Rocks hurled, tires slashed, punches thrown, Palos Verdes’ history of violent localism is long and exhaustive. And on Friday, August 9, Timm Browne, the former chief of police for Palos Verdes Estates settled into the witness stand in an L.A. County courthouse and testified against the infamous Lunda Bay Boys.
“We were dealing with people who felt they were elite, and this coastline that they lived around was theres,” explained Browne, who served as the chief of police for six years from 1998 to 2004.
Browne found himself in court due to an ongoing lawsuit filed by two surfers, one a former police officer himself, against Palos Verdes Estates and the Bay Boys. They contend that the Bay Boys’ decades-long harassment and intimidation of outsiders at the pristine cove of Lunda Bay , along with the city’s look-the-other-way attitude, qualifies as an illegal "development" under the California Coastal Act—which is aimed at ensuring equitable access to all beach and ocean goers in the state.
In his testimony, Browne detailed his first week at chief, during which he rode along in patrols will all 27 of the city’s officers. On one ride along, Browne observed “a pretty flagrant traffic violation.” But after the officer let the driver go without so much as a warning, “I was a little confused,” Browne said.
“Why didn’t you write them a citation?” he asked his officer.
“Oh, we don't write citations to residents of the city,” was the response.
Browne went on to describe how he’d tried to purchase jet skis to patrol the area's disputed waters, as well as all-terrain vehicles and motorcycles to enforce hard-to-reach areas, but the city manage at the time wouldn’t fun the purchases.
“In his perception, it would be detrimental to our relationship with the community,” Browne explained. “He was not happy with my efforts to address the problem in Lunada Bay. It would bring too much attention, and outsiders to the community, and he did not want that.”
“All but one of the 12 Bay Boys who were initially named as defendants reached settlements with the plaintiffs before the trial started, agreeing to stay away from Lunada Bay for a year or pay between $35,000 and $90,000,” reports Courthouse News Service .
The remaining defendant, Alan Johnston, is expected to take the stand sometime next week. The trial is expected to last another two weeks.
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