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KTVU has obtained the 911 audio from an incident at Lake Merritt that erupted into a national controversy involving a white woman -- since nicknamed “BBQ Becky” -- calling police on a black family using a charcoal grill.
KTVU 2 Investigates obtained the two phone calls through a California Public Records Act request that was initially denied by Oakland Police.
In the first phone call, the woman who identifies herself as Jennifer Schulte tells the dispatcher,
“I’d like to report that someone is illegally using a charcoal grill in a non-designated area in Lake Merritt Park near Cleveland Cascade. I’d like it dealt with immediately so that coals don’t burn more children and we have to pay more taxes.”
The dispatcher asks for a description of the person Schulte is calling about, and whether she wants the police to make contact with her when they arrive. She says yes. The call lasts less than two minutes.
However, the follow up 911 call placed by Schulte about two hours later takes a much different tone. Michelle Snider, the woman who took the original cell phone video of the incident that went viral, can be heard in the background.
The dispatcher – who is not the same one who answered the original call – seems confused about the situation and asks Schulte, “Who’s yelling in the background? Why is the person yelling? To panic over a barbecue? I don’t understand.”
Schulte responds “I don’t know” and dispatcher further asks if she can walk away from the situation, but she replies that Snider is following her.
The voice of Snider and other unidentified people in the background can be heard through much of the call, but their exact words are not always clear.
About a third of the way through the second 911 call, the dispatcher asks for Schulte’s name but she is reluctant to provide it or a description of herself when asked. Eventually she tells the dispatcher she is wearing a dark navy blue sweatshirt and jeans, and that she has shoulder-length brown hair. When the dispatcher asks for her race and age she says, “My race doesn’t matter.”
The dispatcher responds, “It does matter. How are we going to find you? Just any lady? Are you black or are you white?”
Schulte: “It doesn’t matter.. I want the police to come I’ve been waiting two hours for them.”
Dispatcher: “How are they going to find you?”
Schulte: “They usually call your cell phone when they’re here.”
Dispatcher: “I’m talking to you right now. Have you ever been to John George?”
Schulte: “What’s John George?”
Dispatcher: “It’s a mental facility.”
Schulte: “No!”
Dispatcher: “Ok, then. Please answer my question. They’re coming to you right now.”
Schulte continues to refuse to answer and the dispatcher tells her she’s going to hang up, before Schulte finally provides the information. When asked if the people she is reporting have a gun or a knife, she tells the dispatcher she doesn't know.
Verizon: No internet speed restrictions for West Coast first responders
Informational hearing scheduled Friday at state Capitol
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A nationwide telecommunications company that slowed internet service to firefighters as they battled the largest wildfire in California history says it has removed all speed cap restrictions for first responders on the West Coast.
Verizon Senior Vice President Mike Maiorana says the service restrictions were removed as of Thursday and include Hawaii, where emergency crews have rescued people from areas flooded by Hurricane Lane.
"In supporting first responders in the Mendocino fire, we didn’t live up to our own promise of service and performance excellence when our process failed some first responders on the line, battling a massive California wildfire," Maiorana said. "For that, we are truly sorry. And we’re making every effort to ensure that it never happens again."
Maiorana says that from now on Verizon will lift restrictions and provide full network access to first responders during disasters.
"We’ve been working closely with mission critical first responders to refine our service plan to better meet their unique needs," Maiorana said. "As a result, we’re introducing a new plan that will feature unlimited data, with no caps on mobile solutions and automatically includes priority access. We’ll provide full details when we introduce the plan next week, and we will make it easy to upgrade service at no additional cost."
The Santa Clara County Fire Department says in a lawsuit that Verizon slowed its internet communications at a Northern California wildfire command center three weeks ago.
California lawmakers are holding an informational hearing Friday at the state Capitol to discuss what happened.
Verizon Wireless' throttling of a fire department that uses its data services has been submitted as evidence in a lawsuit that seeks to reinstate federal net neutrality rules.
