The top law enforcement leaders in San Diego County are sounding the alarm about a concerning increase in overdose deaths related to fentanyl, especially among younger people. The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, Sheriff’s Department and Police Chiefs’ and Sheriff’s Association are pushing out the warning on social media in an effort to educate youth and parents that if the pill you’re taking didn’t come from a pharmacy, it could kill you. [TWEET THIS]

In 2019, there were 151 fentanyl-related overdose deaths in San Diego County. According to the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office, there were 461 fentanyl-related overdose deaths in San Diego County in 2020, triple the number from the year before. While still early, the projection for 2021 is 700 such overdose deaths.

The District Attorney’s Office is part of the Narcotics Task Force Team 10, which responds to an average of 5 to 6 calls per week; most of them fatal overdoses and most involving a fentanyl-related overdose. The deaths are occurring in every part of the county and affecting every demographic.

“Parents are finding their children dead from fentanyl overdoses, boyfriends finding their girlfriends dead, and children are being put at risk by this alarming spike,” said DA Summer Stephan. “We’ve been sounding this alarm for years but the problem is only getting worse. Our office continues to focus on awareness campaigns while at the same time stepping up our prosecutions of street dealers who know their product is suspect in an attempt to try and save lives. Fentanyl laced drugs continue to be sold on the streets and we need to get the word out that you never know what you’re taking if it’s not from a pharmacy.”

“Our mission is to save lives,” said Sheriff Bill Gore. “Sheriff’s Deputies were the first in the Western United States to carry a nasal spray called Naloxone to counter the effects of an opioid overdose. So far this year, we have saved 59 people from overdosing. These are people deputies and medical staff have encountered on patrol, courthouses and our jails. We also offer safe options to get rid of expired, unused and unwanted medication. No questions asked. Go to sdsheriff.gov to find a Sheriff’s drop box location near you. Now more than ever, we must stay alert against drug misuse and abuse.”

In January of this year, an active firefighter overdosed and died from fentanyl.  In February, two women in Point Loma smoked what they thought was methamphetamine and went to bed. The methamphetamine turned out to have been mixed with fentanyl. One of the women woke up the next morning; the other did not.

In February of this year, an 8-month-old baby was treated at Rady’s Children Hospital after having ingested fentanyl while in the care of his mother and her boyfriend.  Administration of Naloxone by hospital staff saved the baby’s life.  The mother and her boyfriend, both with a history of drug use, are charged with felony child endangerment.

When appropriate, criminal charges are also filed against dealers whose sales result in an overdose death. Depending on the circumstances, these charges range from the sale of fentanyl causing great bodily injury to murder.  There are currently three defendants charged with a total of four murders for having sold fentanyl that resulted in deaths.

“As first responders, law enforcement officers see firsthand the destruction of drug overdose and the devastation it causes to families,” said Roxanna Kennedy, President of the San Diego County Police Chiefs’ and Sheriff’s Association. “People are dying every day. That’s why San Diego County law enforcement leaders are committed to bringing awareness to this issue. We all need to work together to educate our community including parents and young people.”

The District Attorney’s Office joined forces with the Health and Human Services Agency to launch a large scale outreach campaign last year, The San Diego Opioid Project, which included messaging about laced substances that can include deadly fentanyl.

When in a medical emergency, call 911. If you, or someone you know needs help for addiction, call San Diego County’s Access and Crisis Line at (888) 724-7240 or 2-1-1 San Diego for information and support. [TWEET THIS]

The District Attorney’s Office is warning the public about reports of advertisements on social media sites, such as Instagram, offering fake vaccination cards. This is a crime and anyone dealing in phony vaccination cards can be prosecuted with forging a seal or false personation of an official.

Vaccine record cards are intended to provide recipients of the COVID-19 vaccine with information about the type of vaccine they received, whether and when they need a second dose, and to provide to their primary health physicians to maintain accurate records. COVID-19 vaccine cards contain official U.S. government seals and unauthorized duplication of these seals is illegal in California, as well as a violation of federal criminal law.

