Police chief talks budget, policing in meeting with Downey Rotary

DOWNEY — “In a perfect world I wish we wouldn’t need the police. But the fact is that we do.”

In a vigorous give and take program while addressing the Rotary Club of Downey by Zoom, Chief Dean Milligan was responding to the first question out of the box, from Jesse Vargas, “How do you answer the call to defund the police?” This controversy is stirring many communities.

“The most dangerous calls we get are domestic violence,” said the chief, speaking from his desk in shirt sleeves and a tie, flanked by the stars and stripes of the American flag and the California grizzly bear that is the emblem on our state flag. “The police are called in when the family finds the situation is beyond their control. And mental health issues are best dealt with by mental health professionals. That’s when I say we don’t need the police.”

As John Lacey commented in his clarifying follow-up question, “The mind set out there is that a good percentage of calls can be handled by social workers. Can they be incorporated in your response?”

“We have two officers dedicated to mental health calls,” said Chief Milligan. “We work with professionals from the county health Office.”

“What’s going on across our country, as we’re seeing it unfold everywhere, is there’s a contentious mix these days,” said the chief. “We have the support of the City Council as far as our budget allocation goes and we value that support highly.”

Rich Strayer asked, “What about the crime rate during the Covid crisis. Is it going up, down, or side-wise?”

“Crime is down by 17%,” said Chief Milligan. “There is an uptick in minor theft, shoplifting and vehicles that are not secured properly.”

In response to Club President Will Medina’s query about crime and teenagers who are out of school, Chief Milligan cited shoplifting in department stores and malls, and other petty theft.

“If we could have athletics in the schools now, that would probably take up a lot of energy.” he said. “What we miss the most is the opportunity to form relationships with kids. We do miss that tremendously.”

In a follow-up, Tom Hutchinson, who is active in Boy Scouting in Downey, asked about the Police Explorer Program for youths ages 15-18 that gives an opportunity to explore a career in law enforcement.

“We have had an active program,” the chief said, “with about 20 participants. Again, we value our personal relationships.”

Ray Brown asked about citizens not wearing masks as required by the Los Angeles County Health Department.  (Because the it does not have a Public Health Department, the city uses the county guidelines).

“We have not issued any citations yet,” said the chief. “We take the path of education and conversation. We ask citizens to leave the premises if they do not comply. Under other circumstances, we might respond otherwise.”

Raul Lopez thanked Chief Milligan for taking the time to explain how the Downey PD is dealing with current problems and events. The chief in turn thanked Downey for its support, including the business community, the City Council and individual residents who have taken the time to send emails thanking the department for its work.

“We appreciated the informal police support parade a few weeks ago,” said the chief. Hundreds of residents lined up and paraded in front of the Downey Police Station in a show of support for Downey police officers. The chief said that he and the Department were “very excited” about the show of love and support from the community.

“It’s always nice to hear it; it’s nice to see it and feel it, which we did that day.”