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File Number: 12 -341 On January 18, 2012, at approximately 9:22 pm, the San Leandro Police Department's Narcotics Unit conducted surveillance in the area of Aloha Drive looking for suspects involved in the illegal cultivation of marijuana. It should be noted that a week earlier the Unit conducted a search warrant on Carrillo Drive and discovered an illegal marijuana grow. The subjects arrested at the house were believed to be involved in a gang and had several assault rifles in their possession. Detectives felt the same group may be involved in the Aloha investigation. During the surveillance on Aloha Drive, a San Leandro Narcotics Detective Sergeant observed a suspicious vehicle driving in the neighborhood. The Sergeant followed the vehicle from a distance in his undercover vehicle and lost sight of the suspect vehicle as it went around a bend in the road. As the Sergeant continued to follow, he noticed the suspect vehicle was now driving towards him. When the vehicle was approximately six feet away from the Sergeant's vehicle, the driver shot multiple rounds from a .45 caliber handgun at the Sergeant. As the Sergeant drove away, the suspect continued to fire multiple rounds which struck several parked cars in the neighborhood. Fortunately, the Sergeant was not hurt and no innocent citizens were struck by stray bullets. From the investigation, it is believed that the suspect knew that the Sergeant was a Police Officer before he attempted to murder him. It was determined that the suspect (who was later arrested) was involved in a gang which uses profits from the illegal cultivation of marijuana to help facilitate the gang's criminal activities. The illegal cultivation of marijuana has a severe impact on departmental resources and finances. On August 18, 2011, at approximately 3:17 pm, the San Leandro Police Communications Center received a 911 call stating that a male subject was being chased by two males with guns. The reporting party stated that all three subjects ran into a residence in the 2000 block of Fairbanks Street. As officers arrived on the scene, a perimeter was established around the residence. Multiple announcements were made by using a Public Address system to have the occupants exit the house. SLPD personnel also made numerous phone calls to the residence and received no response. The SLPD Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) and Hostage Negotiations Team (HNT) were called to the scene based on the fact that this was a possible hostage situation involving armed suspects. SWAT and HNT attempted to contact the occupants and met with negative results. SWAT officers entered the residence and did not locate anyone inside. Officers did locate a marijuana grow of approximately 240 plants and also located a pit -bull puppy that had to be taken to an emergency pet clinic because it was malnourished and appeared to be in distress. According to a study done by the University of Michigan, marijuana use continued to rise among 10th and 12th graders in 2011 for all prevalence periods which include lifetime, past year, past 30 days and daily use in the past 30 days. An alarming trend is that the annual prevalence for 8th graders over the past two years has been higher than any time since 2003. Of greater importance is the rise in daily or near daily marijuana use amongst 8th, 10th and 12th graders. This is defined as use on 20 or more occasions in the prior 30 days. The study found that daily use was up 1.3 percent (8th grade), 3.6 percent (10th grade) and 6.6 percent (12th grade). According to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, 36 percent of high school students have used marijuana, and more shocking is that 21 percent of parents declared marijuana harmless. Marijuana is a mind altering drug. Research has shown that you are more likely to make a bad decision while under the influence of marijuana that could include driving a vehicle, making unsafe sexual choices and trying other dangerous drugs. The short term effects from City of San Leandro Page 6 Printed on 612612012