On behalf of the Santa Monica community, The Mirror would like to publicly thank the Santa Monica Police Department for all of its amazing efforts during the past week.
On top of what was already planned to be a busy day in Santa Monica with President Obama’s visit last Friday, the unexpected tragedy to follow at Santa Monica College was a defining day in the department’s history.
From Chief of Police Jacqueline Seabrooks, who faced a barrage of questions at press conferences, to SMPD public information officer Sgt. Richard Lewis, who has been working around the clock with updates for the media, the work of every officer in the department is greatly appreciated.
As City Manager Rod Gould pointed out in Friday’s front-page piece from columnist Susan Cloke, the job of the officers is to run towards danger to put the public’s safety ahead of their own.
For this, we cannot thank them enough for their bravery, courage, and determination.
And it’s not just the fine officers of the SMPD we need to thank, but also authorities including the Santa Monica College Police Department, the Santa Monica Fire Department as well as our neighbors at the Los Angeles Police Department, Culver City Police Department, and Beverly Hills Police Department, among many others, who have assisted during the past week.
With the subsequent shootings on Sunday afternoon and Tuesday morning, the department continues to keep up the first-rate work, as was seen with the quick arrests of three suspects following the double shooting on Michigan Avenue on Tuesday.
No doubt the suspect in Sunday’s bicyclist shooting will be located and arrested, sending a clear message that crime will no be tolerated in our beach city and offenders will be caught and prosecuted.
Keep up the fine work, SMPD.
