West Hollywood security patrol criticized for not stopping street fight
West Hollywood CA May 1 2023 A bystander’s video shows two men fighting in an apparent road-rage incident in West Hollywood, just a few feet away from where two of the city’s security ambassadors were standing.
The incident occurred last week at the intersection of Santa Monica and San Vicente boulevards, outside the Los Angeles County sheriff’s West Hollywood station.
The footage shows a man a white sedan stopped in a crosswalk. A man kicks the car before the driver opens the door and gets out of the car.
The two men fight as two security ambassadors stand on a nearby sidewalk, watching but not directly intervening. One of the security ambassadors is seen speaking into his walkie-talkie, apparently reporting the confrontation.
The circumstances that led to the brawl were unclear.
A trio of victims were robbed by a group of suspects, one of them armed with an apparent assault rifle, in an incident captured on video Tuesday night in West Hollywood – and residents fear there aren’t enough patrols on the streets.
“The West Hollywood Block by Block Security Ambassador program provides a highly visible uniformed presence at the street level,” according to the city’s official website. The 85 unarmed security ambassadors “are deployed on bicycles along major streets, alleys, city parking lots, and residential neighborhoods,” and work in collaboration with the local sheriff’s station.
Last summer, the city planned to remove five sheriff’s deputies in order to launch the security ambassador program. So far, only one deputy position has been eliminated.
“There’s a learning curve,” West Hollywood resident Ethan Reynolds, who recorded the video, said in an interview with ABC7. “We’ve all learned, in the past couple of years. But having a police officer around makes me feel safer — I know not everyone feels that way.”
The number of robberies per year in West Hollywood has has fluctuated since 2010, and have decreased in the last 12 months, according to date from the California Department of Justice and the Sheriff’s Department.