In addition to putting yourself and others around you at risk of contracting COVID-19, you may be prosecuted for fraud. If you did receive the vaccine, do not post photos of your vaccine card to social media websites; your personal information could be stolen to commit fraud.

To report suspicious activity involving fake vaccination record cards, please contact the appropriate government agency in your state or jurisdiction, HHS-OIG (1-800-HHS-TIPS or www.oig.hhs.gov); or the Internet Crime Complaint Center (www.ic3.gov).

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan announced today that her office has created an app that provides key cultural knowledge about San Diego County’s various, diverse communities to help law enforcement officers respond respectfully during non-emergency situations. [TWEET THIS]

The Cultural Awareness Project (CAP App) was developed under the guidance of the DA’s Interfaith Advisory Board, which conducted focus groups with various community representatives to inform its content. The app provides information on cultural norms across 11 communities including African-American youth, Mexican/Mexican-American, Asian, Vietnamese, East African/Somali, East African/Somali Youth, Muslim, Samoan, Native American and more. For example, the app provides easy-to-read information on a group’s traditions and beliefs, greetings, what to expect when visiting households, and what the group’s historical experiences with law enforcement are.

“San Diego County is home to a variety of races, ethnicities, religions and cultural backgrounds,” DA Summer Stephan Said. “Building law enforcement’s understanding of our diverse communities helps to improve respectful and culturally competent communication. This new and innovative app has great promise to help advance trust between police and the communities they serve because it is a tool built by the community from the ground up. I want to thank the members of our DA Interfaith Advisory Board for devoting months of time gathering the pertinent information and making this app a reality.”

The San Diego Police Chiefs’ and Sheriff’s Association also embraced the app.

“Developing cultural competencies is an important part of modern policing,” Chief David Nisleit, said. “I want to thank all of the community groups for their collaboration on this project.”

The District Attorney’s Interfaith Advisory Board was formed over a decade ago as a way of maintaining an open dialogue between the DA’s Office and the various communities throughout San Diego County. Each month, leaders from a variety of religious organizations meet at the DA’s CARE Center where they voice community concerns and work on solution-oriented initiatives to address the needs they identify as public safety issues. The Board has and will continue to provide cultural insight to law enforcement officials in non-emergency situations.

“Whenever there’s a job to do, you must have the right tools to accomplish the job,” said Dr. Gerald L. Johnson, Chairman of United African American Ministerial Action Council and member of the DA’s Interfaith Advisory Board. “All jobs are important, especially those of our professionals who are sworn to public safety. We will witness the importance of the CAP App as the testimonies are documented from the community and professionals alike sharing the same tool.”

Members of the Interfaith Advisory Board worked on the CAP App since the idea was conceived.

“It’s very important to have our local law enforcement officers equipped with the accurate information on the communities they serve and protect,” said Imam Taha Hassane, Director of the Islamic Center of San Diego and a member of the DA’s Interfaith Advisory Board.

Each of the 11 communities has four categories of information, and each category provides culturally based knowledge to guide interactions with members of that community:

Traditions and Beliefs

Every community shares different cultural/ethnic/religious traditions or beliefs of which law enforcement needs to be aware of to have effective encounters.

Greetings

This category reflects the appropriate manner of greeting in different cultures, including demeanor, non-verbal, body space, handshake, bow, male-female interaction, etc.

Visiting Households

The information provided under this category helps officers identify who is considered the head of the household in each culture and who should be addressed or acknowledged first.

Experiences with Law Enforcement

This section includes shared views, perceptions and past experiences with law enforcement in different cultures that reflect certain behaviors upon contact with the officers.

The app is intended to help prepare law enforcement before encountering a member of the public from a different culture in a non-emergency situation. It is an easy and quick tool to navigate, before an interaction in the field, especially when conducting home visits. The app will also be helpful as a debriefing resource when an encounter has not gone well.

The CAP app is free and available and ready to download in the Apple and Android app stores under “Cultural Awareness Project.” The app does not have access to a user’s camera or contacts. [TWEET THIS]

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan announced today that a parole hearing will occur tomorrow for Mark “Gator” Rogowski, 54, who was convicted of rape and murder in 1992. Rogowski is serving a sentence of 31 years-to-life for the murder of Jessica Bergsten.

