By Mary O’KEEFE

On Tuesday residents of the Sunland-Tujunga area met with their community Los Angeles Police Dept. officer at a monthly Neighborhood Watch meeting.

The event is a twist on “Coffee with a Cop.” “Tacos with a Cop” meetings are held at Joselito’s Mexican Food in Tujunga. They are a chance for S-T residents to talk to LAPD Officer Alvarado about the area and share their concerns.

“I’m open to questions … so let’s go around the room,” Alvarado said as she began the meeting.

The residents were well informed and it was obvious this was not their first time meeting, and sharing, with police.

The discussion began with the problem of homeless people living in abandoned or closed businesses. One of those locations was the former Crow’s Nest Sports Bar in the 7200 block of Foothill Boulevard. The Crow’s Nest was a well-known business in Tujunga but it closed earlier this year after new owners purchased the building and the bar’s owner lost the lease. At present the location is empty and is a location where transients are known to live.

Residents voiced their concerns about the issue and asked what could be done. Alvarado said police had sent the owner of the building a trespass letter.

“It’s private property and [the police] can’t do anything until the owner signs the trespass order,” she said. “I am just waiting on that.”

The owner of a private property needs to be the one who contacts the police to make a trespassing report before law enforcement can arrest someone for trespassing. A lot of times these owners do not live in the area.

This particular location was the site of a recent transient-on-transient stabbing. One transient was arrested and the other was taken to the hospital, but has been released.

Alvarado added the best way to approach this problem of transients or others moving into empty buildings is to work with the LA Dept. of Building and Safety (LADBS). She spoke of working with LADBS in the past on other locations.

The residents then listed several other empty homes and businesses that have a transient issue.

“There’s too many to keep track. They show up and then they leave, and another [group] moves in,” said one of the residents.

Another resident added that he noticed an increase in the number of transients in the area.

Some of the transients are well known to residents while others are new.

Residents said they call the LAPD about an issue but by the time officers get to the location the transient/s are gone. And that brought up another point – calling 9-1-1. Many residents shared stories of seeing suspicious behavior, like a man riding a bicycle down the street with a bat in one hand and a hammer in the other.

“I am certain he was not going to play baseball or do construction,” said a resident.

A resident had called the suspicious activity in to police but waited on the phone for over two hours before finally giving up and leaving for work.

Getting law enforcement to respond to a “non emergency” call was a major issue, according to the residents.

Calling 9-1-1, even for non-emergency situations, could be a “Catch 22” situation where calling without an emergency could put a strain on the system; however, not calling could allow a dangerous situation to build.

Alvarado told residents to call and report if they think something could be a possible burglary or another crime that was about to occur and to make sure and share that information with the dispatcher.

One of the issues in the area, according to Alvarado, was burglary – both residential and vehicular.

She told the residents that Sunland-Tujunga had seen the same type of burglaries that were occurring in other areas. Those suspects are a group that can be traced to Chile. They use technology to help with the burglaries. Some suspects even place cameras in bushes so they can watch a home for several days to learn residents’ patterns, Alvarado said.

In the end, the residents shared their appreciation for the LAPD officer taking time to listen to them and Alvarado shared her email and contact information with the residents letting them know they can contact her with any issues.