This week, Mayors Robert Taylor of Brentwood, Laura Hoffmeister of Concord, Michael Metcalf of Moraga, Kevin Romick of Oakley and Victoria Smith of Orinda signed a letter identical to one sent last week by the mayors of El Cerrito, Hercules, Pinole, Richmond and San Pablo. The letters urge Brown to support funding for new surveillance cameras with recording capabilities and to upgrade Caltrans' existing camera network.
Antioch Mayor Wade Harper and Pittsburg Mayor Ben Johnson sent separate letters to Brown this week calling for a larger discussion of crime prevention techniques and tools.
District Attorney Mark Peterson wrote to the West County mayors earlier this week noting that even before they sent their letter to the governor, he had tasked a senior deputy district attorney to explore the use of cameras on freeways. That official has worked with the CHP, Caltrans and local agencies on "an implementation plan for integrated high-resolution pan-tilt zoom cameras; the installation of Shot Spotter technology; and license plate readers," Peterson wrote.
Since November, there have been more than two dozen shootings on East Bay freeways; four people have been killed, and at least 12 others were wounded. At least seven of the shootings occurred along Interstate 80 in West Contra Costa.
Additionally, there have been at least eight shootings since June in the Highway 4 corridor, including one in Pittsburg on May 11 that killed a Vallejo mother of four.
"The great majority of freeway shootings are gang-related," Peterson said in his letter. adding that victims, suspects and witnesses are often uncooperative, and that because the crimes occur at high speed, there often is little useful witness information or physical evidence.
The latest freeway shooting in Contra Costa County happened May 24 in Hercules when a man was shot in the leg as he traveled east on Interstate 80 just west of Highway 4.
In the wake of that shooting, Hercules Mayor Dan Romero started the current letter-writing drive, starting with the five West County mayors; the other four signatories are El Cerrito Mayor Greg Lyman; Pinole Mayor Roy Swearingen; Richmond Mayor Tom Butt; and San Pablo Mayor Rich Kinney.
©2016 the Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, Calif.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
