A Win-Win Gig for Deputies, W. Hollywood

With just as much ease as he drops his tongue down to his chin, KISS rocker Gene Simmons halted a live radio broadcast from Tower Records to shake a deputy’s hand.

“I want to thank you guys for coming out,” said Simmons, in black and white face paint, body armor and thigh-high boots as he extended his hand to Deputy Steve Barrett.

“Please don’t shoot me,” Simmons said, joking with the gun-toting deputy.

It was one of the few times Barrett smiled that night. To him, doing crowd control at a KISS autograph signing was just “another day in law enforcement,” he said.

And another night working overtime for the West Hollywood sheriff’s station.

The station regularly offers the services of its off-duty personnel for special events hosted by the city’s varied entertainment venues. Under the arrangement, the businesses get a reliable security presence, the Sheriff’s Department keeps an eye on potentially volatile situations and the deputies earn fatter paychecks.

Deputies make about $70 an hour and sergeants about $85 an hour on overtime--1 1/2 times their normal salary.

“Whenever the overtime comes in, great,” Sgt. Gary Honings said. “It just supplements your income.”

In the last fiscal year, station personnel got more than half a million dollars in overtime pay from private business and special event contracts, such as parades, the Sheriff’s Headquarters Bureau said. Other stations also do special event overtime, but not nearly as much as West Hollywood’s.

Jay Smith, general manager of Tower Records on Sunset Boulevard, said he calls on the deputies to assist with any “superstar event,” such as the KISS autograph signing. “They do a great job for us. I wouldn’t do any major event without them here,” he said.

“We’re strictly there for a visible presence, to discourage problems,” said Deputy Don Mueller, community relations officer for the West Hollywood station.

Sgt. Gary Griffith, the station’s coordinator for such special events, said using off-duty deputies avoids depleting the station’s work force.

Most recently, deputies exchanged time off for time and a half to assist security personnel at an outdoor Shakira performance at Tower Records. They also staff the annual Vanity Fair Oscar party at Morton’s on Melrose Avenue and other events.

“What we provide is uniformed personnel in front of and around the venue,” Griffith said. “We don’t provide security at venues.”

The Los Angeles Police Department has no similar overtime arrangement for its staff, but retired officers are hired privately for filming or football games.

Normally, a business will contract one sergeant and anywhere from four to 20 deputies for major events at which big stars or big crowds are expected.

“It’s pretty quiet for the most part,” said Deputy Marshall Robinson as he and his co-workers stood on the sidewalk in front of Tower Records recently, making sure pedestrians didn’t linger too long where KISS band members Simmons and Paul Stanley would later arrive.

Smith said he’s had deputies on hand when expecting crowds of 300 or more ever since they had to be called to break up an altercation between Tower security and rapper Warren G’s security staff during a 1994 performance.

With the deputies on the scene, he said, he hasn’t had any more problems.

Other West Hollywood businesses are also overtime regulars. On weekend nights, it’s not unusual to see a sheriff’s cruiser parked in front of Jerry’s Famous Deli on Beverly Boulevard and a couple of uniformed deputies on overtime watching the crowd inside.

Sunset Boulevard is a common filming location for movies, including current hit “Ocean’s 11,” and television shows such as “Ally McBeal.”

Mueller said he has been to so many Hollywood events that he can’t even remember them all.

“It’s just not a big deal anymore. It’s so common it doesn’t always stand out,” said Mueller, who does remember working overtime at events with Mariah Carey, Elton John and Ricky Martin. “Some of them are a lot of fun. That’s great work.”