Since I was working arson’s anyway, I told Lowe that I would not mind working arson part, but I was not sure about the explosives part. So, having worked with Lowe on arson investigations previously, he told me of the new unit and asked if I would like to be a part of the new detail. The reorganization resulted in the Detective Division to be reorganized into special details, one being an Arson/Explosives Detail. When Duane Lowe took office in January 1970, he completely reorganized the department, similar to how the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department was structured. He picked up the pipe bomb, walked over to the car trunk, and unscrewed! Not having experienced the render-safe procedures for pipe devices, we called upon an officer who “ supposedly” had military EOD training to deal with it. Someone had thrown the bomb on top of the Sheriff’s house, and it got stuck in the rain gutter. The pipe bomb was 1 ½” X 12” galvanized pipe, end caps, time fuse protruding from one end. I believe the first pipe bomb call that Lowe and I received was at the residence of the then Sheriff John Misterly, whom Lowe later ran against for Sheriff (in 1969). As a result, we got to know each other and developed a very good rapport. I had worked with him when he was a Sergeant in our correctional facility then again in the Detective Division on arson investigations. In 1970, Sacramento County had a newly elected Sheriff, Duane Lowe, Sheriff Lowe had been an inspector with the Department before he was elected Sheriff, working his way up through the ranks. ![]() On critical bomb calls, they responded in the fog, which caused a three or four delay. There were many times during the winter months when due to heavy fog we had to wait until the following day before the military EOD unit could respond. Having the nearest military EOD Unit two hours away, the majority of incidents were handled by law enforcement personnel, with very limited training. Also, the area population was one-fourth what it is today. ![]() While these are not large numbers by today’s standards (in the month of July, 1992, the Sacramento Area EOD Unit responded to fifty-two bomb calls), in those days, we did not have trained technicians and the specialized equipment that we have today to handle calls. By 1970, the bomb explosives-related calls increased to fifty-six (56). in 1967, we handled a grand total of sic (6) incidents, in 1968 we handled thirty-two (32) incidents. The number of bomb and explosives-related incidents began to increase i.e. Though the activity in the Sacramento area was below the level in other major areas, the violence we did experience got the attention of the law enforcement community and State governmental agencies. Sacraments had its share of problems, “want-a-be” type situations, but the Bay Area demonstration problems far exceeded ours. It was at about this point in time, late 1960’s and early 1970’s, that the anti-war demonstrations and acts of violence were beginning to escalate. In our particular case, we called upon the 87th and 548th EOD Detachments, Presidio, San Francisco. Or, we relied on local military EOD Units. Generally, there was an officer in the Department who had limited explosives experience and we called upon him. ![]() Prior to 1970, my agency, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, was like many law enforcement agencies in California, and the United States, when it came to dealing with explosive-related matters.
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