This man was sleeping in the Post Office on March 1.
Photo: John Alle
Letter: Encounter in the Post Office
I was on my way home from work, mailing a stack of letters around 10:53 p.m.. There were two men sleeping inside the Post Office.
One guy was my size, 6′ 3″ and charged me, but I stayed calm and talked him down. (The second man sleeping in the Post Office remained under the green blanket.)
I carry concealed self-protection because I am in lawless Santa Monica and tough areas of LA every day, but someone smaller and/or not paying attention could have been intentionally attacked/injured/robbed from persons waiting on both sides of the entry and sustained injury or worse.
What do you think about the idea of our Post Office closing and locking its doors daily between, say, 8 p.m. and 5:30 or 6 a.m.?
During those hours we still have the new tamper-proof letter boxes outside at curbside and at the very least, renters of post boxes could pay a small fee for an after-hours door key to enter between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m.
There are no interior security cameras and their usefulness in a post office lobby would only be for identifying a crime after the fact.
We must advocate for safety first. I think taking precautionary and proactive steps is a must, given the times we live in.
John Alle
This man sleeping in the Post Office initially confronted a resident.
Photo: John Alle
(Editor’s note: Pacific Palisades Senior Lead Officer Brian Espin and Commander of the West L.A. LAPD Captain III Craig Heredia have been notified about Alle’s encounter in the Post Office at 15243 La Cruz Drive. Since the Post Office is under federal jurisdiction, any changes would have to come through U.S. Representative Brad Sherman. To reach him: Scott Abrams, District Director: scott.abrams@mail.house.gov / (818) 501-9200
Taleen Keuroghlian, Field Representative: taleen.keuroghlian@mail.house.gov / (818) 501-9200).
HOMELESS CLEAN UP
This campsite was cleaned: more than eight large garbage bags were filled.
This morning at 8 a.m. LAPD beach detail officers Liam and Valle discovered a large, abandoned hillside camp. It was located along Temescal Canyon Road, in a posted, restricted fire zone, west of the children’s playground, behind the ghost bike.
Pacific Palisades Task Force on Homelessness Co-President Sharon Kilbride was contacted by officers to come to the site.
PPTFH volunteer Bruce Schwartz and Kilbride filled eight large garbage bags of trash, which included needles and lighters. Kilbride said they also found stolen sports shoes with security tags still attached.
“We placed police tape in the campsite once it was cleaned so no others will utilize this area for camping,” Kilbride said.
Bruce Schwartz helped clean up the site located in Temescal Canyon Park in a restricted area.
I don’t we should close the post office atrium, it’s the ONLY mailbox that isn’t lined with sticky residue from the mail-thieves. Even the two boxes right in front of the PO … the intake chutes are all gummed up.
There should be cameras. And an effort made (cameras as well?) to clean interior of other boxes AND catch the recurring mail-fishers. They must come late night.
Mr. Alee, Why is it necessary to go to the Post Office at 10:53 p.m.? Maybe you should wait until the next morning at sunrise.
Hi,
Many of us don’t have regular jobs with regular hours. The question in not why someone (who may work all-nighters–or have to go in early to work) can’t stop by the Post Office. The question is “Why can’t they do it safely?” My sister who is a nurse, use to work the graveyard shift–so I appreciate people who don’t have normal 9 to 5 hours.
Sue
CTN just recently reported about people sleeping in elevators & defecating on stairwells in Santa Monica. I’ve noticed more “unhoused neighbors” on Montana Ave where the Starbucks on 7th St has become a gathering spot. Dirty backpacks& bags are piled on the countertop& chairs while their owners lounge for long periods of time, knowing they will not be asked to leave. Consequently, I’ve been spending more time in Burbank where there is a municipal government and law enforcement that are responsive. I feel safer in a smaller, cleaner community like Burbank.