The arrest of a young mother of three by LAPD officers has sparked outrage at Nickerson Gardens, where some Black residents worry about a return to a brutal style of policing.
Watts had at least 22 homicides in 2021, a more than fivefold increase from 2018. But “Watts is not equal to crime,” one resident says.
For some time now, CSP officers have been working with the Southeast Division’s gang unit to “mitigate large gatherings and crowds inside the housing developments,” which she said can be a magnet for trouble. Still, recognizing the heightened tensions from the incident, she and Chief Michel Moore called an emergency meeting with community leaders to discuss a path forward.
Mayor Karen Bass and other leaders have in recent months talked of expanding CSP. An outside firm has already begun surveying residents at two proposed sites. But at a recent budget hearing, Councilmember Monica Rodriguez told department officials that it was premature to talk about adding sites before the program’s effectiveness could be studied further.
Yet, despite the creation of a stand-alone CSP bureau in 2020 and public proclamations of support by LAPD leadership, longtime civil rights attorney Connie Rice said she questions the department’s level of commitment to the program behind the scenes.A UCLA study compared outcomes in two Watts housing projects where community policing was practiced with similar areas where it wasn’t.
The encounter took a turn when police first tried to detain a man, and then several others, who they insisted were interfering with their duties. “I just feel like they have a set of people working in these projects to build relationships with [community members],” said Hunter, who posted a short video on social media in which she expressed her thanks to family and friends, as well as to the countless well-wishers who reached out after the incident. “And the gang force basically comes over here creating more problems when they do come.”
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