Long Beach : Council Calls for Cost Study on Citywide Sheriff’s Patrol

The City Council voted 7 to 2 this week to request a study of how much it would cost to ax the Long Beach Police Department and hire sheriff’s deputies to patrol citywide.

Despite protests from Police Officers Assn. President Paul Chastain, a majority of the council voted late Tuesday night for the study.

“We will put to rest the speculation regarding what savings we may incur if we hire deputies throughout the city,” said Councilman Les Robbins, a sheriff’s deputy who supports shutting down the city’s Police Department.

Several council members tried to postpone the vote for a week, noting that the request was not posted on the council agenda. City Atty. John Calhoun told council members that only action items, and not requests for studies, must be legally posted in advance.

Once the majority voted to push the vote through Tuesday, only Councilmen Clarence Smith and Tom Clark voted against the request by Councilman Doug Drummond, a retired Long Beach police commander. Also voting for the study were Councilmen Evan Anderson Braude, Wallace Edgerton, Ray Grabinski, Warren Harwood and Jeffrey A. Kellogg.

City Manager James C. Hankla said he will first ask the Sheriff’s Department if there is a cost involved in compiling the study, which could take up to a year. The councilmen did not discuss whether they would be willing to foot the bill of a study.

Sheriff’s deputies have been patrolling parts of town since last November to boost the city’s understaffed Police Department.