172536_CPCA_2020_Spring Magazine - Final | Page 31

• In response to the global pandemic, Captain Shannon Paulson,
the Commanding Officer of the Wilshire Community Police
Station, created “Operation Blue Heart.” The program enlists
off-duty police officers to support the high-risk residents of the
Wilshire Community. The officers and community volunteers
deliver groceries and essential medicines to residents whose
health conditions or age expose them to risks while in public.
• Captain Paulson and her team hosted a Virtual Town Hall
Meeting, with the Wilshire Community, with 50 community
members in virtual attendance, via Zoom. Topics discussed
included police procedures in response to COVID-19, domestic
violence resources, hospital information, emerging scams,
homeless shelter locations, and safety and mindful driving
tips. Many of the commanding officers, leading our 21 Area
commands, have utilized this technology to stay connected with
community advisory boards, residents, and stakeholders.
• Over the past two months many local business partners have
provided our officers with critical masks or donated food items
to support officers’ needs. The Acadia Chinese Community
Neighbors (John Zhao and Jie Yang) donated Face Masks,
Hand Sanitizer, Gloves, Disinfecting Wipes, and Lysol Disinfectant
Spray.
• Rocco’s Neighborhood Pizza donated over 30 pizzas to feed
our hungry and hardworking officers
• Officers from Wilshire and West LA Stations, in partnership
with the LAFD, honored our “Hospital Heroes” at Kaiser
Permanente and Cedar Sinai hospitals. Over 1,000 doctors,
nurses, and hospital staff were paid tribute during three
separate visits.
The stories and photographs reflect a police department and a
community with values and hearts aligned. Over the past two months,
I have witnessed our police officers, community stakeholders, and
City partners navigate this challenging health crisis with courage,
wisdom, compassion, and a commitment to teamwork to not only
stop the spread of COVID-19 but inspire hope to all community
members, and particularly those from our most impoverished and
underserved communities. I am proud of our workforce and I am
proud that through adjustments, a creative mindset, and an innovative
spirit, our officers have sustained relationships and inspired
new ones through a genuine display of care and concern for those
we serve.
These efforts reflect our duty to protect the health and safety of
our community members, in addition to an unwavering commitment
to stay connected—as humanly possible. We will not allow a
global pandemic to diminish the success of our relationship-building
efforts and each day presents an opportunity to improve. Policing is
a relationship-driven enterprise and it is through the relationships we
build with community members, even during the most unsettling of
times, that our capacity “To Protect and to Serve” is enriched. Ultimately,
we will look back on this moment with pride in what we were
able to do both individually and collectively to stay strong, safe, and
healthy, and steer our City toward a brighter future.
SPRING 2020 | CALIFORNIA POLICE CHIEF 31