Long Beach police chief assures Belmont Shore community of steps taken to address violence
About 100 concerned Belmont Shore community members turned up for Thursday morning's Coffee with the Commander meet and greet event, hoping to hear solutions for what they say is escalating violence and petty crime.
Long Beach Police Chief Wally Hebeish led the community event, saying that crime will not be tolerated in the neighborhood.
The chief pointed out that officers did make arrests in the two most recent murder cases that both happened on the highly popular 2nd Street.
He said a suspect was arrested at LAX March 4, the day after a 20-year-old man was stabbed and killed inside Dave's Hot Chicken restaurant.
Another suspect was also arrested for a deadly Feb.18 shooting outside of a 2nd Street bar.
Police say they have increased patrols since that shooting, and Chief Hebeish said there will be inspections at local businesses to ensure things like alcohol are not contributing factors to crime in the area.
"And so what you will be seeing in the next few weeks are inspections at businesses, you'll see a presence of officers up and down 2nd Street, when we have those available resources you will see traffic enforcement, and you will also see volunteers connecting with the businesses, handing out resource information, handing out flyers and providing details on how we can best address crime," Hebeish said.
One resident Peggy David said "it wouldn't be a bad idea" for more police patrols. Petty crime like car break-ins are also concerning to residents as they say crime hasn't been this bad in years.
