Community Post: Recent Stabbing Not Reported?
[There is no official notice of what is written below that I know of on Sunday late afternoon -- can anyone verify and shed light on the matter? -- SDLG]
Written by Eight Santa Barbara
A week ago Saturday night a stabbing occurred near downtown Santa Barbara. The victim was not a gang member, nor a gang affiliate. The victim was stabbed 3 times, though he lived.
I didn't read anything about this stabbing, online or in print.
I am concerned that none of this information was released, or not posted or printed. While I don't believe it wise or helpful to an investigation to make everything public, I still question why information was hard to find. If, indeed, it has become police policy to keep investigations quiet so as to not harm the investigation, I can understand that. On the other hand, if information was not forthcoming so as to limit bad press, that is inexcusable.
Can somebody confirm or correct these things being said on the streets of our City?
Here is the "word on the street" about this stabbing that I've gathered from people I know:
-the victim was not the stereotyped image of a gang member or victim of gang-related crimes
-many people knew the name of the person wielding the knife.
-some people pointed to the nickname for this person.
- Whomever was the assailant is known to members and affiliates of the East Side gang.
-3 to 6 people were arrested this past week in connection with this incident.
-the people arrested were between ages 14 and 60.
-the victim did nothing to start the confrontation.
-the police say that it is a recent phenomena for a group of young people to challenge strangers on the street in an effort to draw them into a fight, and possibly to stab them.
If someone can provide insight, I'm sure many people would appreciate it.
Written by Eight Santa Barbara
A week ago Saturday night a stabbing occurred near downtown Santa Barbara. The victim was not a gang member, nor a gang affiliate. The victim was stabbed 3 times, though he lived.
I didn't read anything about this stabbing, online or in print.
I am concerned that none of this information was released, or not posted or printed. While I don't believe it wise or helpful to an investigation to make everything public, I still question why information was hard to find. If, indeed, it has become police policy to keep investigations quiet so as to not harm the investigation, I can understand that. On the other hand, if information was not forthcoming so as to limit bad press, that is inexcusable.
Can somebody confirm or correct these things being said on the streets of our City?
Here is the "word on the street" about this stabbing that I've gathered from people I know:
-the victim was not the stereotyped image of a gang member or victim of gang-related crimes
-many people knew the name of the person wielding the knife.
-some people pointed to the nickname for this person.
- Whomever was the assailant is known to members and affiliates of the East Side gang.
-3 to 6 people were arrested this past week in connection with this incident.
-the people arrested were between ages 14 and 60.
-the victim did nothing to start the confrontation.
-the police say that it is a recent phenomena for a group of young people to challenge strangers on the street in an effort to draw them into a fight, and possibly to stab them.
If someone can provide insight, I'm sure many people would appreciate it.
posted by Sara De la Guerra | 10/21/2007 04:24:00 PM
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37 Comments:
Must be getting bad, even Nippers website has had a report of gang beating/Robbery, and saying the person reporting it sent a letter to the editor. Third comment directly asks the co-publisher about it:
http://nippers.sbwh.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1578
So I guess the co-publishers don't interfere with the news until hits blogabarbara ;)
My son saw a knifing on the apartment steps behind Pelicans in Montecito. He intervened. It was a drug related stabbing. The police were called by my son while he administered CPR to the victim. No report in the newspaper.
Another time in the parking lot of Vons, an elderly man was being beaten as he exited his vehicle. My son intervened and stopped the mugging. No report in the paper.
Much more is happening then we know.
Where did it take place, and what time? Thanks. Did the city suppress the news for campaign purposes?
The gang situation in this town is much worse than everyone thinks it is. Why else would they move the Santa Barbara - San Marcos football game to 5pm? They are afraid of a westside-eastside confrontation,
To 7:12 p.m.
The city doesn't suppress the news. If a crime is reported to police or another law enforcement agency, then it becomes a matter of public record.
The information is available to reporters who call, and is sometimes sent via email to the various media.
And through it all a simple idea remained . . . that a readership is best served by news reports free from owner interference.
What has not become public is how the current Police Chief, Cam Sanchez, has failed to maintain order in our city, What should be a campaign issue is how long do we have to wait before we find a replacement.
We desparately need a new police chief in Santa Barbara. It is time.
Alleged crime took place on Shoreline Drive around 8pm - new gang ethic - attack anyone. No longer needs to be gang revenge, infact just the opposite.
Sounds like the gangs are making peace with each other and have targeted The Other as the real class enemy here. Read all about this on nippers.com in their non-food topic section.
