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Volume 140, Number 28 — Locally-owned since 1884
The hometown paper of Manuel Jauregui
Winters, Yolo County, California, Wednesday, August 9, 2023
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Winters police officer Joe Vegas created the training device.
Local officer takes action to prevent weapon confusion By Crystal Apilado Editor-in-Chief A Winters police officer is putting action behind an intention to reduce the likelihood of weapon confusion for officers out in the field, and the Winters Police Department is one of the first agencies to roll out the implementation of the invention. For the past two years, Winters Police Officer Joe Vegas has been working to create a device that would help police officers to use their support hand to unholster tasers and not their
primary (strong) hand which is generally used for the firearm. Vegas said he created Primary Guard to serve as a law enforcement training device with the goal to isolate the usage of a Taser device to an officer’s support hand and reduce the likelihood of weapon confusion when in a situation on patrol. The metal piece attaches to the Taser and can be customized depending on the officer’s primary hand. The idea is that through consistent training with the device, an officer will
develop a trained response to unholster and deploy the Taser only with the support hand. The initial idea for the training device first began to unfold when Vegas was in the police academy in 2011. He said the 2009 shooting of Oscar Grant by BART Police Officer Johannes Mehserle made major headlines and he questioned how it could “even possibly be that a police officer can mistake a gun for a Taser.” Vegas said he was talking about it with his father, Augustine
The Primay Guard law enforcement training device attaches to a Taser with intention to prevent weapon confusion for police officers while they are out on patrol. “Gus” Vegas (a former police detective/firearms instructor with the Richmond Police Department). “It was then, for the first time, that my dad instilled in me the knowledge that I have now that helped me develop Primary Guard,” Vegas said. One of his dad’s sayings, “Practice doesn’t make perfect, it makes permanent,” set the foundation for the development of the Primary Guard device. According to Vegas, his father explained that procedural memory is a key factor when an officer is in a high-stress situation and “how you practice is how you perform in the field.” In 2016, Detective
Gus Vegas was shot and killed while intervening in a domestic violence situation. Joe Vegas said he rededicated himself and became a police officer in honor of his dad, and he joined the Winters PD in 2017. The 2021 shooting of Daunte Wright by former Minnesota police officer Kimberly Potter put “weapon confusion” to the forefront again for Vegas. He said while listening to a podcast while driving home, he started putting real thought into what could possibly be done. The knowledge from his past conversations with his dad about weapon confusion, procedural memory and the practice of
training to use a Taser in a supporting hand and a firearm in the primary hand put the pieces into place and Vegas identified a potential solution and he began to put it into action. Vegas said Police Chief John P. Miller “has always been an advocate for the support hand and to practice controlling the Taser” with the support hand. Vegas began to put in the work to speak with Expert Witnesses (experts in the use of force in police officers) and a neuroscientist to learn more about the theory that isolating the support hand to the Taser, and repetition
See DEVICE, Page 6
Council steps back on firearm-safety ordinance, focuses on education efforts By Crystal Apilado and Jacob Hoffman Express staff
EXPRESS
Following up on discussions held during the previous meeting, the Winters City Council hosted a first reading on a potential ordinance on safe storage of firearms
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intended to be applicable within Winters city limits to keep the city in line with other local cities and the county. The council ultimately opted to table the ordinance for now and focus on firearms safety education efforts. As discussed during the July 18 meeting, Winters Police Chief John P. Miller brought forth a draft proposal for a firearms safe-storage ordinance for
Winters, based off the existing Yolo County firearms ordinance that provides a number of closures for gaps in existing state gun laws that only focus on pistol storage, while Yolo County’s ordinance focuses on long guns, or shotguns and rifles. Working with council member Jesse Loren, Miller said the draft was developed to be more
See CITY, Page 3
Index Features ........................ B-1
Editor-in-Chief
Rain
High
Low
Aug. 02
.00
94˚
56˚
Aug. 03
.00
89˚
55˚
Aug. 04
.00
89˚
57˚
Aug. 05
.00
94˚
61˚
Eventos hispanos ....... A-2
Aug. 06
.00
99˚
66˚
Aug. 07
.00
102˚
70˚
Opinion ......................... B-3
Aug. 08
.00
103˚
58˚
Community .................. A-2
Real Estate ................... B-2 Sports ........................... B-6
Rain for week: 0.00 in. Season’s total: 0.00 in. Last sn. to date: TRACE Winters rainfall season began 7/1/23. Weather readings are taken at 9 a.m. daily by local weatherman Joe Bristow.
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On Monday, Aug. 14 the community joined Winters Joint Unified School District staff, students and administrators for the grand opening of the Winters High School PE and Music Building. Board president Carrie Green opened the ribbon-cutting event by thanking the community, construction agencies and people who took part in the support and execution of the project.
“It’s such an honor to be a part of it, to be a part of the community that helped support it. And it’s going to be here for our kids and our children’s children.” Superintendent Rody Boonchouy called the newest WHS building “a resounding success” as it was delivered on time before the start of school and under budget. Boonchouy credited it as a result of “strong time and resource management, effective collabora-
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School district opens new high school building By Crystal Apilado
We at he r Date
Classifieds ................... B-4
Crystal Apilado/Winters Express
Justin Young, Carrie Green, Michael Williams, Rody Boonchouy, Lisa Brown, Kristen Trott, Sterling Davis and Joedy Michael join foces to cut the ribbon for the new Winters High School PE and Music building on Monday, Aug. 14.
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tion with everyone involved and good leadership.” “Ultimately, This is a win, a tremendous win for our students of Winters Joint Unified. Particularly towards our focus on education for the whole child. Not only are we growing a legacy of academic excellence, but also learning for the arts and physical wellness,” Boonchouy said. “We know that students are most engaged in learning
See RIBBON, Page 6 YOUR
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