Kirk Palmer

Police captain to discuss division Glendale Police Capt. Kirk Palmer is scheduled to appear live on Vrej Agajanian?s TV show Wednesday on Channel 284. Palmer will discuss the purpose of the Administrative Services Division, which he oversees, and how it functions within the department. The show airs from 9 to 10 p.m. The viewer call-in phone number is (818) 662-9222. ? Paper, rangers topics of meeting Changes for the local newspaper and the city park ranger program are topics for the Crescenta Valley Community Assn.

Three masked men robbed Washington Mutual Bank on Friday morning, escaping with an undisclosed amount of cash. The men entered the bank at 500 N. Glendale Ave. at 11:37 a.m. wearing ski masks and brandishing guns. They told everyone to get down, then went from teller to teller taking cash, police said. They then drove off in a van, which was found abandoned a few blocks away on Doran Street. Police said LAPD confirmed the van was stolen. Officers searched the area but did not find the men. Glendale Police Sgt. Kirk Palmer said in similar robberies, the robbers will have an accomplice waiting nearby with another car. "It appears to have been very well planned and executed," Palmer said.

Gretchen Hoffman LA CRESCENTA -- A diplomat's daughter was found in Santa Monica Friday, two days after she ran away from her La Crescenta home, Glendale Police said. Hi-Jong Kim, 15, was discovered missing about 5:45 p.m. Wednesday, police said. Her father, Byung Ho Kim, is the Korean deputy consul general of Los Angeles. Based on information on a flier distributed by Glendale Police, Santa Monica Police recognized the girl at the Santa Monica Pier at about 10:50 a.m. on Friday, Glendale Police Sgt. Kirk Palmer said.

A boy was taken to County-USC Medical Center after he lost control of his car during a street race on Glenoaks Boulevard Thursday afternoon, police said. Witnesses told police they saw two cars going about 65 or 70 mph at Highland Avenue and Glenoaks Boulevard, police said. One of the cars appeared to "lock up," hit a curb and slid along the sidewalk before hitting a tree in the 900 block of Glenoaks Boulevard. The boy, 17, was conscious when firefighters pulled him from his car, Sgt. Kirk Palmer said.

Gretchen Hoffman NORTHWEST GLENDALE -- Glendale Police are looking for two men who posed as Glendale Water and Power employees and stole a ring and cash from a 71-year-old woman's home. The incident, which occurred Monday in the 900 block of East Dryden Street, might be related to a similar burglary Jan. 18, Sgt. Kirk Palmer said. In both incidents, two men carrying ID badges told an elderly woman they needed to check for a broken pipe and that the water could be contaminated, according to police.

Gretchen Hoffman Three women were hospitalized Thursday with minor injuries after a produce truck broadsided a car, which lost control and careened through a front door and into a living room. Police and 26 firefighters responded to the home in the 1800 block of Glenwood Road at about 10:35 a.m. Thursday, Capt. Robert Doyle said. Witnesses told officials the produce truck was driving "extremely fast" when it crashed into the blue sedan, which spun out and went into the house, Doyle said.

Alex Smothers Two men were arrested on suspicion of assaulting two bouncers at The Mix -- the third incident to try the patience of local law enforcement this month. The bar draws a larger crowd, and is one of the more active businesses that sells alcohol in the area in terms of police responses, Police Sgt. Kirk Palmer said. The men, 22 and 31, were fighting with four other men when security officers tried to break it up, a police report said.

A Glendale Police motor officer was injured Thursday afternoon when a tire from a car came loose and struck his motorcycle. The officer, whose name was not released, was on his way home from work near the Golden State (5) Freeway and the Antelope Valley (14) Freeway junction when the tire careened across the freeway about 4:20 p.m. and struck his department motorcycle, Glendale Police spokesman Sgt. Kirk Palmer said. The officer maintained control of the motorcycle, but suffered an injury to his left arm. Additional information about his injury was not available.

arm A Glendale woman was in critical condition Friday after her minivan rolled over her. Suzanne Bangert, 61, was parked in the driveway of her house in the 1400 block of Hillcrest Avenue about 9 a.m. Friday when she apparently got out and somehow got tangled with her 2002 Toyota Sienna minivan, Glendale Police spokesman Sgt. Kirk Palmer said. The car rolled back 40 feet and stopped when it hit a tree, Palmer said, pinning the woman's right arm under the van's left front tire.

