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California

Brea Civic Center Area Closed by Hoax Call

By RICHARD MAROSI
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A radio call of shots being fired near the Brea Civic Center turned out to be a hoax but forced police to close the area for about half an hour Monday.

Sgt. Tom Flanagan said police restricted access to the area--which includes the police station and City Hall--until officials had determined that the call was false. About 3:30 p.m., a caller posing as an officer had reported over the police frequency that shots had been fired near the Civic Center.

“Somehow, somebody got on our frequency and just made a quick call,” Flanagan said. “He tried to sound like a police officer, and we didn’t take any chances.”

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Officers formed a perimeter around the Civic Center and did not let anyone in or out of the area, Flanagan said. He said police on duty in other areas of the city were told to remain on patrol.

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Richard Marosi

Richard Marosi is a former Metro editor for the Los Angeles Times. He previously reported from the U.S.-Mexico border. Marosi was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2015 for his series on Mexican laborers and in 2013 for his stories on the fate of thousands of immigrants who were deported from the U.S. to Mexico in recent years. He has delved deeply into Mexico’s drug wars, producing a groundbreaking series on the Sinaloa cartel and sharing an Overseas Press Club Award in 2009. In the early 2000s, his corruption investigations in Southeast Los Angeles County contributed to the indictment or ouster of a dozen politicians and city officials. Marosi is a Southern California resident but remains loyal to the Giants, 49ers and Warriors of his native San Francisco Bay Area.

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