Who was the feel-good poster here who claimed these were just scared little kids who only learn to slice each other and are really afraid of taking on anyone outside the gang for fear the police will really gang up on them.
Sounds like that was just a taunt to prove you wrong and them unafraid.
Excellent post about this problem in general on the nippers site about Santa Cruz, also a tourist town who does confront these issues rather than bury them. The want the city to have the image they deal immediately with these issues and you can't keep bringing them back without consequences.
Instead here, we bury them until they spill over in our public faces and then pretend we are shocked. And then wring our hands but never, never see them as police actions the way they learned to deal with them in Santa Cruz.
We could learn from our Northern neighbors. And it is mostly about drugs, lots of them and if there is any blame it is on the users who are really the ones who need to be brought in and kept locked up. Dry up the consumer first, then go after the suppliers.
But right now, it is the innocent bystanders who are getting harmed the most. And that folks, is not fair.
"Eight Santa Barbara" fabricates boogyman evildoers in his other comments, so why not expect that here as well.
Please, what is the purpose of this blog?
Just call the police spokesperson on Monday and then speculate with the conspiracy theories after getting the official response.
And also, Eight, do not forget to blame Marty Blum for whatever the problem of the day is.
You all sound paranoid? There is a lot of violence, random deaths, and other petty crime that occur in Santa Barbara that doesn't make the news, or the newspaper. And this has been going on longer than Cam Sanchez has been in office. Face it, Santa Barbara isn't the bucolic town you all think it is. Bad stuff happens here. If you want to be a part of the solution get out and volunteer time and work with disenfranchised kids and with the homeless. Be an active participant in your community instead of sitting behind your computer and slinging arrows.
Blum et al hires and fires the
chief of police. He is accountable to the city council and the council acts as if they are accountable to no one.
Residents have been begging for more and better policing in this town for years. We never got it from the current chief.We got words but no actions and no accountability for improvement.
And the city council acts as if these requests were intrusive annoyances and kept fiddling while this city's crime scene worsens.
This city is not just a tourist image dream, it is a large and difficult city with major urban problems beyond the Golden Triangle glitter.
There is grit here as much as glitter but the council only wants to polish the glitter. Or paint it Blue. We need a Thin Blue Line; not a Pale Blue Line.
Dale, Frank, Michelle -- are you listening?
Why is it that nipper's website prints more "news" than nipper's newspaper? Why are we relying on rumors and hearsay rather than on journalists reporting straight from public records? Why are people blaming the government for the lack of news coverage? Maybe the local paper will publish more info when gangs start to target animals?
While at nipper's website to catch up on the latest stabbing, be sure to shop for nipper's brand thong underwear.
You can't make this up.
about 15 years ago there was a drive by shooting on lower state street- musician friends were playing in a bar, everyone hit the floor, the incident was never in the news
i assume there is pressure to keep some of this out of the media in order to attract tourism
this has been going on for decades
I can cite numerous specific examples of lack of reporting.
Car hitting bicyclist resulting in serious injury (death?) that was not reported in the media. I wittnessed it, called it in to three local media outlets as the victim was being taken away by ambulance, mangled bike placed into police vehicle. Nothing about it made it to the public. According to two "reporters" who got back to me, the incident only appears in the police record as "traffic collision." Did the bicyclist hit on Chapala survive? Did the gentleman viciously attacked in his car downtown by drug-crazed thugs, attackers chased and held for police by watchful neighbors get reported?
These are not rumors. Urban violence just doesn't fit with the mythical image of sweet little Santa Barbara. Do we need to see this stuff in the media every day? Perhaps that would wake people up to demand that something be done.
Fixing the problems is the goal and to fix it, we must appreciate that there is a problem. Then, when drivers take responsibiliy and the vehicle-caused carnage ends, when we address the social, economic and cultural issues that lead to gang violence, when we treat our neighbors with caring and respect, then we can have a media that can focus on street festivals, sports and the rest of the "culture of Santa Barbara."
Why isn't in the NP?
Maybe the problem is not with only publishing thier view, perhaps it's that they just even bother to read the letters to the editor.
If fodie did send a letter, you figure such an event could be corroborated with a call to the police, and then published as a rant against ciy hall. Oh wait, foodie sent it to the City desk, and not the Editorial editor. So the wall exists.
The stabbing on the weekend of October 13-14 was outside the Spearmint Rhino. The police have names and are working on compiling the evidence.
