Protecting Downtown

By James Gonzales

Protecting San Jose has been a calling for my fellow officers and I. We all strive to make our city a better place for all our families. Protect San Jose’s Beat Cop has been asking citizens to pitch in and work with the police department to help make our streets safer. I think we need to ask a few other groups to join us and help protect San Jose.

This last weekend, in the McEnery Convention Center's parking lot, San Jose had it’s 20th homicide of the year. The violence following the Dub auto show and concert was somewhat predictable. Event performer and notorious rapper E-40 has a following that tends to bring his lyrics to life. Not so long ago, E-40 had his own nightclub on South 2nd Street in Downtown San Jose, the Ambassador’s Lounge. Nightly brawls at the club brought some attention to the problems with Downtown’s image and night life.

The final straw came in the form of a running gun battle following an E-40 performance that was like something out of an action movie. Countless bullets flew across streets and parking lots leaving three shot, and police action closed the club. Will history repeat itself?

San Jose has a new big box club called Wet, just a few steps away from the old Ambassador’s Lounge. We certainly see nightly brawls outside of this club, and a recent stabbing inside the club caused a temporary suspension of its entertainment permit and brought some press attention to the issue. The larger issue is changing the image of Downtown San Jose and making it a safer place.

Police can only respond to violence after if occurs. There are, however, groups who can help protect us before the violence happens. Downtown events in our parks, convention center, and other public facilities are managed by contracted organizations like Team San Jose and the Downtown Association. These tax-funded groups make the choices of who will entertain us in our Downtown. These choices affect the safety and image of our Downtown. We have responsible and profitable choices available to us. Attracting wildly successful hip-hop artists like Roots, whose lyrics don’t inspire hate, fear and violence would be a good first step. Not extending alcohol sales hours at park events is another.

Think of the byproducts of a poorly planned event: the police overtime needed to investigate a homicide or shooting — or stabbing — in a concert setting among thousands of people; the citizens in our other neighborhoods, left with only a handful of officers to ensure the safety of hundreds of thousands of people when the majority of resources are pulled Downtown for another major crime response; the officers’ safety when they have to respond to violent crimes in those neighborhoods with no back-up available.


The quick dollar made by booking fare whose image and message puts fear in our citizens is not enough to cover the cost of policing the incidents that erupt at nightclubs and bars afterwards. The Civic Auditorium on San Carlos Street has a beautiful new facelift and is now attracting new artists. Will some acts be reluctant to come into a downtown known for post-show gun battles? I think they might.

Downtown San Jose is a community and a place to bring our families for entertainment and culture. There is however, tremendous pressure to make Downtown profitable. New, towering, luxury condominiums are flying up all over, and hundreds of millions of redevelopment tax dollars are being invested there. Risks are being taken by both private and public entities. In order for our Downtown to succeed, a clear direction must be set by its operators.

The citizens of San Jose must tell our city leaders to make Downtown safety a priority. The City’s Redevelopment Agency and other policy agencies must make Downtown safety a priority in their planning. And groups like Team San Jose — who answer to the City — must hear this message loud and clear: protecting Downtown San Jose takes a cooperative effort by all involved.

With a clear direction and a positive image of Downtown, the people will come and the profits will follow.

James Gonzales is a San Jose Police Officer.