Thanks for the update on this story, Theo. There's a lot of good information here that I haven't seen elsewhere.
Wasn't there something in the early reports, back when Mr. Rodriguez's name was being withheld, indicating that he or his family was "well connected"? Did that rumor wash out, or does it still have something to do with how curiously the case is proceeding?
As part of their investigation (and I understand that the public hasn't seen the police report that you're endeavoring to bring to public light), will the PD determine where Mr. Rodriguez became intoxicated? Is this knowledge important public safety information if the bar owner has a documented history of producing public drunks? Do the police review security video of bars? Do the bars have security video systems (or are they shrewd enough to dodge this kind of investigation)? Or is this not considered an important element of effective policing by LBPD?
Would the citizens police review board that was eliminated at the urging of (I believe it was) Mayor Foster have had any part to play in investigating this incident and puting to rest citizen concerns that LB officers may not know how to police public intoxication?
Will we ever know the name of the officer? Do we have a right to know or not? Will this person be long gone from active peace officer duty in California by the time the name is revealed? Is this incident a career ender?
And just how serious is this felony? What kind of jail time is Mr. Rodriguez looking at? What kind of time do people convicted of this crime actually serve? What kind of time do legal experts think he'll actually end up serving? Does the family have enough money to keep him out of jail?
And in cities where there are lots of bars but a negligible level of public intoxication arrests and NO police shootings of drunken citizens (Seal Beach Main Street comes to mind, only a few miles from the Shore), how do they do it? Is it that their politics are not awash in booze money, or that the bars there are not allowed to sweep their trash to the curb and leave it to the police, or do they do other things differently?
Stimulating article, Theo. Thank you for your efforts.
DontKnowIt
· 2 months ago
Is the Rodriguez family suing the city? Is that why this case is, in the redacted phrase of Mr. Shannon, "a unique situation"?
Mike Ruehle
· 2 months ago
Based upon what I've observed in the past, I suspect Mr. Rodriquez will wait until after his criminal trial is over before he sues the pants off Long Beach for the police over reacting. Do you want to guess how much this is going to cost? My guess is it will cost Long Beach taxpayers somewhere around $5.0 million to fix that busted window.
Mike Ruehle
· 2 months ago
The following is an email received yesterday by the Belmont Shore Residents Association from a resident that lives very close to Legends Bar and the location where Mr. Rodriguez was shot.
“I don't know how many of you are aware of what happened on Covina last night. Another drunken over served twenty something rolled her SUV on Covina, severely damaging seven cars including my new BMW X5. Who is watching the shop here folks. Just because there has not been a shooting lately does not mean the problems don't exist anymore. This is the third DUI related auto damaging event on Covina in the past three years, and all three have damaged our family cars as well as several neighbors.
Let’s focus on the bar's over serving patrons. There is proof that the woman last night was indeed drinking at a nameless (for now) popular bar on 2nd.”
Things don’t seem to have changed a great deal since the police have again chosen to abandon the area except for the lone COP covering over 5-square miles at bar closing time. It’s just a matter of time before we have another shooting or murder in Belmont Shore thanks to Councilman DeLong choosing to support his bar owner buddies and looking the other way when there are problems.
DontKnowIt
· 1 month ago
Could insurance companies actually be an ally in this fight? By alerting them to this kind of financial liability, could they help persuade city management that the Belmont Shore 2 a.m. Demolition Derby needs to be stopped?
Mike Ruehle
· 1 month ago
Probably. How do you find out which companies are insuring the 5 problem bars? It would be interesting what their response would be to the various fight videos and crime statistics surrounding these bars.
I bet the company insuring the bar Ernest Rodriguez was drinking at before being shot will be interested in what liability they will be force pay for in addition to us taxpayers.
Mike Ruehle
· 1 month ago
I was just handed 28 pictures of the green Toyota RAV5 (license number 4FAL018) that barreled into seven cars on Covina Avenue before flipping 200 feet from Legends bar November 5, 2009 at 11:00 pm. The car was driven by an over served drunken twenty something woman who reportedly lives on 7th street near the ocean in Seal Beach.
The police refuse to release the police report from that night to the VICTIMS, reportedly stating the investigation is not complete. The police say it may be weeks before they can release the police report to the VICTIMS.
There are eleven cameras at the rear of Legends bar, some of which are focused on the area where the incident occurred. Hopefully the police requested the videos of this incident from Legends owner Gene Rotondo. However, don’t be surprised if the video of this incident as well as the video of the patrons inside Legends bar the night of the incident has now been destroyed.
