WEHOville.com Staff Report
WHEN CAPT. ED RAMIREZ OF THE Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s West Hollywood Station met with the City Council for an update on public safety, the intoxicating congratulatory smiles over the drop in major crime quickly changed to the sobering reality of the mhuman crisis facing most American communities:
Homelessness and the associated issues, including crimes committed by the homeless.
It is a personal issue with Ramirez, a man with three decades in the Sheriff’s Department who has a strong belief in community involvement. To that end, he serves as a board member for the nonprofit Shelter Partnership, a homeless support organization.
“I’m happy to think outside, even remove, the box if it’s not immoral, illegal or going to land me on the front page. Let’s try it,” said Ramiirez in outlining his approach to involvement in a community when he became the new commanding officer of the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station two years ago.
“This is probably the hardest thing I’ve ever had to tackle in my 35-plus years of law enforcement. “We have to come up with an answer and we continue to offer services…”
So it is not surprising that homelessness has touched him in ways few things ever have in his almost four-decades long law enforcement career.
“This is probably the hardest thing I’ve ever had to tackle in my 35-plus years of law enforcement,” Ramirez said. “We have to come up with an answer and we continue to offer services. Unfortunately a lot of our homeless [citizens] do not accept services.”
And then there were the mixed messages from the public itself, offering opinions, raising question, but not having any substantive answers or solutions. Half the members of the public want the homeless left alone, he said, and the other half want them moved somewhere else.
Council members told Ramirez they receive a number of emails and calls from residents, concerned over what they are convinced to be an an increase of homeless people and crimes they’re committing.
“It also seems like we’re getting violent crimes having to do with [the] homeless,” said Councilwoman Lauren Meister. “While I understand we’re going through a terrible time in terms of rents and people being able to pay their rent, I think these crimes are among homeless who are transients, are substance abusers, have mental issues. I don’t think these are the people who just got evicted from their apartment on Fountain.”
Meister called for more tools to help getting people off the streets, suggesting to potentially shift the hours of the city’s outreach teams.
“These are people who are in the streets who need mental health care,” she said. “We’re not able to provide it because… I don’t know why.”
Ramirez said that the issue of the homeless is one that deputies are continuing to monitor, but that the problem exists throughout the state. He said deputies have arrested some unhoused individuals for quality of life crimes, but that they are also working to connect them to services.
“We will arrest our way out of the problem if we have to,” Ramirez has said in the past, noting that he sees homeless tent encampments in Hollywood on his daily drive home to Pasadena.
“Tent cities in West Hollywood are against the law,” he said. “You won’t see them in West Hollywood.”
For law enforcement officers, Ramirez said, it is an ongoing challenge balancing “quality of life for people who live, work and play in West Hollywood along with the civil rights of the homeless.
“We offer assistance,” he said, “first and over and over.”
“We will arrest our way out of the problem if we have to,” Ramirez has said in the past… Of course you said that Captain. I have for some time now believed that LA County Sheriffs Department Contracted Law Enforcement is the wrong solution for West Hollywood. It’s Paleolithic Thinking like “arresting your way our of a problem” that has caused so many policing issues across the Country. LACSD is opaque in its dealings with the public and regarding police shootings. It is run by a man who is likely going to end up just like the last LA County… Read more »
For a man of the law, Ramirez has a ridiculously stupid understanding of it. Current case law has determined it is ILLEGAL to remove homeless people when practical housing alternatives are not provided. WeHo “provides” shelter an hour outside the City via bus (not practical). The CDC has also banned encampment sweeps during the pandemic- removing homeless people from where they stay contributes to communal spread, and dislocates them from outreach workers tasked to help them.
Ramirez, are you sure you’re in the right profession?
Address Council with this, it’s their ball, not Capt. Ed’s.
And tell me, how many of these homeless, sorry, people affected by homelessness, oh sorry, unhoused…soon to be called mortgagedly challenged will take the services offered? Most are happy to live ferel lives where they are free to live and defecate anywhere they want and take their mind altering drugs. Now, with friends like Mike Bonin, they know they can have beach front property for free. So why would the go to a shelter or rehab? Sorry folks, it ain’t the cops this time…it’s inept city officials who let this happen.
Homelessness is still an administrative problem involving the entire community but entangled in political morass. Using the police to enforce municipal laws which homeless people may be breaking not part of the solution. Using police to respond to lawlessness such as thefts, burglaries of homes and cars and assaults is in keeping with their mandate. Until lawmakers find the political will to actually solve the problem (inclkudingthe many mentally ill on the streets) we must live with them.