Paso Robles Incidents / Action

A stolen vehicle entered Paso Robles Tuesday afternoon an automatic license plate reader alerted Paso Robles police department that a stolen vehicle had entered the city and was traveling Eastbound over the Niblick bridge, officers were dispatched to the area to look for the vehicle a white Acura officers spotted the vehicle in the Walmart parking lot and when officers were approaching the vehicle in their patrol cars the pursuit began the vehicle led 3 Paso Robles police officers southbound highway 101 into Atascadero, then the 3 Paso Robles police officers turned the pursuit over to Atascadero Police Department, then the vehicle continued to through Atascadero and led police officers from Atascadero police onto Highway 1 into Morro Bay then after leading officers to Morro Bay and attempting to steal 2 additional vehicles in Morro Bay the vehicle continued to travel into San Luis Obispo that ended with the white Acura crashing into a SLOPD patrol vehicle. The suspect then attempted to flee on foot but was forcefully taken into custody. CHP and SLO County Sheriffs Department also were. apart of the pursuit.

The City of Paso Robles has announced the appointment of a new Police Chief, Damian Nord. Chief Nord assumed his new position with the City on Tuesday, December 21, 2021.

Chief Nord was selected after a competitive nationwide recruitment process with over 20+ applicants.

Chief Nord began his career with the Kern County Sheriff’s Office in 1998 as a Detention Deputy, later promoting to Deputy Sheriff in 2001. Chief Nord worked his way through the ranks serving as a Detective, Sergeant, Lieutenant, Commander, and most recently as a Chief Deputy in charge of the Investigations and Detentions Bureaus. Chief Nord also has prior local experience having worked for the City of Paso Robles as a Police Officer in 2007. Nord holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Emergency Management and attended the Executive Leadership Program at USC Price School of Public Policy.

“I’m excited the city was able to recruit a top-notch Police Chief like Damian Nord,” said City Manager Ty Lewis, “Chief Nord brings a wealth of experience, strong character, and positive energy to our community. Chief Nord’s proven ability to effectively work with diverse communities, like Paso Robles, will serve us well.”

Chief Nord is replacing Interim Police Chief Stephen Lampe, who retires at the end of the year.

Chief Nord is in the process of relocating to Paso Robles from Bakersfield. “I am honored to be joining the City of Paso Robles and a team of talented professionals,” says Chief Nord. “I look forward to working with everyone to keep the city safe, build trust and strong partnerships throughout the community.”

Media contact: Mary Sponhaltz, Support Services Manager
Paso Robles Police Department

September 3, 2021

‘Paso Robles Breaks Ground on New Public Safety Facility’
Fire Station 3 will be located on Union Road near Ardmore

~The City of Paso Robles held a groundbreaking ceremony this morning to celebrate the beginning of the construction of a new public safety facility located at 2924 Union Road. Once complete, the facility will house Fire Station 3 and a public safety training facility.

Attendees to the ceremony included city council members, members of the Supplemental Sales Tax Oversight Committee, project contractors, and consultants.

“This new facility is emblematic of the city council’s dedication to the primary importance of public safety and just one of the strategies in place to keep Paso Robles residents and their property safe,” said Mayor Steve Martin.

According to reports dating back to 2015, Paso Robles Fire and Emergency Services (PRFES) is understaffed compared to communities of similar size and population. This new facility will allow the City to increase its public safety services and decrease response times by having a fire station on the northeast side of the city.

Property for a future fire station was purchased in 2019, and the development of plans for Fire Station 3 was initiated at that time. Due to the fiscal impacts of COVID-19, all Fire Station 3 planning was put on hold until the passage of Measure J20, the ½-cent sales tax that will provide the $3-$10 million in funding necessary to complete the project.

In 2018 and 2020, the City of Paso Robles accepted SAFER Grant awards of $1.4 million and $1.2 million, respectively, to cover the salary and benefit costs for a total of nine firefighter positions over a three-year period for each grant. The City reported that this funding is helping to make up for the shortfall in staffing until the facility is completed and more staff can be hired.

Fire Station 3 will be built in phases. Grading of the site should start in mid-September, and construction of the fire station is expected to begin in mid-November. Fire Station 3 staffing is anticipated to be completed prior to winter 2022.

To learn more about Paso Robles Fire and Emergency Services, visit: https://www.prcity.com/198/Fire-and-Emergency-Services

Multiple Recreational Vehicle Fire PASO ROBLES, CA – At approximately 10:25 p.m. on August 28th Paso Robles Fire and Emergency Services responded to the report of a commercial structure fire in the 2500 block of Theatre Drive. Upon arrival, firefighters found multiple recreational vehicles (RV’s) burning at a commercial sales and service location. The rapidly spreading fire was quickly contained by arriving units and did not extend into an adjacent building. Three recreational vehicles were destroyed and 5 adjacent RV’s sustained minor damage. Estimated dollar value saved during this incident, exceeded 1 million dollars. Estimated dollar loss to the recreational vehicles was $100,000 dollars. Two fire engines, one ladder truck and one Battalion Chief from Paso Robles responded to the incident. Under the City’s automatic aid agreement, two engines from CAL FIRE/SLO County immediately responded to assist. In total, 16 firefighters worked to control the fire. Additional assistance was provided by Paso Robles Police Department. (Media Contact: Battalion Chief Scott Hallett)