The police claim they know where the driver had been drinking that night but refuse to release that information to the victims who are regularly impacted by the over served patrons of the 5 problem bars in Belmont Shore.
It is also reported that one of the seven cars damaged by the over served driver was owned by a Legends’ bartender. Is that considered irony or Karma?
If residents want to learn more about this accident, I urge them to come to the Belmont Shore Residents Association meeting tonight at 6:00 pm in the Bay Shore Library to ask Councilman DeLong what he is doing to curb the violence in our community. DeLong is the guest speaker scheduled for 6:30 pm.
Mike Ruehle
· 1 month ago
By the way, the location of where this car flipped near Legends Bar is approximately 150 feet from where Mr. Rodriguez was shot and 50 feet from where two of the public disturbance youtube videos were taken per the below link. Hazard a guess what the common denominator is? Could it be Councilman DeLong?
The below link contains pictures of the car flipped on Covina Avenue near Legends Bar. Keep in mind that Covina Avenue is a narrow, single lane one-way street in a residential area with a 25 mph speed limit.
Are you working on finding answers for any of these questions? Not trying to be the boss of you, just wondering if we're going to have any answers to these questions that we can use.
Hope it's not snotty to ask. You're doing good work here.
howardx
· 2 months ago
all this fuss to cover up what we already know, the guy got overserved in legends.
Mike Ruehle
· 2 months ago
City Attorney Shannon did not tell the truth when he said officer patrols had been stepped up prior to this shooting. That was the city’s claim ONLY AFTER the shooting. However, that is not what police officers assigned to 2nd street and the Police Commander told residents days before the shooting.
On May 14, 2009 (13-days before the shooting) Officer Hunt, the police officer assigned to 2nd street attended the BSRA monthly meeting and scolded residents for making a big deal out of a fight audio/video published in several newspapers. (below link). Officer Hunt implied residents fabricated the video “to get a faster response” from the police. When asked if he knew that for a fact, Officer Hunt stated he didn’t know, but “assumed” that to be the case. When asked whether he had viewed the video, Officer Hunt said he had NOT. However, he diminished the Belmont Shore video and residents concerns by referring to “real crime” in other parts of the city.
When someone tried to explain to Officer Hunt that residents were only asking for his help to take a message back to his superiors, that residents would like to have more of a late night police presence in Belmont Shore, Officer Hunt responded by saying “YOU ARE NOT GOING TO GET IT.” When asked whether he could be quoted on that, Officer Hunt responded, “sure, go ahead,” and then repeated it again.
On May 19, 2009 (7-days before the shooting) I spoke before the Mayor and City Council about the problems residents were experiencing with late night bar patrons. My comments can be viewed at 2:43:30 of the attached video link. I received ZERO feedback from council. No mention of plans to increase police staffing on 2nd street was made by Councilman DeLong.
On May 21, 2009 (5-days before the shooting) East Division Commander Renaud responded to a request for additional Belmont Shore police staffing during Councilman DeLong’s 3rd District Neighborhood meeting by saying she was limited by funding to provide additional police. At no time did she mention any plans to deploy more police on 2nd street.
After an especially destructive Memorial Day weekend, I AGAIN emailed city staff, the Mayor and each Councilmember on May 24, 2009 (3-days before the shooting), AGAIN requesting their help getting an increased late night police presence. Again, I received no response.
During the May 26, 2009 (1-days before the shooting) Business Association meeting, Police Officer Covarubias was asked about the recent fight videos posted in the District Weekly. Officer Covarubias told the audience she was unaware of any calls made to the police about any of the videos. Furthermore, Officer Covarubias told the Business Association that residents making “fake” gun calls to the police was becoming a problem. No mention was made of increased police staffing on 2nd street to address the problem.
On May 27, 2009, (actually the day of the shooting) the District Weekly published an article about residents’ frustration and the new methods residents were turning to—like posting videos to YouTube—to embarrass elected leaders to provide more police.
On June 2, 2009 (four days after the shooting) I again spoke before the Mayor and City Council and asked for the umpteenth time for their help with the public disturbance problems caused by 5 problem bars. You can find my testimony at 3:30:57 of the attached video link. You will also find Councilman DeLong’s response to my request for additional police resources where Councilman DeLong said, “the police are doing an outstanding job…everyone knows how tough the budget is…I couldn’t be more pleased with the police response.” I wonder if Councilman DeLong feels the same way after the June 15, 2009 (18 days after the shooting) rape of a minor girl in Belmont Shore and the August 2, 2009 (34-days after the shooting) aggravated assault and attempted murder of a person on the beach in Belmont Shore.