"County Fire has experienced throttling by its ISP, Verizon," Santa Clara County Fire Chief Anthony Bowden wrote in a declaration. "This throttling has had a significant impact on our ability to provide emergency services. Verizon imposed these limitations despite being informed that throttling was actively impeding County Fire's ability to provide crisis-response and essential emergency services."
Bowden's declaration was submitted in an addendum to a brief filed by 22 state attorneys general, the District of Columbia, Santa Clara County, Santa Clara County Central Fire Protection District, and the California Public Utilities Commission. The government agencies are seeking to overturn the recent repeal of net neutrality rules in a lawsuit they filed against the Federal Communications Commission in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Throttling affected response to wildfire
"The Internet has become an essential tool in providing fire and emergency response, particularly for events like large fires which require the rapid deployment and organization of thousands of personnel and hundreds of fire engines, aircraft, and bulldozers," Bowden wrote.
Santa Clara Fire paid Verizon for "unlimited" data but suffered from heavy throttling until the department paid Verizon more, according to Bowden's declaration and emails between the fire department and Verizon that were submitted as evidence.
The throttling recently affected "OES 5262," a fire department vehicle that is "deployed to large incidents as a command and control resource" and is used to "track, organize, and prioritize routing of resources from around the state and country to the sites where they are most needed," Bowden wrote.
"OES 5262 also coordinates all local government resources deployed to the Mendocino Complex Fire," an ongoing wildfire that is the largest in California's history, Bowden wrote.
The vehicle has a device that uses a Verizon SIM card for Internet access.
"In the midst of our response to the Mendocino Complex Fire, County Fire discovered the data connection for OES 5262 was being throttled by Verizon, and data rates had been reduced to 1/200, or less, than the previous speeds," Bowden wrote. "These reduced speeds severely interfered with the OES 5262's ability to function effectively. My Information Technology staff communicated directly with Verizon via email about the throttling, requesting it be immediately lifted for public safety purposes."
Verizon did not immediately restore full speeds to the device, however.
"Verizon representatives confirmed the throttling, but rather than restoring us to an essential data transfer speed, they indicated that County Fire would have to switch to a new data plan at more than twice the cost, and they would only remove throttling after we contacted the Department that handles billing and switched to the new data plan," Bowden wrote.
Verizon “risking harm to public safety”
Because the throttling continued until the department was able to upgrade its subscription, "County Fire personnel were forced to use other agencies' Internet Service Providers and their own personal devices to provide the necessary connectivity and data transfer capability required by OES 5262," Bowden wrote.
Verizon throttling also affected the department in a response to previous fires in December and June, emails show.
Bowden argued that Verizon is likely to keep taking advantage of emergencies in order to push public safety agencies onto more expensive plans.
"In light of our experience, County Fire believes it is likely that Verizon will continue to use the exigent nature of public safety emergencies and catastrophic events to coerce public agencies into higher-cost plans, ultimately paying significantly more for mission-critical service—even if that means risking harm to public safety during negotiations," Bowden wrote.
UPDATE: In a statement to Ars three hours after this article was published, Verizon acknowledged that it shouldn't have continued throttling the fire department's data service after the department asked Verizon to lift the throttling restrictions.
"Regardless of the plan emergency responders choose, we have a practice to remove data speed restrictions when contacted in emergency situations," Verizon's statement said. "We have done that many times, including for emergency personnel responding to these tragic fires. In this situation, we should have lifted the speed restriction when our customer reached out to us. This was a customer support mistake. We are reviewing the situation and will fix any issues going forward."
Verizon also noted that the fire department purchased a data service plan that is slowed down after a data usage threshold is reached. But Verizon said it "made a mistake" in communicating with the department about the terms of the plan.
"We made a mistake in how we communicated with our customer about the terms of its plan," Verizon said. "Like all customers, fire departments choose service plans that are best for them. This customer purchased a government contract plan for a high-speed wireless data allotment at a set monthly cost. Under this plan, users get an unlimited amount of data but speeds are reduced when they exceed their allotment until the next billing cycle."
Verizon also said that the Santa Clara "situation has nothing to do with net neutrality or the current proceeding in court."
Throttling happened after net neutrality repeal
Verizon's throttling was described in fire department emails beginning June 29 of this year, just weeks after the FCC's repeal of net neutrality rules took effect.
