The City Council on Tuesday approved $20,000 for additional police resources on the weekends in the wake of a fight on the plaza left two men hospitalized for stab wounds Sept. 1.
Police increased patrols last weekend in response to the fight that began with racial slurs and involved as many as ten people.
Although the police have always had the ability to bring patrol reinforcements to the plaza if needed, budget cuts eliminated extra officers signing up to work downtown on the weekends in the last few years.
The $20,000, approved 4-1 and introduced by Council member Mike DiVirgilio, would pay for extra L.A. County public safety personnel for the next five weekends as well as additional officers from LA Impact and the South Bay SUI, which are multi-agency law enforcement task forces. The city manager and police chief will decide exactly how to implement the resources, if needed.
A few residents speaking at Tuesday’s city council meeting urged city officials to bulk up the city’s emergency services in the wake of several late night crimes this summer, including a sexual assault outside Hermosa Valley School on Saturday and robbery Sept. 2.
Council member Peter Tucker did not support the measure, saying he wanted to hear reports from the fire and police chiefs first. Tucker said there have been a number of problems and lawsuits against the city in connection with heightened police enforcement in the past, especially officers from other jurisdictions.
In other City Council news, council members on Tuesday finalized a ban on polystyrene restaurant takeout containers, which will begin March 10. Tucker, Council member Howard Fishman and Mayor Jeff Duclos supported the ban, which is aimed to reduce beach pollution. Mayor Pro Tem Kit Bobko and DiVirgilio opposed it.
