{"id":152105,"date":"2026-01-27T20:32:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T20:32:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/152105\/"},"modified":"2026-01-27T20:32:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T20:32:12","slug":"problems-that-cant-be-solved-by-police-long-beach-post","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/152105\/","title":{"rendered":"Problems that can&#8217;t be solved by police \u2022 Long Beach Post"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Doing Good in the LBC is a weekly newsletter about the nonprofits, causes and people who do good in our city<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"780\" height=\"389\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/screenshot-2026-01-25-at-95120-am-279582-ibcmxco3-845274-xMRXKw1F-1024x511.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-49390\"  \/>Minneapolis Police Chief told reporters Saturday he had not received any official reports from the federal government about Saturday\u2019s fatal shooting.<\/p>\n<p>The jittery video of a fatal shooting Saturday by immigration officers in Minneapolis was hard to watch.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>I tuned in just as the Minneapolis police chief <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=1m9gUCe3yUo\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">was speaking to reporters<\/a> a few hours after federal officers shot a citizen in the snowy streets of the city, and was immediately alarmed that the head of police didn\u2019t know much more than I, a civilian sitting on a couch in California.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He and other local officers across the country have largely been powerless spectators, like us, to the tactics of immigration officers, including the deadly force on display this weekend. <\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve been a reporter, editor and now CEO in Long Beach for 18 years, both at the Press-Telegram and the Post. Our reporters are tough on police, and rightly so; the public trusts officers at all levels with enormous power, and our job is to shed light on how they use it.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Police, though, are often powerless, too, confronted with an array of bad choices, and at times saddled with an expectation to solve problems that they can\u2019t or aren\u2019t equipped to solve.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>On Thursday I helped canvas city streets <a href=\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/news\/long-beach-conducts-its-annual-homeless-count-expect-results-in-the-spring\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">to count and assess the city\u2019s homeless population<\/a>. I was assigned to a group with four volunteers, including a Long Beach police sergeant. We spent hours scouring alleys and peeking into car windows, offering 7-Eleven gift cards worth 10 bucks, which these days buys about a half a Slurpee.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The officer, Sgt. Andrew Fox, shared briefly about his role with a small, specialized team that serves those who need help, not enforcement, as a result of mental illness or homelessness.\u00a0It was clear the sergeant cares deeply about this work. <\/p>\n<p>The events of the past few days serve as a worthwhile reminder that local police are often grappling in the dark along with the rest of us, doing their best to keep hope and do good in the midst of impossible circumstances. <\/p>\n<p>A humble servant\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Rising from warm slumber to volunteer for the city\u2019s annual homeless count made me feel <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2025\/03\/01\/trump-nobel-peace-prize-obsession\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">deserving of a Nobel Peace Prize, too<\/a> \u2014 until I walked into a banquet room at The Grand and encountered the 300 other people doing the same.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The mayor isn\u2019t a morning guy \u2014 is anyone at 4 a.m.? \u2014 but he did a decent job of pepping up the crowd before the annual \u201cpoint-in-time\u201d homeless count, which is used to address needs and determine funding from federal, state and regional sources.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>I mostly stayed in the heated car, pointing the others toward figures that turned out to be bushes, or people going to the gym.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The volunteers who do this work are rarely recognized, so allow me to name two of them: Heather Filbey-McCabe, who I\u2019ve known for years and was part of a group with our reporter, Kate Raphael. Some people are gifted with a heart for the downtrodden, and Heather, who works for Mental Health America Los Angeles, is one of them.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"780\" height=\"600\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-49338\" data-lazy- data-lazy- data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769545932_18_img-8617-055850-j5nx4ajj-392628-NHSHcaS6-1024x788.jpg\"\/><img loading=\"lazy\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"780\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769545932_18_img-8617-055850-j5nx4ajj-392628-NHSHcaS6-1024x788.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-49338\"  \/>Heather Filbey-McCabe, volunteer, asks questions of a homeless couple during the annual homeless count in Long Beach. Photo by Kate Raphael.<\/p>\n<p>And from my group, Lynn McCormick, a member of St. Vincent de Paul, who has volunteered in this effort for eight years.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Our group encountered one man who was cocooned in a makeshift tent with a bike nearby, so dirty that she couldn\u2019t guess his age. Shortly after, she gently knocked on the window of a car parked in the Los Altos area and found a woman burrowed under blankets in the back seat.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe care about you,\u201d McCormick said to each person. \u201cWe\u2019re here to help with whatever you need.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>She meant it.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>We all owe thanks to Filbey-McCabe, McCormick and many others who have the heart and patience to be out in the cold, showing kindness through action.  <\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s your turn<\/p>\n<p>As for the rest of you: Instead of complaining about the homeless, consider doing something about it. Here\u2019s a few organizations with lots of opportunities:\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Volunteer at the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store (2750 E. Pacific Coast Highway) or donate to the nonprofit\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ourladyofrefuge.org\/apps\/pages\/index.jsp?uREC_ID=1560178&amp;type=d&amp;pREC_ID=1685850\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">broader charitable outreach activities<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Get involved with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mhala.org\/support-us\/volunteer\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Mental Health America Los Angeles<\/a> (which is based in Long Beach).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Other organizations include the <a href=\"https:\/\/lbrm.org\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Long Beach Rescue Missio<\/a>n, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.coalongbeach.org\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Christian Outreach in Action<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/give-usw.salvationarmy.org\/campaign\/683601\/donate?utm_source=google_delve&amp;utm_medium=cpc&amp;utm_term=general_brand&amp;utm_content=text&amp;utm_campaign=edonation_western_brand&amp;pid=cpc:edonation_western_brand::google_delve:::::western_western:general_brand:evergreen&amp;gad_source=1&amp;gad_campaignid=17863509519&amp;gbraid=0AAAAADFROe2s0bqmhy1Sa1r6xVzWh2ALk&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQiAm9fLBhCQARIsAJoNOct2SnjlS6nILWvjAu8bBz4MTY3qACyU8bbg2JdAJX8AnltH4MHHzE8aAnWGEALw_wcB\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Salvation Army<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/casayouthshelter.org\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Casa Youth Shelter<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/catholiccharitiesla.org\/san-pedro-region\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Catholic Charities of Los Angeles <\/a>and many more.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Doing Good in the LBC is a weekly newsletter about the nonprofits, causes and people who do good&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":152106,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[131,133,132],"class_list":{"0":"post-152105","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-long-beach","8":"tag-long-beach","9":"tag-long-beach-headlines","10":"tag-long-beach-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=152105"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152105\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}