Portage's police chief says he wants residents to feel safe, despite some major incidents recently.
Chief Michael Candiano told the city council Tuesday that the overall number of incidents was down in November, but some of the ones that did happen were quite serious. "These are tough things to talk about," Candiano said. "They're tough to process, but unfortunately, these are the things that our officers, our firefighters are dealing with out there."
Last Friday, officers were responding to a report of a verbal disturbance that ended up being a murder-suicide. "Our first officers get out of the car and, as they're approaching the house, they hear six shots fired from within several feet of them," Candiano explained. "Obviously, they do what they need to do to regroup, take cover and make sure that they're not the ones being shot at. A short time later, a seventh gunshot goes off."
When officers forced their way in, Candiano said officers found two people dead and their daughter "very, very seriously injured."
He urged anyone experiencing domestic violence to seek help. "For anybody who's listening, I hope that you understand that there's people out here that want to help," Candiano said. "There's services out there. Call us. Call somebody. Let us intervene. Let us help out if we can."
On Monday night, officers responded to a marijuana deal that ended in a shootout, not far from the police station, Candiano said. He said a total of 18 rounds were shot, and two people were hurt. None of them were from Portage.
"Happy to report we have two in custody, currently, one on an attempted murder charge, one on a criminal recklessness charge, and we've got a third charge on somebody for neglect of a dependent because they brought their, I believe, five-year-old child to the drug deal/gunfight," Candiano said.
He said he's upset by these major crimes but happy that they're being solved. "I'm disgusted by what we're seeing around us," Candiano said. "I'm disgusted that individuals continue to come into our city and commit crimes. The majority of our major crimes continue to be committed by non-residents against non-residents."
Still, he said most residents aren't directly affected by these incidents and probably wouldn't even be aware of them if it weren't for social media. Mayor Austin Bonta, though, said he's resisted calls to stop sharing information with the media.
"Never," Bonta said. "We appreciate the transparency and that people know. The biggest deterrent we have to crime in Portage is knowing that if you come to Portage and commit a crime, you are going to get caught. You're going to become known."
Bonta said that crime is to be expected in a city the size of Portage, located along major highways. He said the police department's efforts are "worth every penny."
