Aug
31
Your reporting & comments on tonight’s Rossmoor Highlands meeting with police
Filed Under Community News, Crime & Police
Dean Grose and Troy Edgar chat after the meeting
(Los Alamitos, 8/31/2010)If you were able to attend tonight’s 6:30 meeting with police at City Hall, it would be great if you could share with the rest of us what was discussed and what you learned.
Not just about last week’s rash of burglaries, but also about the “other concerns” that were to be discussed.
Anyone at the meeting is welcome to share your thoughts and observations in the “Comment” box below. Just click the “read more” right hereand complete the box. Whatever name or nickname you use will be public, but your e-mail is kept private. It’s always best to re-read your comment before you hit “submit,” or you’ll have to use the “contact us” button in the masthead to get us to make corrections. Polite, family-friendly language and a respectful attitude is appreciated by all.
Related posts:
- Police schedule Highlands Neighborhood Meeting
- Your reporting & comments on tonight’s City Council Meeting (5/17)
- Your reporting & comments on tonight’s City Council Meeting
- Your reporting & comments on tonight’s Los Al City Council meeting (11/15/10)
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23 Responses to “Your reporting & comments on tonight’s Rossmoor Highlands meeting with police”
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I plan to post the LAPD’s weekly crime summary tomorrow, which includes the 4 Highlands burglaries as well as a solicitor who was arrested for outstanding warrents after a citizen called the police.
When in doubt, call them out:
(562) 594-7232 24-Hour Service
9-1-1 EMERGENCY
An informative and well attended meeting:
The total of recent burglaries is 5 not 4, that was discussed tonight.
Also a woman who’s home was burglarized in 2009 was surprised to hear that she was not on the list for 2009. She gave great detail about how it happened and now she has a burglar alarm.
There was a huge turnout: People all over the place, had to get extra chairs and people sat on the dais and other spots up front.
Most people wanted to know about the recent activity, asked many questions which could not be answered due to”ongoing investigation”.
The city representatives talked about coyotes: Los Al wants the coyotes to move to Seal Beach. Statt also gave info on CERT and crime prevention.
Dean Grose was there towards the end and that was the only person Troy Edgar talked to after the meeting. For as much as Edgar claims to not support Grose he was pretty chummy with him.
Then Jeff Stewart joined the conversation. I didn’t see Jeff having a special conversation with Gerri. That was kind weird, I really wonder about Jeff’s neutrality.
I felt it was a good meeting, with big turn out, including several older folks, who just wanted to know what happened.
The bottom line was Highlands does not have much crime as compare to the city overall, except for the last 5 burglaries.
I am betting since it was so easy that the guy will be back.
Warren Kusumoto, Brad Sheridan and Geri Graham-Mejia were also there. No Zarkos or Schluter.
To Highlands Resident #1:
Thank you for noticing I was there. I was there to support one of the families that was victimized by the recent crime.
I know this family because we used to live in the same neighborhood, and I was saddened to find out that theirs was one of the 5 homes that was robbed. I spoke with them and made sure that they knew about this meeting and that they would attend to hear what was communicated to the residents.
Obviously we thank and appreciate the hard, 24/7, work of Los Al’s Finest. And we should give them a big thumbs-up when they drive by. Let me make it clear up front that I admire and support their work.
But last night’s meeting, while good intentioned, was more fluff and deflection than hard focused, issue centered, dialog. CERT, coyotes, and earthquake preparedness are all important topics, but that’s not why we were there. And we did not want a lecture on what the homeowner can do.
There was no talk of accountability. There was no talk of what the Police Department will do to address any inconsistencies in their policies and procedures. There was no talk about any possible limitations that need to be addressed within the Department.
I am not throwing stones or pointing fingers at the folks that protect us from the bad guys. I was just hoping that the meeting would have had more meat and less potatoes.
And if it was really not possible for them to give us more at that time, then that should have been made clear up front, and the meeting could have taken only a few minutes. That being said, I certainly appreciate the time they spent away from the station, but my time, too, is important.
Well stated, I agree with everything you said.
I did notice that several residents who have lived here many years wanted to know why we don’t see as many patrol cars driving by as in the past. A couple spoke to this and the rest grumbled about it.
It is true, there is not as much visibility of the patrol cars as there used to be.
If they have an extra car that can be parked all day at the entrance to the Highlands, why can’t they hire someone to drive it around the Highlands?
Concilmembers Edgar and Zarkos have both stated that there is a $200,000 surplus in the city budget. If that is the case hire an officer to fill the empty patrol car.