CITY HALL — Police officials assured at least one Glendale Police Advisory Council member Monday night that the turmoil consuming Burbank’s finest was a far cry from things here. Advisory council member Mike Gomez said he wanted to prevent tragic incidents similar to those that recently occurred in Burbank from happening in Glendale. He cited the recent public suicide of Burbank Police Sgt. Neil Thomas Gunn and the decision by Burbank Police Chief Tim Stehr to step down at year’s end amid a slate of outside investigations, including by the FBI. “What assurances do you provide us .

GLENDALE — A new policing strategy that will divide the city into four command areas is scheduled to take effect Oct. 11, police officials said. The new strategy is part of a reorganization of the Police Department spurred in large part by the deep citywide budget cutting early this summer and should lead to stronger ties between beat patrol officers and the communities in their respective districts, officials said. Under the new structure, Glendale will be divided into four command areas to be overseen by a lieutenant who will coordinate regular patrols and targeted enforcement to address specific community needs and trends, said Interim Police Chief Ron De Pompa.

Police captain to discuss division Glendale Police Capt. Kirk Palmer is scheduled to appear live on Vrej Agajanian?s TV show Wednesday on Channel 284. Palmer will discuss the purpose of the Administrative Services Division, which he oversees, and how it functions within the department. The show airs from 9 to 10 p.m. The viewer call-in phone number is (818) 662-9222. ? Paper, rangers topics of meeting Changes for the local newspaper and the city park ranger program are topics for the Crescenta Valley Community Assn.

CENTRAL GLENDALE — The city's Police Department honored the rise of 10 officers and staff members within its ranks at a light-hearted promotions ceremony Thursday evening at the Glendale Police Station. Five professional staff members, two lieutenants, two sergeants and a captain were among the promotions celebrated at the ceremony. For the highest-ranked officer promoted, Capt. Kirk Palmer, Chief Randy Adams wasted no time in poking fun at what could prove to be a career-long reference.

Darleene Barrientos An investigation into a traffic accident involving a Glendale Police officer continued Tuesday as all five people injured in the crash recovered. Glendale Police Officer Michael Tollack, 24, who has worked for the department for two years, was driving with his emergency lights and sirens on about 9 p.m. Sunday when he collided with a 1991 Toyota Corolla driven by Edris Massihi, 40, of Glendale. The collision, at Colorado Street and Verdugo Road, caused a third car, a 1985 Mazda 626 driven by Andranik Toutouian, 52, of Glendale, to also crash, Glendale Police spokesman Lt. Kirk Palmer said.

Shooting at pool hall injures woman NORTHWEST GLENDALE -- A 24-year-old Los Angeles woman was shot in the leg early Saturday morning by an unidentified man during an argument at a local pool hall, police said. Glendale Police received several 911 calls beginning at 1:12 a.m. Saturday and responded to the parking lot at Charles Billiard, 224 N. Brand Blvd., where Sabrina Slaven was found injured with a gunshot wound to her right leg, Sgt. Kirk Palmer said.

A Glendale Police motor officer was injured Thursday afternoon when a tire from a car came loose and struck his motorcycle. The officer, whose name was not released, was on his way home from work near the Golden State (5) Freeway and the Antelope Valley (14) Freeway junction when the tire careened across the freeway about 4:20 p.m. and struck his department motorcycle, Glendale Police spokesman Sgt. Kirk Palmer said. The officer maintained control of the motorcycle, but suffered an injury to his left arm. Additional information about his injury was not available.

Darleene Barrientos Most violent crimes in Glendale saw a considerable drop during most of 2003, but the number of homicides actually doubled, contrary to statistics released by the state Department of Justice for January through September last year. According to the statistics, the numbers for homicide dropped from nine in 2002 to five in 2003, but six of the homicides in 2002 were actually committed in 1996 and 1997 by Glendale Adventist Medical Center respiratory therapist Efren Saldivar.

A transient man was being held Wednesday on $500,000 bail after allegedly trying to cut the neck of another transient man while waiting for a bed at the National Guard Armory. Glendale Police officers arrested Luis Perez, 26, on suspicion of attempted murder after he tried to cut the neck of another transient, Jose Munoz Urrunaga, 27, about 6:57 p.m. Monday with a broken bottle, Glendale Police spokesman Sgt. Kirk Palmer said. Urrunaga sustained several cuts to the left side of his neck and was treated at Glendale Memorial Hospital Monday and released.