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Will Having LBPD Patrol Portion Of Metro Blue Line Initially Drain Up To 30 Officers From LB's Already Thin Citywide Police Level? LBPD Has Been Negotiating With Metro On A General Framework That Would Initially Draw Officers From LBPD's General Pool, And Plans To Use Overtime That It Says Won't "Diminish The Amount Of Officers Currently Deployed In The Community"


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(January 11, 2017, 10:02 p.m.) -- Will a plan to have LBPD officers patrol Metro Blue Line stations in LB initially drain roughly up to 30 officers from LB's already thin citywide police level?

In response to a Jan. 9 inquiry from LBREPORT.com, LBPD indicated (Jan. 11 emailed response via LBPD PIO Sgt. Brad Johnson) that the general framework of an LBPD proposal to do so -- that LBPD is currently negotiating with Metro -- would initially draw officers from LBPD's general pool although LBPD says it plans to cover this using overtime and the result "would not diminish the amount of officers currently deployed in the community."

In his January 10, 2017 "State of the City" message, Mayor Garcia didn't mention any of this. Instead, he stated:

Mayor Garcia: ...[J]ust last week, I was elected to represent Long Beach and other areas across the region to the Metro Board of Directors. [applause] [LBREPORT.com coverage here.]...One of my top priorities, along with bringing new revenues to the region, is improving safety on the Blue Line. The Metro Board is a county-wide agency that governs the Metro rail system, the County bus system, and invests in freeways, highways and bike infrastructure. And as you may know, the Long Beach Police Department does not patrol the Metro Blue Line which runs all the way through our city. Currently Long Beach has no jurisdictional power to keep the line safe. However, in February, I plan to fight to ensure that the Metro Board of Directors contracts with the Long Beach Police Department to patrol the eight Metro stops in Long Beach. [applause] Absolutely. And if we can convince Metro to contract with our police department, that could add up to an additional 30 police officers to the Long Beach police department paid for by Metro. [applause]...

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But Mayor Garcia didn't say when those up to 30 "additional" officers would be added, or from where they'd come...while LBPD has told us that the general framework for the proposal it's currently negotiating with Metro would "initially" draw roughly 30 officers from LBPD's general pool that it would cover with overtime.

Does Mayor Garcia support policing LB Metro stations by drawing up to 30 officers from LB's already thin citywide police level ("initially" or for any other period)? Is this what LB Councilmembers intended when they voted to give city management and LBPD authority to negotiate an agreement with Metro (details below)?

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It's not immediately clear if LB Councilmembers have been told details of this. Asked by LBREPORT.com if LBPD had provided Councilmembers with any "TFF" memo (To-From-For internal memo not routinely shared with the public) on the matter, LBPD PIO Johnson said "no" but referenced a public memo to the City Council accompanying a May 3, 2016 agenda item that that sought Council approval to respond to a Metro RFP ("request for proposals") to provide transit police services to Metro.

City management's May 3, 2016 agendizing memo at this link told Councilmembers and the public in pertinent part, "This contract opportunity will potentially allow LBPD to provide police services on the portion of the LA Metro transit system that runs through the City, which will positively impact public safety efforts. LBPD will model an RFP response presenting staffing and deployment models based upon its knowledge of the region and crime patterns..."

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At the May 3, 2016 Council meeting, City Manager Pat West said management didn't have a lot of information to share, was simply seeking Council permission to respond to Metro's RFP and indicated Commander Rich Conant was handling the matter. Commander Conant said LBPD "is currently completing our staffing model and we will be prepared to present the staffing model on May 28 per the schedule for Metro. Metro's RFP. We're looking at policing ten stops in the city and it's a great opportunity for the police department to improve the quality of life for our Long Beach residents with our services on the Blue Line" and Commander Conant said he was available for any questions.

No Councilmember asked any questions including from where the roughly 30 officers to handle Metro policing would be drawn or how many officers would be affected.

To hear the Council discussion (with a public comment on a tangential matter omitted, indicated by "whoosh" sound) click here.

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Meanwhile on a separate track, L.A. County Sheriff (and former LBPD Chief) Jim McDonnell has publicly voiced his opposition to having local police agencies other than LASD handle Metro transit policing. Asked by LBREPORT.com for LASD's position on the matter, LASD's media information office referred us to a November 29, 2016 op-ed by Sheriff McDonnell in the Daily News (which we noticed was also published by the PresTelegram at this link..

The bottom line: as a Metro Board member, Mayor Garcia will have to fight L.A. County Sheriff McDonnell on this issue.

And it's not immediately clear if he'll have to fight any Long Beach Councilmembers on this matter.

Developing. Further to follow on LBREPORT.com.

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