Despite numerous violent videos, calls for help from the public and documented increased crimes on 2nd street, it was not until after this shooting that the police decided to increase their presence on 2nd street. Since then, police staffing has again diminished to one officer in beat 10 covering over 25 bar closings at 2:00 am stretching over 5 square miles from Seal Beach to Broadway to Redondo Avenue. Shannon nor the police have spoken the truth on this near deadly incident. It's only a matter of time before a preventable similar incident happens again.
Mike Ruehle
· 2 months ago
By the way, I forgot to mention the police never caught the person who raped the minor in Belmont Shore and they also did not catch the person who attempted to murder the person on the beach this summer. I guess it actually takes someone getting killed after a football game at Legends before the Councilman, Mayor and the County Supervisor actually become involved enough to donate money for a reward or to organize a fund to bury the person killed.
I have a suggestion. How about using future reward money and burial fund money to hire more cops to prevent the problems in the first place.
Mike Ruehle
· 2 months ago
Did you read the article (below link) where one of the Long Beach police dispatchers has filed a complaint with the LA County Grand Jury about poor Long Beach 911 response times? Sounds like there are more than a few problems with the way LBPD conducts its business other than shooting vandals.
I feel sorry for the poor guy who did the right thing by bringing this forward. You know he must have complained to no avail to his supervisors for some time before finally taking it to the Grand Jury. He will surely be retaliated against by city hall. Maybe that’s what he is hoping for. After all, taxpayers did have to pay multimillion dollar payouts to the cops retaliated against for Lobstergate.
howardx
· 2 months ago
seems like an education program would help "if its not an emergency DONT CALL 911 call your local station" thats what i do.
Mike Ruehle
· 2 months ago
Then the police need to be the first ones to be educated because I have heard Commander Renaud several times tell people to call 911 if they feel uncomfortable or see someone suspicious. I always found it sort of weird for cops to be telling people to call the emergency number when it really wasn't an emergency. When I ask about it, I was told the same dispatchers answer both the regular call-in line and also the 911 calls.
DWR
· 2 months ago
I've also been informed by LB officers at a neighborhood watch meeting to call 911 even for NON-emergencies, contradicting the PSA messages to dial 911 for emergencies only, which I also thought was weird. I still use the local call-in line for the occaisional non-emergency, but the one time I dialed 911 for a genuine emergency, I was re-routed back to a LB-based operator.
howardx
· 2 months ago
perhaps police funding requests involve the number of 911 calls they get. more calls=more money. of course as a civilian i am baselessly speculating here, if only someone with more police experience could chime in here...
Mike Ruehle
· 2 months ago
The police not taking calls for assistance is a pretty effective way of keeping crime statistics down.
Since crime in Long Beach is defined by the number of police reports filled out rather than the actual crimes that occur, one way of creating low crime statistics is to just not answer the phone.
Mike Ruehle
· 2 months ago
By the way, did you notice from the article that 340 911-calls in the month of September took a minute or longer for the dispatcher to respond. Just imagine if you called in on a real, live emergency and the phone just rang and rang. That minute would seem like an eternity.
howardx
· 2 months ago
typical press telegram, their first instinct on a whistleblower story is to go with a graph supplied by lbpd.
Laurence B. Goodhue
· 2 months ago
FOR NON EMERGENCY CALLS: CALL 435 6711--though answered by same people--it apparently comes up on board as non 911.
Urinating in the street is not a 911-call-but a fight is and should be called in on 911 line.
LB City Girl
· 2 months ago
It must depend upon what part of town you live in. In Los Altos, if you call 911, you will get 7 cars, 12 officers, and a k-9 unit in less than 5 minutes. Overkill? Yes. But I like it.
Maybe the cops just like to take the more safe and predictible calls, rather than dealing with drunk asses on 2nd.
Mike Ruehle
· 2 months ago
I think you may be missing the point of this article. It is not about how fast or how many cops respond to the scene of the crime. This article is about how long it takes for the police to pick up the phone when you call for their assistance. Unless the cops have perfected mind reading, I suspect it would be difficult for 7 cars, 12 officers, and a k-9 unit to show up at the scene of the crime if your call couldn't get through to give them an address.
John_Greet
· 2 months ago
Theo: In answer to your question: "So which is it?" The answer is quite likely "both". Simply because a case has found it's way to Court doesn't mean it is no longer being investigated, quite the contrary. New facts relevant to criminal cases that are already before our Courts are discovered or offered throughout the process and the case files are updated accordingly.
