A Comforting Sign
Forty-eight hours before, Jose Merino had told the Police Dept. that when he drove his brawny black Chevrolet Suburban to an upper level overlook for a post-lunch nap, he was accosted — at gunpoint — by a teenage kid in a little Honda who tried to carjack him.
Lt. Dean Williams said that significant crime at Culver City Park barely registers. A failed carjacking in broad daylight ranks as an outright fluke. At 11 a.m., yesterday, the single sound in the upper reaches was the faint twitterings of birds, scattered among the scores of bushes and tall, broad trees, opening their branches like the oversized mother of a brood greeting her children. From a distance, along the perimeter of the Culver City Little League grounds, two police detectives approached, spoke, and headed for their unmarked car. They were a comforting sight. Culver City Park could be a haven for cops who prefer to travel in the shadows in pursuit of a suspect. The park also could be a tempting playground for criminals who discreetly prefer their privacy to open-air flauntings.
The Unfolding Begins
The further you drive up and through, the more the park unfolds, like a traditional Russian doll. When you think you can drive no more, a road appears, offering a new alternative. The park is layered the way fashionable women have their hair styled. Tantalizingly, the subtly separate levels offer the exposure of light and the cover of shadows almost simultaneously. A smattering of groundskeepers silently are combing the unflawed surfaces of the baseball fields. Occasionally, a parked car is spotted, usually but not always unoccupied. Even though the number of people is miniscule and hardly any cars are in motion, the symphonic twitterings of feathered aviators have the sound machines of nature all to themselves.
Thinking Along With Criminals
A Culver City police officer says that even though the heavily debated Skateboard Park never was going to be placed close to the scene of Monday’s crime, “it is good for everyone that the skateboarders are going to be in a very visible location. Criminals are opportunists,” he said. “They search for victims who look vulnerable, preferably in secluded areas where they will not attract attention. What happened Monday was a perfect example.” When Mr. Merino, the intended victim, drove into the overlook, he noticed a teenager and his apparent girlfriend in the next car. This may have been why he kept his windows rolled up. It was a warm, enough day, but he may have sensed the risk. Had his window been rolled down, he might not have survived to tell his story to police, especially since his Suburban took two bullets fired by the frustrated suspect as Mr. Merino drove away.
Back to the officer: “The kid and the girl in the next car may have just been talking with no intention of doing anything. But here, with the guy in the next car dozing off, was a perfect opportunity. There was no way for the victim in those circumstances, far away from everybody, to call out for help. There wasn’t anything the police could do. It is so important to remember that criminals always are looking for places to commit crimes where they won’t be detected.”
Vice Mayor Alan Corlin said that the recent opening of the Dog Park, just below the setting for Monday’s incident, may be good for the good guys and bad for criminals because it regularly brings clusters of people into an area formerly deserted. Something about safety in numbers. The veteran police officer is not so sure. “I grant you that the incidence of crime in Culver City Park is low,” he said. “Why? Maybe it has been attributable to the lack of victims. You don’t want to place a whole bunch of victims in a vulnerable area. Choose areas where there is at least visibility.”
