Speaker 0: Thank you. Item 13, please.
Speaker 1: Communication from Councilman Super. Recommendation to request city manager and city attorney to review other city's policies and prepare an ordinance to enhance penalties for participating in or being a spectator at a street takeover event.
Speaker 6: All right, Councilmember Sabrina. Okay. Thank you. On the evening of Friday, July 9th, dozens of cars and spectators took over the intersection of Stearns and Bellflower in the fourth Council District prior to the arrival of the Long Beach Police Department. Participants of the Street takeover event created hazardous environment for bystanders and nearby neighborhoods. This year, the cities of Anaheim and Santa Ana passed ordinances aimed at giving police more power to deal with the takeovers, including the ability to issue citations to spectators. Other California cities enacting similar ordinances include Ontario, San Diego and San Jose. The three main goals of the Long Beach ordinance are one provide police with all available tools to deal with these events to ensure that Long Beach is not a target due to lenient or nonexistent policy. And three take action before there is a serious injury or death from a street takeover. I have additional comments, but first I'd like to show a video of the Belfast Sterns event just 11 days ago. The position of the camera is at the northwest corner of the intersection. If you know the area that's on the stern side of Wendy's facing the CVS corner, you'll see multiple cars doing donuts with spectators in the middle of the intersection as Elbe PD arrives from the West on Stern Street. Participants point lasers in their direction, and a firework is hurled in the direction of the responding units. Warning this is violent, it's loud and in my opinion, a disturbing video. So please roll the video now. You can see the lasers in the video. Those are pointed in the direction of the police officers arriving in Cigarets and BP burgers and the lasers actually light up the interior. And then BP declared employees working. They had been subjected to that. Probably there goes the fireworks that the officers responding. And then the intersection clears. And those folks leaving there tore through the neighborhoods on residential streets, including the police. And, well, that action goes by pretty quickly. So we have a different version of the video. We have some stills from the video that that we can probably get up there now if. Okay. So if you saw that Chevy pickup going around in circles, you know, what you probably didn't see is passengers actually sitting in the window hanging out as as that vehicle was doing donuts with other cars, doing donuts in the same intersection. You go to the next still. There you can see the blue streak is the laser from the spectators pointed at arriving police units. I think most of us know the danger of lasers because, first of all, for anyone working in the surrounding businesses or the spectators, so next there's that's a green colored laser. But you can see that the spectators in the middle of the intersection are using the laser in the direction of responding police officers. And the next one, there's a still of the firework being hurled in the direction of the arriving officers. And one ordinance I didn't mention this was just brought to my attention by one of the readers of our weekly newsletter is The City of Paramount. They call them sideshow events there. And that went into effect about 11 months ago. And drivers large, large fines for racing and the cost of storing the impacted vehicle can be assessed toward the the participants felony vandalism charges. It can cost up to $6,000 to repair the intersection. We know a little bit about that because of our Grand Prix and cleaning up the tire marks so they can be held accountable for that. The new ordinance dictates that drivers can lose their cars for good and spectators can have their cars impounded if they are parked illegally to block the intersection. And there was one part of the Anaheim ordinance that I found interesting is that it includes private parking lots, which I would like that included on ours, because the last thing we want to do is clear our public streets and then they show up in the in the shopping center parking lot. Finally, one last point, and that is the intersection of Bellflower and Stearns is directly under the flight path to main runway 30. The airliners pass over that intersection an altitude of 300 feet using a laser. And that area is a federal crime. And so I'd like us to look into that, if that can possibly be included than this. I did look at the federal statutes. It's a 145 pages long, so I didn't include it in my presentation tonight. But that's one thing that is kind of unique to Long Beach, or at least that intersection there, but I'd like to see if we could possibly incorporate that. So those are my comments and I appreciate calling support on this item. Thank you, Councilmember Mongo.
Speaker 4: Thank you. I want to thank Councilmember Supernova for his work on this important item. And thank you for adding in private lots. We had an incident of this, a few incidents of this several months back. It is unfortunate that they have grown and moved around the city and they do need to be addressed. They moved from city to city and are really, really dangerous. So great work from you and your staff and thank you for a well-written item and a great presentation. I'll be in support tonight.
Speaker 6: Thank you. Councilmember Price.
Speaker 2: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I, too, support this item. I happen to be very familiar with these takeovers as I represent the prosecuting agency that's handled a bunch of these cases in Orange County. And it is also a state crime to point a laser at a law enforcement officer. It's not only a federal crime. So we can be a little bit more aggressive with that because you're absolutely right, it's incredibly dangerous not just to law enforcement, but to anyone that has a laser pointed in their eyes. And it can cause additional traffic fatalities, which are obviously very tragic for everyone and just as violent as any other type of violent crime. So thank you for bringing this item. And I support it 100%.
