MOORPARK : Meetings to Address Police Relations
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department will hold four community meetings in Moorpark next month as part of an outreach program aimed at fostering better relations with city residents, particularly in the downtown area.
Lt. Geoff Dean and Sgt. Marty Rouse will be on hand to answer questions and take comments during the sessions, which will begin at 7 p.m. and will be presented in both Spanish and English, officials said.
The meetings will be held on Jan. 12 at Campus Canyon School, 15300 Monroe Ave.; Jan. 14 at Flory School, 240 Flory Ave.; Jan. 26 at Peach Hill School, 13400 Christian Barrett Drive; and Jan. 28 at Mountain Meadows School, 4200 Mountain Meadows Drive.
Moorpark Mayor Paul Lawrason said he plans to attend all four sessions but will leave the talking to the officers and the public.
Downtown residents have historically been critical of sheriff’s deputies, at times calling their enforcement tactics overbearing and racist. Relations were further strained after an Oct. 18 incident, when six residents were arrested after a skirmish with deputies trying to arrest a man for drinking in public.
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