by Liz Mullen
Tag launcher helps
HBPD end car chases
The Hermosa Beach Police Department will soon be able to launch GPS trackers onto the cars and trucks of suspects that refuse officers’ orders to pull over, a move that could lessen or eliminate the danger of high-speed pursuits.
The Hermosa Beach city council approved about $61,000 to be spent on the trackers at its August. 13 meeting. HBPD hopes to get the GPS trackers installed on the grilles of five of its police cruisers before the end of the year, according to HBPD Officer Keaton Dadigan.
The state-of-the-art devices are only produced by one company, Virginia Beach, Va.-based StarChase. Each of Hermosa’s five patrol cars will get two trackers placed on the front of the vehicle to be shot at the back of a suspect’s vehicle.
“It’s a foam projectile with sticky stuff on it,” Dadigan said. “It’s not going to damage the car.” Not damaging the car being chased is important, he said, because many vehicles involved in high-speed police chases are stolen.
There may be times when HBPD needs to continue a chase, for example, of a murder suspect. But in many instances, if the chase gets too dangerous the police will be able to pull back but still follow the car online with StarChase.
“Police officers have to weigh the risk and benefit of chasing a vehicle,” Dadigan said. “If it’s just a stolen vehicle, that’s a property crime. So, if that person is driving on the wrong side of the road and is driving erratically and it’s a danger to the community to chase them you can just put this tracker on the car so you can track their movements,” Dadigan said.
HBPD officers can launch the tracker by pressing a button inside the police car. They have two shots of hitting the suspect’s car. The devices will allow HBPD to track the suspect, and to share the suspect’s location with neighboring police agencies.
“We are not going to be chasing the person at 100 miles an hour, on the wrong side of the road, through downtown Hermosa,” Dadigan said. “Instead, we go into what we call ‘tracking mode,’ and we wait until they come to a stop. Then we can surround the vehicle in a safe manner.”
HBPD Chief Paul LeBaron is a proponent of using technology to make the city safer. Earlier this year the city installed new cameras in the downtown areas and received federal funding for a real time crime center which will allow HBPD to tie all its technology together to solve more crime in less time.
RBPD plans DUI checkpoint
Friday
The Redondo Beach Police Department will hold a DUI checkpoint at an undisclosed location in the city on Friday, Aug. 23 from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Additionally, RPBD will put additional officers on patrol from Aug. 16 through Sept. 2 (Labor Day) with a special emphasis on looking for people who are driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, including prescription drugs.
The RBPD typically holds two DUI checkpoints every year around the summer and winter holidays. The department held its last checkpoint on Dec. 15 on Pacific Coast Highway at Diamond Street (the location of RBPD headquarters). RBPD stopped more than 1,000 drivers that night and arrested four drivers for DUI.
A woman robber threatened a store owner with pepper spray and stole a gold chain off the male owner’s neck in Redondo Beach earlier this month.
The robbery occurred at an open business on the 2200 block of Artesia Boulevard. The woman entered the store and the owner placed an item on the counter. She grabbed the item, threatened the owner with pepper spray and then grabbed the gold chain off his neck. She threw the gold chain in the street.
There were at least six vehicle burglaries in Redondo Beach the week of Aug. 9 through Aug. 15, including another burglary of police weapons.
A burglar broke into a Chevy Silverado pickup truck on the 2400 block of Perkins Lane on Aug. 8 and stole a Glock firearm, police ID, a backpack with gym equipment, a wallet, credit cards and 11 rounds of .45 caliber ammunition.
Multiple MBPD stores
hit multiple times
There were multiple retail thefts in Manhattan Beach during the week of Aug. 8 through Aug. 14, including multiple thefts at both the Target and Old Navy stores.
On Aug. 8, a suspect entered the Target at 1200 Sepulveda Boulevard and selected a vacuum as well as other items. The suspect used the self scan checkout, but did not scan the vacuum and left the store without paying for it.
On Aug. 10, also at Target, a suspect picked out a suitcase and a backpack and began concealing items inside. The suspect left without paying and ran when confronted by the loss prevention employee. MBPD arrested this suspect.
Also at Target on Aug. 12, suspects entered the Target, placed baby formula in storage bins and left without paying.
Meanwhile, the Old Navy at 1800 Rosecrans Boulevard was hit on Aug. 9, Aug. 10 and Aug. 13.
On Aug. 9, a suspect entered the store, selected several pairs of jeans and left without paying. This suspect was arrested.
On Aug. 10, suspects entered the Old Navy, stole multiple items and left in a four-door sedan that was waiting outside. This is an ongoing investigation.
On Aug 13, MBPD officers were called to the Old Navy about suspects who had stolen merchandise and left without paying. After the officers left, these suspects returned that same day and stole more items. This is also an ongoing MBPD investigation.
Other stores in Manhattan Beach were victimized by retail thieves, including the Sunglass Hut at 3200 Sepulveda Boulevard and a store at 1570 Rosecrans Avenue where a suspect got a clerk to open a liquor cabinet, grabbed bottles and ran out of the store to a waiting car. ER
