A motion passed by the Los Angeles City Council asking the police department for a report on hate crimes should help shed light on the rise in hate-related incidents, including a recent incident when a Seattle resident allegedly tried to run over two men outside a synagogue, a staff member of a city councilman said Thursday.
“We unfortunately had a hate crime here in our district, and there’s been an increase in hate crimes around the country, so I think we wanted to find out what the updated numbers were and then get the department’s take on what we’re doing about the issue and work with us on more ways to help on this issue,” Jeff Ebenstein, policy director for City Councilman Paul Koretz, told City News Service.
The City Council unanimously passed a motion on Wednesday authored by Koretz that directs the Los Angeles Police Department to report on its policies related to tracking and reporting hate crimes, and to include information on what constitutes a hate crime, the LAPD’s hate crime reporting requirements and what training officers receive on how to recognize hate crimes.
The council in January passed a similar motion asking the LAPD to produce a report on hate crimes. The report, which was issued in April, found that 254 hate crimes were reported in Los Angeles in 2017, which represented a 10.9 percent increase over the 229 crimes motivated by hate that were reported in 2016.
Ebenstein said Koretz thought the city should get an update on hate crimes in 2018 and more information on what can be done to fight the problem.
Mohamed Abdi Mohamed, 32, is expected to undergo an evaluation to determine if he is competent to stand trial on two felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon — a vehicle — and a hate crime allegation stemming from an alleged confrontation near La Brea and Oakwood Avenues on Nov. 23
LAPD Chief Michel Moore said two men had just left a synagogue in the 300 block of La Brea Avenue and were walking toward Oakwood Avenue when Mohamed allegedly tried to run them over. He was arrested by Los Angeles police that night.
“He’s yelling out hateful remarks regarding Jewish heritage and regarding these people of faith,” the police chief said. “They watch him as he then turns his vehicle directly at them.”
If convicted as charged, Mohamed could face up to eight years and eight months in state prison, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
“Hate in America is on the rise,” Moore told reporters on Nov. 30 “That has to change. And a portion of that is that every community recognize that when such acts occur, that the department — LAPD — (and) that our federal and state partners will bring the full weight of the law to hold accountable those who believe that there would be some other type of response.”
Hate crimes increased by 5 percent in 2017 in Los Angeles County, compared with the prior year, continuing a four-year upward trend that has seen a 32 percent jump in such incidents, according to a report by the county Commission on Human Relations released in October.
Koretz’s motion also directs the LAPD to report on the feasibility of providing training to senior lead officers, neighborhood prosecutors and Neighborhood Council Board members, on ways to encourage individuals to report hate crimes and on ways to partner with community organizations to fight hate crimes in neighborhoods. At least one neighborhood council, the Greater Valley Glen Neighborhood Council, is opposed to the idea.
“The GVGC recognizes the importance of the reporting of hate crimes when they occur; however, neighborhood council board members should not be tasked with the added responsibility of encouraging individuals to report hate crimes,” the GVGC said in a letter to the City Council.