Even when net neutrality rules were in place, all major carriers imposed some form of throttling on unlimited plans when customers used more than a certain amount of data. They argued that it was allowed under the rules' exception for "reasonable network management." But while such throttling is generally applied only during times of network congestion, the Santa Clara Fire Department says it was throttled at all times once the device in question went over a 25GB monthly threshold.
Even if Verizon's throttling didn't technically violate the no-throttling rule, Santa Clara could have complained to the FCC under the now-removed net neutrality system, which allowed Internet users to file complaints about any unjust or unreasonable prices and practices. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's decision to deregulate the broadband industry eliminated that complaint option and also limited consumers' rights to sue Internet providers over unjust or unreasonable behavior.
Emails between fire department and Verizon
On June 29, Fire Captain Justin Stockman wrote an email to Verizon, noting that download speeds for an essential device used during large disasters had been throttled from 50Mbps to about 30kbps.
A Verizon government accounts manager named Silas Buss responded, saying that the fire department would have to move from a $37.99 plan to a $39.99 plan "to get the data speeds restored on this device." Later, Buss suggested that the department switch to a plan that cost at least $99.99 a month.
Stockman didn't have authority to upgrade the plan, so he sent an email to Deputy Chief Steve Prziborowski that same day. Stockman wrote:
Verizon is currently throttling OES 5262 so severely that it's hampering operations for the assigned crew. This is not the first time we have had this issue. In December of 2017 while deployed to the Prado Mobilization Center supporting a series of large wildfires, we had the same device with the same SIM card also throttled. I was able to work through [Fire Department IT executive] Eric Prosser at the time to have service to the device restored, and Eric communicated that Verizon had properly re-categorized the device as truly "unlimited".
Prziborowski expressed concern about the throttling in an email to Buss. "Before I give you my approval to do the $2.00 a month upgrade, the bigger question is why our public safety data usage is getting throttled down?" Prziborowski wrote. "Our understanding from Eric Prosser, our former Information Technology Officer, was that he had received approval from Verizon that public safety should never be gated down because of our critical infrastructure need for these devices."
While fire department personnel thought they were already paying for "truly" unlimited data, Verizon said they weren't.
"The short of it is, public safety customers have access to plans that do not have data throughput limitations," Buss told Prziborowski. "However, the current plan set for all of SCCFD's lines does have data throttling limitations. We will need to talk about making some plan changes to all lines or a selection of lines to address the data throttling limitation of the current plan."
The emails started up again on July 5 and 6. "Can confirm that after using 25GB of data, our service drops to zero. This is unacceptable and needs to be fixed," fire department IT officer Daniel Farrelly wrote.
Buss clarified that "data throughput is limited to 200Kbps or 600Kbps" after 25GB of use. Buss also told fire officials that all Verizon plans have some sort of throttling and that the department would have to pay by the gigabyte to avoid throttling entirely.
Buss wrote:
Verizon has always reserved the right to limit data throughput on unlimited plans. All unlimited data plans offered by Verizon have some sort of data throttling built-in, including the $39.99 plan. Verizon does offer plans with no data throughput limitations; these plans require that the customer pay by the GB for use beyond a certain set allotment.
The Mendocino fire began on July 27. On the night of Sunday, July 29, Stockman sent an email to Bowden:
OES 5262 is deployed again, now to the Mendocino Complex, and is still experiencing the same throttling. As I understood it from our previous exchange regarding this device, the billing cycle was set to end July 23, which should have alleviated the throttling. In a side-by-side comparison, a crew member's personal phone using Verizon was seeing speeds of 20Mbps/7Mbps. The department Verizon device is experiencing speeds of 0.2Mbps/0.6Mbps, meaning it has no meaningful functionality.
Farrelly wrote a brief email to Buss that night, telling him to "Remove any data throttling on OES5262 effective immediately." Farrelly emailed Buss again the next morning, saying, "Please work with us. All we need is a plan that does not offer throttling or caps of any kind."
