Pomona to Ask Sheriff for Gang Patrol Aid

The city’s growing gang problem, graphically illustrated by a deadly weekend of violence last month, is more than Pomona police can handle alone.

That was the consensus of residents and City Council members this week as the council voted 4 to 1 in favor of contracting with Los Angeles County to have sheriffs’ deputies help patrol Pomona’s streets.

Councilman C. L. (Clay) Bryant, who proposed that the city request help from the Sheriff’s Department, said the need for such assistance was demonstrated by the events of Jan. 22-23. Two people were killed, five injured and a police officer fired upon in a series of drive-by shootings.

“Pomona is rapidly becoming a haven for undesirables and a weekend shooting gallery,” Bryant said. “It is obvious that our Police Department is not equipped to provide the protection and enforcement which the present situation demands.”

Bryant’s proposal was supported by residents who spoke on the matter at Monday night’s council meeting.

‘Clean Up the Scum’

“Our Police Department is not cutting it,” resident Leslie Carpenter said. “We need the Sheriff’s Department in here to clean up the scum and make Pomona safe again.”

Police Chief Richard Tefank argued against the move, noting that the department had bolstered its anti-gang efforts by having some officers work 10 hours of overtime a week.

Since Jan. 23, police on this specialized gang duty have arrested 36 gang members in intensive sweeps and seized five guns and four Molotov cocktails, Tefank said.

“Our officers know the community,” Tefank said. “They know the individuals involved. . . . Through the use of overtime and redeployment of officers, we could respond in a much more timely and efficient manner.”

Instead of bringing in the Sheriff’s Department, Tefank suggested that the council appropriate $83,400 to continue the police overtime program for another month and repaint Pomona police cars from their current white to a more visible black and white.

The council, however, chose both alternatives. Council members voted to give Tefank the money he requested and authorized City Administrator A. J. Wilson to seek assistance from the Sheriff’s Department. If sheriff’s officials and the county Board of Supervisors approve the request, deputies could be on patrol in Pomona in 30 to 90 days, Tefank said.

Sheriff’s Cmdr. John Hammargren said Wednesday that he had yet to receive an official request for assistance from the city but that he planned to meet with Tefank to discuss Pomona’s needs and the county’s ability to help.

“Within our resources, we’ll give them any help we can,” Hammargren said. “Pomona has a fine Police Department, so we’re not sure what we can do for them that they couldn’t do for themselves. . . . They have gang problems and so do we, and we don’t see any massive set of solutions or we all could avail ourselves (of) them.”

The Sheriff’s Department patrols unincorporated areas of the county and incorporated cities that don’t have police departments. Only rarely does the department send deputies into cities to help out local police, Hammargren said. “It’s not common, but it’s not unprecedented,” he said.

Police Overtime

Tefank said it would be cheaper and more timely to rely entirely on Pomona police officers working overtime. By having officers work 50 hours a week instead of 40, the department increases its presence on the street by 30% during peak hours for gang activity, Tefank said.

The cost of paying a police sergeant and eight officers to work an extra day on overtime is $2,250, Tefank said. Although the county will not quote prices for police services, Tefank estimated that eight deputies and a sergeant would cost the city $2,785 a day, based on the county’s contract rates for 1986-87, adjusted for inflation.

“I would submit that it could be done cheaper with our officers,” Tefank said. This statement drew a stern rebuke from Bryant, who normally prides himself on being a tight-fisted fiscal conservative.

“Here we’re talking about the welfare of the city, the quality of life, the safety of the people, and you’re talking about money,” Bryant said. “You can’t put a value on safety.”

Although Pomona has dealt with violent spates of gang activity in the past, the growing problem of gangs in north Pomona who are affiliated with the Los Angeles-based Bloods and Crips has panicked some residents, Councilwoman Nell Soto said.

For Sale Signs Going Up

“Right after the January incident, I went around town and the ‘for sale’ signs were going up. . . . “ Soto said. “I think it’s disgraceful when the gangs and the hoodlums have intimidated the good people of Pomona to the point where they want to move.”

With the March 7 primary approaching--Mayor Donna Smith and Councilmen E. J. (Jay) Gaulding and Bryant are seeking reelection--the discussion of gang violence was often acrimonious and sometimes partisan. In a long and occasionally emotional debate, Smith argued heatedly with Bryant and was reprimanded by Debbie Keane, wife of mayoral candidate Jerry Keane, for failing to deal with the gang problem.

Smith responded that Pomona needs more officers of its own instead of sheriff’s deputies who would not be under local control. “They do things first and ask questions later,” Smith said of the Sheriff’s Department. “If that’s the way you want it, fine, but I don’t think that’s what we want for the community.”

The mayor also chided her council colleagues for failing to support her earlier calls to hire more officers. The Pomona Police Department has 152 sworn officers, only eight more than a decade ago, when the city had 34,000 fewer residents.

“The department is short 30 officers,” Smith said. “We’ve got to make a commitment to hiring more officers. . . . I remember several council meetings where I begged the council to bite the bullet and find the money to fund more officers. I was outvoted.”

Resident Sandra Alsop said Pomona residents have lost confidence in their police.

“Every time we ask the Police Department for help, all we get is excuses why they can’t come out,” Alsop said.

Although the council’s actions will put more officers on the street to fight gang violence, officials said community members must take action on their own to combat the gang problem.

Gaulding told those at the meeting that he had angrily confronted gang members who congregated in his neighborhood. Although they threatened him, Gaulding said, the gangs eventually moved on.

“I know it’s a high-risk thing,” Gaulding said. “My wife was screaming bloody murder (urging him not to do it). But I made a decision (that) I was not going to let somebody run me out of my house.”

Soto said she plans to form a citizens group, patterned after Mothers Against Drunk Driving, called Mothers Against Gangs. The group would mount a vigorous publicity campaign, using billboards and other means to let gang members know that they are not welcome, she said.

“I think if the mothers get mad enough, we’re going to chase them out of town,” Soto said.

“We need the community to get angry,” Tefank said, “angry with the people who are causing this (problem), not the police.”