Visitors’ Safety at the Coliseum

The tragic robbery and subsequent murder of 16-year-old Suzanne Mohr is another sad chapter of crime and violence in South Central Los Angeles. However, there are two elements that made this tragic event different. First, the fact that the victim was a young girl from Orange County and second, that she had attended an event at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum earlier in the evening.

As the commanding officer of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Operations-South Bureau, I am well aware of the crime in South Central Los Angeles and the way such incidents can be misinterpreted when facts are reported erroneously or distorted for purposes of story presentation. In this incident the victim had been a spectator at a Coliseum event which concluded three hours earlier. Some members of the media, for whatever reasons, attempted to paint a picture that would lead one to conclude that a lapse in Coliseum security or policing was to blame for the tragedy. Nothing could be further from the truth.

As a routine, policing of events at the Coliseum is done with officers drawn from throughout the city. During the 1985 Raiders season, hundreds of thousands of spectators enjoyed the season, and on a per game average they were protected by over 200 Los Angeles Police Officers deployed both inside and outside of the Coliseum. Both the Coliseum staff and the Los Angeles Police Department work very hard to provide for the safety of visitors to the Coliseum area. No matter how hard we work and plan, we cannot control what happens three hours after an event has ended and the crowds have long since gone home.

What occurred on that night was a tragic and senseless murder that under similar circumstances could have happened to anyone. No one is to blame, and there should be no finger pointing by the media. The exploitation of this murder only serves to fuel the flames of those who see the Coliseum as a bastion in a sea of crime. Though this is not the case, the climate of fear raised by the reporting of this murder will take a long time to undo. I can assure you that the Coliseum staff and the Los Angeles Police Department will continue to do their best to provide the high degree of safety the community and those attending Coliseum events deserve.

JESSE A. BREWER

Deputy Chief

Commanding Officer

Operations-South Bureau

Los Angeles Police Dept.