LB City Girl
· 1 month ago
I think you may be missing my point. I get my calls answered when I call 911. Due to various unfortunate events in my life recently I have called 911 from my cell phone three times in the last month. I have been answered, put directly through to LB dispatch, and had good response time from all LB services every time.
(Just so you know one of those calls was for a downed homeless guy, and the paramedics were there in moments. It was taken very seriously.)
Mike Ruehle
· 1 month ago
I guess you are fortunate to have not been one of those 390 callers in September who called 911 and it took 60 seconds or more for their call to be answered.
Laurence B. Goodhue
· 2 months ago
Los Altos is just a hop skip and jump from the East LBPD station---easier to get to then is Belmont Shore.
It depends also on how many other calls they are and what they are for.
Mike Ruehle
· 1 month ago
Or could it be that Councilman DeLong has told the police to back off his bar owner buddies on 2nd street?
John_Greet
· 2 months ago
Though I am by no means an official Police Department spokesperson, nor claim to be, I can perhaps offer some general information as an employee of that Department:
In Long Beach, 911 lines and 7-digit lines (435-6711) are all answered by the same police communications operators and dispatchers in the same room in the same building and processed in the same manner.
Because system capacities are not unlimited and too many such calls can slow or, in extreme cases, even crash the system, 911 should generally be reserved for legitmate emergencies only.
Whenever possible, non-emergencies should be reported using the 7-digit line because: 1. It frees up the 911 system for legitimate emergencies and 2. They are answered by the same people in the same room in the same building and processed in the same manner so timely service, even to non-emergency calls, is better assured.
I know many of our communications operators, dispatchers and supervisors personally and can attest that, to a person, they are dedicated and committed professionals who provide the very best service possible during each and every call they receive, 911 or otherwise.
Hope that helps!
howardx
· 2 months ago
thank you john
Laurence B. Goodhue
· 2 months ago
Here is an idea-not fully developed--when time permits will give it more thought.But for now:
Every bar in Long Beach will have a machine not unlike Kinko's; Staples etc which issues a card.Every time one orders a drink the card is given to the person who takes your order,brings it back with the drink having scanned it at bar when drinks are picked up.As when you first enter and get your card which will be date and time stamped-you will scan it upon leaving.
If you are stopped by police and there is evidence that you have been drinking you will be required to produce the card.If no card--you will be required to demonstrate where you were. Perhaps the DMV should issue the cards and have them coded to your DL number.
Charge any and all $10.00 for a card--you will be responsible for the puppy.
Then there is a record of the problematic bars and drivers.
Obviously concept needs to be worked on--so go to it!!!
Evan_Gould
· 1 month ago
Didn't they try a system similar to this in East Germany? If you are stopped by the police, you must produce documents that show you are able to travel. Also, if questioned , you must be able to provide proof of where you were, and who you associate with. Laurence, this is not a good idea. Go back to the drawing board, and come up with something better. This time preferably not from the Stasi files.
Laurence B. Goodhue
· 1 month ago
Sounds like the East Germans had a few good ideas,which,with proper adjustment, just might work well here.
Let us hear what your suggestions are as to how to expunge the De Long culture which as so deteriorated our neighborhoods.
Mike Ruehle
· 1 month ago
Vote his butt out of office in April and replace him with a resident friendly Councilman who is more concerned with resident quality of life issues rather than blindly supporting developers and business at all costs.
Evan_Gould
· 1 month ago
I don't have a plan Laurence. I just pray that one day, human beings will stop their self-destructive behaviors. I am sick to death of reading about alcohol-related tragedies. However, I don't think electronic monitoring of the citizenry is the solution. All we can do is try to educate people that drinking and driving is bad. Also, it is not nice to get drunk and break windows. Also, don't get loaded and punch people. I guess the point is that most people can drink and enjoy themselves, but there is always a wingnut who can't. We shouldn't let the actions of one wingnut determine how the rest of us can live (that would be minority rule). As for the East Germans having a few good ideas... I don't think so. But they did have jaunty uniforms, substantial architecture, and a very handsome Olympic Women's Swim Team.
Dwight K Snider
· 1 month ago
Mr. Goodhue, the Germans also had a few other ideas: Auschwitz, Birkenau and the Final Solution. And, let us not forget Adolph Hitler and the Nazi Party.
howardx
· 1 month ago
preferably something constitutional this time adolf.