Buss responded that afternoon, suggesting a plan that costs $99.99 for the first 20GB and $8 per gigabyte thereafter. "To get the plan changed immediately, I would suggest calling in the plan change to our customer service team," Buss wrote.
That was the last email submitted in the court exhibit.
Santa Clara apparently switched to the $99.99 plan, more than doubling its bill. "While Verizon ultimately did lift the throttling, it was only after County Fire subscribed to a new, more expensive plan," Bowden wrote in his declaration.
CAL FIRE Investigators Determine Cause of Four Wildfires in Butte and Nevada Counties
2017 October Fire Siege Map
Sacramento – After extensive and thorough investigations, CAL FIRE investigators have determined that four Northern California wildfires in last year’s October Fire Siege were caused by trees coming into contact with power lines. The four fires, located in Butte and Nevada counties, are the first fire investigations from last October to be completed. CAL FIRE investigators were dispatched to the fires last year and immediately began working to determine their origin and cause. The Department continues to investigate the remaining 2017 fires, both in October and December, and will release additional reports as they are completed. The October 2017 Fire Siege involved more than 170 fires and charred more than 245,000 acres in Northern California. More than 11,000 firefighters from 17 states helped battle the blazes. Below is a summary of the four completed investigations: • The La Porte Fire, in Butte County, started in the early morning hours of Oct. 9 and burned a total of 8,417 acres, destroying 74 structures. There were no injuries to civilians or firefighters. CAL FIRE has determined the fire was caused by tree branches falling onto PG&E power lines. CAL FIRE investigators determined there were no violations of state law related to the cause of this fire. • The McCourtney Fire, in Nevada County, started the evening of Oct. 8 and burned a total of 76 acres, destroying 13 structures. There were no injuries to civilians or firefighters. CAL FIRE has determined the fire was caused by a tree falling onto PG&E power lines. The investigation found evidence that PG&E allegedly failed to remove a tree from the proximity of a power line, in violation of the state Public Resources Code section 4293. • The Lobo Fire, in Nevada County, started the evening of Oct. 8 and burned a total of 821 acres, destroying 47 structures. There were no injuries to civilians or firefighters. CAL FIRE has determined the fire was caused by a tree contacting PG&E power lines. The investigation found evidence that Public Resources Code section 4293, which requires adequate clearance between trees and power lines, was allegedly violated.
• The Honey Fire, in Butte County, started in the early morning hours of Oct. 9 and burned a total of 76 acres. There were no injuries to civilians or firefighters and no structures were destroyed. CAL FIRE has determined the fire was caused by an Oak branch contacting PG&E power lines. The investigation found evidence that Public Resources Code 4293, which requires adequate clearance between trees and power lines, was allegedly violated. The McCourtney, Lobo, Honey investigations have been referred to the appropriate county District Attorney’s offices for review. Californians are encouraged to remain vigilant and prepared for wildfire. For more information, visit www.readyforwildfire.org or www.fire.ca.gov CONTACT: Scott McLean Chief of Public Information Phone: (530) 227-3571 @CALFIRE_PIO RELEASE DATE: May 25, 2018 CAL FIRE NEWS RELEASE # # #
CAL FIRE is suspending all burn permits for outdoor burning within the State Responsibility Area and in CAL FIRE Contract area’s of the following 3 counties: San Francisco - San Mateo - Santa Cruz
Ban on Open Burning Preparation for Red Flag Warning
Felton – In preparation for the forecasted wind event this weekend, CAL FIRE is pre-positioning extra Fire Equipment and Personnel in the San Mateo – Santa Cruz Unit. In addition, CAL FIRE is suspending all burn permits for outdoor burning within the State Responsibility Area and in CAL FIRE Contract area’s of the following 3 counties: San Francisco - San Mateo - Santa Cruz This suspension takes effect Friday, December 15, 2017 at 6:00 p.m. and bans all outdoor burning except for campfires within organized campgrounds or on private property with landowner permission. Campfires may be permitted if the campfire is maintained in such a manner as to prevent its spread to the wildland. A campfire permit can be obtained at local fire stations and online at PreventWildfireCA.org. It is anticipated that the suspension will be lifted on Tuesday December 19th. The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for the higher elevations of the San Francisco and Monterey Bay Areas. This will involve Gusty North and Northeast winds, Low Humidity and Increased Fire danger. This watch is for the period of 10 pm, Friday to 10 am Sunday. Even after the significant rainfall accumulation the region received during November, the past two weeks has been dry, warm and windy. This weather has created conditions which have effectively negated the moisture received last month. CAL FIRE reminds residents that burning during this ban and under these conditions could result in a citation. In addition, a person burning during these and other conditions can be held both financially and criminally responsible for any fire that escapes their control. Keep in mind, now is the time to start planning your defensible space around your home for next year’s fire season. For more information visit: www.PreventWildfireCA.org or www.fire.ca.gov. Tweet
URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE North Bay Mountains - East Bay Hills and the Diablo Range - Santa Cruz Mountains - Santa Lucia Mountains and Los Padres National Forest - Mountains Of San Benito County And Interior Monterey CountyIncluding Pinnacles National Park
URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service San Francisco CA
200 AM PST Fri Dec 15 2017
...Gusty northerly winds will combine with very low humidity
values Friday evening through Sunday morning...
