EAST BAY TIMES
Richmond cop makes his home in tough neighborhood
Therriault, a 32-year-old Montana native, moved into one of Richmond's toughest neighborhoods three years ago as part of the city's Police-in-Properties program. He lives in a one-bedroom apartment in Richmond Village, a low-income housing project that a few years ago was one of the city's most violent.
More than 100 people gathered at Nicholl Park Saturday to remember a 24-year-old man shot and killed during a midnight scuffle with a Richmond police officer. Family and friends recalled Richard “Pedie” Perez III as a good-natured prankster. One family member described him as a man, “who chose to be with the homeless, the addicts and the rejects.”
Loula Al Hamoud awoke abruptly to the sound of pounding at her door early one morning. It was urgent: Her neighbor was in labor. “What am I supposed to do?” Loula asked before being ushered into the woman’s room, which was now covered in blood. But the moment had already come. They wanted Loula to cut the umbilical cord, and she did with the blade of a razor. “I have a strong heart,” Loula said, “but I’ve never done this.”
RICHMOND CONFIDENTIAL
In a hail of bullets, Rodney Allen Frazier, 16, was dead
Rodney Allen Frazier loved motorbikes. He rode his favorite dirt bike home Friday night. He parked outside of the metal gate beside the curb. His aunt left the porch light on for him. It was well before his 10 p.m. curfew. Moments later a hail of bullets was fired from a car, and the driver sped away.
Things were looking up for Rusamie Ashly Phongphoumy, who had long dreamed of a better life. On the night of Nov. 29, her boyfriend proposed to her. She accepted. The couple made plans for the future.
Of the city’s full-time employees, 346 – more than half of all workers – surpassed the six-figure mark. The median household income in Richmond is $54,000.
Proposition 47, also known as the “Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act,” would downgrade six felony crimes, drug possession, grand theft, shoplifting, check forgery, receiving stolen property and writing bad checks.
Calling for an end to the deadly violence that flared in Richmond in recent weeks, a small group of community volunteers from Ceasefire marched through Pullman Point Friday night. “We’ve been working tirelessly in the community to reduce gun violence,” activist Tamisha Walker said.