Comments on goddess of pomona: Cop Land

Having been a Sheriffs Deputy I feel I have import...

2009-01-22T04:11:00.000-08:00

Having been a Sheriffs Deputy I feel I have important information to pass to the general public about the corrupt company we call LASD. Yes it's true LASD has some pretty neat toys to play with, none of which will make it to Pomona.

Aero won't roll unless it's a pursuit. K9 won't roll unless it's a confirmed felony and the ETA is one hour. Sex crime could never handle the case load. SEB, never unless the guy is armed and some other city doesn't need them. Traffic cars to do all the the traffic accidents in this city is a pipe dream.

The Sheriff has a list of priorities set in place and Pomona falls at the bottom. LASD is full of empty promises and always has been. The Sheriff is elected but answers to the BOS for LA County who worries about LA Co not some low income city like Pomona. Why you ask, it's because the voting polls only show 1,500 voters.

Most think the Sheriff is on his own program, but he is not. He has a group of people to answer to. Unless it's answering to why he pays for deputies to go to DC, Europe, Israel to name a few. Time and time again the sheriffs have entered the contract city with the promise of "change" and time in time again has fallen short.

For example (i.e. Compton) if the contract states that there SHALL be 15 deputies on the street during a shift the contract will be met for the first year. As the years grind on and LASD sucks up the cash the cars get less and less. Why you ask, well its pretty simple. OT back fill is not met when patrol calls out sick. If by some chance a Lomita Deputy "acks" up on the MDT for the "t-bone" in Pomona and makes it out here, what do you think his/her impact will be on the city?

Come on into the station and talk to the new desk deputy about that report you want and see what response you will get. You'll be lucky if he/she doesn't find a way to arrest you for an old warrant because it is easier. It's well known across the work world that LASD will hire anyone without a felony arrest. They need warm bodies and can't even fill the contracts they have. Think I'm wrong? Just ask the BOS who directed LASD in 2005 to cease looking into contracts until they can fill the Unicorp cars. Service time for calls will fall by the hour.

The average Pomona cop handles calls in half the time because we are set up for that. Unlike the line deputy who is hand writing his/her report in the station awaiting a SGT to review it/approve it and god forbid it is a felony arrest and the LT has to put down her coffee to review the arrest. Ask LASD what they do with drunks in public and they will tell you nothing because they can't. If people really knew the inside workings of LASD they wouldn't even entertain the idea of them for a second.

Sure they have some great guy/girls at LASD, but if Pomona was lucky enough to get them it would be for a very short period of time. Cops in LASD work "the hood" to get their ticket punched to talk tough around the water cooler then on to Lomita, Lost hills, Lancaster they go for easy OT and no b.s.

Pound for pound Pomona PD has better equipment, training and service in general. To Mr. William who tried to compare Pomona to San Dimas/Walnut, please. Who are you kidding? Pomona handled 199,000 plus incidents last year with a outstanding conviction rate. We work on a shoe string budget and handle ourselves with pride.

To the uneducated blogger who stated LASD pushed gangsters out of an area, please. LASD use of force is so strict is takes and act of congress to arrest someone. Educate yourselves on the current issues of this city. It has nothing to do with the Police service, it has to do with the deep pockets of LA Co. LACFD won't even cut a penny from the contract to help the city because we signed a contract and they hold stead fast to that contract. They roll a ladder truck to a trash fire and a helicopter for a complaint of pain.

Los Angeles County is big business and a small town like Pomona doesn't stand a chance in hell in dealing with them. So go ahead and make a deal with the devil and see where you get. Go cry to that Station Captain of the week about how your car got "jacked" and I'm sure they will pencil you in for a meeting in 2012. Get your heads out of the sand and thank your lucky stars we can hold back the crime with the few cops we have now.

LASD has 9,000 deputies, half of which are in Custody not to mention TSB, Court services, DB, Aero, SEB. Once you boil it down you have few and far between to handle the cities and Pomona will fight for crumbs everyday until the end of time. Keep this in mind, if we need LASD just call Mutual Aid and they have to (yes have to) send 50% of their force for free. So if you love LASD so much by buy the cow when you get the milk for free. Get over yourselves!!!!!!!

