Norwalk planning commissioner denies 'slanderous' report on police raid

NORWALK − Norwalk Planning Commissioner Rosa Barragan is publicly refuting a news report that suggests police found drugs, guns, and money at her Norwalk residence following a raid there on Tuesday morning. 

“I am very distraught over this slanderous article,” said Barragan. “I have 36 years of experience serving others in this community and this [false article] could erase everything I’ve done.”

Barragan is disputing the bulk of the reporting by Hews-Media Group, which described a raucous raid of both her residence and her mother’s home where guns, drugs, and money were allegedly discovered inside and arrests were made, launching an investigation.

However, Barragan maintains that while police did search the homes looking for her brother, no illegal contraband was found, no arrests were made, and she is not under investigation.

“You can’t control who your family is…They were searching for my little brother,” said Barragan, who admitted he’s had trouble with the law. “But they made it seem like I was a kingpin.” 

Captain Curtis Jensen of the Norwalk Sheriff’s Station confirmed that authorities did serve search warrants to both Barragan and her mother on the 12100 block of 163rd Street Tuesday morning around 3 a.m., but he also denied any reports that Barragan herself was ever in question.

“None of the information in that article came from my office,” Jensen said. “Ms. Barragan was never a suspect and she is not under any investigation.”

Barragan serves as the McKinney-Vento Program Coordinator for the Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District and is currently running for the Cerritos College Board of Trustees. In 2015, she was honored as Assembly District 57 Woman of the Year by state Assemblymember Ian Calderon.

“I’m part of the fabric of this community. Service has been my main field of work and it will continue to be my number one objective,” Barragan said.