Neighborhood Action Team

The fourth week of the EPD Citizen Police Academy started with Bill Marucci and Jim Bielak of the Neighborhood Action Team (NAT), which was formed to specifically deal with specific problems in specific neighborhoods.  NAT is composed of seven officers who come from the SWAT Team (more on that in Week V).  NAT, which was started in 2002 with eight officers, is charged with tactical and community policing.  They participate in undercover drug buys and prostitution detail, unless it’s a big case, in which case it goes to vice.

You’ll know there’s something different about them when you see them – they don’t dress like regular patrol officers.  Instead of the blue pants and blue button down shirts the patrol officers wear, the SWAT/NAT officers wear black pants, black long sleeved mock turtleneck shirts, and tactical vests.

The NAT officers generally work in the Weed & Seed area, which is from 26th Street north to the bayfront and from East Avenue west to Cranberry Street.  The NAT officers also do not rotate shifts – they work a dedicated shift of 8:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m.  Additionally, the NAT officers take their vehicles home with them.  Because they are often called in on their days/hours off, having a police vehicle at home with them allows them to be able to respond to a scene immediately from home instead of having to drive to City Hall, get a police vehicle, and then proceed to the scene.

The seven officers that make up NAT do not count toward the minimum staffing requirements of the EPD, they are in addition to the minimum staffing number and, generally, the NAT officers do not handle regular patrol calls.

Further, the officers of the NAT team always work together.  Like the other officers, they work a four days on/two days off rotation, but they all work the same days, so on any given day (from 8:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m.), either all NAT officers on the street (with the exception of vacation/sick leave) or none of them are on the street.

Unlike other officers, because the NAT officers are also on the SWAT team, they have to stay very physically fit and have to pass a physical test every four-six months.  All EPD officers, regardless of their assignments, must qualify with their handguns four times per year.

Currently, the NAT team is concentrating on the gun problem in Erie, which has been in the news lately.  In 2009, the EPD got 100 guns off the street.  As of the first week of March 2010, they have already recovered over 30 guns.

When asked where all the guns are coming from, we were told that people get them from burglaries and either keep them, sell them, or trade them for drugs.

If you’d like to have a member of the NAT team speak at your Neighborhood Watch meeting or have any information or questions for them, call 870-1300 and leave a message.

Animal Enforcement Officer

Next up, we heard from Rob Culbertson, EPD’s Animal Enforcement Officer.  He is an Animal Enforcement Officer employed by the EPD.  He is not a police officer.  He is NACA certified and has been an animal enforcement officer for ten years.

Unfortunately, Erie only has ONE Animal Enforcement Officer to cover the entire City of Erie.  Because he is technically not a police officer, Rob does not carry a firearm.  However, when he needs to call the EPD for back-up, they respond immediately to assist him.  He said that a Taser will work on a dog, but you have to be able to subdue the dog while it’s being Tasered.  Otherwise, when you let go of the trigger, the dog will come back even more aggressive than it started out.

With regard to the pit bull controversy, Officer Culbertson is of the belief that the problem is not with the pit bull breed, it’s with the owners of the pit bulls.  Any powerful dog, be it a German Shepherd, a Doberman Pinscher, a Rottweiler, etc.,  needs to have a responsible owner.  Pit bulls have just become status symbols for a certain segment of the population, which has given the pit bull a bad rap.

And, on the subject of dog breeds, he also informed us that he’s starting to see Cane Corsos in Erie now, which, in other cities, is the “new” pit bull.  Again, it’s not the breed, it’s the irresponsible owners that give the breed a bad name.  Large, powerful dogs require knowledgeable and dedicated owners.

Rob has been bitten four times in his career and his advice, should you ever have the misfortune of being attacked by a dog, is to roll up in a ball.  Rolling up in a ball will help protect vital areas of your body and is a sign to the dog that you are submitting.

Although Officer Culbertson’s normal hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., he has his EPD vehicle with him at all times because he is on call 24/7.

If a dog is found to be a “dangerous dog” pursuant to Pennsylvania law, the owner must do the following:

• register the animal with the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement (includes a fee sufficient to cover costs of the program);
• confine the dog;
• post a warning sign with a symbol that warns children of the presence of a dangerous dog;
• keep the dog muzzled and leashed when outside its pen;
• post a bond or purchase and maintain liability insurance in the amount of $50,000 to pay for injuries inflicted by the dog;
• agree not to cancel the liability insurance during the licensed period unless he/she disposed of the dog;
• sign a statement providing that he/she will notify the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement, state dog warden and local police if the dog is loose, attacks and animal or human, dies or is sold/donated.

A “dangerous dog,” generally, is one that has attacked, unprovoked, a human or other domestic animal, doing serious injury to or killing that animal, when not on the owner’s property.

With regard to rabies, it isn’t a huge problem in the City of Erie (about four cases in the city), but it is more of a problem in Erie County and in Crawford County.

Since Rob is always on the street and rarely in his office, he doesn’t recommend trying to contact him via his direct number at City Hall.  Instead, if you need his assistance, he recommends calling the EPD non-emergency number (870-1125) or contacting him by e-mail rculbertson @ erie.pa.us.

If you need to report someone for cruelty to animals, you should contact the Humane Society Cruelty Line at 835-8360 and talk to either Lisa or Merle.

And, on the matter of cruelty to animals, if you are charged with cruelty to animals, that stays with you for ten years.

Traffic Investigation

The evening was wrapped up by Officer Annunziata, an EPD Traffic Investigator.

Officer Annunziata started out as a civilian dispatcher, where he worked for two years.  He then became a police officer and worked for nine years on motorcylce patrol and then seven years on regular patrol.  He’s been a traffic investigator for nine years. Officer Annunziata is certified in accident reconstruction and he is the only officer in the history of the EPD to have that certification.

After an accident report is finished by the patrol officers, it goes to the investigator, who reviews the report and conducts any necessary follow-up.

He sees an average of one accident report a day where one of the parties involved did not have motor vehicle insurance, which results in a $400 fine and license suspension.

Officer Annuniziata and one other officer are responsible for the 3,000 to 4,000 investigations/reconstructions in the City of Erie every year.

If you are involved in an accident and no one has been injured and all vehicles involved are drivable, the drivers need to exchange license, registration, and insurance information and can continue on their way.  The police do not need to respond to those calls.  However, if there is an injury or a vehicle is not drivable, the police need to be called.

Officer Annunziata recommends taking pictures (assuming you have a camera or a cell phone with a camera with you at the time) of the accident scene, the people involved, the vehicles involved (including license plates), and getting the names and contact information for any witnesses.

If, after exchanging information at the accident scene, you discover that the information you were given was incorrect or one or more parties ended up being injured, you have to go the the EPD and fill out a Citizen’s Crash Report.

Next installment:  SWAT Team