Oops, sorry. I meant to say they ARE NOT dumb guys...

2008-12-29T11:25:00.000-08:00

Oops, sorry. I meant to say they ARE NOT dumb guys with guns. I think they are able to identify and are capable of distinguishing patterns. Afterall, Pomona violence is not exclusive and solely contained within our own borders. Pomona violence is a network of criminals that reach far beyond our City's boundaries.

Sheriff's are tough and don't take crap! If they keep the ratio and increase the number of street patrols then we should DO THIS.

What Pomona needs is a strong PD, a strong Economic Development Bureau, a healthy Redevelopment Bureau respecting the City's conservation efforts and willing to work in conjuntion with community developments.

The time is right for this.

My experience is from living in the North Long Bea...

2008-12-29T11:20:00.000-08:00

My experience is from living in the North Long Beach, two blocks away from Compton in the late 80's and early 90's when gang violence skyrocketed. It was the odd night when we DID NOT hear local gun shootings and drive bys. We lost many innocent friends and kids walking home from school to drive bys.

For some time, LBPD had to give control over to the Sheriff's. They really cleaned up the place and rounded up all the rif-raff that was causing trouble. The Sheriff took care of business and then trained the LBPD to handle business in the same way when LBPD was ready to take control back. Also, they only did it for a portion of the City, not the entire district. Things were just so bad.

I think it is an excellent idea. Once that section of Long Beach was cleaned up investors were willing to come back and an Economic revitalization ensued. I love Pomona but am no longer willing to raise my children here. Sorry but I think that is why most people are leaving. The truth is we are losing our sense of community. Community begins with safety.

Let's give both the Pomona PD and LA Sheriff's some credit. They are dumb people with guns, but they can identify with us. And yes, the Neighborhood Watch in North Long Beach was never better than when the Sheriff's took over.

We need this. It is more efficient and for once it is a good decision for Pomona. Crime is never good for families or for business.

For those of you that don't drive Holt, west bound, in the early a.m. try it. Especially in warmer weather. Is it acceptible for our school children to compete for side walk space with the prostitutes and pimps that disguise themselves as Pomona Residents?

Pomona needs revitalizing and it begins with safety.

-Lincoln Park Resident

I didn't know how to get in contact with the owner...

2008-12-25T16:00:00.000-08:00

I didn't know how to get in contact with the owner of this blog. So I am writing it here.

The Foothill Gold Line Extension will start construction, eastward from Pasadena to Azusa, in 2009. The next phase is from Azusa to Montclair, going through Pomona.

The Gold Line is less expensive, right now, $1.25 one way, $5 for an all day pass, than Metrolink and has more trains running each day.

The Gold Line goes from Pasadena to Union Station in downtown LA. From Union Station you can take trains to Long Beach, North Hollywood, Hollywood, etc etc.

I hope you do a blog entry supporting the Gold Line extension going through Pomona and further having Foothill Transit buses going to the train station.

If the LASD can't properly patrol a city like Diam...

2008-12-25T15:40:00.000-08:00

If the LASD can't properly patrol a city like Diamond Bar, what makes the city of Pomona think the LASD can patrol Pomona?

To "Pomona Resident"Oh, how absolutely right I thi...

2008-12-22T08:25:00.000-08:00

To "Pomona Resident"
Oh, how absolutely right I think you are about union groups affecting election results.... all the voting 'slates' that came out under union names during the big Obama registration efforts... (unintended consequence really affected Pomona, didn't it???!)
Remember all the times Norma courted the UNIONS.... marched with the striking nurses.... IN HER OFFICIAL CAPACITY... and remember when she brought a bunch of striking retail grocery clerks down to City Council meetings and presented them with Pomona City proclamations to honor them... ????
well that's how politics is done..... these groups would show up in crowds when and where she needed them... especially in the voting booth.
Looks like a very interesting two years ahead for Pomona!!!!!! Try to LIKE it !!!!

Wow, great discussion! I appreciate the personal e...

