by Melanie Camp
Four young men visiting Venice from Wisconsin scored the ultimate Venice crime experience holiday memory after they wound up handcuffed by LAPD Pacific Division on the Windward Ave., sidewalk opposite the Venice Post Office.
Responding to a 911 call reporting a possible kidnapping, the LAPD Helicopter hovered, as close to 12 black & whites and unmarked police cars descended upon the men just after 1:00 pm on Tuesday, January 16. A neighbor had said they had seen a man drag a screaming woman into an orange car.
Yo! Venice spoke with two of the men, Jalil and Rocci, and discovered the person the neighbor had thought was a screaming woman was, in fact, Rocci, his long dreadlocks, and high pitched voice the cause of confusion. “I was mad,” said Rocci explaining why he had been screaming so loud. According to Jalil, his brother had got into an argument with Rocci and dragged him down the street.
It was a first time handcuffing for any in the group. “Man, it hurts,” Jalil told Yo! Venice, adding that all four of them understood where the police were coming from and both he and Rocci felt terrible their argument had worried neighbors.
“The good thing is, you know if you get kidnapped in Venice, you’ll be OK. They came quick. It was like four minutes,” said Jalil of LAPD’s speedy response.
