LAPD Senior Lead Officer Michael Moore
Rich Schmitt/Staff Photographer
By ALEXANDRIA BORDAS | Reporter
LAPD Senior Lead Officer (SLO) Michael Moore invited the Palisadian-Post to spend the day on a ride-along to better understand how the LAPD addresses daily community concerns in the Palisades.
His cubicle is cluttered with official reports, family pictures and a fading “Paul Blart Mall Cop” movie poster. At 5:58 a.m. a steady stream of morning news murmured from the television while other officers shuffled into the makeshift downstairs office in the West Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) to check their messages.
LAPD Senior Lead Officer Michael Moore Rich Schmitt/Staff Photographer
Moore slid on his glasses and stared intently at his computer screen.
“Only 35 emails, slow morning,” said Moore, chuckling to himself.
At 6:20 a.m. on Wednesday, May 27 Officer Moore chomped on a homemade muffin while using only his two pointer fingers to respond to emails from concerned Palisadians.
Working out of the West LAPD office in Santa Monica, Moore said most emails focus on homelessness, traffic and most recently the groundbreaking construction at Marquez Elementary School.
“Loud construction can be heard at midnight, which is unacceptable,” muttered Moore while scanning his emails. “We’re paid for people to vent. Not everyone around here likes it but especially as an SLO that’s what we’re supposed to do.”
Moore applauds the efforts Councilmember Mike Bonin is making in aiding homeless individuals living in the Palisades.
“I think he’s the real deal,” Moore said. “He is so dedicated to L.A.”
Moore has been working as the SLO in Pacific Palisades since 2006. Officers Jimmy Lavenson and Jon Iniguez can regularly be seen patrolling the Palisades and report directly to Moore.
“In all of West LA, the Palisades is really the best area. One of my bosses loves coming all the way over here just for lunch,” Moore said.
Moore faced one of his more trying personal life hurdles while working in the Palisades. In 2008 he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, which had been growing inside him for years.
“I found out I had cancer while working on patrol, it was devastating,” he said. “My lymph nodes were so swollen it looked like a golf ball was hanging off my neck. At UCLA medical center they surgically removed everything and today I am cancer free.”
Moore was never certain he wanted to become a cop. He first interviewed with LAPD when he was 22 years old but, “I bombed the oral interview portion of the test so I needed more practice,” he said.
He eventually landed an interview with Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to become an officer through LAPD.
“I passed, thankfully,” Moore said with a smile. “I was 24 years old. I graduated police academy and six months later, I was working at the airport.”
Moore said he breezed through police academy and was never very intimidated because he had experienced basic training when he was in the U.S. Army Reserves.
“For somebody like me it’s hard to be so straight-faced because I want to smile all the time, especially because I always knew the yelling was just a tactic and it wasn’t real,” he said.
After working at LAX for two years monitoring airport security, he moved on to work directly out of LAPD offices.
“As a young officer it was hard to be limited to LAX because you want to be out there arresting the bad guys,” said Moore.
This October, Moore will be celebrating 25 years with the LAPD.
