Councilman Rogers' letter

Lakewood Councilman responds to questions about differential treatment of Latinos in Lakewood.

Councilman Todd Rogers, Lakewood.

—BEGIN LETTER—

Hello Brian:

I disagree with the opinions that you have inserted into most of your questions and statements. My answer is an emphatic NO to your question 5. In answer to the other questions and statements that you pose, the best way to answer is to reiterate what I said and what my City Council colleagues said when we publicly addressed the June 26, 2020 incident you raised. Our important statement on that still stands.

We had been limited in what we could say about the incident because it involved juveniles and some details are confidential.

Regrettably, large youth gatherings that have included shoplifting and fighting among youth occurred multiple times in commercial areas throughout Southern California during the height of the COVID pandemic, and unfortunately Lakewood was not immune to this.

According to Sheriff’s Department investigators, a large number of youth gathered in a commercial area in Lakewood on June 26, 2020. Based on social media posts, most if not all of the youth were from outside Lakewood. Some began shoplifting, and others ultimately began fighting each other. At one point, some youth yelled out offensive racial epithets against what they apparently thought was the Mexican national origin of some Hispanic youth involved in the altercation.

The Sheriff's Department arrested two juveniles afterwards. Many of the details of the incident are not publicly releasable because it involves juveniles, and some important details may not have been readily apparent to the average observer. I should add that I personally reached out to the mother of the victims and provided information to the Sheriff’s Department that helped them expedite their investigation.  

The Sheriff's Department reviewed the incident and determined that, while national origin-related terms were shouted out offensively by some youth and bystanders, the incident did not meet the criteria of a hate crime. That said, the City of Lakewood remains very interested that justice is served in these types of situations, and to the extent that arrests have been made, it appears that the primary perpetrators are being held accountable.

While the city is limited in what it can say about the particulars of the incident because of the juvenile involvement, I agree whole heartedly with the statement that our mayor made on behalf of the entire City Council on this matter:

•           The City of Lakewood condemns the use of racially-related or national-origin-related discrimination and discriminatory language against anyone, including Mexican-Americans and other Hispanics.

•           The City of Lakewood condemns illegal violence in all its forms, including incidents of youth-on-youth violence.

•           The City of Lakewood will continue to encourage the goals of our Community Dialogue on Race, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, which are to build on all the good in Lakewood and make our community the safest, most welcoming place it can be, for everyone.

Sincerely,

Todd Rogers

Lakewood City Council Member

—END LETTER—

Six questions sent to Rogers via email (he specifically cited one of the questions)

Question 1: Why is this racist attack not considered a hate crime by you?

Question 2: If black people were the victims in Lakewood that day and Hispanics had attacked them and called out the N-word, would you had waited 10 months to publicly condemn the attack at a Council meeting?

Question 3: Within 1 week of Floyd's murder and within 1 week of the anti-Asian shooting in Atlanta, you honored the victims of both incidents. Why did you wait 10 months to stand against the June 25, 2020, anti-Hispanic violence/racism when it occurred within the heart of YOUR city?

Question 4: Why do you trust blacks and Asians with the truth about racism against them, but not "Mexicans"? And, why do you believe "Mexicans" to be more violent than blacks and Asians?  

Question 5: Did you tell Instagram to take down the video of the June 25, 2020, attack against Hispanics in Lakewood? 

Question 6: In the immediate aftermath of the violence of June 25, 2020, did you tell Lakewood City Council members to not address the June 25, 2020, anti-Hispanic attack? 

NOTE: Todd Roger’s email was received October 7, 2021, in response to questions sent by the Lakewood Populist. Rogers’ email was published October 8, 2021, and the six questions were later added underneath his letter October 8, 2021.