Follow the Motto of Serve and Protect
Open letter to police services

Please realize I have only what was related to me by an upset homeowner to go by, but when one of my homeowners stops me to tell me of her experience and is as adamant about the facts as this lady was, I have to ask what happened.

On Mon., Sept. 18, 8:30 a.m., as I was walking my dog, a female homeowner reported to me that she had called the police twice over the weekend regarding her neighbors and was disappointed in the response of the officers who arrived.

The residents at a nearby condo (and about 40 of their best friends) were having a birthday party that began on Saturday and lasted until after 4:00 Sunday morning. From her upstairs bedroom window, she can see and hear what goes on below her in the courtyard. Being quite close together, all sounds reverberate between the buildings, making our rule of no parties a necessity.

When the officer(s) arrived, they asked what was going on. Given that it was 11:52 p.m., I’m surprised they had to ask. The residents/partygoers told the officers they were having a birthday party and went inside to bring out the16-year-old male honoree. In addition, yes, alcohol was being served. This area is a small, grassy quadrant, and the guests were all over outside in the common area, plus the males from the party were using the landscaping alongside the next condo as a urinal!

 The officers had no more than left when the disturbance started up again. The resident reporting the incident and her family were deprived of their sleep Saturday night while these irresponsible residents and their guests were allowed to continue to disrupt several families. Many of them get up early on Sunday mornings for church. I realize your officers may have seen things differently, but when she called the police back at 2:06 a.m., she was told they had already been out there. They said she would have to sign a complaint and that they would not come out again. 

She explained to the woman dispatcher when she called back that being in very close proximity to the residents she was reporting, she was afraid of signing a compliant against them for fear of retaliation. 

I have no way of knowing exactly what was said or went on, nor, of course, do you. My primary concern is that this woman called twice regarding an incident that was clearly the responsibility of code enforcement, and the police should have closed this party down with the first call at 11:51 p.m. Why this party was allowed to continue until after 4 a.m. is a mystery to everyone. 

What would you have wanted a citizen to do when they have done all they can do to work with your department and they are ignored? I tell my residents all the time to use the services that are available to them to resolve noncompliant police issues; it is the only way the police will realize they have a problem. When we have our Neighborhood Watch programs, residents are advised of the same thing – call when they need assistance. However, when they do call and there is no resolution, we all wonder why we are paying for services they are not receiving. (As a side note, our HOA is currently out to bid for a new security service because the quality of service we were being provided is no longer worth paying for.)

We contract with a security service eight hours a day, seven days a week, in an effort to enforce the rules of our HOA, but when the problem goes outside the normal rules and regulations, residents are encouraged to contact our police dept. This disturbance was outside of the hours and scope of our security, and police services were required.

Our homeowners complain that calling the police is a waste of time. I constantly tell them the police WILL do something, and residents just have to contact them.  However, when they do, they have learned the police will handle the situation with less than a lack of regard for the reporting citizen’s complaint. No one should have to put up with disrespectful, inconsiderate neighbors, and the police should have reacted accordingly and closed down this party the first time they were dispatched. There should have been no need to a second call or request to sign a complaint. Following is information copied directly from the dispatch records.

9/17/2006 2:06:57 AM  9/17/2006 3:15 AM DISTURBANCE-MUSIC OR PARTY 26100 BLK VIA PERA

9/16/2006 11:51:10 PM 9/16/2006 11:52:08 PM  DISTURBANCE-MUSIC OR PARTY 26100 BLK VIA PERA 

Please comment, as I have promised an answer for this homeowner and others in the same situation. They deserve to know why the law was not enforced and why the resident was told the officers would not come back out when, in fact, they did but nothing was done. Situations such as this do nothing but create ill will between homeowners and the police. This is not something I relish having to deal with; I WANT our homeowners to feel they can depend upon our police services and use them whenever they feel they are needed. After all, your motto is to "Serve and protect.”

I appreciate our police and have always had a high regard for the services they provide. I also work very hard at creating the same sense of awareness by our homeowners. I look forward to your response and wish to make you aware it will be published in our HOA newsletter.

Kathy Miramontes, president
Aliso Villas Condominium Association
Mission Viejo

As a side note, I was contacted again by the homeowner about this incident. I informed her I had written a letter to the police dept. and spoken to Lt. Bernardi and Sgt. Meyer. I said Sgt. Meyer would be calling her. The officers have both apologized for the way in which this situation was handled and will look into it so that in the future this type of situation can be avoided.