Dennis RomeroCops are spread thin in this country-sized city of nearly 500 square miles. Call one and she might come — if you have a serious emergency.
But in the San Fernando Valley, LAPD has found the cash to put police to good use dealing with the scourge known around the Southland as … teen house parties:
Yep, the City Council this week found $42,640 to pay for officer overtime in LAPD's Mission Division area, mainly Sylmar, especially to poop on your party.
The cash will enable the department to an extra “party car” on patrol.
And party season is coming up. LAPD's cruiser will be on duty from June to September, those warm months when you like to get your backyard shindig on.
The department states:
Credit: Jacrews7 / Flickr
Local police respond annually to nearly 5,000 disturbance calls related to large parties in residential areas. Neighborhoods have complained these parties hold them hostage to loud music, drunkenness, fights, shootings and even murder.
The party car will be on the lookout for burglars, car thieves and righteous hoedowns, where they will “monitor the parties before they get out of hand.”
Of course, as USC students would allege, white-kid parties rarely get busted up. If you read between the lines here — we're talking about Sylmar, after all — the targets of this operation seem to be drunk Mexican-American kids.
They're no saints, that's for sure. But no party car in West L.A., home to a few universities, including UCLA? Nope.
Still, if you plan on misbehaving, the best weapon against unwelcome guests in blue uniforms? Invite a good attorney or even law school student to your event. Worked for us.
[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]
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