Dozens of Imperial Beach residents are fuming over a video shared on social media in the past week that shows two Coronado police cruisers dropping off a man and a box of his belongings in their city.
“Why are they dropping you off over here?” asked the man recording the video.
The smartphone video initially shows the man standing at the end of Palm Avenue with his box. It then pans over to show two police cruisers pulling away.
The Imperial Beach resident who shot the video did not want to be identified but told NBC 7 he hit record when he saw the two cruisers dropping off the man.
“I see this video, and it’s like Coronado cops, and I’m like, ‘What’s going on?’” said fellow Imperial Beach resident Chris Curtis.
Curtis said he saw the video on social media and jumped into the comment section. Some people said it’s been happening for years. However, the video from Oct. 28 is the only video of any dropoff.
“Everyone was pretty angry,” Curtis said.
Several people emailed the video link to NBC 7 and to their respective mayors.
“This guy’s trying to ask the cops, ‘Why are you doing this? What’s going on?’ And nobody gives an answer,” Curtis said. “So, that’s just kind of an odd situation.”
He questioned the overall optics. We don’t know the identity of the individual dropped off by police. But the video clearly shows two Coronado police cruisers leaving the plaza at the end of Palm Avenue in Imperial Beach.
“You know, nice rich Coronado dropping off somebody here in IB,” Curtis shrugged.
NBC 7 reached out to the city of Coronado, the Coronado Police Department and the city of Imperial Beach for comment.
A Coronado police spokeswoman said they do not have a policy of driving people out of town. However, she said officers will give individuals a ride “if the individual accepts assistance from resource providers or a courtesy ride.”
“To drop people here instead of trying to get them help, that seems kind of odd,” Curtis said.
“Coronado has two beds reserved year-round at a shelter, so we do not have a need to dump people anywhere,” Coronado Mayor John Duncan said. “Very rarely, if they change their mind or ask to be dropped elsewhere, it may happen, but there is definitely no program to drop people off in IB.”
“No. I mean, why would they? They don’t give you a ride. They’re not an Uber,” smirked Curtis.
Yet two Coronado police cruisers delivered one man and his belongings to Imperial Beach.
Imperial Beach Mayor Mitch McKay saw the video. He said he understands the concern of his residents. McKay said the respective city managers are meeting Thursday “to discuss the matter in more depth and explore collaborative and constructive options, solutions.”