BPOA: The Bell Police Officers' Association.

Challenge:

The members of the Bell Police Officers' Assocation (BPOA) were politically somewhere between a cluster of quartz and formation of diamonds.

On one hand, the BPOA was being targeted for dissolution by former Bell City Manager the infamous Robert Rizzo.

On the other hand, community members were protesting the police department's aggressive towing policy and asking for their dissolution as well.

At the same time, BOPA members were openly criticizing the Rizzo regime for what they perceived to be corrupt practices. 

Action: 

The Bell POA approached Centaur North to help them manage the problem. The day after we were enlisted, reporter Ruben Vives of the Los Angeles Times broke the story "Is $800,000 too much for a city manager?"  We needed to move quickly to move public and local opinion in favor of the BPOA.

We worked with pro-BPOA community leaders and organized a community group, Bell Association to STOP the Abuse (BASTA.)  The group advocated for good government reforms that included maintaining stability in the police department. Working hand-in-hand with BASTA, we stayed in front of the often daily news cycles.

We successfully worked to convince the media that the Bell POA was truly leading the reform efforts. 

Results: 

We worked with BASTA to recall corrupt city council members and elected new and ethical ones. The new City Council eventually voted to keep the police department and the hard working officers of the Bell POA kept their jobs.