DontKnowIt
· 1 month ago
Like my supermarket card? I'm surprised the cut-rate public drunkenness industry doesn't already have this.
My hunch is that too many public officials, their donors and their offspring enjoy public intoxication too much for this to fly.
Mike Ruehle
· 1 month ago
The police reported Ernest Rodriguez was shot because he overpowered a police officer who was in fear of his safety. The description provided to the media claimed Mr. Rodriguez was 5’ 6” tall and weighed 300 pounds. The below link takes you to a facebook picture of Rodriguez. Does that look like a person who weighs 300 pounds? The police department’s credibility on this and other cases is indeed suffering.
Why are the police allowed to conceal information from the public? Similar to when the Long Beach Police Officer ran over and killed the single mother of 3 small children while speeding down Ocean Blvd last year, the police refuse to release the name or description of the officer who shot the 5’6” Rodriguez. The public has a right to know whether the officer was 5’2” and weighed 120 lbs. That may help everyone understand how Rodriguez might have overpowered the officer. If so, maybe the police should adjust their employment standards to only hire officers capable of controlling a 5’6” individual without having to shoot them.
The public has a right to know why the police officer did not wait for backup, mace Mr. Rodriguez or shoot him with a tazer before resorting to his/her gun. Why did the police officer choose lethal force when other non-lethal options were available that would NOT have endangered multiple bystanders from being struck by a bullet from the officer’s gun? All of this information will come out in the trial. So why are the police withholding it?
Why did it take over 20 minutes for the paramedics to arrive to address Mr. Rodriguez’s wounds after being shot? After all, the fire station paramedics are only located 3 blocks from the shooting location. Why did it take over 30 minutes for Mr. Rodriguez to be transported to a hospital? Did the police impede paramedics attending to Mr. Rodriguez? Were they hoping he would die so there would be no law suit?
Don’t get me wrong. I’m a supporter of the police. However, I am not a supporter of some police policies that appear to protect the police from proper public scrutiny. For 18 months I was denied a simple request for information on how many police officers were deployed in the East Division compared to other parts of Long Beach. I met with City Manager West, Police Chief Batts, Assistant Police Chief Luna, Commander Renaud, all of which told me they would not give me that information, citing bogus TERRORIST concerns. City Attorney Shannon backed them. Utterly ridiculous. It was not until I spoke before city council and it was published in the newspapers were the police embarrassed enough to release the deployment information.
Pretty much everybody, including myself, has done something stupid in their life like breaking a window. However, it did not escalate to the point where I was shot three times for doing so. It may be an anomaly. To make sure that is indeed the case, I believe the public has a right to know more about how the police are protecting them and have the right to question unreasonable conduct. Withholding information from the public only encourages misconduct.
Mike Ruehle
· 1 month ago
Is anti-terrorism becoming a catch-all justification for questionable police actions and policies? It appears to be happening elsewhere in LA also. The attached youtube link is an example. LA County Sheriff’s claimed anti-terrorism reasons for threatening to put a person on the FBI’s hit list (starts at 4:54 of attached video link) because he is legally taking pictures in a Metro station. I'm sure there are more and better examples of how terrorist concerns are being used as justification of questionable actions.
Councilman DeLong spoke at tonight’s Belmont Shore Residents Association meeting about the Melody Ross murder at the Wilson High Football game. He claimed to be “very happy” with the police department for catching the bad guys in 5-days. However, his comment that most stuck with me was when he said “we need to do a better job of preventing these types of things from happening in the first place.” He followed that up with asking for suggestions from the audience rather than explaining how anyone was going to do a better job.
Need I remind people that Councilman DeLong was Chairman of the Budget Oversight Committee that approved the reduction in the Long Beach police force by 100 officers in September? Long Beach now has the same number of sworn officers protecting the public that they had in 1999.
Mike Ruehle
· 1 month ago
When asked what his plan was to address this pervasive drunks and crime problem in Belmont Shore, Councilman DeLong stated at tonight's Belmont Shore Residents Association meeting that he was "open for suggestions." He was again clueless and twice asked for suggestions from the audience. When a resident reminded DeLong that he had not followed through on previous suggestions as promised, he again did his deer in the headlights imitation while fumbling for a way to change the subject. At one point, he said "there is room for improvement" and began talking about clamping down on Panama Joes on 2nd street, the whole while avoiding the white elephants, which are Legends and Belmont Station. DeLong then said “we don’t know what bar they’ve been drinking in” and again said to the audience he was open to suggestions.