6:17 a.m.: Officer Michael Moore starts his morning off by checking and responding to emails as well as voicemails. He watches a video surveillance tape that shows multiple vehicles zooming through red lights on Palisades Drive. Another email discusses public urination by a homeless man in front of children. On particularly busy days, Moore will receive as many as 150 emails, most from concerned Palisadians. “SLOs aren’t available 24/7 to handle these situations, but we do the best we can,” he said. Photo: Alexandria Bordas7:10 a.m.: After Moore calls his wife to say “good morning,” he proceeds to the gun room to check out a laser “speed gun” and the keys to one of 30 patrol cars. Photo: Alexandria Bordas8:08 – 8:45 a.m.: Moore takes a beach walk around “tent city,” as it is commonly referred to by residents. Moore stops at each tent and speaks to homeless individuals about their living situation. “It’s hard to see. Depression plays a big part in homelessness and the problem is there are not a lot of options if you don’t have the connections to resources,” Moore said. One homeless woman told Moore, “It takes so damn long to receive services that you lose hope.” According to Moore, “There are no legitimate solutions happening right now and LAPD doesn’t have many options. All we can really do is write citations and move them off the beaches each morning. But these are people and they have to sleep somewhere.” Photo: Alexandria Bordas9:09 a.m.: Moore meets Officers Jimmy Lavenson and Jon Iniguez on Swarthmore to follow up with a police report after a break-in occurred at the Yogurt Shoppe. Afterward they walk to Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf to greet the regulars who ritually meet up to drink coffee and discuss the Palisades. “You have to get out of the car and speak to your community because they are the eyes and ears,” Lavenson said. “You want people to feel comfortable enough to come and talk to you.” Moore added, “It is my job to guide the guys on patrol, to educate them and integrate them into the community they are serving.” Photo: Alexandria Bordas9:38 a.m.: A quick stop at CVS on Swarthmore so Moore can grab a Monster energy drink. “I like to drive through neighborhoods and go into local shops for a community presence. It deters crime,” Moore said. In the Palisades and other parts of West LA, Moore said traffic violations are frequently a greater issue than violence. Photo: Alexandria Bordas10:01 a.m.: Moore swings by Marquez Elementary School to speak to Principal Alberto Hananel about multiple complaints regarding after-hours construction. According to residents, demolition to old school structures could be heard at 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 26. “I contacted every police officer and commissioner to handle the issue, but it is really up to the project managers to enforce curfews,” Hananel said. Photo: Alexandria Bordas10:20 a.m.: Moore parks at Palisades Drive to perform routine speed checks with the laser gun. The speed limit for that stretch of highway is 45 M.P.H. and no cars were stopped for speeding. Moore talks about the trickle of complaints he receives every Wednesday night about the noise from motorcycles. “The issue here isn’t so much about their speed but the noise they make as a group. We have monitored their speed multiple times at night and they are usually always within the speed limit,” he said. “SLOs don’t get to wipe their hands clean at the end of the day. We wake up and tackle the same issues plaguing the community day after day till we find ways to fix them.” Photo: Alexandria Bordas11:05 a.m.: Moore stops in at Pinocchio in Cucina where he orders a pepperoni pizza and a salad. Over lunch he talks about his love for Halloween. “I worked as a monster and makeup artist at Knott’s Scary Farm starting in 1998 for nine years every October by using my vacation time and I loved that job,” Moore reminisced. Photo: Alexandria Bordas12:56 p.m.: A regular in the Palisades Village, “Timmy” sleeps on the sidewalk near Ralphs on Sunset Boulevard. Moore walks over to speak with him to make sure he is okay. “We offer and offer and offer to take people like Timmy to a hospital or shelter,” he said. “So does the city attorney Veronica de la Cruz, but they don’t want it for multiple reasons.” He adds, “I can’t argue with their logic of wanting to live their life the way they want to. They just have a different way of thinking. Sure, I can cite Timmy for littering or blocking the sidewalk, but that does nothing long term.” Photo: Alexandria Bordas2:30 p.m.: While preparing for his weekly Crime Report Meeting, Moore demonstrates how to properly use handcuffs. Crime is ranked high on West LAPD’s priority list and Captain Tina Nieto said starting at the community level to lower crime rates is key. “Simple things like keeping your car doors locked and not leaving valuables in sight will greatly lower the risk of crime in areas like the Palisades,” she said. Captain Nieto emphasized the importance of reporting crime. “Citizens need to follow through on their crime reports as well. It’s their due diligence in the justice process.” Photo: Alexandria Bordas
4:00 p.m.: Moore heads into a closed-door meeting with LAPD officials and Councilmember Mike Bonin’s office to discuss the homelessness situation in West LA.
5:37 p.m.: More than 11 hours after he arrived, Moore’s workday is officially over.
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