Residents press council to review sheriff contract after complaints about coverage and response times

At the workshop several residents and council members pressed the city to re-examine its contract with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department after accounts of slow response and concerns about the cost and service level provided.

"It took them 46 minutes to get to my house in a very serious situation," resident Rick Brooks said, describing a recent emergency response he said was unacceptable. Other residents who track the budget observed the city currently funds law enforcement at several hundred thousand dollars a year; staff explained that the base cost for a 70-hour-per-week deputy is budgeted at roughly $671,000, and that overtime and additional services typically push annual costs toward $800,000–$900,000.

Residents offered options the city should study: renegotiating contract terms with the county, contracting with another agency (some suggested La Habra), supplementing coverage with private patrol during specified hours, or adding technology such as license-plate readers and camera networks to aid follow-up investigations. One commenter recommended tariffed private services for nonemergency patrols to reduce sheriff overtime costs.

Council response and next steps: Council members acknowledged the seriousness of specific complaints and asked staff to prepare a written report for the next council meeting reviewing the incident described by Brooks, clarifying what the sheriff contract covers, and outlining options and costs for alternative or supplemental services.

Ending: No formal contract action or vote took place; council asked for a staff report and signaled it would continue to consider coverage options alongside other fiscal priorities.