There were also inconsistence’s with the charts of past break ins. Two residents spoke and said their homes were broken into and they were not on the charts. How many more are out there that didn’t even attend the meeting?
Not to continue a thread from another topic, but can I state here that part of the answer to home security is having it checked out by someone who knows the area and knows home security.
Gene’s Lock and Key http://www.geneslockandkey.com happens to live in that area [disclaimer, his DNS is owned by me and his website is on one of my client servers... also our kids went to Weaver together and he introduced me to A taste of Los Al - oh yes, he is also MY locksmith] and has an understanding of the community.
If you have a concern you might want to give Gene a call and have him come over and give you a consult on what you can personally do to protect and secure your home. Gene’s number is 800-400-9556.
Gotta love Los Al’s Finest!
To the previous Highlands posters:
It has been hard to keep quiet for all of this time but, I finally need to speak out.
As to the comment about the fluff and more potatoes than meat: this is an election year. Both councilmembers Zarkos and Edgar are up for re-election and made some very brash statements on their candidate papers about how they have personally reduced crime in the city. Zarkos even stated he expanded our police force! That was a doozie!.
This meeting was a knee-jerk reaction by politicians to give the residents the illusion that they are doing something. It is totally politically driven by the fact that they are up for re-election. Had it not been an election year this meeting would have never happened.
As a 47 year resident who has retired from the public safety field your observations about police visibility are spot on. Years ago there used to be as many as 6 units patrolling our city. Some of those units even had 2 officers aboard. The number today is more like 3 single officer units. Our councilmembers have forced the PD to do much more with less. It has even gotten to the point where the Watch Commander is now out on patrol. The watch commander is taken away from his administrative duties to do this. How these two can make the claims that they have are just plain outrageous!
The fact that we have a higher percentage of monies in reserve for a city with our annual budget size compared to others, is also a problem. The council’s #1 priority is to protect it’s people…nothing is higher priority than that. That includes protecting our lives and property. Gerri Mejia understands that, Zarkos and Edgar do not.
I have heard councilmembers state that the reserves are for a rainy day. As a Republican, I highly agree. The concept that I don’t understand is why haven’t reserves been freed up?
We, in the history of the U.S., are in the worst economic crisis we have ever had to endure. In other words, it is raining ladies and gentlemen! What they are holding the reserves for is beyond me. The break ins in the Highlands are a symptom of the problems in our city.
They obviously need to re-evaluate and re-adjust their actions and funding. This should be done if they are to stick to their #1 priority of protecting the people that they serve. Our PD needs the tools to do its job. We have learned that we don’t send our troops into battle unless they are properly equipped, why would we not do the same for our great men in blue? It’s time to hold the council accountable.
My husband and I went to the meeting last night. It was packed out, lots of Senior citizens, and there was not enough seating.
We heard from a policeman and a detective and another person at city hall (didn’t catch the names). The policeman went into a lot of detail about the history of crime in Los Al and specifically in our neighborhood which was interesting. I think he was trying to tell us our neighborhood is safe. The thing is, we pretty much already knew that…we’ve been living there.
The audience began asking lots of questions about the burglaries but the policeman couldn’t give any details except to say that he didn’t believe this person or persons would come back. He was asked if it might become a trend but he didn’t really answer that question. Truly, how does anyone know?
We had learned more details from the newspaper on the actual burgerlies. Next, the detective spoke for a few minutes about how to make our homes safer. Last, the woman from city hall spoke on Earthquake Preparedness and Coyotes.
Our basic impression was that the meeting was way too long and should only have been on the burglary subject. They should have held all questions to the end of the meeting.
They did pass out some helpful pamphlets at the end which I’m sure we will utilize. I feel that we have a wonderful police department and I know they strive to keep our neighborhoods safe. I think, for the most part, residents just needed a connection with the police and last night they got that.
You are spot on!!! Everyone should read your post and you should send it to the local paper as a letter to the editor. I thought I was the only person in the Highlands that gets it and then you pop up.
You have restored my faith that there is a human who lives in the Highlands who gets it. I thought everyone was brain dead.
The past few years of voting has made me not want to retire here.
One thing the meeting did do is now neighbors are talking to each other, exchanging phone numbers and will be paying closer attention to who is wandering around the streets of the Highlands.
Now if they would just pay attention to WHO they are voting for! How can this many people be that gullible as to believe anything council members Edgar or Zarkos has to say?
While I would be the first one to bash Edgar and Zarkos as nothing but craven politicians seeking to exploit tragedy for personal and political gain, which they are, I want to attempt to put on that moderator hat that I wore when I was managing the site for Dave when Dave was in the mideast…
Let’s keep this focused on positive things we can do to help the clearly underfunded LAPD do their jobs better. Todd has his staff, and if we need more, then let’s ask Todd to put together his “dream” so we can go out and support doing what is necessary to help Todd keep us safe.
