Northest Los Angeles residents said goodbye to a combined 19-years worth of law enforcement experience on Monday night at the Community Policing Advisory Board meeting at Eagle Rock City Hall, as they honored the contributions of recently transferred Senior Lead Officers Craig Orange and Mark Allen.
Orange--who served as Eagle Rock's Senior Lead Officer for the last five years--was recently reassigned to a new post in East Hollywood. Allen, who worked on the north side of Highland Park for the last 14 years, was reassigned to the southern portion of the neighborhood.
Both Orange and Allen were given letters of commendation from the City of Los Angeles by Council District 14 Field Representative Nate Hayward.
They were praised by the community members who attended the meeting.
"You were absolutely heaven-sent for Avenue 57," said Venetia Edwards, who remembered Allen as an officer she could count on to handle everything from serious crime problems to everyday enforcement issues.
LAPD Northeast Capt. William Murphy said that Orange and Allen shoulder a heavier load than the average officer.
"I know the Senior Lead Officers better than anybody in my command, and let me say, it's not always as lovely for them as it has been tonight," he said. "They handle about 50-times the number of questions and complaints as the average officer does."
Allen said that the success he and Orange had in fighting crime in Northeast L.A. was largely attributable to the engagement of the community.
"You guys were the ones who put in the work, I can't move mountains by myself," Allen said.
Orange added that, while in Eagle Rock, he always attempted to put himself in the shoes of a neighborhood resident.
"It was the neighborhood council and the neighborhood watch who kept me on my toes," he said. "I always tried to put myself in their shoes and to ask myself, 'if I lived in this neighborhood, how would I want my Senior Lead Officer to treat me.'"
Update: The original version of this story incorrectly reported that SLO Mark Allen was transferred from the south side of Highland Park to the north side. He actually moved from north side to the south side. We apologize for the error.