Paso People’s Action and Paso Robles High School Black Student Union held a joint clean up on Saturday, August 14th. Both groups have taken on the task of adopting a street on the North end of Paso Robles. This entails a monthly commitment where volunteers pick up trash along their adopted street. Paso People’s Action has adopted Park Street between 28th and 36th street and the PRHS BSU has adopted Oak Street starting near the Paso Youth Arts Foundation and ending near Georgia Brown Elementary School.
The mission of Paso People’s Action (PPA) is to invest in the diversity of the community in northern San Luis Obispo County. PPA aims to support, amplify, and empower the historically marginalized voices of the community, and works to disrupt the systems that push neighbors to the margins of society. PPA’s vision is to create a community where every person can live and thrive.
Elena Garcia, founding member of Paso People’s Action and creator of the PPA Adopt-a-Street team has been leading trash clean-ups for nearly a year. While advocacy and direct engagement are critical, Elena believes that tangible community service cannot be overlooked or undervalued. “We need to take direct action in order to see positive changes within our community.” PPA’s Adopt-a-Street team has had a positive response during their street clean-ups and often have neighbors stop to say hello and give thanks as well as greetings from energetic children waving hello from their apartment windows. PPA’s Adopt-a-Street team is looking to add volunteers with hopes of adopting additional streets throughout Paso Robles. For more information on Paso People’s Action or their Adopt-a-Street team please email – pasopeoplesaction@gmail.com

Clean ups will alternate between Saturdays and Sundays on the 2nd weekend of every month. Below is our schedule through the end of 2021.

• Sunday, September 12th
• Saturday, October 9th
• Sunday, November 14th
• Saturday, December 11th

Kelen Macharia, president of PRHS Black Student Union has been an admirable leader for students and is looking ahead to a great year ahead as a PRHS Senior. Kelen’s vision for BSU is to educate and promote diversity within the club, Paso Robles High School, and outwards to the community. As PRHS BSU heads into a new school year, their club is looking forward to expanding their reach and welcomes new member engagement. Connect with PRHS BSU on their Instagram page at – https://www.instagram.com/prhsbsu/?hl=en

On Wednesday 8-4-21, at 1:25pm Paso Robles Emergency Services received a call about a vehicle that crashed into the front doors of Club Pilates located at 2501 Theatre Drive in Paso Robles, while Officers were in route to the location the vehicle then fled the scene and was later located at the vehicle owners residence in Templeton Ca. Officers from Paso Robles Police Department attempted contact at the owners house where they saw the vehicle parked but were unable to make contact with the driver of the vehicle and took a 20002 (Hit and run Report).

7-28-21 Paso Robles Emergency Services along with Cal Fire SLO Extinguished an approximate 1 acre vegetation fire in the riverbed just south of the Niblick Road Bridge just before noon Wednesday. The fire was reported by multiple 9-1-1 callers at 11:27am. Fire crews arrived to the scene a short time later and had the fire contained within 30 minutes. Paso Robles Police Department also provided traffic control shutting down one lane of northbound HWY 101 south of the Niblick Road Bridge. PRFD advised the fire was contained at 11:53am and all lanes are open on HWY 101 near Niblick Bridge.

PASO ROBLES, CA – At approximately 4:10 p.m. on July 25th Paso Robles Fire and Emergency Services responded to the rear of the property located at 1134 Black Oak Drive for a reported vegetation fire.
Upon arrival, firefighters found a vegetation fire burning between two commercial properties with difficult access. The fire spread to an adjacent commercial storage yard in the 3200 block of Riverside Ave. which contained an assortment of roofing material. The burning roofing material produced a large black column of smoke that was visible throughout the City. The fire was quickly contained and did not spread to any nearby structures.
Three fire engines, and one Battalion Chief from Paso Robles responded to the incident. Under the City’s automatic aid agreement, two engines from CAL FIRE/SLO County immediately responded to assist. In total, 16 firefighters worked to control the fire. Additional assistance was provided by Paso Robles Police Department.
Further investigation determined the cause of the fire was from discarded smoking material.
Paso Robles Fire and Emergency Services would like to remind everyone of the importance of safely discarding smoking material. Media Contact: Battalion Chief Scott Hallett.

7-24-21 At 5:20pm Paso Robles police department received a call about a disabled vehicle in the roadway blocking traffic in the area of 20th & Spring Street, When a PRPD officer arrived on scene they noticed that the vehicle a Red Ford Focus had been in some sort of a collision and had airbags deployed inside the vehicle. At that point Paso Robles Fire Deparment responded to the scene to render medical assistance to the occupants of the Ford Focus. Through further investigation it was discovered that the Ford Focus struck a nearby parked vehicle a Red Tesla that was not occupied at the time of the collision. The solo occupant of the Focus vehicle was cleared of any medical needs and under went Field Sobriety Tests (FST) and was arrested for DUI.