Services for Correctional Officer Shawn Romero

Man arrested in crash that killed Corrections officer

Stockton Record — Police arrested a man on suspicion of murder, vehicular manslaughter and other crimes Thursday, a month after a collision authorities said he caused killed a member of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Police allege Matthew Luke, 25, was driving under the influence of alcohol when the accident occurred about 6 a.m. Oct. 7 in a rural part of southwest Stockton.

 Luke was traveling west on East Mariposa Road near Austin Road when he drove his 1998 Honda Accord into oncoming traffic in the eastbound lane, causing a collision involving two cars, a tractor-trailer and a motorcycle, authorities said.

 The motorcycle rider was Anthony Gentile, 41, a Corrections Department lieutenant who was working at the California Health Care Facility in Stockton, authorities said. He was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

 Police determined that Luke had a blood-alcohol content of 0.05 percent three hours after the collision occurred, said Officer Joe Silva, a spokesman for the Stockton Police Department. Luke had two prior convictions for driving under the influence, according to jail records, and was on probation at the time of the crash, police said.

 Luke was arrested on suspicion of murder, driving under the influence, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, infliction of great bodily injury and causing injury to multiple victims, jail records showed. He is being held without bail at the San Joaquin County Jail.

25th Anniversary of the California Vietnam Veterans Memorial

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CDCR officer killed while helping at traffic accident

Inside CDCR — California Department of Correction and Rehabilitation (CDCR) Lieutenant Anthony Gentile died doing what he had devoted his life to doing – keeping the public safe.

 Lt. Gentile, 42, was on his way to work at the California Health Care Facility, Stockton, about 6 a.m. Monday, Oct. 7 when he came upon a multiple-vehicle accident on Mariposa Road southwest of Stockton. Several other drivers were injured.

 When Lt. Gentile saw that no law enforcement officers had yet arrived at the scene, he pulled over and began directing traffic around the accident, to ensure no one else would be injured.

 According to authorities, he was struck and killed by a passing truck. The driver reported that he did not see Lt. Gentile.

 This is a tremendous loss for the CDCR family,” said Secretary Jeff Beard. “Lt. Gentile dedicated his career and his life to keeping others safe. On behalf of all of us at CDCR, I want to extend my deepest sympathies to his family, his friends, and his colleagues.”

 Lt. Gentile began his career with CDCR as a Correctional Officer at the Richard A. McGee Correctional Training Center in Galt. He then served at Folsom State Prison until his promotion to Correctional Sergeant in 2001, which took him to Mule Creek State Prison in Ione.

 In 2007, he returned to Folsom State Prison as a Correctional Lieutenant. He moved to the California Health Care Facility last year to help with the activation. continue reading...

Lathrop deputy credited for saving bleeding man

File Picture

LATHROP – The scene just didn’t look right to Lathrop Police Services’ deputy Jeff Watson. 

Parked on the side of I-5 was a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation transport van with both of the correctional officers standing outside of the vehicles with panicked looks on their faces.

So he stopped. And he was immediately told that an inmate was bleeding out in the back of the van and the two correctional officers didn’t know what to do. What Watson saw when he opened the back doors shook him. 

Inside was a naked, 300-pound man that was completely covered in blood. The man, who had tried to commit suicide earlier in the week by cutting his arms at Kern Valley State Prison, removed his staples and used them to fashion a crude cutting weapon in order to open the wounds even further. 

But he didn’t panic. With medical training as part of his background, he had the two CDCR staffers take the inmate from the transport unit, lay him flat out on the pavement, and immediately he began taking the steps to save the man’s life. He fashioned a tourniquet from a prison jumpsuit and using the fabric to soak up the blood pouring from his wounds. 

On Monday the Lathrop City Council commended Watson for his courage and his composure as Lathrop Police Chief Danelle Hohe presented him with a challenge coin from the prison’s warden. She also gave him a declaration thanking him for not allowing the inmate to die on his way to receive psychiatric care at Stockton’s new prison hospital. 

He also received a commendation from the San Joaquin County Sherriff’s Department for his bravery.

“You come to work every day and you don’t expect to come across something like that,” Watson said. “I have medical training in my background, so when I saw it, a different switch got flipped in my mind and I started thinking about things differently. You try not to get overwhelmed in a situation like that.”

Watson is no stranger to standing before the Lathrop City Council for special recognition. 

Last year he was declared a “hero” after he ran into a burning building to save a family’s pet before fire personnel arrived on scene, and he bestowed the same moniker upon a Lathrop High School student who stepped in to stop a brutal fight that could have had tragic consequences if left unchecked. 

