, you probably know from TV," Brill said. "But really, law enforcement has created SWAT for specific services . . . such as crisis negotiation."

The police foundation hosts annual banquets, luncheons and other events not only to raise money, but to help keep the community and foundation members involved and uptodate on sponsored projects as well.

Police Chief Mike Lewis took the opportunity to announce a few new goals for the department and to share information on ongoing investigations and criminal trends happening in Simi Valley.

"We are working out a number of new programs allowing the police department to be more connected to the community," Lewis said.

The chief said the police department is planning on implementing two new websites that will be regularly updated to give citizens and local business owners direct access to criminal trends in the city.

"We believe in community policing," Lewis said. "We believe that the citizens are the police and the police are citizens."

The department is also compiling e-mail addresses of citizens who would like to be placed on a mailing list that will automatically receive department press releases whenever major crimes occur.

Lewis cited the recent shooting at Tire Pros on Los Angeles Avenue, which left two people dead, to illustrate the benefits of having the websites and mailing lists.

"I know you're all eager to hear the latest information on the Tire Pros shooting," Lewis said. "Our detectives have been painstakingly re-creating the last two weeks, and the last 30 days, of the killer's life. We simply have nothing that we are able to go on at the moment."

Lewis also announced the creation of a new Youth Services Unit that will be dedicated primarily to serving high school students and younger.

"We think it's important to take preventive measures instead of just reactionary ones," Lewis said.

The Youth Services Unit will be made up of the existing three DARE officers and two Student Resource officers. A new full-time position for a Youth Service officer will be added to the unit primarily to serve middle school students.

"Our hope is to coordinate services to better take care of the troubled youth around Simi Valley," Lewis said.