There is no conspiracy in City government. We do not suppress information.
As Mayor, I don't think the anonymous postings speculating about crime are good for the community. People have vivid imaginations and to play to their fears is wrong. Let's all have the facts, then talk.
http://thewayofthegun.net/scanner/
The above link has been posted on blogs when people discover and are surpised at the lack of reporting. You must acknowledge though that it is not just the News Press and other printed media but radio and TV News as well that lack reports. Patterns that I've noticed is that crime downtown, Westside and Eastside is more likely to get reported, while the whiter hoods don't get as much print or airtime. My observations are not scientific but are obviously my perceptions.
The cause of all this violence speculative. Some people are using the violence for politcal purposes. I'll do the same by suggesting that the problem is you! I don't find most people very thoughfull about cause and effect because usually we are unwilling to look at what it is that we are doing to contribute to the problems.
I always like to blame cars and motorcycles for the cause of our violent, nomadic discrespectfull lifestyles that permeate all demographics. I notice that most crimes start in a car.
What is most weird about this post is that Nippers.com website is essentially a blog for The Santa Barbara Restaurant "Community." I can understand using the "Community" designation to describe disenfranchised segments of the population but we've gone overboard starting with skateboard community, dog owner community, Harley Davidson community, golfing community etc. Again I think this is very weird and it is perhaps indicative of just how fragmented our "communities" really are.
So go ahead, try the above link. The best times to listen to the law enforcement scanner are Friday and Saturdays nights but most nights are revealing. People falling off of balcanies downtown, brutal crashes, people walking on the freeway, drunk drivers, holdups, SUVs running off the road all over the place. Law Enforcement is really busy. I think the "Community" is the problem.
Obviously none of you could come up with a cogent answer except 8:32. And we still don't have the details of the rumored "crime" that is subject of the instant thread.
Years ago, the Chamber of Commerce was blamed for pressuring the News Press to downplay or ignore crime reports as they were supposedly detrimental to tourism. The problems of Santa Barbara will not be solved by disparate political non-profiteering but by true concerned involvement and dialogue. None of that is evident among current council or challengers.
Fact it, except for a few, Santa Barbaraidiots are more interested in blabbering about how they could run a newspaper better than someone else, (if only they could achieve legislation giving the paper to them) or whatever else they are blabbing about. Action is not a word here. Sad because your efforts could possibly make the quality of life for the children and teens of this City better, if you only cared about more that whether they are simply Eastside or Westside.
The tanker loads of Non profit and Political dollars and volunteer time WASTED on COCKTAIL PARTIES in Santa Barbara could probably underwrite all arts/sports activities and provide significant additional scholarship dollars that would insure that EVERY SINGLE KID IN SB HAS A SHOT AT A DECENT COLLEGE OR TRADE SCHOOL TOTALLY PAID FOR - BAR NONE. That should be your challenge, you selfish loud mouthed fools.
"Alleged crime took place on Shoreline Drive around 8pm - new gang ethic - attack anyone. "
Old demogogic ethic: make things up out of whole cloth and sow fear and loathing.
"Why are we relying on rumors and hearsay rather than on journalists reporting straight from public records? Why are people blaming the government for the lack of news coverage?"
These are standard right wing tactics: spread rumors that feed people's fears, and blame those in your way for whatever people fear.
Speaking of the Golden Triangle, it is loaded with Frank Hotchkiss signs and No on Measure A signs, There is even one Das Williams sign right next to a No on Measure A sign. Mixed message.
This is going to be one heck of an election. Who would have guessed?
What kind of front page coverage in the older daily if a turtle or coyote had been stabbed?
Anonymous does not display much courage of conviction.
anon 12:53... fact is that the Santa Barbara Scholarship Foundatio is one of the most generous non-profits in America and provides millions in student aid to local kids every year. IF a child is bright, motivated, and guided in the right directions by his/her parents then "EVERY SINGLE KID IN SB HAS A SHOT AT A DECENT COLLEGE OR TRADE SCHOOL TOTALLY PAID FOR - BAR NONE."
Santa Barbara "news sources" have been known to withhold stories regarding death and destruction.
I remember a friend had a neighbor who was murdered and she kept looking in the paper to see further information on it...but to no avail.
Then, of course, there was the time when the drinking water supply was "compromised" but the public wasn't made aware of it right away, because, of course, it was during Fiesta.
Welcome to the reality of our little Adobe Disneyland.
re: "If a crime is reported to police or another law enforcement agency, then it becomes a matter of public record."
