A brutal robbery in West Hollywood demands strong leadership in response

The horrific, brutal robbery of TV star Keegan Allen on Thursday outside a high-end grocery store in West Hollywood is a shocking sign that crime remains an urgent problem in LA.

West Hollywood is thought to be a “safe” area. It is trendy and upscale, and a major tourist destination. It is the hub of the LGBTQ+ community in Southern California. More than that it’s where young people in LA go to meet each other, to dance and to enjoy life in the city.

That’s what makes the attack so disturbing. A breathless Allen posted a selfie video showing his face and hands dripping with his own blood after he was hit over the head by his attackers.

They robbed him at gunpoint and knifepoint, and then took off. They seemed completely unafraid of any security cameras — and even though there is surveillance footage of the attack, there is no guarantee that they will be caught. 

If it can happen to a young, athletic man in front of a grocery store, it can happen to anyone. 

LA needs more police, and has needed them for a long time. LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell says that the city needs 12,500 cops. Mayor Karen Bass aimed lower, at 9,500. But right now, LA has just over 8,500 police officers, and is losing more.

Worse, there are still politicians who think bashing the police is a good idea. 

Bass’s opponent, City Councilwoman Nithya Raman, recently deleted a video in which she appeared to call McDonnell a “fascist.” 

She now claims she was just referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). But they are also public servants, doing their jobs to enforce the law.

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If you don’t like our nation’s immigration laws, you can lobby to change them. Don’t make the police — local, state or federal — your political targets.

The “fascist” video was a reminder that Raman once called to “defund the police.” She told voters that she’s changed her mind, but her Democratic Socialists of America want to replace armed officers with unarmed “alternatives.”

That’s not going to stop criminals who pistol-whip innocent people outside grocery stores.

Allen called on Bass and California Gov. Gavin Newsom to use the state’s network of cameras to find the people who attacked him and stole his watch.

But more than cameras, LA and California need leaders with the political will to back the police against the criminals.