Todd has been here his entire career, and we are lucky that the prior council had the wisdom to first offer him the position (many times, until he said “yes”) and then provide him with a PD that is staffed by generally excellent officers who understand and work within our community.
Yes, it is important that we have community patrols. It is also important that there is enough coverage that we can control traffic flow through one of the busiest intersections in Orange County, that we have a presence at the HS, etc. We ask a great deal more from these officers than we were asking just 10 years ago, and maybe it is time to look at upgrading Todd’s department to make it more responsive to the city’s changing needs.
So, the best person to ask and answer this is Todd.
As the economy gets worse, there will be more people that will be willing to cross the line to survive. We are, comparatively, a fairly affluent community and as such represent a prime target for those near us that have less and are feeling the economic noose tightening.
Wow,was Troy Edgar really talking to Dean Grose? Oh my! He should have been stoning Dean Grose for what he did. After all, what Dean Grose did was worse than being a child molester.
To: Another Highlands Resident
Your description of Tuesday’s meeting in your comment (below) reminds me of that old Wendy’s TV commercial where actress Clara Peller would ask “Where’s the beef?” (the younger folks can find the Wendy’s commercial on youtube by searching for “Clara Peller”). If memory serves, I believe that Mondale used this phrase in his campaign.
Seriously, you are welcome to call me at 562-546-2052 to discuss your concerns and worries. Please leave a message at this phone number and either Gerri, Brad or I will return your call within 24 to 36 hours.
By the way, this offer is open to anyone who desires to speak with us. Please do not hesitate to call our number, 562-546-2052. We would be very interested to hear from you to better understand your issues, your perspectives and to just simply meet you!
I just put up a picture–no comment, just identified who was in it, since they were both candidates. If I’d had pictures of the other candidates who attended I’d probably put them up too. Free publicity.
Another reason I put that particular photo up once someone e-mailed it to me was that it illustrated a comment made by “Highlands resident # 1.” I think she felt their “chummy” conversation wasn’t consistent with Troy’s distancing himself from Grose’s candidacy. To me it’s newsworthy because it give the appearance that perhaps they’ve patched things up, but that’s only speculative. I’ve spoken with Troy, Dean G, Dean Z, Vlad Guerrero (en Espanol) and even Raquel Welch a long time ago, but that doesn’t prove anything. (If you ask, maybe I’ll tell you the rest of the story).
A third reason I put up that photo is, so far, it’s the only one from the meeting that anyone’s e-mailed me. Email me one of your photos, & I’ll probably put it up too! BTW, that goes for any photos any reader has that might be good illustrations for a post or that the public might like to see. If you don’t have my e-mail, use the “contact us” button at the top of the page, or a comment & I”ll get back to you.
If it’s newsworthy, or even if you just want to promote your team, shoot it to me. If minors are the focus of the photo, I’m afraid you’ll have to get written permission from their parents first before I can put up their names.
While looking at the photo of Dean Grose and Troy Edgar, I can’t help but wonder what they were discussing. If I were a fly on the wall next to them, I believe the conversation would go something like this:
DEAN: Since we’ve been friends for so long, Troy, I still can’t understand why you would throw me under the bus on NBC news the other day. I thought we agreed to run together like old times when we ruled the city.
TROY: Now Dean, don’t be so naive. Winning this election is much more important than anything to me, even our friendship. Between you and me, I do consider us a team because we share the same values and sense of humor. But I still think you are a liability and could drag me down.
DEAN: We used to have so much in common. When I sent you that famous watermelon e-mail that got me in hot water, and all those other ones I hope nobody finds out about, you laughed and told me how much you enjoyed them too. It’s not fair that I got caught and you didn’t.
TROY: Don’t ever tell anyone that you sent all those e-mails to me! Oh crap, someone just took our picture!
DEAN: What’s wrong with that? Are you embarrassed to be seen with me too?
TROY: Of course not, but I just don’t want anyone to know that we are a team. That needs to stay a secret until after the election.
We were burglarized right after we moved into our home about (10) years ago. To say there was minimal effort made by the PD is exagerating. They did not arrive for (50) minutes from the time I called, were gone in less than an hour, took no pictures, and as a follow-up, provided me a list of pawn shops in the area to go look for our stuff ourselves …….. I would not expect this crime spree to be thwarted by our crack team crimefighter.
You are talking about the old regime 10 years ago.