True there is a record of the 911 call but that does not guarantee a report will be written ... and if you ask why no report was written you might get an answer like I received: "Civilians don't tell the police when to report reports."
If we had a published record of all reported crimes and not just those with cooperating witnesses or an identifiable suspect then the community would have a much bewtter idea of the extent of the problems.
But then local law enforcement might not look as successful ... and certain contracts might not be renewed or officials relected.
I didn't think there was a conspiracy in city govermentment until I noticed, over time, how often the the mayor insists there isn't one.
We wouldn't know about this event if blogs didn't exist. Nothing from the paper or City until is shows up here and the Mayor is forced to admit that something happened.
Even a press release or a City information blog would have been responsible. Nothing is not doing your job and I'm talking about the Mayor and City!
Actually a mugging with a real victim, taken to Cottage, did occur on Shoreline Drive about 10 days or two weeks ago. ago. If you wanted to you could look it up. It was in the evening, it was my neighbor. He was robbed and struck on the head with some type of blunt object. It is not a myth, it is not a conspiracy either. It is just that life in Santa Barbara has never been accurately reported in the local media. Never. The only people that see it everytime and everyday are the ER nurses, cops and firefighters and medics. Wake up. This predates all the Wendy, Marty, Travis baloney.
Nice to see the Mayor comment here, but the truth is nobody is saying that the City Government is withholding information. The news media are not picking it up. The police blotter is there for any reporter to check out, and the scanner traffic likewise. Personally I think the new Noozhawk would be the best spot for this -- let's hope they pick up the ball on this...
Now we have two crimes: the Shoreline park mugging and the Sperimint Rhino crime .... I am losing track.
The Mayor scolds us about crime speculation yet it appears even she did not know which crime the nippers.com blog was talking about and then introduces yet another Speriment Rhino crime.
This is going from bad to worse. I thought Blum was offering helpful insight at first. Now it appears no one has an handle on how bad things are really getting in this town.
Rather than being scolded by our fair Mayoress, would it have been better to recognize leaderless people subsisting only on a diet of rumor and partial news needed a voice of factual information and guideance?
Let's have a redo of this potentionally noble moment of civic leadership.
The Mayor should have replaced the Chief of Police a long time ago. This lack of leadership is significant, she has focused on the wrong blue line.
"Civilians don't tell the police when to report reports."
Hmmm...Wrong! Civilians are exactly who tell the police what to do and when.
It's the constant hero worshiping propaganda that instills the "above the law" superiority attitude in most police organizations.
It's the constant fear mongering that allows them to put a stranglehold on public budgets with union threats of anarchy if they don't get their six figure comp packages and guaranteed retirements for life. Who cares about the "civilian" needs as long as the cops get theirs.
It's enough to make a civilian puke.
Police rarely stop crime from happening. They merely show up after the fact to file the report and become the first step in dispensing justice after the fact.
Anon 10/22/2007 8:28 PM please read the SB Scholarship Foundation letter in their insert to this weeks Independent that says they turned down alot of scholarship requests!
Maybe next time you won't write an uninformed response like this: "fact is that the Santa Barbara Scholarship Foundatio is one of the most generous non-profits in America and provides millions in student aid to local kids every year. IF a child is bright, motivated, and guided in the right directions by his/her parents then "EVERY SINGLE KID IN SB HAS A SHOT AT A DECENT COLLEGE OR TRADE SCHOOL TOTALLY PAID FOR - BAR NONE."
We'll not every "child is bright, motivated, and guided in the right directions by his/her parents" and while SBSF is a great charity and does give away millions, they don't even have enough for those who asked. So every kid in SB doesn't have that chance, do they?
You also missed the point. There is alot of frivolous fundraising activity that could be better channeled to make SB truly a better place to live, especially for those we call "gangbangers" and "at-risk youth", if we wanted to.
If we acted a little like the proverbial "Village" rather than a bunch of cocktail swilling haters (of the pariah du jour) we might actually become a whiff of the "progressive community" we would like to hold ourselves up to be.
Have you heard about working class towns around the country where 4 years of university tuition is available to ANYONE who graduates from highschool in their district, sometimes completely underwritten by one individual??
Why isn't Santa Barbara on that list??? Good grief! we're supposedly one of the "wealthiest communities in the country"... (Isn't that what you told your Mom when you borrowed the money to move here last year?)
It's not because a 14 year old male Latino made a bad decision! Is it?
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