BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer
Mountain View police Chief Mike Canfield didn’t tell the public about a gunman outside Panera, shots fired at Rengstorff Park or an RV dweller who had meth and three guns, including a high-capacity AR-15 “ghost gun.”
These incidents happened in August and September, yet weren’t revealed until Monday when the Post used the California Public Records Act to obtain emails between City Manager Kimbra McCarthy and council.
The shooting at Rengstorff Park happened on Aug. 30 around 1 p.m. near the BBQ area and was likely gang-related, Canfield told McCarthy.
A man’s car was hit by gunfire. Officers closed down the park, interviewed witnesses and conducted a search, Canfield told McCarthy, who forwarded his email to council.
On Sept. 12, officers noticed an RV and motorcycle had expired registrations on Logue Avenue. The owner argued with police and appeared to be on drugs, so officers searched his motorcycle and RV, Canfield said.
Officers found stolen property, three guns, 20 grams of suspected methamphetamine and ammunition, Canfield said.
“One of the guns was an AR-15 style rifle with a high-capacity magazine, designed for high-power ammunition. This weapon is commonly referred to as a ‘ghost gun’ because it was unserialized, making it untraceable,” Canfield said in an email to McCarthy on Sept. 14.
Confrontation with gunman
On Sept. 27, officers responded to a man pointing a gun at someone in the parking lot of Panera at 1035 El Monte Ave.
Officers positioned themselves a safe distance away and commanded the man to put the gun on the ground, Canfield said.
“The suspect turned toward the officers with the gun in his hand,” Canfield said. “However, due to the officers’ initial planning and strategic positioning, they did not feel there was an immediate threat to life and were able to continue issuing commands.”
The man “was taken into custody peacefully,” Canfield said.
The motive was related to a love triangle, Canfield told McCarthy.
Public information officer vacancy
Canfield said Friday that his department has sent out fewer press releases because the “public information officer” position is vacant.
“This is not a reflection of any policy change or new direction, but simply the result of the vacancy,” Canfield said in an email.
Spokeswoman Katie Nelson had worked for the department since December 2015 as its social media and public relations coordinator, handling questions from reporters and representing the department at events.
Nelson and McCarthy signed a settlement agreement on May 17, ending a personnel investigation related to Nelson.
The city paid Nelson $29,519 to cash out her sick leave and $5,530 for unused vacation time, according to the settlement agreement that the Post obtained in July.
Both Nelson and the city agreed not to disparage each other and not to sue each other, the agreement said.
Nelson made $173,706 plus benefits last year, pay records show.
Mountain View is one of the only cities in the area with a full-time spokesperson for its police department.
Other cities have lieutenants, records clerks or a city representative handle public relations.
Capt. Scott Nelson, who is unrelated to Katie Nelson, has been filling the public information officer’s role.
Canfield said yesterday that a new public information officer will start on Jan. 6.
Barber accused of sex crime
Mountain View police also waited to tell the public about a barber who allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted more than 20 men at the downtown Monte Carlo Night Club.
Franklin Enrique Sarceno Orla, 34, allegedly spiked a man’s drink on July 27 and then took the man back to his apartment at 222 Escuela Ave., police said.
The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office publicized the case after Sarceno Orla skipped his court date on Oct. 27. He’s still on the run, court records show.
Encrypted police radios
Mountain View police encrypted their radios in February 2021, preventing the public from listening in to police activity.
The radios were encrypted following a state DOJ memo that gave agencies two options: create a policy to protect personal information, or encrypt their radios.
San Mateo County agencies kept their radios open. Their chiefs told officers how to read information over the radio without disclosing personally identifiable information, and the state DOJ signed off on the policy.
Palo Alto police encrypted their radios but then reversed the decision in August 2022 when new Chief Andrew Binder took over.
Canfield was promoted from captain to chief in June 2023 and has kept Mountain View’s radios encrypted.
In an unrelated move, Mountain View City Council voted 4-3 on Dec. 10 to dissolve its Public Safety Advisory Board that was created after the death of George Floyd.
The board met monthly with Canfield to talk about police issues, starting with the school resource officer program at Mountain View High School.
But Assistant City Manager Audrey Seymour Ramberg told council only four of seven positions were filled, and city employees spent a lot of time on meetings.
Councilwoman Ellen Kamei made the motion to dissolve the board.
“We had goals and we achieved them, and it’s time to move on … We have a police department that’s very accessible,” Kamei said.
Be the first to comment