All Hazards

The Challenge is People, The Reward is People

This episode (#18) Cal OES Deputy Chief Paul Tassone sits down at the mic with us. Chief Tassone is going on his 34th year in law enforcement, and his 6th with Cal OES. His career began with a tour of duty in Air Force when he got out of high school. While in he received medical training and when he got out he began working as an EMT2 while going back to school. It was during that time he became interested in law enforcement. He attended the Sacramento Sheriff’s Academy in 1982 and spent the next couple of decades working his way up through the ranks, working closely with emergency management, until landing at Cal OES in 2011. He’s now deputy chief, administration. A self-proclaimed adrenalin junky, he loves working with emergency services and the people in that community.

Chief Tassone talks about how much he relies on technology and is especially impressed by modern mapping systems and their use during search and rescue missions – satellite trackers and real-time feeds from air to ground to help direct crews with pinpoint accuracy even at night. To see an example of that technology, click this link to watch a story that also includes night vision goggles and helicopter demonstrations (the monitoring is at the end of the video.)

Links

Cal OES Law Enforcement Branch

Cal OES Law Enforcement Mutual Aid Agreement

Sheriff James Mele: Big Role in a Small County

James Mele was elected as Tuolumne County Sheriff in 2006. He comes from a family of law enforcement professionals. His father spent 35 years with the LAPD. Mele is says while he’s a sheriff in a small county he still often finds himself in meetings with the governor, US senators and representatives and other high-powered officials. Early on he struggled finding his “self” but took a proactive approach to fixing that. He also says his ego sometimes got in the way of success, as it does with many people. One of the challenging times during his time as sheriff has been managing law enforcement personnel during the Rim Fire; the biggest causes were radio limitations and interoperability. He says as a leader you need to know that you can’t do it all yourself; you need partners and his during the Rim Fire his was Cal OES and its MIGU.

 

Links/Resources

http://www.tuolumnecounty.ca.gov/index.aspx?NID=341

USC Price School Leadership Programs

USC Price School in Sacramento

2014 California Mobile Command CenterRally a Success in Sacramento (Topic: MIGU)

 

A Shot in the Sun: Jerry Sanders Orders Sniper to Take Out Shooter in McDonald's Massacre

 The premiere episode of the All Hazards Podcast features an interview with retired San Diego SWAT Commander Jerry Sanders.  He recalls the day his pager went off on July 18, 1984 when more than 40 people were injured or killed in the McDonald’s massacre perpetrated by 41-year-old James Huberty.

Sanders and his contingent of police officers were up against a number of challenges when deciding tactics including poor visibility due to the sun and windows that had been “spidered” by gun shots, an unknown number of shooters inside the restaurant, and the unknown location and number of hostages.

Sanders considers the massacre one of the most challenging days of his career and one of the darkest in the history of San Diego.  Despite that, many lessons were learned that changed the way police handle similar situations there and in departments nationwide.

 

 

Links/Resources

San Diego PD
http://www.sandiego.gov/police/services/units/
Lessons by the Decades: The lessons learned during this incident are still powerful and relevant today.

LawOfficer.com
San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce
http://sdchamber.org/about/team/