Notes from the January 17, 2025 Weekly Police Commission Meeting

This week’s Police Commission meeting was held in the San Fernando Valley at Saint Nicholas Church in Northridge.  Police Commission President Richard Drooyan welcomed the congregation and expressed his thanks to the church leadership for allowing them to have their Board meeting there. 

Police Commission Vice President John Mack welcomed and thanked the many members of the community who turned out for the meeting and expressed his desire to hear any issues they might have relevant to their police department. 

Once Vice President Mack spoke he turned the floor over to Councilmember Mitchell Englander whose district falls within the Devonshire Area boundaries.  Councilmember Englander gave the audience an overview of the duties and responsibilities of the Police Commission and their role as a civilian oversight committee.  He then presented two members of the community with certificates of recognition for outstanding service.  He concluded by recognizing the 18 year anniversary of the Northridge earthquake and informing his constituents of the disaster preparedness proclamation he made to City Council. 

After Councilmember Englander spoke, Police Chief Charlie Beck addressed the crowd.  He thanked them for their attendance and said it was the best attended Police Commission meeting he could remember.  He invited community members to speak on the issues that were concerning them and finished by saying he was there to listen.

Deputy Chief Jorge Villegas, head of the Department’s Valley Bureau, then spoke briefly on the crime statistics for the year ending 2011.  He said there were 20,000 fewer victims of crimes in the area and Devonshire Division led all divisions in the Valley in crime reduction.  Captain Kris Pitcher, Commanding Officer of Devonshire Division, then stated some of the challenges and goals for the division in the coming year. 

The final portion of the meeting was the public comment period.  Many of the members of the community who spoke expressed concerns over the proposed changes to the unlicensed driver/30 day impound policy.  More than 60 people took advantage of the opportunity to address the Board.

The Board of Police Commissioners as well as the Chief of Police look forward to these special meetings as they serve as an opportunity for community members to attend who might otherwise not be able to attend the regular meetings of the Board in Downtown Los Angeles.  The Commission holds these meetings a few times a year throughout the entire City. 

Comments

[RON]

DON'T CHANGE THE IMPOUND POLICY!!

[citizen]

Chief your first job is to protect the citizens of this city. You can't protect us from people who have no license by not impounding there cars. It gives them a license to kill. Ed O'Shea please weight in on this. I think I have a good idea how you feel already.

[BWop]

As a Department employee, legal immigrant and naturalized citizen, city resident and taxpayer, I am extremely disappointed in Chief Beck's reasoning for changing the Department's impound policy.

This change is being done to appease those politicians and organizations who believe they are not only special, but are immune to the laws of the country into which they illegally entered.

This is what happens when the chief and his handpicked minions are exempted from civil service protection. They become lapdogs to corrupt politicians.

This is a slap in the face of law abiding citizens, who don't get the same treatment in our schools, police procedures, and employment, that the illegal immigrant community and their "elected" politicians get.

SHAMEFUL is the one word that comes to mind about Chief Beck's decision to change the rules of the game to benefit criminals.

[Amnesty for the good people.]

I remember one of the worst things in history that sticks to mind is the treatment of Jews in Nazi Germany. Everyone in Germany in that Era blamed lack of opportunity on them and eventually the unthinkable occurred. It disgusts me, being half Mexican and an Irish American, proud of being both, that many Citizens treat good tax paying wage earning Immigrants like crap. My father in law who's from Sinaloa, Mexico came to this country "illegal". But he earned his keep by raising his children right and went to the best colleges UCLA etc, and he became a U.S. Citizen. I think that the U.S. Government and Jerry Brown especially ought to step in and allow illegal immigrants who are here doing the right things be able to lawfully drive in our state. It will create astounding revenues and the problem would be solved. So please stop punishing good people who do the right thing everyday in our communities. I am proud of Chief Beck for taking the unpopular stance on this issue. Colon Powell once said that being a great leader means sometimes pissing people off and it is so true.

[Ed O'Shea]

Citizen, you are spot on my friend! This is no more than pathetic pandering on the part of the Chief Beck and the rest of the political hacks that are dragging this city down further into the gutter. This city is already 3rd-world like in many areas, and this is one more contributing factor. The Chief is WAY off on this one. But this doesn't shock us rank and file officers. Pathetic!

[Gil Chavez]

Does anyone have a problem with not impounding the vehicle if the driver is unlicensed but the vehicle is properly registered and insured?

[BWop]

Yeah, I have a problem with it. What we have then is a vehicle owner who lets unlicensed drivers drive his car, or we have someone who doesn't have a license and has a third party register and insure it. Bottom line, it's ILLEGAL in CA for the owner of a vehicle to allow unlicensed drivers to drive their cars.

IMPOUND THE CARS and let the unlicensed driver or vehicle owner suffer the penalties for violating the law.

No exceptions.