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Ambassador removal, training and contractor ties raise scrutiny after West Hollywood altercation
Summary
Allied Universal briefed the Public Safety Commission on January activity and confirmed an internal investigation concluded with the removal of one ambassador after a physical altercation. Commissioners pressed for details on training, supervision, response times, vendor mergers and whether city contracts link to firms with federal-immigration contracts.
Allied Universal presented its January report for the Security Ambassador program and answered commissioners’ questions about a widely circulated on-street altercation involving an ambassador.
The vendor reported January activity that included 2,761 hospitality assists, 4,284 business contacts, 529 unhoused contacts and 204 calls for service. On the incident, the Allied representative said the company completed an internal investigation and that “the ambassador has been removed from West Hollywood.” Commissioners asked about the ambassador’s hire date, training, prior discipline and which trainings (including de-escalation and interactions with people experiencing homelessness) are provided before deployment.
Commissioners and public speakers also raised contract-level questions: Allied confirmed a corporate merger with G4S and commissioners asked staff to explore whether any public-safety contracts have connections with companies that work with federal immigration enforcement. Vice Chair Blau and others asked staff and the city clerk to return with options for council-level review of existing contracts and screening language for future procurements.
Allied and commissioners discussed operational metrics as well: the vendor said staffing is at 98% and that ambassadors are given briefings at shift change; Allied reported a goal of responding to service requests “within 15 minutes.” Commissioners and members of the public asked staff to include measurable performance data (response times, app response, route coverage) in future monthly reports.