.A dry system moving in from the north late on Friday will
produce a combination of gusty winds and low humidity values. Due
to these factors and the recently long stretch of warm and dry
conditions, a very elevated fire weather risk can be expected
particularly for higher elevation locations.
CAZ507-511-512-517-518-152200-
/O.UPG.KMTR.FW.A.0005.171216T0600Z-171217T1800Z/
/O.NEW.KMTR.FW.W.0009.171216T0600Z-171217T1800Z/
North Bay Mountains-East Bay Hills and the Diablo Range-
Santa Cruz Mountains-
Santa Lucia Mountains and Los Padres National Forest-
Mountains Of San Benito County And Interior Monterey County
Including Pinnacles National Park-
200 AM PST Fri Dec 15 2017
...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM THIS EVENING TO 10 AM
PST SUNDAY FOR GUSTY WINDS AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY...
The National Weather Service in San Francisco has issued a Red
Flag Warning, which is in effect from 10 PM this evening to 10 AM
PST Sunday. The Fire Weather Watch is no longer in effect.
* WIND...Northerly winds of 15 to 30 mph with local gusts over
50 mph. Strongest gusts will be over the North Bay Mountains
and East Bay Hills.
* HUMIDITY...Minimum humidity readings of 10 to 20% during the
day. Nighttime maximum humidity readings will likely recover
early in the night then drop of 25 to 35%.
* HIGHEST THREAT...Elevations above 1000 ft, especially the North
Mountains and East Bay Hills.
* IMPACTS...Any fires that develop will likely spread rapidly.
Outdoor burning is not recommended.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions
are either occurring now...or will shortly. A combination of
strong winds...low relative humidity...and warm temperatures can
contribute to extreme fire behavior.
#LODD #ThomasFire, 4th Largest Blaze in State’s History, Claims Life of Firefighter in Fillmore Area.
A Cal Fire engineer from the agency's CAL FIRE San Diego Unit has died in the Thomas Fire, which has burned 249,500 acres — about 390 square miles — in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties on Thursday, officials said. The blaze, which was 35 percent contained as of Thursday evening, has cost about $82 million so far, according to authorities. "I am very saddened to report that a firefighter fatality has occurred on the Thomas Incident," Chief Ken Pimlott said in a news release Thursday afternoon. The engineer, 32-year-old Cory Iverson of Cal Fire's San Diego unit, was killed battling the fire's east flank alongside his strike team in Fillmore, officials said. New evacuations were issued for the Fillmore area on Thursday afternoon, and a community meeting was planned in the small Ventura County community at 7:30 p.m. at Fillmore Middle School, 543 A St.
****REMINDER**** Every fire has the ability to be catastrophic. The wildland fire management environment has profoundly changed. Growing numbers of communities, across the nation, are experiencing longer fire seasons; more frequent, bigger, and more severe, fires are a real threat. Be careful with all campfires and equipment.
"I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts, and beer." --Abraham Lincoln