Speaker 6: Thank you, Councilman Allen.
Speaker 1: Yes, thank you. Council members, super and all for bringing this item forward. And looking at that video, it just made me very angry. This is an important issue that has gotten significantly worse during the pandemic. It's important that we stop these events which are happening all across the city. I heard from residents on shoreline, on the ocean corridors, pit parking and the turn around at Rainbow Harbor. And these are events are happening in downtown as well. They're dangerous, they're disrespectful. And I think an ordinance and penalties are definitely needed. Thank you.
Speaker 6: Thank you. Counting rooms in the house.
Speaker 2: And vice mayor. Thank you. Councilmember Super not for bringing this forward. I think it's very important that we bring this forward right now and especially before there is loss of life. I think that is very important. And you were right the first time that I saw the video. I did not see those passengers hanging out of the window. And when I did see that, it just made me cringe because they're risking their life and and the lives of others as well. So thank you so much for bringing this forward. And I look forward to supporting this item.
Speaker 6: I thank you all for my comments here. Thank you, Councilmember Sabrina, for bringing this forward. We've we've had this issue in in North Long Beach, particularly the Hamilton neighborhood. We talk with staff about it. And I agree. We need to look at, you know, solutions to to address it. I agree that something needs to be done. And while I wholeheartedly support doing that, you know, I have to say, when I looked at that video, what I saw was a bunch of teenagers and middle school kids. So so I think this is like we should go look at alternatives and look at strategies, but we should also be mindful of all the work we've done around My Brother's Keeper alternative path. We have more tools in the toolbox, so when it comes back, I want to see it comprehensive. What we learned when we did the PATH program was a lot of times young people within a certain age, their first experience with the city is with law enforcement, and that can have positive effects and also have negative effects in terms of their development in time. So so if a 14 year old gets caught at one of these, I think there are, you know, path program essentially gave them, hey, you know, the penalties for doing these things. However, we can connect you with this resource that the city has or that resource and bring them into one of our mentoring programs, something I think we need to just be comprehensive, particularly with young adults. So on these programs, I'm supportive. Our residents know that like we're very, very clear we shouldn't do it. I've seen we've done roundabouts in some of these intersections and that's helped. I think we need to invest a little bit further. And if we were to do a hotspot map, I'll tell you, you're going to see a lot of those incidents in North Palm Beach. You're going to see them in a lot of different areas. But you may see some trends. You may see some trends that say, hey, a little bit of infrastructure investment here or there could help, like calm down what's happened in the neighborhood. So what I'm saying is both and we should certainly look at penalties, we should also just be developmentally sensitive and appropriate when we deal with young people. This is my comments there, Councilmember Supernormal. You know, I just want to respond to that a little bit. First of all, this item was brought forth very quickly. You mentioned I got the phone call on this Friday night at 11 p.m.. Did the research over the weekend that my deadline was Monday at noon to get this thing agenda? So not a lot of time. But ironically, KFI Radio had a special on this topic on that Monday night. And one thing and I think one of the reporters embedded with CHP, I believe in up in the Valley. And one of the points they made was because I believe CHP or some other agency found an abandoned airstrip or something, say, hey, guys, just go out and do the donuts there. That wasn't the thrill. That is not what these kids wanted. The thrill was escaping the police. So I think where traditionally we might want to look at alternatives to this activity, I guess we always do. But you're really up against it on this one in terms of finding an alternative for this. So that's it. Thank you. Thank you, Councilwoman Ciro.
Speaker 2: Yes, thanks, vice mayor. I also want to add to your comments about, you know, well, I'll say that, you know, I do agree that a lot of these activities are dangerous. And, you know, it's important that we do take steps to addressing it and looking at, you know, it's common for a reason in the sense that, you know, it's more than one parts of our city. And I wanted to also raise that. You know, Atlanta had the same issue. And, you know, they ended up setting up a specific area and dates and where takeovers are actually allowed. Now, again, you know, I think it's important that if they're going to happen. Right, is there a way that we could consider it being a legal space for them to do so? Obviously, there should be parameters like maybe no, you know, certain, but but you know, that's another alternative I want to add. So to to consider as well. Right. Because sometimes while, you know, taking these approaches might seem like it work, it might not as well. Right. It might end up being more common because it's adding to, you know. So anyway, I don't know. I want to make sure we're open to all kinds of ideas. Thank you.
Speaker 6: Thank you. Councilmember Mongo.
