In response to the stabbings that occurred last weekend, the Hermosa Beach police plan to increase their presence on the plaza as well as throughout the city this weekend.
“In particular, we will saturate the Pier Plaza area, as well as along Hermosa and Pier avenues,” Interim Police Chief Steve Johnson said in a press release. “While the incident that took place is a rare occurrence, we want to remind those enjoying Hermosa Beach that we will not tolerate dangerous and unruly behavior.”
Two men were stabbed during a fight on the plaza late Saturday night that involved as many as ten people, police said. The men suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to a local hospital where one underwent surgery.
A 26-year-old Whittier man, Dimetrick Richmond, was arrested and charged with attempted murder in connection with the stabbings, police said.
Racial slurs appear to have begun the melee, police said. The weapon used has not been found, police said.
Initially the police reported that an argument between the two groups of men started inside Sharkeez but later backed off that claim, saying the conflict had began on the plaza.
Chris Martinez, the general manager for Sharkeez, declined comment on last weekend’s incident, saying only, “We are actively participating with police to make sure the plaza is safe for the community.”
The fight happened outside American Junkie bar. Manager Mike Santomieri said he often hires military veterans and that practice came in handy last Saturday night. One of the stabbing victims staggered to the front entrance of American Junkie, where Santomieri’s employees tended to him, including tying on a tourniquet until paramedics arrived.
Santomieri said he supports the extra patrols on the plaza planned for this weekend. “It’s smart to do it to shore the defense up,” Santomieri said.
HBPD Lt. Tom Thompson said the department is stepping up its presence as a pre-caution and has not received any information that a retaliatory incident might occur.
“It was a busy summer on the weekends with the crowds, and we want to put out additional resources and try to see if we can keep anything from happening,” Thompson said, adding that the potential for trouble on the plaza has always been present.
“It’s been going on for decades,” Thompson said. “We’ve had bars down there as far as I can remember. Used to get a lot of bikers downtown but obviously the clientele has changed.”
Thompson said the city has always had the ability to bring reinforcements to the plaza if necessary.
“It’s something we have been doing for a long time,” Thompson said. “We’ve always had extra patrol to get extra people down there. If there are more calls for service, you need the resources to cover it.”
Thompson confirmed that the department used to have officers who would sign up to work downtown on the weekends. But due to budget constraints that reduced the number of officers in the department from 39 to 36, in addition to injuries and other issues, the department has not been able to provide as much extra downtown police detail for the last few years, Thompson said.
“We’re basically covering patrol slots,” Thompson said. “We haven’t been up to full strength to really post those positions.”
Mayor Jeff Duclos, who has called for tougher measures for bars open past midnight, believes the stabbings and rowdy behavior on the plaza late at night on the weekends must be addressed by the local establishments.
“It is directly related to a lot of people consuming a lot of alcohol with a lot of testosterone mixed in,” Duclos said. “This has been a problematic formula for law enforcement.”
Duclos introduced a measure at a City Council meeting this summer that called for bars open past midnight to provide their own licensed late night security to monitor not only inside their establishments but also the perimeter outside. Although the measure failed, Duclos said he is hoping to gather community support for it.
“It’s time the proprietors of the establishments step up and take a greater responsibility for the negative impacts of their enterprise,” Duclos said, adding that many issues at the plaza late at night on the weekends go unreported.
“We are rolling the dice in my opinion almost every weekend with the volume and kinds of activity they are engaged in,” Duclos said.
Gary Vincent, who owns Fat Face Fenner’s Fishack, said each individual business ought to be evaluated and judged as to their operations.
“The city should stop faulting everyone (on the plaza) together. And frankly, the city has been doing that,” Vincent said. “Most places have fully staffed security that is fully present at the door and inside their premises.”
Jennifer Lindsay has lived in Hermosa Beach for 40 years. She does not feel unsafe on the plaza late at night on the weekends, even after last week’s stabbings.
“It’s just a bunch of drunk idiots,” Lindsay said on roller skates at the plaza Friday morning. “You can get stabbed anywhere.”
However, Mary Edgar, who was visiting Hermosa Beach from Missouri with her family on Friday, said she welcomed the extra police presence.
“It would make me feel more safe seeing the police at night,” Edgar said. “Just their presence might be a deterrent from something happening.”
Hermosa Beach officers will “fully enforce DUI, public intoxication and other public safety laws,” according to the press release.
