S.D. Police Name Liaison to the Guardian Angeles

In an attempt to resolve problems with the Guardian Angels, the Police Department has named a lieutenant to work as a liaison between the department and the citizens’ patrol group.

Cmdr. Larry Gore, head of the department’s public affairs unit, said the liaison will plan an orientation session in which the Angels will be instructed on how to make a proper citizen’s arrest.

The liaison, Lt. Carl Black, will serve as a resource for the Angels, Gore said. Although exact details of Black’s duties are still being worked out, the lieutenant will work with the Angels “if a problem surfaces, or if they want advice,” Gore said.

The liaison comes far short of the “partnership against crime” the Guardian Angels were seeking with the department.

But “the door of communication is now open,” said Weston Conwell, the Angels’ regional coordinator. “Now we can sit down, we can talk, we can set guidelines.”

The naming of Black as a liaison comes nearly three months after the Angels ran afoul of the department after the group tried to detain two men they believed were smoking crack cocaine.

The men protested to police, and seven Guardian Angels were cited for misdemeanor battery and false imprisonment. The city attorney’s office decided two weeks ago not to prosecute the case, said Stuart H. Swett, senior chief deputy in the criminal division. The two men were transients with criminal records and outstanding warrants, he said.

“We thought we would have difficulty producing (the men) at trial. We thought we would not be able to sustain our burden of proof,” Swett said.

After the arrests, Conwell called for a meeting with Police Chief Bob Burgreen and the establishment of a “partnership against crime.”

Among Conwell’s requests were that the Police Department provide law enforcement training to the Angels, as well as background and fingerprint checks of would-be Guardian Angels.

The requests were rejected on the grounds that they were illegal or they would expose the city to civil liability for the Angels’ actions.

But the Guardian Angels kept pressing the issue, and, on April 6, San Diego City Councilman John Hartley joined them in their request to meet with the police chief.