Lt. Mike Greene: ‘A lot is solved’ through ‘dialogue and partnership’

While some communities throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and other parts of the country have seen protests by those decrying what they contend is a pattern of police aggression and violence, Benicia hasn’t seen any such civil unrest. Nor has the city experienced controversy about how officers handle calls, whatever the cause — and whatever the outcome.

“I think Benicia (police) always has enjoyed a good relationship with the community,” Lt. Mike Greene said.

Unlike some cities and their police officers, this department and city don’t see each other as adversaries, he said.

And if residents are supportive, so is the city government, he said. “We get a tremendous amount of support from the Council and the city manager’s office.”

Part of that has come from police interaction with the public that doesn’t involve traffic tickets or criminal investigations.

For instance, Benicia police periodically offers a citizens’ academy, an eight-week introduction to police operations offered at no cost to participants since 2010.

The chief at the time, Sandra Spagnoli, saw the course as a way to open the department to citizens. It has attracted law enforcement volunteers, those who are considering police work as a career and those who are curious about how their local department operates.

Academy attendees get to meet the department’s police dogs, learn how patrol vehicles are equipped, participate in simulated investigations and suspect confrontations, and join officers at the department’s firing range.

They also get to see how Benicia officers are trained, not only for local assignments but also for the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Team; how officers are taught to be negotiators; and what duties they have as School Resource Officers (SROs).

Those officers, one at Benicia High School and another at Benicia Middle School, do more than patrol the grounds, Greene said.

“They become part of the school system,” he said. “They are not an outsider on campus.” And while they often become counselors and mentors to the students they meet, he added itis important that the SROs try to deal with matters that could become larger and more serious later on. “They deal with issues at the early stage,” Greene said. Officers may speak with parents, provide training to school teachers or work with principals to resolve things before they boil over.

Benicia SROs attend extra-curricular events such as football and basketball games, and they work closely with teachers and administrative staff. “A large part of what they do isn’t law enforcement,” he said of those specialized officers.

Police interaction with Benicia’s youth also includes the anti-drug DARE program police teach at elementary schools. And on alternating years the department participates in the two-day “Every 15 Minutes” event that re-creates a fatal collision involving teenagers who were driving while intoxicated.

Children also can participate in the department’s bicycle rodeos, led by the traffic unit, in which they are taught road rules and safety practices. Through the Solano County Health Department, officers also provide correctly fitting bicycle helmets and inspect the bicycles for safety before the children ride fun, challenging courses.

Moreover, one of the recent citizens academies, tailored to eighth-grade students, had 31 participants, Greene said; within two days of announcing the class, the department couldn’t take any more applicants.

Unlike in the adults’ version, the children didn’t get to fire police-issue Glocks or high-powered rifles, or learn to use a Taser. But they did learn about the criminal justice system, how laws are enforced and police officers’ relationship with government, particularly in the ways these subjects affect children.

They got close-up looks at patrol vehicles, including the department’s motorcycles, and met the department’s police dogs, too.

And the children did get to participate in crime scene processing, as well.

“They loved it,” Greene said. “By the end of the day, you had a thousand questions fired at you.”

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GREENE SAID ADULT MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC also are interested in the police department and how it works.

“People don’t have a problem expressing themselves,” he said. “The role of police is to listen. This is their community.” The department’s role, he said, “is to make it a better place, especially public safety.”

He said the department works hard at that role.

“We train a lot,” Greene emphasized. And the training is in more than firing a weapon accurately, handling a patrol vehicle and knowing the multiple California codes under which a suspect could be charged.

“Part of it is community relations,” Greene, a 21-year veteran of the department, said. “Training has to remain contemporary.”

As Lt. Frank Hartig described during one citizens academy class, the expectation for Benicia’s officers is that “It’s not a blue-collar job anymore.”

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AMONG THE AREAS IN WHICH BENICIA OFFICERS TRAIN is handling those experiencing mental illness.

In 2013, Detective Jenna Cameron received two medals for her role in talking two individuals out of committing suicide; Cpl. Mark Menesini earned a medal of his own for assisting in one of those cases.

To keep up with contemporary developments in that area, Benicia officers not only are sent to ongoing training classes, they also hear from educators brought to the department from outside law enforcement, including the Solano County agencies that provide mental health services.

“It’s a very important issue,” Greene said. It’s also a challenge, given the resources of the city, “but we prepare our staff to deal with it. It’s a part of what we deal with.”

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THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA HAS TRAINING MANDATES all departments must meet. Benicia Police Department goes further, Greene said. “We include things that are important to the community,” he said.

“We’re lucky — we don’t experience a lot of violent crime,” Greene said. But Benicia police handle multiple kinds of property crime, from break-ins to burglaries and stolen cars.

Another area with which the department deals is fraud, particularly scams that target the elderly.

“Detectives do specialized training” to combat that category of crime, Greene said. But scams related to the Internet and online business often involve geographic areas far beyond Benicia’s borders, so the local department collaborates with agencies in Solano County and across the state and country. “It requires us to network,” he said.

And he mentioned another form of community outreach: The department’s special program for informing older residents how they can protect themselves from identity fraud and other scams.

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IN THE WAKE OF HIGH-PROFILE INCIDENTS around the country last year involving disputes — sometimes fatal — with officers, police body cameras have become a hot topic.

Benicia police already wear them.

Greene said in this and other areas, the department actively seeks feedback from citizens.

“The attitude of the staff is, they like engaging with the community,” he said.

One opportunity for engagement was started by former Chief Andrew Bidou.

“Coffee with the Cops” are meetups at local restaurants between the chief and other officers and residents to discuss police operations and programs.

“I saw it as beneficial,” Greene said. “It’s a good opportunity to talk about what we do. We got good questions and an open dialog. I hope we can continue to do that.”

Coffee with the Cops meetings may resume once the city hires Bidou’s permanent successor. He became Vallejo’s police chief Oct. 4, 2014, and that city’s former chief, Joseph Kreins, is now leading this city’s department on an interim basis.

Coffee doesn’t have to be involved for Benicia’s police to talk to its residents, Greene said. Officers who answer calls also take time to speak with residents and store owners in those circumstances, too.

After a call is handled, many officers will stay at the scene, talking not only with those involved but also with others, particularly to explain how the call was handled.

“Our officers spend a lot of time in the community with citizens,” Greene said.

In fact, citizen tips and observation often provide help to Benicia police to solve crimes, he said.

“They understand their community and their neighborhoods,” he said. That means they’re also likely to spot someone or something out of place. “It’s a huge help for us.”

That ties in with another community outreach program: Benicia’s Neighborhood Watch programs, including the National Night Out celebration.

“Neighborhood Watch is a huge program,” Greene said, explaining that both department employees and residents are “very involved,” in particular because citizens don’t want crime taking place in Benicia.

In addition, “We put out crime tips throughout the year,” he said, an information push that increases in anticipation of the year-end holiday shopping season. The department provides warnings and crime-prevention tips based on what is happening in Benicia, particularly when residents become lax in their own security.

Greene said he sees the department as “out there and involved,” and that helps diffuse any situation that could fester between officers and residents.

And should residents or business owners have questions about police operations, “all they have to do is call,” he said. The department’s non-emergency number is 707-745-3411.

“If we don’t know, it’s hard to talk about it,” he said. Once a matter is brought to the department’s attention, through “dialogue and partnership, a lot is solved.”