Never mind that credit card statements spell out exactly what bar the drunks came from. Never mind that each bar has its own video security system that could identify whether the person had been served in the bar. If DeLong truly believe there is no way to identifying the source of the problem, then why isn’t he slapping a moratorium on new 2nd street bar and restaurants until this can be identified. Personally, I believe DeLong is full of it. Everyone knows where the problems originate. It just happens that the owner of that bar is one of his buddies.
Mike Ruehle
· 1 month ago
Councilman DeLong was asked tonight at the Belmont Shore Residents Association meeting how many officers he believes are necessary to address the late night public drunkenness on 2nd street in Belmont Shore. DeLong responded, “I don’t know if 2 more, 3 more, 4 more or 5 more will be sufficient.” “Currently, there are 2 officers that are only for Belmont Shore, which is 2 more that you normally have.”
All Comments
Wasn't there something in the early reports, back when Mr. Rodriguez's name was being withheld, indicating that he or his family was "well connected"? Did that rumor wash out, or does it still have something to do with how curiously the case is proceeding?
As part of their investigation (and I understand that the public hasn't seen the police report that you're endeavoring to bring to public light), will the PD determine where Mr. Rodriguez became intoxicated? Is this knowledge important public safety information if the bar owner has a documented history of producing public drunks? Do the police review security video of bars? Do the bars have security video systems (or are they shrewd enough to dodge this kind of investigation)? Or is this not considered an important element of effective policing by LBPD?
Would the citizens police review board that was eliminated at the urging of (I believe it was) Mayor Foster have had any part to play in investigating this incident and puting to rest citizen concerns that LB officers may not know how to police public intoxication?
Will we ever know the name of the officer? Do we have a right to know or not? Will this person be long gone from active peace officer duty in California by the time the name is revealed? Is this incident a career ender?
And just how serious is this felony? What kind of jail time is Mr. Rodriguez looking at? What kind of time do people convicted of this crime actually serve? What kind of time do legal experts think he'll actually end up serving? Does the family have enough money to keep him out of jail?
And in cities where there are lots of bars but a negligible level of public intoxication arrests and NO police shootings of drunken citizens (Seal Beach Main Street comes to mind, only a few miles from the Shore), how do they do it? Is it that their politics are not awash in booze money, or that the bars there are not allowed to sweep their trash to the curb and leave it to the police, or do they do other things differently?
Stimulating article, Theo. Thank you for your efforts.
“I don't know how many of you are aware of what happened on Covina last night. Another drunken over served twenty something rolled her SUV on Covina, severely damaging seven cars including my new BMW X5. Who is watching the shop here folks. Just because there has not been a shooting lately does not mean the problems don't exist anymore. This is the third DUI related auto damaging event on Covina in the past three years, and all three have damaged our family cars as well as several neighbors.
Let’s focus on the bar's over serving patrons. There is proof that the woman last night was indeed drinking at a nameless (for now) popular bar on 2nd.”
Things don’t seem to have changed a great deal since the police have again chosen to abandon the area except for the lone COP covering over 5-square miles at bar closing time. It’s just a matter of time before we have another shooting or murder in Belmont Shore thanks to Councilman DeLong choosing to support his bar owner buddies and looking the other way when there are problems.
I bet the company insuring the bar Ernest Rodriguez was drinking at before being shot will be interested in what liability they will be force pay for in addition to us taxpayers.
The police refuse to release the police report from that night to the VICTIMS, reportedly stating the investigation is not complete. The police say it may be weeks before they can release the police report to the VICTIMS.
There are eleven cameras at the rear of Legends bar, some of which are focused on the area where the incident occurred. Hopefully the police requested the videos of this incident from Legends owner Gene Rotondo. However, don’t be surprised if the video of this incident as well as the video of the patrons inside Legends bar the night of the incident has now been destroyed.
The police claim they know where the driver had been drinking that night but refuse to release that information to the victims who are regularly impacted by the over served patrons of the 5 problem bars in Belmont Shore.
It is also reported that one of the seven cars damaged by the over served driver was owned by a Legends’ bartender. Is that considered irony or Karma?
If residents want to learn more about this accident, I urge them to come to the Belmont Shore Residents Association meeting tonight at 6:00 pm in the Bay Shore Library to ask Councilman DeLong what he is doing to curb the violence in our community. DeLong is the guest speaker scheduled for 6:30 pm.
http://www.youtube.com/user/BSResident2009#p/a/...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/44614586@N04/?saved=1
Are you working on finding answers for any of these questions? Not trying to be the boss of you, just wondering if we're going to have any answers to these questions that we can use.
