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City manager credits police and partners for preventing large unauthorized beach gathering, warns of continued vigilance
Summary
City Manager Dan Creighton said Long Beach police, CSEA staff and law-enforcement partners used a plan of sealed entrances, social-media monitoring and school outreach to deter an unauthorized beach gathering and urged residents to expect further enforcement through mid-June.
City Manager Dan Creighton told the City Council on June 3 that Long Beach police, Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) staff and partner agencies prevented a repeat of last year’s large unauthorized beach gathering.
Creighton said the city’s multiagency plan — which included monitoring social media, coordinating with schools and physically sealing off some beach entrances — was executed “perfectly” and was necessary to prevent disorder. “Our primary focus is and will always be public safety,” Creighton said.
Why it matters: Council members were briefed that last year nearly 3,000 people gathered on the beach and that the night ended with a 15-year-old being shot and two arrests on gun charges. Creighton said the city is narrowing a “window of vulnerability” ahead of the summer season by opening the beach full time nearly a week early and by planning further operational adjustments.
Creighton urged residents to expect continued law-enforcement measures over the next two weeks as schools finish the year, saying the city “fully anticipate[s] additional attempts to hold these types of gatherings.” He added that officials do not want to permanently close public access but will again use deterrent measures if required “in the interest of all of our safety.”
The manager also noted community events that the city supports, including the Michael Berube Sunset Color Run to raise mental-health awareness and Arts in the Plaza concerts at Kennedy Plaza. He said the city clerk’s office will offer expanded hours for purchase of residential parking permits in mid- and late June.
No formal council action was taken during the manager’s report. The remarks were delivered as part of the manager’s regular report at the start of the June 3 council meeting.
