Governor creates new Mandana task force, KUAM questions timing

It was a spike in crime outweighed by limited resources that forced the administration to sign an executive order to do something about it.

Today, Gov. Eddie Calvo signed that executive order creating the Mandana 2.0 Patrol Augmentation Task Force, a collaboration of multiple government law enforcement agencies to step up public safety for the island.

KUAM, however, questioned the governor about the timing of the task force – whether it coincides with the public’s concern of public safety in light of Lt. Gov. Ray Tenorio’s pending gun grab court case.  

"That's the strangest question I've ever heard,” Calvo told KUAM News. “How dare you ask that question. No offense to the media. We have criminal activity that is going on. If you think this is being politicized. You don't know me as a governor and I am disappointed. I came in here trying to control criminal activity.”

Public safety czar, Tenorio, is set to appear in court in less to two weeks to answer to the misdemeanor charges filed in connection to the July gun grabbing incident.

“I can tell you that the incident regarding the Lt. Governor will take its course through the courts and obviously I am hoping for a favorable outcome of that but let it happen,” Calvo said.  “But, also I have a responsibility as a governor and I am not going to politicize this."

It’s a responsibility that did bring the governor and other agency heads  to the table today the task force.

“We believe that its important with our limited resources that we got to take the next step,” Calvo said. “The next step means not only the Guam police department, but working with our sister agencies, some of them line agencies, others autonomous. “Each one of them have well trained men and women who fit the same standards as GPD in terms of law enforcement.

“As we look at what's happening in our community, we're putting this effort in Tumon, Tamuning precinct command as well as Hagatna precinct command to deal with the crime we've been anaylzing over the last six months,” Calvo said. “So we see this as patrol operations being the first line of defense.”

Along with GPD, the task force includes conservation officers from the Department of Agriculture, Parks and Recreation, and the Port Authority. That means you should see an increase in about 25 officers patrolling this weekend.

“The bottom line is they're going to be in a uniform in a marked patrol vehicle out there to conduct this type of enforcement operation,” Guam Police Department Chief JI Cruz said.

As for the timing of it all, Calvo had more to tell KUAM.

“Since you brought up the question, why don't you look at the viral social media videos and don't tell me it doesn't hit you in the gut, cause it hit me in the gut as well,” Calvo said. “So I'm not trying to politicize one or the other. He (Tenorio) still has oversight over the general supervision on a day to day on public safety and I don't think those two should be connected.”