Hope it's not snotty to ask. You're doing good work here.
On May 14, 2009 (13-days before the shooting) Officer Hunt, the police officer assigned to 2nd street attended the BSRA monthly meeting and scolded residents for making a big deal out of a fight audio/video published in several newspapers. (below link). Officer Hunt implied residents fabricated the video “to get a faster response” from the police. When asked if he knew that for a fact, Officer Hunt stated he didn’t know, but “assumed” that to be the case. When asked whether he had viewed the video, Officer Hunt said he had NOT. However, he diminished the Belmont Shore video and residents concerns by referring to “real crime” in other parts of the city.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPgaj2KrV6M&feat...
When someone tried to explain to Officer Hunt that residents were only asking for his help to take a message back to his superiors, that residents would like to have more of a late night police presence in Belmont Shore, Officer Hunt responded by saying “YOU ARE NOT GOING TO GET IT.” When asked whether he could be quoted on that, Officer Hunt responded, “sure, go ahead,” and then repeated it again.
On May 19, 2009 (7-days before the shooting) I spoke before the Mayor and City Council about the problems residents were experiencing with late night bar patrons. My comments can be viewed at 2:43:30 of the attached video link. I received ZERO feedback from council. No mention of plans to increase police staffing on 2nd street was made by Councilman DeLong.
http://longbeach.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx
On May 21, 2009 (5-days before the shooting) East Division Commander Renaud responded to a request for additional Belmont Shore police staffing during Councilman DeLong’s 3rd District Neighborhood meeting by saying she was limited by funding to provide additional police. At no time did she mention any plans to deploy more police on 2nd street.
After an especially destructive Memorial Day weekend, I AGAIN emailed city staff, the Mayor and each Councilmember on May 24, 2009 (3-days before the shooting), AGAIN requesting their help getting an increased late night police presence. Again, I received no response.
During the May 26, 2009 (1-days before the shooting) Business Association meeting, Police Officer Covarubias was asked about the recent fight videos posted in the District Weekly. Officer Covarubias told the audience she was unaware of any calls made to the police about any of the videos. Furthermore, Officer Covarubias told the Business Association that residents making “fake” gun calls to the police was becoming a problem. No mention was made of increased police staffing on 2nd street to address the problem.
On May 27, 2009, (actually the day of the shooting) the District Weekly published an article about residents’ frustration and the new methods residents were turning to—like posting videos to YouTube—to embarrass elected leaders to provide more police.
http://thedistrictweekly.com/2009/print/news/sa...
Ironically, the District Weekly article was published twelve hours before the officer involved shooting in front of Legends.
http://www.lbreport.com/news/may09/oisbel.htm
Immediately following the shooting, for 3-months there were 10 – 15 police officers every night on 2nd street when the bars closed.
http://thedistrictweekly.com/2009/daily/writing...
On June 2, 2009 (four days after the shooting) I again spoke before the Mayor and City Council and asked for the umpteenth time for their help with the public disturbance problems caused by 5 problem bars. You can find my testimony at 3:30:57 of the attached video link. You will also find Councilman DeLong’s response to my request for additional police resources where Councilman DeLong said, “the police are doing an outstanding job…everyone knows how tough the budget is…I couldn’t be more pleased with the police response.” I wonder if Councilman DeLong feels the same way after the June 15, 2009 (18 days after the shooting) rape of a minor girl in Belmont Shore and the August 2, 2009 (34-days after the shooting) aggravated assault and attempted murder of a person on the beach in Belmont Shore.
http://longbeach.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?v...
Despite numerous violent videos, calls for help from the public and documented increased crimes on 2nd street, it was not until after this shooting that the police decided to increase their presence on 2nd street. Since then, police staffing has again diminished to one officer in beat 10 covering over 25 bar closings at 2:00 am stretching over 5 square miles from Seal Beach to Broadway to Redondo Avenue. Shannon nor the police have spoken the truth on this near deadly incident. It's only a matter of time before a preventable similar incident happens again.
I have a suggestion. How about using future reward money and burial fund money to hire more cops to prevent the problems in the first place.
http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_13712635
I feel sorry for the poor guy who did the right thing by bringing this forward. You know he must have complained to no avail to his supervisors for some time before finally taking it to the Grand Jury. He will surely be retaliated against by city hall. Maybe that’s what he is hoping for. After all, taxpayers did have to pay multimillion dollar payouts to the cops retaliated against for Lobstergate.
