Red Words

A memo from City Manager N. Enrique Martinez's office states that officials do not yet know how much damage was caused by Wednesday's sewer backup. Martinez figures City Hall will be cleaned up in about two weeks and an industrial hygienist has taken samples from the contaminated areas of City Hall in order to figure out bacteria levels. A germ count is expected to be ready by Monday.

I called Police Chief Jim Bueermann to ask whether any evidence was compromised by the sewer leak. The PD stores evidence in a sub-basement below City Hall. The chief said it may take several weeks before officers know if the water damaged any important evidence. The worst-case scenario, he said, was for evidence from a murder case to be damaged somehow.

Redlands Police don't throw out evidence from homicides, even if the case has been adjudicated, Bueermann said. Given the likelihood of appeal in a murder case (death penalty cases are always appealed in California) the officers keep evidence forever.

Bueermann is a vocal advocate for the police department's interests and he played the sewage mishap for an obvious angle when we talked on the phone. In Bueermann's words, the flood illustrates the need for new police facilities so officers don't have to worry about evidence being lost to another flood. I've seen older news stories about the possibility of a bond issue to finance a new police station but haven't written about the issue much myself.

I asked the chief if I had missed any new developments regarding police facilities and his reply was that the idea hasn't really moved anywhere. Redlands area voters will almost certainly be asked to approve a $65.5 million school bond in February, so we'll see if Redlanders are bonded-out by the time a public safety bond may be proposed for a ballot.