2008-12-19T22:21:00.000-08:00

Wow, great discussion! I appreciate the personal experiences and the civil tone of the disagreements! My gut level feeling is that it would be a mistake, in the bigger picture, to move from a local PD to the sheriff's dept. I suspect that Linda Lowry (City Manager) is looking out for the city's "bottom line" and would argue for the Sheriff's. That is her job to watch the bottom line, but I think all things considered, money is not the overarching issue here. While I have no factual evidence to adduce or personal experience to influence my decision, my gut still tells me that a local PD is the wiser overall choice here.

I am strongly influenced by the comment about the sheriff's union influencing the next election as the Fire Dpt union appeared to influence the last one.

i stand corrected

2008-12-18T22:57:00.000-08:00

i stand corrected

FYIFor former LASD, now Pomona PD person, and all ...

2008-12-17T21:48:00.000-08:00

FYI
For former LASD, now Pomona PD person, and all others: Pomona is the 4th largest City in LA County. First is L.A., next Long Beach, Glendale, and Pomona. We are larger than, not "half" the size of Pasadena in population, and slightly larger in square miles as well. Not sure how many sworn officers they have, but doubt that it's anywhere near 400.
While I certainly agree with the points made against going with LASD, you know me, I want the information to be accurate.

Walnut? San Dimas? Diamond Bar? South El Monte? Du...

2008-12-17T20:12:00.000-08:00

Walnut? San Dimas? Diamond Bar? South El Monte? Duarte? La Puente?

Really??? bedroom communities and small slices of county land that have never had their own police services hardly qualify as a predicter of what would come...Pomona is the 4th largest city in the county and has all the problems to go with it.

I'm not knocking the Sheriffs dept. But the reality is, there are many Pomona Officers that are home owners in Pomona, believe it or not, and I as one of them know that the Sheriffs might be great for a 4 mile patch of unincorporated land between cities but they are not who i want when i call 911.

can they do the job, sure... but this city needs have more control of the department, not less. Now, with it's own PD, the city dictates policy and procedure within the department with the sheriffs, some county supervisor and/or sheriffs department official in Monterey Park dictates that. Why in the world would we want people who arent from Pomona, dont live in pomona, and have nothing to do with pomona, deciding how our city's law enforcement is ran?

and just for your info... our city manager was an assistant city manager for one of those contract cities... ask her what she thinks of having the sheriffs in this city.

now, we got problems, there is no doubt. but, we at least have control over those problems... would we have the same with the sheriffs?? doubt it.

i guess my point is that proof is in the pudding... would you rather have a lead deputy or sergeant to address issues with or the chief of police? which one do you think you'll get further with??? because in the years i have spent with pomona, i have seen many changes made that i fear would have gotten lost in red tape with the sheriffs department.

i lived most of my life in Unincorporated Tustin/S...

2008-12-17T14:59:00.000-08:00

i lived most of my life in Unincorporated Tustin/Santa Ana, Tustin had their own PD and the area i lived in had the Orange County Sheriff. Tustin (and Santa Ana) was just a stone's throw from where I lived. I've had my run-ins with the law in my late teens I can tell you from experience the OC Sheriffs were MUCH better prepared, and seemed to be much more together and knowledgeable, though police are never knowledgeable enough(despite the current scandals). most fellow former hoodlums in the unincorporated/tustin area all considered Tustin PD to be a joke. I don't know anything about LA County Sheriffs though and i've never had any experience with Santa Ana or Pomona's PD. Also the unincorporated area I lived in was relatively small, much smaller than Pomona.

And, of course, the county Sheriffs has a much lar...

2008-12-17T14:15:00.000-08:00

And, of course, the county Sheriffs has a much larger union to "spread around the wealth" in the way that the firefighters union did in our last election. So we'd end up with less local control, officers who have little or no commitment to the community, more to the county, and another "outside" group to try and influence our city government.

Thanks William for giving us a perspective from someone who's seen both sides of this issue (however biased you might be).

Although I do not live in Pomona, I worked the str...

2008-12-17T11:43:00.000-08:00

Although I do not live in Pomona, I worked the streets around it while working patrol at both Walnut and San Dimas Stations.