The girl, then 16-year-old Asianya Jones, appeared with Watson before the council for special recognition from the City of Lathrop for her selfless act towards a fellow student.

When somebody recognizes you for the job that you do and they take the time to say thank-you or give you special recognition – it’s nice,” Watson said. “It’s not why you do the job, but it’s definitely rewarding knowing that somebody appreciates the effort that you put in.”

Manteca Bulletin

Prison facilities donate scrubs to health students

STOCKTON - After lugging several boxes of donated medical scrubs into the gym at Health Careers Academy, Cameron Lee paused for a moment and considered the true significance of the gift.

"It's good to know the community is helping us and knows that we can really change the future and make a big impact on society," said the 15-year-old Lee, a sophomore at Stockton Unified's small health high school on the University Park campus.

The school held an assembly Wednesday morning celebrating the gift of about 200 sets of new and used scrubs, which were collected from 34 prison hospitals in California, including the recently opened facility off Arch Airport Road.

Larry Fong, the chief executive officer for Stockton's new $900 million California Health Care Facility, said he hoped the gift would provide encouragement to the nearly 400 students at the school.

"There's a message behind it, that there are folks out there who care and are committed to your mission," Fong said.

Earlier, he had addressed HCA's freshmen, telling them, "Every one of you has the opportunity to choose your career path and chase your dreams. It can be done."

2013-2015 MOU Highlights

CCPOA Member Alert - August 30, 2013

2013-2015 MOU Highlights

Term of Contract § 27.03

• Two Year Contract - Expires July 2, 2015

Salary § 15.01

• 4% salary increase for ALL Unit 6 on January 1, 2015
• NO increase in union dues

41 Hour Work Week § 11.08, § 11.11, § 15.19

• Delete 28 day/164 Hour 7k work period, replace with 7 Day/41 Hour work period. (Effective February 2014)
• No flattening of overtime outside of 7 day work period

Health Benefits § 13.01

• Maintains State Contributions (current 80% for employees and dependents)

Personal Development Days (PDD) § 8.07

• Continue to receive 2 per year for term of the MOU

Drug & Alcohol Testing (Random & Reasonable) § 9.12 & § 9.13
(Previous § 9.12 deleted, § 9.13 and § 9.14 renumbered)

• No expansion of pool
• Restricted to substances listed
• Adopted DOT Guidelines to provide uniformity and consistency

Enhanced Industrial Disability Leave (EIDL) § 10.03

• Enhanced Appeals process to Secretary's Level
• Clarified circumstances for approval

Military Leave § 10.17

• RDO Change to accommodate military reserve weekend drill; employee is not required to utilize leave credits to attend military drill

Mutual Swaps § 11.04

• Holiday Pay for the employee who physically works the holiday
• No new restrictions on swaps

Business Travel Expenses & Per Diem § 12.03 & § 14.01

• Increased amounts for hotel and meal reimbursement during travel
• Amounts adjusted to prevent tax liability
• Per diem extended for life of Involuntary Assignment

Post & Bid § 12.07

• Reduced amount of time an employee can be removed from a bid position
• Clarified language re: Conditional and Continuous bid processes

Uniforms § 14.04 and Sideletter 3

• Joint workgroup to select alternative uniform, including possible alternate uniform shirt options; possible jumpsuits for MTAs

Salary Advances § 15.14 (New Section) (Previous § 15.14 re: PLP Merged with § 10.20)

• Requires a salary advance when regular pay is not received on time

998s & 634s § 18.01 (New Section) (Previous § 18.01-18.07 re: DJJ Field Paroles Deleted)

• No pay dock or Accounts Receivable for a missing 998/634 when no leave credits are used

Correctional Counselors § 20.02, § 20.04 & § 20.05

• Establish CCI Work Study Committee to address workload and policy issues
• Continued CPC (Correctional Policy Committee) to address 3rd Level grievances
• Standardized CCI vacation process

Parole Agents § 19.08

• Incorporate Workload Agreement, to include Ratio Driven Caseload Management Considerations
• Standardized rules for PA overtime (§ 12.05)

DJJ Post & Bid § 24.04 & § 24.08

• Post and Bid for YCOs & YCCs
• Added Conditional and Continuous Bid

No Reduction of Work Hours § 27.05 (New Section)

• No furloughs, PLP, or other mandated time off for the life of the MOU

Field Training Program ? Sideletter 6

• Meet and agree to establish FTO program for new officers
• Reduce academy to 12 weeks, add 1 week orientation, 3 weeks field training
• 5% pay differential for Field Trainers

Disciplinary Process § 9.14 (Previous § 9.15 renumbered)

• No loss of compensation to attend pre-hearing conference and evidentiary hearings