When the Pacific Palisades Community Council learned last Thursday that the Los Angeles Police Department did not respond to a local 911 call because a patrol car was not available, the Council decided to contact police and city officials to demand that at least one car be in the community round the clock. ‘We citizens deserve to be protected,’ said Haldis Toppel, who called 911 on February 27 to report an alleged drunk driver and did not receive a response because the patrol car was about seven miles away at the West Los Angeles station (1663 Butler Ave.) for a shift change. Patrol cars in neighboring areas were busy responding to other calls. LAPD Interim Captain Ruben De La Torre told the Palisadian-Post this Monday that twice a day the basic patrol car for the Palisades returns to the West L.A. station for a shift change. There are other cars out during that time within the station’s boundaries, but they may not be in the Palisades, De La Torre said. The station covers about 65 square miles bordering Beverly Hills, Culver City, Santa Monica and Malibu and is under the jurisdiction of the West Bureau. The bureau also oversees operations in Hollywood, Wilshire and Pacific stations. The patrol car leaves the Palisades to return to the station whenever an officer needs to file a report for a serious crime or has taken someone into custody, De La Torre added. On February 27, Toppel was nearly hit by a driver who entered Ralphs’ parking lot (15120 Sunset Blvd.) at a high speed. When the driver exited his vehicle to enter Ralphs, he appeared to be drunk, said Toppel, so she called the police around 4:55 p.m. When the police didn’t arrive, Toppel called 911 again 18 minutes later to report that the driver had left Ralphs and was traveling westbound on Sunset. She was told the driver would be pulled over if police spotted him. The incident concerned the Council because the Palisades did not have a patrol car in the area to respond. ‘This could be any 911 call,’ said Toppel, who serves as secretary on the Council. She pointed out that it might take one or two hours for the car to return from the station. Since Pacific Palisades is geographically isolated from the rest of the city, the Council agreed that there should be at least one car here at all times. There are points in the community that are as far as 14 miles from the West L.A. station. ‘We are not getting the basic level of safety,’ Council Chair Emeritus Steve Boyers said. The Council unanimously passed a motion at last Thursday’s meeting authorizing Council Chair Richard G. Cohen to ‘demand in writing that LAPD immediately schedule the deployment of sworn officers and cars such that at least one active patrol car is present in Pacific Palisades at all times to assure the safety of this community and to demand in writing that the police commission research the allocation policy and patrol practices in West Los Angeles to assure the safety of the community.’ Cohen was also asked to ‘establish a committee to discuss with the appropriate city departments the details of 24/7-365 days police protection in the Palisades to ensure timely implementation and continued operation.’ In response, De La Torre told the Post: ‘I absolutely agree with the community. They are isolated and at times, help is 20 to 25 minutes away.’ He said his goal is to assign another car to the Palisades as soon as he receives additional officers in the coming months. Debra McCarthy, assistant commanding officer of West Bureau, told the Post in a March 5 article (‘Local Leaders Air Concerns about LAPD Turnover’) that six more officers, detectives and lieutenants should join the station in April. Right now, the Palisades has a patrol car scheduled from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. De La Torre envisions adding a second car from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m to provide coverage during shift changes. ‘It’s on my radar, and I’m working on it,’ he said. At last Thursday’s meeting, the Council further requested ‘that the bicycle team be returned to patrol at irregular intervals and that LAPD use the office in [the Palisades Recreation Center] designed to minimize LAPD absence from the community for administrative reasons.’ De La Torre told the Post that when he has more officers, he wants to deploy a bike team to the Palisades during school hours and on the weekends. In addition, he plans to look at the feasibility of using the recreation center’s office.
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