Speaker 4: Thank you. It's been a while since I've had a really in detail conversation from a public safety standpoint of this, and maybe Councilman Price can add some context. But from what I understand, the individuals who were taken these, they go all over the region. And so putting them into our local programs, we have to have a way to refer them to local programs in their own community that have a better connectivity to who they are. And I don't know what that looks like long term in terms of our influence on other cities and their programs and what we can do to encourage those. But I think that there there has to be a an enforcement component and then there has to be a handoff because like we've learned with homelessness, we can provide all those wraparound services. But if they're not in the areas where those individuals want to be or they don't have a support system there, they're really not going to provide the outcomes that are necessary and they're going to recycle back into these programs. So thank you.
Speaker 6: Thank you, Councilman Turanga.
Speaker 3: Thank you. Great discussion. But, you know, I'm sort of unclear. I'd like to have a definition of what a street takeover event is, only because I don't want to see that there's an unintended consequence. If there is a protest, car's just going through an intersection or going to a council members house to protest something and then it becomes something else. So, I mean, I think it's very important that we get a very clear indication, a clear handle on what is a street takeover event so that we can impose or some of these. And I agree with the concern of Richardson in regards to, you know, we could get some alternatives for these kids who especially who are younger than than 18 and curfew setting and what are they doing out there. And of course, to a classroom or sorrows about, you know, creating a safe space where these people that they want to do such a thing. I my district has also been affected by by this event. I only see the evidence. I haven't seen it actually in life or has anybody sent me any video of this kind of event? I don't see the evidence as the donut in the middle of the street in one of the larger intersections in my district. So I'm hoping that if and when staff comes back with this ordinance, that there will be a clear written definition as to what it is so that it's not misinterpreted, so that other people who are, you know. Maybe cruising or just or, like I said, going to a protest. Well, who are writing, you know, following each other in a card are not misinterpreted as to being for this it to be applicable to that of it. I know. I make clear what I'm saying. Okay.
Speaker 6: Thank you. Thank you, Councilmember. Next, Councilwoman Price.
Speaker 2: Put in a plug right now for an organization that's very close to my heart, Mothers Against Drunk Driving. They have a driver impact panel that now is used as a diversion option. So if someone gets a citation instead of having to plead guilty and having a conviction on their record and having it have a lasting impact as a diversion option, they can attend this driver impact course through MADD and I. I sit on their advisory board. I'm very involved with Matt, and I have attended a couple of the driver impact panels. Most of the people that are ordered by the court to go to the panels are between the ages of 18 and 25. They're engaged in speed contests as well as the takeover efforts, which it's a very, very different thing than a protest. I mean, totally different definition just with the number of cars that are required and the coordinated nature of them and the length of time that they take. And so those panels are designed for specifically young individuals who participate in these types of activities. And they have speakers on there who are mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters who've lost a loved one as a result of a traffic fatality, either related to speeding or reckless involvement in a in a take over. So driving or car takeover.
Speaker 4: So I think that there are a lot of opportunities.
Speaker 2: Both preventative opportunities, but also rehabilitative opportunities for those who are cited to have an opportunity to get an education. See from the other side how their actions could impact someone else's life unintentionally, and perhaps that serves as a deterrent for the future. So I would love and I know that our city prosecutor also serves on the MADD panel with me on the advisory council. So I will communicate with him as possibly that being an option that can be offered as a diversion as as we're doing in Orange County as well.
Speaker 6: Thank you. So we've heard. Preventative measures, infrastructure penalties. We've heard alternatives. You heard a lot. Good discussion, a lot of good direction as any public comment on this item.
Speaker 1: Yes. There's one public comment. Adrina Redman.
Speaker 5: Good evening. Audrina Redmond, resident of District two. Active member of Black Lives Matter, Long Beach and member of the People's Budget Coalition. I wanted to speak to this item for precisely the reason that Councilman Urunga brought forward, which was how the potential for how it could be used against people protesting and righteous protesting. I want to now that I've heard comments from Urunga, Sara Richardson and even Ward Councilor Price said, I want to appreciate what you said because it seems to me. That there are there are laws in place. There are alternatives to policing. There are alternatives to criminalizing people. And it saddens me to know in that after all of the activities in this city and across our country and across the world last year, that the creative juices are not running in here among some of you, that your effort to address this issue goes immediately to the notion of policing and criminalizing, rather than recognizing that young people are young people, that people do risky things when they're young, and that there are long term consequences for folks when they are criminalized early on in life. And so, again, I want to take to the take the council members who raise those issues, and I want to encourage that. The laws that are in place to address what did you bring up? Council supernovae, the lasers we have, we are able to deal with that. If we're talking about traffic issues, we're able to deal with those already. We don't need new laws that punish people and we don't need new laws that will have yet another excuse for the Long Beach Police Department to build its ranks and take away funding from needed other public services. Thank you.
Speaker 6: Thank you, members. Please cast your vote.
Speaker 1: Motion carries.
Recommendation to request City Manager and City Attorney to review other cities' policies and prepare an ordinance to enhance penalties for participating in or being a spectator at a street takeover event.