Chief Mc Crary, Poe, Jempsa, Bates and whomever was left out as the minority.
Honestly, 10 years ago, there was a lot the city was being unaccountable for.
Heck, we even had the great Bob Dominguez as our city manager. That’s a joke by the way.
These are the guys that dropped the ball with Seal Beach taking over our southern section of Los Al Blvd. and Cypress was walking all over us from the other side.
My point is: Leadership comes from above and ten years ago there was a great lack of leadership and it trickled down to the Los Al PD.
The way this meeting was described in the Highlands sure sounds like a lack of leadership again.
Remember: Dominguez and that group in 2003/2004 couldn’t negotiate us getting anything with Cypress and the race track area.
It took Cat Driscoll’s leadership and other concerned citizens to get mitigation dollars, a through street at Lexington and a less obtrusive signal light in our neighborhood.
That council group that was in charge when you got robbed was the same council that had to be pushed by the citizens and Cat Driscoll.
Well guess what: That council, like today’s council, is run by the trash man.
The only time the trash man has not been control of this city was 2004/2006 and look what went on for him to gain control again.
Wake up everyone!!! You were Punked in the last election.
Oh yeah, 10 years ago….who got their trash contract renewed without even a bid or second thought….The trash man and consolidated.
Warren,
Thanks for the post. It is refreshing to see the transparency and the reachability that you’ve shown. It’s the sign of a quality leader. Now if only our council could be that way.
Not trying to say that any council is responsible for higher crime rates directly, but when your priority is to please other politicians, Big Money grabbers like the trash man and throw commissioners off commissions for speaking as citizens, then your going to get non-responsive council members at meetings like this one.
You can’t just listen to Edgar, Grose, Zarkos and Poe, you have to see what they are doing because they are always going to tell you what you want to hear and if you can’t figure out why the colorful mailers/fliers are turning up again, then you are not so smart.
I attended the Highlands meeting at city hall earlier this week and certainly appreciate the time and energy by those who put it on. One of the points emphasized was that they wanted the homeowners to call the non-emergency telephone number when they see anyone or anything that seems out of place. Another statement that was emphasized by the representatives of the LAPD, when responding to a question about so many recent solicitors in the neighborhood, was that there were no solicitor permit papers pulled in many months.
Fast forward to Sept 4, and a knock at our door with a guy wanting money for what appeared to be a good cause. I asked to see his authorization from the city. I turned him away and called the LAPD non-emergency number. Within a minute the responder noted that there was an officer already out there from a pervious call on the same topic and that the solicitor had the proper approvals. Our thanks for the quick response of the LAPD and to the neighbor who called before me.
Unfortunately that brings into question the statements made at the neighborhood meeting about no solicitation permits drawn for many months. My concern is the conflicting statements. Not a big thing but a bit of clarification would sure be appreciated
Any resident from Los Alamitos can call city hall M-F 431-3538, ask to speak to the Community Development Department. Ask how many permits have been pulled to solicit in Los Alamitos in 2010. The answer is none.
When a solicitor comes to the city he should fill out an application to solicit. Most of the time that does not happen It is a fairly long questionnaire about the business, but also asks past arrest record. There is also a fee charged for the permit.
A solicitor could make up a fake permit, how would anyone every know if it is real or not?
If someone comes to your door and is trying to sell you something, ask for a business card.
Tell him you will call if interested.
Then call the police non emergency number 594-7232 and ask the police to check the person out.
If the residents of the Highlands would call the police every time a solicitor comes to the door the Highlands would be a safer place.
This is not the 50′s, we do not live in a rural area, there is nothing anyone can give you going door to door that you can buy at a store. There are many scams going on door to door, it is not safe to do business with anyone at your door.
You can also put a sign up “NO Solicitors”
Yes, all that you say is accurate. And we, in fact, were given that information during the Highlands meeting by the Police Department. The discrepancy of which I referred to, is that the Police Dept representative to whom I spoke made it clear that the field officer who made contact with the solicitor, said that they had a valid permit. This seems to be in conflict with the statement that there have been no permits issued in 2010. I would really like to have more confidence in information coming from the same city department. Thanks for listening.
From the Highlands said: “I would really like to have more confidence in information coming from the same city department.”
I think that is very interesting and I to would like to know the answer to that. Can you call the police tomorrow and
1. find out who told you that the person had a permit?
2. If you know the name of the company/solicitor call the Community Development Department and see if indeed he had a permit.
3. let us know what you find out please.
The officer may have see a fake permit or the two departments need to talk to each other and find out what’s going on. I agreed with you and I would also like to know, I did not get the solicitor at my door or I would have made a call also. Thank you