In initial information (with investigators actively working overnight gathering evidence), LBPD Watch Commander Lt. G. Brown told LBREPORT.com that at about 10:00 p.m. June 30 a caller reported hearing shots; officers responded and found a man (adult) wounded by gunfire; Officers performed life saving measures until LBFD arrived and pronounced the man deceased at the scene.

The suspect is initially described as a tall thin man (adult) wearing black clothing with a hood and armed with a handgun.

LB's 9th Council district (a sprawling area including multiple neighborhoods) had been fairly quiet while recent shootings occurred in parts of Central/WLB (districts 1 and 6) and occasionally in the northern portion of Council district 8.

However that changed on June 28 when a man was shot/killed on Orange Ave. just north of South St. (LBREPORT.com coverage here). (The 8th-9th district border is along South St.) The next night (June 29), a triple victim shooting occurred at a vigil taking place for the June 28 homicide victim during which a woman was fatally shot and two other women were shot/wounded (LBREPORT.com coverage here.)

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LBPD arrested a suspect in the June 28 homicide during a June 29 traffic stop (in the 6700 block of Atlantic Ave. near the site of the developing NLB homeless campus.)

On June 29, city management issued a memo (LBREPORT.com coverage here) that included data showing LBPD traffic stops involved Black individuals at a rate disproportionate to their percentage of LB's population. [LASD's online jail intake data indicates the June 28 murder suspect arrested in the June 29 LBPD traffic stop was booked as Black.]

The June 28, June 29 and June 30 homicide crime scenes (and the June 29 traffic stop that arrested a suspect in the June 28 homicide) took place in LB's 9th Council district. Its Councilman, Rex Richardson, was the lead agendizer (joined by Councilmembers Pearce, Austin and Andrews) of a "Framework for Reconciliation" (approved by the full Council 9-0 on June 9) with verbiage that included "Budget reforms to ensure equitable investment in community safety, including youth development, housing, healthcare, public health, and economic equity "

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In a June 7 webcast, Councilman Richardson stated: "Should we defund the police? Absolutely. Am I advocating to take out the police completely? No" and indicated he supports shifting police budgeted sums to other Council spending items. Councilman Richardson said investing in libraries and public health shows a "thriving healthy city" while putting greater sums into police doesn't. (LBREPORT.com provides an audio clip of Richardson's explanation (runs 3:40). To hear it, click here)

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During the 2009-2014 economic slowdown, Long Beach's City Council erased budgeted funding for roughly 20% of the City's sworn police level. Since June 2016 LB voter approval of the Measure A General Fund ("blank check") sales tax increase, the Council has restored 22 of the 208 erased officers, leaving LB with a per capita police level thinner than provided by City Councils in Los Angeles, Santa Monica and Signal Hill.

Among officers not restored to date is LBPD's former field anti-gang unit (20 officers plus two sergeants) who operated in the field, allowing officers to interact with community members daily, view conditions in gang-impacted areas and gather intelligence. LBPD's in-house house Gang Unit continues to operate but without the former field component.

In February 2017, Councilman Richardson pressed to restore funding for Rescue 12 and to restore funding for 9 police officers (recommended by LBPD management to conduct recruit and ongoing officer training activities.) The June 2016 Measure A sales tax increase (prior to COVID-19) brought LB City Hall roughly $60+ million in General Fund ("blank check") revenue each year.

LB city management has indicated that (for rough budget estimation purposes) restoring 10 officers (fully equipped) costs about $2 million.

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