Sepulveda Case Leads To Review Of SWAT Procedure

As tragic as Alberto Sepulveda's death was, at least some good will come
from it. Special Weapons and Tactics team procedures and strategies used by
law enforcement agencies throughout California will be reviewed because of
the Sepulveda shooting in Modesto. That could well mean that some needless
deaths will be prevented in the future.

The 11-year-old boy was killed during an early morning drug raid on his
home by a blast from a police shotgun. A knife handle protruding from the
vest of Modesto SWAT team member David Hawn likely got caught in the
shotgun trigger guard and was pressed against the trigger by jostling in a
crowded hallway, investigators found. Stanislaus County District Attorney
James Brazelton said his office's investigation determined that as a "very
high probability." The Modesto Police Department investigation reached the
same conclusion.

An investigation by the state Attorney General's Office, made public along
with Brazelton's findings on Thursday, concurred. There was no evidence to
suggest that when the shotgun fired, Hawn was acting negligently,
recklessly or intentionally, the state investigation found.

Modesto isn't the only place where drug raids have gone wrong, but the
Sept. 13 tragedy is the one that convinced state Attorney General Bill
Lockyear to create a commission to lead a statewide review of how Special
Weapons and Tactics teams operate.

In addition to the obvious problem of protruding equipment, we would
suggest the commission also look at the way SWAT teams evaluate information
provided by federal agencies when they want help in securing and entering a
house. Sketchy information provided by federal officers, unverified by
Modesto police, was one of the problems which set up the Sepulveda tragedy.
Though there were three children in the home, federal officers told Modesto
police before the raid they had conducted surveillance and knew of no
children there.

Merced County is in the same fix as Stanislaus -- neither county has the
money it needs to build new roads and upgrade old ones to keep up with
increasing traffic demands. Both counties may ask voters to approve a
half-cent sales tax increase to pay for safer, smoother roads. If they do,
we suggest they do it together, perhaps in a special election set for next
spring with the road measure as the only item on the ballot so it can
receive undivided attention.

Speaking of Merced County, residents there are losing a good sheriff with
the upcoming resignation of Tom Sawyer, who is leaving to join a company
that builds jails and other industrial projects. Sawyer's resignation will
be effective May 4. He's done a fine job and will be missed.

Let's hope the luck of the Ripon Almond Blossom Festival holds and it
doesn't rain today or Sunday. The forecast says it will, though. Even if it
does, the festival is still worth taking in. Today's festivities in the
downtown area begin at 10 a.m. If you haven't tasted this festival before,
give it (and all the delicious almond samples) a try.

Thanks to Save Mart officials for going along with residents and agreeing
to save the remaining trees at the new shopping center going up at Scenic
Drive and Oakdale Road. No one liked seeing the big trees there cut down,
but they were spread among the county buildings that had to be cleared out
to allow construction of new stores. Saving them while the whole site was
being reconstructed was never an option.

The stately 50-foot-high eucalyptus trees that are being saved now,
however, are on the perimeter of the shopping center, giving Save Mart more
of a choice -- and the chance to show it wants to be a good neighbor.