Rogowski was a nationally known skateboard personality from Carlsbad who rose to prominence in the 1980s. On March 21, 1991, he raped and murdered 22-year old Jessica Bergsten and transported her body to a remote desert area, where her skeletal remains were found several weeks later.

The skater had previously been denied parole in 2011 and 2016 but was granted parole on his third try in December 2019, when a panel of parole hearing officers found that he was suitable for release. Governor Newsom disagreed and reversed the decision in April 2020. He is currently incarcerated at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, where the hearing will be held.

“The family and friends of Jessica Bergsten deserve the continued promise of justice in this case,” DA Summer Stephan said. “Our office has a responsibility to argue strongly against releasing this violent defendant. We handle hundreds of parole hearings each year, doing our best when it’s appropriate to make sure dangerous criminals are not released and crime victims are given a voice.”

At the time of the murder, Rogowski’s girlfriend had broken up with him. In addition, skateboarding was changing from ramps to the street. Rogowski did not think he could do well on street skating and saw his lucrative career coming to an end. He was also upset over his relationship with Bergsten coming to an end. Rogowski hit Bergsten on the head with The Club (a steering wheel locking device), raped her and suffocated her in a surfboard bag. He confessed to the crime several weeks later.

Deputy District Attorney John Cross will appear on behalf of the People at tomorrow’s hearing to argue that Rogowski remains an unreasonable risk of danger to society. One of the victim’s family members will also attend the hearing and is expected to provide a victim impact statement regarding the effects of the crime upon their family and the unsuitability of the inmate for parole.

The hearing will take place tomorrow, May 27 at 10:30 a.m. in a closed session that is not accessible to the public.

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan announced today that her office has been recognized with an Achievement Award for its new Workplace Justice Unit, from the National Association of Counties (NACo). The awards honor innovative, effective county government programs that strengthen services for residents. [TWEET THIS]

In February, the District Attorney’s Office launched its Workplace Justice Unit, which is dedicated to protecting workers’ rights, prosecuting criminal wage theft cases and stopping labor trafficking. In launching the unit, DA Stephan took into consideration community response and hosted a workplace justice panel in partnership with San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher, to identify ways to better-protect workers across the county, many of whom come from minority and disadvantaged communities.

“We accept this national award on behalf of all workers and those who advocate on their behalf. We appreciate the advocates who have trusted our DA Workplace Justice team with the labor abuses committed on workers,” DA Summer Stephan said. “Wage theft and labor trafficking are serious problems that we are working to contain in partnership with the community. We’re not going to allow workers in San Diego County to be exploited by greedy employers who break the law to line their own pockets and this award confirms we are on the right track.”

The DA’s new Workplace Justice Unit is comprised of a dedicated prosecutor, DA investigator and paralegal. The Unit prosecutes unfair business practices, wage and hour violations, payroll tax evasion, wage theft and labor trafficking cases. As part of the formation of the Unit, the DA’s Insurance Fraud Division was re-named the Insurance Fraud and Workplace Justice Division.

To more effectively protect workers and seek equitable workplace justice, the DA’s Office is educating the public on worker rights through a wallet or palm card in English and Spanish and has created a public web page where anyone can obtain information about workplace justice and where victims of workplace crimes can report directly to the District Attorney’s Office. In addition, workers can also email or call the workplace justice hotline to make a report or report claims directly on the DA’s website.

NACo President Gary Moore said, “Over the past year, county officials and frontline employees have demonstrated bold, inspirational leadership. This year’s Achievement Award winning programs illustrate the innovative ways counties build healthy, safe and vibrant communities across America.”

Nationally, awards are given in 18 different categories that reflect the vast, comprehensive services counties provide. The categories include children and youth, criminal justice and public safety, county administration, information technology, health, civic engagement and many more.

Started in 1970, NACo’s annual Achievement Awards program is designed to recognize county government innovations. Each nominee is judged on its own merits and not against other applications received. [TWEET THIS]