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Sacramento Police Chief Kathy Lester ‘frustrated’ after shootings leave 5 dead in 3 days

Sacramento Police Chief Kathy Lester was frustrated Tuesday at the deaths of five people struck down by gunfire in four shootings in three days. But she said teams of investigators are working day and night to find those responsible.

“It is really a challenge for us, but our detectives, our investigative team, they are up to the challenge,” Lester said Tuesday afternoon in an interview with The Sacramento Bee. “I can tell you they’re working around the clock. They are officers and detectives who have not gone home.”

“Our goal primarily is to make sure that we are able to solve these crimes and bring some type of peace and justice to the families.”

The recent gun violence started early Sunday, when two people opened fire after they were kicked out of a midtown sports bar. Police said one of the people involved went outside and grabbed a gun before the shooting occurred in the intersection of J and 28th streets.

Two more shootings, which police don’t believe are connected to each other, occurred just after 11 p.m. Monday. One shooting occurred at an apartment complex on San Juan Avenue and Azevedo Drive in South Natomas where two people were found shot to death inside a vehicle, according to police. The other occurred in the area of Eleanor Avenue and Arcade Boulevard in North Sacramento’s Strawberry Manor district where one person was killed and another man was wounded.

Then, about 9 a.m. Tuesday, police responded to a shooting near Sixth Avenue and 37th Street in Oak Park. A man struck by gunfire was killed.

The new fatalities bring the city’s homicide death toll to 45 this year, on pace to surpass last year’s 57 homicides — the most since 2006. Surging gun violence is a problem impacting not only Sacramento but the nation, Lester said.

“But that doesn’t mean it’s right. And so if I sound frustrated and upset, I absolutely am because we shouldn’t live in these conditions and have these challenges,” she said. “And that’s why our department and our city is working so hard to try and reduce gun violence.”

Police strategy to reduce gun violence

Lester became Sacramento’s new police chief in January. She unveiled her strategy to reduce gun violence in a June City Council meeting. Her department identified that most violent crime occurs in a 7 square-mile area of the city. She said these crimes are mostly concentrated in three geographic areas: Del Paso Heights, Oak Park, and Meadowview and Valley-Hi.

The average number of assaults in Sacramento is about 29 per square mile, Lester has said. But that number jumps to 104.6 per square mile or 260% more in the areas she identified as “hot spots.” Lester said the average number of homicides in the city is 0.5 per square mile, but it’s 2 per square mile — about 300% higher — in those neighborhoods.

That’s not to say violent crime doesn’t occur elsewhere, she said. But Lester wants to focus investigative and crime prevention efforts on the neighborhoods most affected. And she said she doesn’t want to flood neighborhoods with broad enforcement; the department wants to focus its efforts on what she calls “a small group of people” responsible for these crimes.

“What we don’t wanna do is go out and just target communities,” Lester said. “But to actually take a focused data-driven approach at trying to intervene and focus on people that are committing these acts of violence. People that are in possession of guns when they shouldn’t be and people that are out really wreaking havoc within our community.”

Fewer shooting victims this year

She said the city has experienced a reduction in the number of shooting victims, killed or wounded, with 120 so far this year. The city had about 170 shooting victims by this time last year.

“But 120 is still too many people. And that just shouldn’t happen in our community,” Lester said. “I think that Sacramento is better than that.”

The police chief said it’s so important to work on intervention, for instance, before somebody decides to take a gun to a nightclub or bar. Once that happens, it’s too late to stop. She said the Police Department can prevent these violent acts with nightlife entertainment businesses that work hard to provide a safe venue for people to enjoy themselves.

“But if you look back at these incidents, there’s certainly opportunities for our whole community and our whole system to intervene,” Lester said. “We’re really taking on the focused deterrence strategy, which is a proven strategy.”

The crime reduction strategy involves law enforcement, social services and community efforts. The department is using data to identify people with a history of gun crimes and those actively involved in gun-related criminal activity. Lester said officers are making “proactive contacts” to ensure compliance with the law and to conduct an assessment of needs, referring residents for help from community-based organizations. Those arrested for gun-related offenses will be referred to such services, too.

City Manager Howard Chan earlier this year decided to move the Office Violence Prevention and the community-based organizations it funds under the oversight of Lester and the Police Department. The city also decided to provide one-time funding for eight community groups to do the intervention work over the next year.

She said these community groups do a better job in intervention work than law enforcement, and they have been responding to critical incidents.

Critics might say the recent spat of gun violence is a sign Lester’s strategy isn’t working. She said that thinking is “absolutely understandable,” but there’s still work to be done.

“And there is no quick fix to these things,” Lester said. “This isn’t something that you can just implement and all of a sudden your problem with violence goes away.”

Seeking help from the public

She urged anyone who has information to come forward and speak to police as they work to help families of these shooting victims find some justice. And Lester also pleaded with the public to speak up when they know someone has a gun when they shouldn’t or when they hear someone say something that could lead to violence.

Lester’s call for help from the public has worked before.

In the wake of the April 3 gang-related shootout in downtown Sacramento, which killed six people and wounded 12 others, the public responded to the department’s plea for help by sending investigators more than 200 videos and photos through an online community evidence portal.

Lester said her investigators do not have any information that leads them to believe there will be retaliatory strikes in response to these recent killings, but her department is preparing for that possibility.

“So again, we’re calling on the community’s help. We’ve activated our community-based organizations in our priority areas, and they’re really good with being able to share information and trying to help us get in front of it,” Lester said. “And we will have an increased presence in areas trying to prevent additional acts of violence, because we do know that it doesn’t take much to spark a problem in a neighborhood or among different groups.”