Since crime in Long Beach is defined by the number of police reports filled out rather than the actual crimes that occur, one way of creating low crime statistics is to just not answer the phone.
Urinating in the street is not a 911-call-but a fight is and should be
called in on 911 line.
Yes. But I like it.
Maybe the cops just like to take the more safe and predictible calls, rather than dealing with drunk asses on 2nd.
(Just so you know one of those calls was for a downed homeless guy, and the paramedics were there in moments. It was taken very seriously.)
get to then is Belmont Shore.
It depends also on how many other calls they are and what they are for.
In Long Beach, 911 lines and 7-digit lines (435-6711) are all answered by the same police communications operators and dispatchers in the same room in the same building and processed in the same manner.
Because system capacities are not unlimited and too many such calls can slow or, in extreme cases, even crash the system, 911 should generally be reserved for legitmate emergencies only.
Whenever possible, non-emergencies should be reported using the 7-digit line because: 1. It frees up the 911 system for legitimate emergencies and 2. They are answered by the same people in the same room in the same building and processed in the same manner so timely service, even to non-emergency calls, is better assured.
I know many of our communications operators, dispatchers and supervisors personally and can attest that, to a person, they are dedicated and committed professionals who provide the very best service possible during each and every call they receive, 911 or otherwise.
Hope that helps!
thought.But for now:
Every bar in Long Beach will have a machine not unlike Kinko's; Staples
etc which issues a card.Every time one orders a drink the card is given to
the person who takes your order,brings it back with the drink having
scanned it at bar when drinks are picked up.As when you first enter and
get your card which will be date and time stamped-you will scan it upon
leaving.
If you are stopped by police and there is evidence that you have been
drinking you will be required to produce the card.If no card--you will be
required to demonstrate where you were. Perhaps the DMV should issue the
cards and have them coded to your DL number.
Charge any and all $10.00 for a card--you will be responsible for the puppy.
Then there is a record of the problematic bars and drivers.
Obviously concept needs to be worked on--so go to it!!!
Let us hear what your suggestions are as to how to expunge the De Long
culture which as so deteriorated our neighborhoods.
My hunch is that too many public officials, their donors and their offspring enjoy public intoxication too much for this to fly.
http://www.hs.facebook.com/people/Ernest-Raymon...
The public has a right to know why the police officer did not wait for backup, mace Mr. Rodriguez or shoot him with a tazer before resorting to his/her gun. Why did the police officer choose lethal force when other non-lethal options were available that would NOT have endangered multiple bystanders from being struck by a bullet from the officer’s gun? All of this information will come out in the trial. So why are the police withholding it?
Why did it take over 20 minutes for the paramedics to arrive to address Mr. Rodriguez’s wounds after being shot? After all, the fire station paramedics are only located 3 blocks from the shooting location. Why did it take over 30 minutes for Mr. Rodriguez to be transported to a hospital? Did the police impede paramedics attending to Mr. Rodriguez? Were they hoping he would die so there would be no law suit?
Don’t get me wrong. I’m a supporter of the police. However, I am not a supporter of some police policies that appear to protect the police from proper public scrutiny. For 18 months I was denied a simple request for information on how many police officers were deployed in the East Division compared to other parts of Long Beach. I met with City Manager West, Police Chief Batts, Assistant Police Chief Luna, Commander Renaud, all of which told me they would not give me that information, citing bogus TERRORIST concerns. City Attorney Shannon backed them. Utterly ridiculous. It was not until I spoke before city council and it was published in the newspapers were the police embarrassed enough to release the deployment information.
Pretty much everybody, including myself, has done something stupid in their life like breaking a window. However, it did not escalate to the point where I was shot three times for doing so. It may be an anomaly. To make sure that is indeed the case, I believe the public has a right to know more about how the police are protecting them and have the right to question unreasonable conduct. Withholding information from the public only encourages misconduct.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yY2cCPW3H7g
Need I remind people that Councilman DeLong was Chairman of the Budget Oversight Committee that approved the reduction in the Long Beach police force by 100 officers in September? Long Beach now has the same number of sworn officers protecting the public that they had in 1999.
Never mind that credit card statements spell out exactly what bar the drunks came from. Never mind that each bar has its own video security system that could identify whether the person had been served in the bar. If DeLong truly believe there is no way to identifying the source of the problem, then why isn’t he slapping a moratorium on new 2nd street bar and restaurants until this can be identified. Personally, I believe DeLong is full of it. Everyone knows where the problems originate. It just happens that the owner of that bar is one of his buddies.