A South L.A. community activist said smash-and-grab robberies are hitting minority businesses hard.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson, the president of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable, said he wants the Los Angeles Police Department and the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department to launch a task force aimed at catching criminals who target black and brown-owned businesses. KNX News’ Jon Baird spoke to Hutchinson about this ongoing problem.
“They're getting more than hurt, they're getting robbed and they're getting, in many cases, almost put out of business,” Hutchinson said. “We've seen that at least several times.”
He highlighted several recent robberies, including one at a bakery in Compton that was devastating. Hutchinson said the LAPD and sheriff’s department need to step up and crack down on these crimes.
“Not only do I want a crackdown, I want a stepped-up crackdown, an emergency crackdown, an immediate crackdown,” he said.
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Hutchinson believes that if these crimes were happening in more affluent communities, like Beverly Hills, officials wouldn’t hesitate to launch a task force. He said South L.A. and other parts of L.A. County shouldn’t be treated any differently.
An L.A. County organized crime task force was created in August 2023. Commander Jay Mastick with the LAPD oversees the task force, which consists of investigators from the L.A. County Sheriff's Department, California Highway Patrol, Glendale Police Department, Burbank Police Department, Beverly Hills Police Department, Santa Monica Police Department, U.S. Marshals Apprehension Task Force, and Federal Bureau of Investigation Task Force.
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