Man Is Shot To Death, 14th St/Olive (CD 6/Saro)

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Man Is Shot To Death, Dies In Roadway 14th St/Olive (CD 6/Saro)

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(Oct. 3, 2021, 2:55 a.m.) -- A man was shot to death on October 1 and died in the roadway near the intersection of 14th St./Olive Ave. in a homicide LBPD is investigating as gang related.

In a release, LBPD says officers were dispatched at about 11:27 p.m. to a reported shooting and found a man lying in the roadway suffering from gunshot wounds (plural.) LBFD determined the victim deceased at the scene.

LBPD says its Homicide Detectives discovered "the victim was standing near his residence when at least one suspect approached, possibly from a dark-colored sedan, shot the victim and then fled the scene before officers arrived ."

LBPD says that while "the motive is not yet known, the incident is currently being investigated as gang-related."

The victim has been identified as Tony Chamroeun, 35, of Long Beach.

CD 6 Councilwoman Saro has opposed restoring LBPD's former field anti-gang unit, defunded under a former Council then-comprised of Councilmembers CD 1's Robert Garcia and CD 6's Dee Andrews. Between 2009 and 2013, the former Council defunded roughly 20% of LB's police strength (which other area cities didn't do to weather the "great recession.") As Mayor, and a despite a cash infusion from the 2016 Measure A "blank check" sales tax increase (extended by LB voters in 2020), Garcia has declined to recommend budgets that would restore the former field anti-gang unit (20 officers + 2 sergeants) and no Council incumbent has moved to do so. CD 1 and CD 6 have the highest number of shootings (fatal + non-fatal + no persons hit but casings found) since Jan. 1, 2021.

In Sept. 2020, Councilwoman Saro (along with neighboring CD 1's Councilwoman Zendehas) voted for a City Hall spending budget that defunded 48 additional officers and in Sept.2021 voted to a budget that declined to restore them. The result has left Long Beach without roughly 230 sworn officers that LB previously had, a thinner per capitaChart below shows LB police level before the Sept. 2020 Council defunding of 48 additional officers.