Guardian Angels: Anti-crime group move in, says SLC, Ogden cops not handling gangs

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Either for a lack of resources or a lack of concern, Salt Lake City and Ogden have not been able to stem growing gang and drug problems.

That's the position of Curtis Sliwa, leader of a controversial group of red-beret-wearing civilian security guards who came to town Thursday to announce help is on the way.

Sliwa, leader of the Guardian Angels, plans to bring his community-watch-on-steroids operation to both cities permanently to curb crime in areas where police departments are failing, he said. Angels use their martial-arts training to make citizen's arrests using handcuffs, but they mostly deter crime through visibility, Sliwa said.

Sliwa and his cohorts patrolled Salt Lake City's Pioneer Park on Thursday afternoon and planned to do the same later in the day in an Ogden neighborhood where two people were gunned down in a gang dispute last weekend.

The New York native said he has seen rough parks in San Francisco and Los Angeles but never expected to see a similar site in Salt Lake City.

"You say no way, people smoking meth, smoking crack, openly in Salt Lake City," Sliwa said. "That means City Hall is openly allowing that activity. It's not a hard problem to fix."

Sliwa founded the group in 1979 to stem violence in New York City subways while he worked as a McDonald's night manger. The group now boasts chapters in more than 80 U.S. cities

The Angels drew criticism in 1985 when members supported a vigilante who shot four men who threatened him with a sharpened screwdriver on a subway, and again in 1992 when Sliwa admitted to staging interventions.

The group, which remains a household name in New York and other areas, spent much of the day educating Utahns, Sliwa said.

"Fifty percent [of people Sliwa met] thought we were the Hell's Angels or Charlie's Angels," Sliwa said.

So far, Sliwa said he has received a positive response from residents and city leaders. He got positive reviews from Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon after a meeting on Thursday.

"We have a great Salt Lake City police force," Corroon said. "The problem is they can't be everywhere at all times of day. I think an organization like the Guardian Angels could be helpful."

Salt Lake City police planned to meet with Sliwa today, spokesman Jeff Bedard said, although he had no details on who would be in the meeting or what they would discuss. Police Chief Chris Burbank and all of his assistant chiefs of police were unavailable for comment Thursday afternoon, Bedard said.

Ogden Police Chief Jon Greiner said he had not been asked to meet with Sliwa but welcomed the group. His department has investigated a rash of recent gang violence, including a double homicide and six other shootings in the past month.

Greiner said investigators were getting a handle on the violence - making arrests in the killing and pursuing suspects in a retaliatory shooting earlier this week - but welcomed more eyes and ears on the street.

"I think anyone who wants to come help is welcome," Greiner said. "I don't have any concerns. We operate under the premise that if you behave, we won't have problems."

Sliwa plans to recruit a group of about two dozen Salt Lake City-area residents to patrol the city starting as soon as November and then get an Ogden chapter working, he said.

Most Salt Lake City residents who have reached out to Sliwa have complained of drug and alcohol use in Pioneer Park, Sliwa said. When his group starts patrolling and confronting drug dealers, he said that will come to an end.

"None of that would be tolerated - no selling, no using, no abusing," Sliwa said. "You just wouldn't be able to do that anymore."

rrizzo@sltrib.com