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911 - Have you ever had to call 911 as a resident of Los Angeles? I have, and on more than one occasion! And, as a former cop and law enforcement supporter, I’ve been underwhelmed by the city 911 system that put me on hold for over half an hour, only to have no officer ever show up at my residence in response to a 5150 female banging on my front door at 3 am in 2022.
So, you can imagine my surprise and chagrin when I read news reports stating LAPD arrested the burglary suspect that broke into Mayor Bass’ Getty House on 4/24/2024, shortly after breaking a window and gaining entry to Bass’ home while the mayor and family members were inside. I thought, “wow, how did the police get there fast enough to actually catch the suspect in the house?!”
While having a recent conversation with a “police source” about the recent burglary at the mayor’s house, I asked how police officers got there so fast? Did Mayor Bass have a security detail on the property at the time of the burglary? My source laughed and said that Mayor Bass does not have to call 911 and wait for thirty minutes to talk to an operator like the rest of us poor saps in Los Angeles, she has her own Hotline with a red light that connects the mayor’s house directly with LAPD Communications Division.
The mayor’s Hotline bypasses the 911 system all other Angelenos have to use in emergencies and directly connects the Hotline to the LAPD Communications Division, red light and all! My source said that no officer [they/them know] could remember the Hotline and its red light ever being used prior to Bass’ call.
While the former cop in me thought, “well, that makes sense, right,” the citizen part of me thought, “that is BS, right?!” I’ve watched crime increase all over Playa del Rey (where I live), Westchester and the Venice area, the whack-a-mole approach to the homeless and criminals living in RV’s and vans on almost every street in beach communities, and my own inability to get LAPD officers to my condo when a crazed female drug addict was banging on my door at 3 AM.
I have seen firsthand the effects of Props 47 & 57 and Assembly Bill 109 in California, and the negative impact (ten years 2012-2022) under former Mayor Garcetti and former Councilman Bonin on Council District 11 (CD). Vagrants living in tents, RV’s and vans that took over Westchester Park where I used to train my Golden Retriever. Eventually, I stopped going to the park as I felt unsafe.
Various bridges and parks became nomad land, where people choosing to live in vehicles of all types began to pop up throughout the Playa area. It was sad to watch. Traffic on Vencie Blvd became a nightmare for commuters and emergency vehicles, again, with bike lanes that no one uses cause congestion on Culver Blvd, Venice Blvd, et al. As Garcetti’s administration wore on, so did quality of life, homelessness, and traffic congestion in my community.
In May of 2020, a career criminal, drug addict, under the influence of fentanyl and methamphetamine named George Floyd, resisted arrest for a minor crime and eventually died in-custody of Minneapolis police.
In the aftermath, former LAPD Chief Michael Moore took a knee to BLM rioters in Los Angeles and prohibited officers from engaging the rioters and looters with any force, although some incident commanders on the ground had to use force on looters to restore order. Many of us watched on television as rioters and looters ran amok in Los Angeles, Santa Monica and Long Beach without police intervention.
Public safety in Los Angeles was then “reimagined” by progressives in city and county government, and with bail reform, and the election of George Gascon as District Attorney of Los Angeles County, there has been a steady decline in quality of life for law abiding Angelenos. Career criminals, gangs involved in the narcotics trade, had a new gig; organized retail theft.
Assembly Bill 2773, which took effect in January 2024, was designed to limit pretextual stops and biased policing by California law enforcement officers. As a result, police officers in Los Angels now must have probable cause of ancillary crime before they can initiate a traffic stop for a vehicle code violation. Cops are not allowed to ask you a whole bunch of questions that might lead to your arrest! So, way less traffic violation enforcement in Los Angeles.
Only law-abiding citizens like me even bother to have a valid driver’s license, valid vehicle registration and proof of insurance as required by the California Vehicle Code. I guess only chumps like me go to Target or Ralph’s to purchase goods and actually pay for the items, while “others” are allowed to simply fill their basket and walk out.
I appreciate the challenging work of newly elected Councilperson Traci Park and her staff in CD 11, however, a new crime wave has plagued my community. Vandalism, burglary from motor vehicles, theft from motor vehicles, assaults, knifings, and shootings have all made headlines recently in Venice/Playa communities in 2024. I have found that living in a Los Angeles beach community is almost as dangerous as riding a Metro train or bus!
So, I am officially asking the LAPD Communications Division to please install a Hotline in my residence. I do not necessarily need a red light to go with it, but if I could get the cops to my home in an emergency, I’d be one happy Westside, Playa del Rey camper (not in a van)!
(Gil Contreras is a former police officer, Army veteran and award winning radio & podcast personality. Gil is also a California state licensed private investigator, certified K9 handler and corporate director of investigations with over 30 years of security, law enforcement and investigative training and experience.)
