By Brian Anderson
Valley Times

June 21, 2001

It was not a secret that a gun was kept at the Santos Linguisa Factory in San Leandro when four state and federal meat investigators and compliance officers walked into the plant a year ago today.

Nor was it a mystery that inspectors ran into trouble with the sausage factory's owner during previous visits.

But the government workers were caught by surprise when a man emerged from a back room firing wildly, killing three of four in a violent exchange that stunned the nation's meat inspection agencies.

"I don't think they realized how much this problem was out there and how serious it really was," said Doug Morton, president of the Western Council of the American Federation of Government Employees, a meat inspectors union. "I felt like it was something that was eventually going to happen."

A year later, government officials continue talks about taking precautions, improving safety and remembering three colleagues, friends and family members.

U.S. Department of Agriculture officers Thomas Quadros, 52, and Jean Hillery, 56, along with state meat investigator Bill Shaline, 57, were not lost in vain that day, officials said. Their deaths gave birth to new policies, procedures and programs -- including the use of bulletproof vests -- that could ultimately save lives.

"The incident that happened last year was the first incident, like that, we've ever had," said Karen Long, a spokeswoman for the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service. "Everybody has been saying in the past year that this can happen, so let's make sure we are better-equipped and prepared to hopefully prevent things from escalating to that level."

On that sunny June day, Quadros, Hillery, Shaline and state investigator Earl Willis arrived at Stuart Alexander's popular, family-owned sausage plant to talk about the company's operating permits. Alexander flew into a rage, authorities said, arguing with the agents, who were captured by a security videotape casually standing in the plant's lobby.

At 3:37 p.m., bullets broke the air, hitting everyone but Willis, who dodged the gunfire as he was chased down the street.

Alexander was arrested and indicted on three counts of homicide with special circumstances that could lead to the death penalty. He also faces a federal charge, but is awaiting trial on the state charges first.

In the months following the shootings, USDA officials commissioned a study, due out next month, to examine workplace violence across the meat inspection industry. They also made an internal review of safety guidelines for another report also expected to be completed in July, Long said.

There were training sessions to help inspectors and compliance officers better handle potentially violent situations. Directives were issued for workers to report any threats or confrontations with plant owners or managers.

In one of its boldest moves, the USDA bought bulletproof vests late last year for its workers to use, upon request. A compliance officer, for instance, who is worried about a particular plant visit could request a vest to be delivered overnight, Long said.

"If people feel a need for that, we have them there," she said, adding that they have yet to be used.

Steve Lyle, a spokesman for the California Department of Food and Agriculture, said agency Secretary William Lyons directed the legal department to explore creating a special unit of investigators. The small group would have peace officer status, allowing them to carry firearms, and would be called in by investigators leery of confrontational plant operators.

"That process is still ongoing," Lyle said, adding that it was uncertain whether the idea would ultimately be put into action. "I think the mere fact that the secretary asked our lawyers to look at it is indicative of strong interest, though."

The notion of arming more government agents, however, does not come without controversy, even from those who deal with heated situations in the field.

"I really think it is a bad idea," said Morton, who has had a handful of run-ins during his 25 years as a meat inspector. "We're really not trained as law enforcement officers. I really think that in most cases that's not going to take care of the problem."

Even with the enhanced safety programs, no one denied that it could happen again.

"Nothing is 100 percent foolproof," Lyle said. "What we want to do, is provide our employees with information that they can use to help protect themselves."