My experience has been that all organizations have a range of talent, from outstanding to barely competent. There WOULD be a certain amount of turnaround with the Sheriff's Department, but not as much as feared; many would stay and work the same area. There was a Deputy who retired from Walnut Station in the mid-late 1990's who had spent 95 percent of his career working the same beat. Two friends of mine worked as both the Team Lead Deputy and as Team Sergeant for the City of Walnut, and I know they spent a LOT of time working with both the City Manager and elected officials to provide the best service they could. As a matter of fact, when the Team
Lead Deputy was promoted to Sergeant, he remained at Walnut Station and became the Walnut Team Sergeant.

Although I am neutral in this matter, it is easy enough to determine what the probable outcome would be if the City contracted with the Sheriff's Department for law enforcement services: ask the City Managers and/or elected members of the cities of Diamond Bar, Walnut, San Dimas, La Puente, Industry, Rosemead, South El Monte, Temple City, Duarte, to name a few of the cities located near Pomona. There is enough of a track record there to get a good idea of what to expect.

In the early 1990's there was some discussion of the Sheriff's Department coming in. One night, I stopped a gangbanger who claimed he lived in "Pomoma", and that he moved there after being forced out of the Compton area by the Sheriff's Department. When I told him the Sheriff's Department would possibly be taking over in Pomona he replied, "Aw, man! Now I'm gonna haf to move AGAIN!" (He probably did move - to Moreno Valley...)

OK... Having worked for LASD and now working for P...

2008-12-17T08:08:00.000-08:00

OK... Having worked for LASD and now working for Pomona PD, I can tell you that there are no "pros" to going to the Sheriffs. The facts are that while the the cost of going to the Sheriffs would be less up front...The Sheriffs have a long and storied history of "setting the hook" with their contract cities for the first couple of years and then when contract renewel time comes... BAM. The cost sky rockets.

Secondly, I know a Deputy that was involved in the Phase 3 research to take over Pomona from years ago... quite simply, we are too busy for them to take over with the 50-60 deputies they like to staff a station with. We have over 200 Officers now. Consider this, we are a city roughly half the size of Pasadena, handle twice the amount of calls as Pasadena PD with half the number of Officers.

Now, there are several cities that have undertaken this (ie.Compton) and if you go to the FBI uniform crime report you can see that there were huge increases in part 1 crimes when Compton lost it's own PD. That means murders, up, robberies, up, assaults, up... Is this what we want for Pomona?

Next, while out city has had to cut 10% of our budget, do you know that the County Fire basically ignored the City Manager and then told her to get lost when she asked them to cut!!! THAT is how the county representatives to the city treat contract cities! Once the city sells off all the equipment, gets rid of the personnel, etc. We are stuck with them like it or not.

Deputies, flood the city!! I dont think so...State ot the art equipment? Take a look into ANY Sheriff's radio car... then look in any Pomona PD radio car...you'll be amazed. its a lot easier to buy "State of the art" equipment for 200 cops then it is for 9000.

all in all...i would say dont listen to me because being a thoughtful, measured and methodical person, I know my impartiality is suspect.. I work, live in and love Pomona.

Take a walk, and look at all these things for yourself, make an informed decision, because ultimately, it will be up to the citizenry whether we go to the sheriffs, dept... but know this, if we do, I wont be here!

i think the sheriff can clean up pomona they are t...

2008-12-17T06:27:00.000-08:00

i think the sheriff can clean up pomona they are the best team for the job washington dc pd just ask for 300 deputys for obamas big party

Meg yes i do have a FEW gray hairs lol and I use m...

2008-12-17T05:02:00.000-08:00

Meg yes i do have a FEW gray hairs lol and I use my wayback machine to get these pictures,one of these days put you on the handle bars and take you for a ride am good driver just ask the my boss GofP

The retired cop's perspective is much appreciated....

2008-12-16T23:46:00.000-08:00

The retired cop's perspective is much appreciated. Thanks for seeking it out, GofP. One question I have is whether the sheriff's department would be able to continue developing and nurturing the Neighborhood Watch program. In my not-so-vast experience, this program serves as a key (perhaps _the_ key) mechanism for relationship building between law enforcement and citizens.

I know REN has a gray hair or two, but I simply ca...

2008-12-16T23:04:00.000-08:00

I know REN has a gray hair or two, but I simply cannot believe that he was photographing Laurel & Hardy in their heyday!