SALINAS, Calif.- A new task force designed to take out gangs on the Central Coast is opening its doors, thanks to promises made after Operation Knockout two years ago.
During Operation Knockout, then attorney general Jerry Brown promised to start a regional task force in the area to crack down on gangs. Then, he dropped the plans altogether when he cut the Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement.
Central Coast law enforcement teamed up with federal agencies to get the task force off the ground anyway.
You won't see any marked police cars coming out of this security gate. But security will likely tighten around officers and their federal partners working undercover out of this office.
The regional task force almost didn't happen. April 22, 2010. Every big wig was in Salinas praising the efforts of local, state, and federal law enforcement for taking out some of the most notorious and destructive gang members on the Central Coast.
That day former attorney general, now Governor, Jerry Brown told me it wouldn't stop there.
In the last two years getting the "Law Enforcenment Operations Center" off the ground has been easier said than done.
"The whole dissolution of the BNE because they were going to be the glue that held it together and got it started and provided direction. When we got word that they may cease to exist that caused us to reflect on what the structure was going to look like," said interim police Chief Cassie McSorley.
Despite the obstacles, multi-agency members have moved in to their new digs and until recently Salinas was footing the bill.
"The FBI did come through with funding and they want to continue to do that on a year to year basis. With a commitment from other federal partners under Chief Fetherolf, we forged ahead and were up and running," said McSorley.
The city of Salinas already paid $150,000 and will probably continue to pay about $3,000 a month even after the FBI pays its share.
McSorely said Salinas and the Monterey County Sheriff's department will stick it out.
"Crimes...Aren't isolated to the boarders of one community...It's important to work with outside agencies."
