OCEANSIDE – Frustrated community leaders yesterday called on the City Council to stop its political infighting over gang-prevention programs and take action to prevent another shooting.
While police have not confirmed that the two teenagers arrested in the shooting death of police Officer Daniel Bessant were gang members, investigators in the District Attorney's gang unit are participating in the investigation.
Many community leaders said yesterday that they thought the city's frequent gang problems were a likely culprit in Bessant's slaying in northeast Oceanside on Wednesday evening.
A 17-year-old and a 16-year-old have been arrested on suspicion of murder and are being held in Juvenile Hall.
Yesterday, some activists blamed the City Council for scuttling gang-prevention programs proposed by community coalitions.
“What happened was a conflict between and among some council members over who was going to lead the gang effort,” Oceanside Unified School District Superintendent Ken Noonan said. “It is time for action, time for the city to take hold of this problem and deal with it.
“With the new council, I am hopeful they will end the bickering,” he said.
Noonan was referring to a dispute among council members this year over whether to fund gang-prevention efforts by local churches and agencies. The flap over whether to affiliate with a national TenPoint Coalition program or to fund local programs created divisions among council members and community groups, and no concrete action.
Noonan said the school district has strict policies banning graffiti, wearing colors or flashing gang signs on campuses and has hired security guards to supplement the six police officers who work in its middle and high schools.
But the district cannot control what happens in the streets, Noonan said.
“It's the city that controls our streets,” he said. “We really need some guidance and support from this council.”
Mayor Jim Wood, a former police officer, said yesterday that he did not know what Noonan was referring to, but said previous gang-suppression suggestions were not realistic.
He said they involved sending into neighborhoods staffers whose ethnicities would be different from the predominant gang's.
“It will endanger them,” Wood said. “Many communities have gang problems. We have pumped a lot of resources into them.
“This whole area (where the shooting occurred) now will be scrutinized very closely,” he said.
Yesterday, Samoan community leaders in Oceanside arranged an emergency meeting this weekend to discuss remedies. Police say the Mesa Margarita neighborhood where the shooting occurred is home to a Samoan gang.
Wayne Godinet, a Samoan-American activist, said Samoan leaders will also meet with city and police officials in two or three weeks to discuss how they can help.
Meanwhile, Wood, Godinet and community activist Concha Hernandez-Greene suggested:
Lobbying Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., for federal funding for gang-prevention programs.
Involving federal agencies, such as the Drug Enforcement Administration, so that gang members who commit crimes would be prosecuted under federal laws that carry heavier sentences than local or state laws.
Using the school district's and the County Office of Education's resources to hold workshops to help parents detect and stop gang affiliation among their children.
Providing more funding and gang-suppression training to police officers.
Mobilizing Samoan church leaders and volunteers to reach out to Samoan families.
Expanding a Sunday mentoring and tutoring program for Samoan youths at the Melba Bishop Recreation Center to other facilities.
“We believe actions speak louder than words,” Godinet said. “There has been too much politics and self-serving innuendos.”
Angela Lau: (760) 476-8240; angela.lau@uniontrib.com
