Cypress Fears It’s Getting Reputation for Hate Crimes

Cypress, with a population of less than 50,000, rarely makes big headlines. But an apparent hate crime this week--the latest in a string of incidents this year--has some residents concerned that the quiet city could mistakenly become known as a bastion of white supremacists.

“I can say very strongly that I don’t think a bunch of skinheads have moved into town,” said Tim Keenan, a member of the City Council and mayor pro tem. “I would hate for Cypress to get a label as a place where this happens.”

In the latest incident, two teenagers were arrested after an attack Wednesday night on a young Latino and his white friend outside a pizza parlor. The teenagers yelled racial slurs at the victims from a car, then attacked them, police said. The suspects were held Friday in lieu of $100,000 bail.

One suspect, John Comley, 19, of Buena Park, is known to be a member of an Orange County white supremacist gang, police said. The second, Trevor Carlson, 18, of Cypress, has not been linked to the group.

Keenan has asked the city’s Police Department for suggestions on how to deal with the issue, perhaps in tandem with the Orange County Human Relations Commission.

Several incidents with racist overtones recently have plagued Cypress, starting in August when gang members with shaved heads and swastika tattoos hammered a Latino man in the head with a beer bottle and stabbed two of his friends outside a pool hall.

Shortly after that, vandals spray-painted swastikas and a white supremacist slogan on a nearby Presbyterian Church with a Korean congregation. Then, at Cypress College in late November, stickers with white supremacy slogans were placed on fliers for a Latino student group.

Cypress police said Friday that they know of no ties between the earlier incidents and this week’s beating of the Latino teen outside Cypress Family Pizza.

But the small city is not used to such a string of incidents, Cypress Police Lt. Mike Idom said.

“For us, it’s very unusual,” he said, speculating that the most recent attack might be an isolated event that just happened to take place in Cypress. “The fact is we don’t have any evidence there’s any white supremacist organization operating out of the city.”

Cypress has seen sporadic white supremacist activity over the years, though, said Rusty Kennedy, executive director of the Human Relations Commission, a panel formed in 1971 to build understanding and combat prejudice. the commission worked with Huntington Beach leaders and groups after a high-profile stabbing, holding brainstorming sessions and seeking community response.

Kennedy, too, expressed surprise at the recent incidents in Cypress.

“Having this many events all bunched up in a matter of a few months is unusual,” he said.

The Cypress Police Department “has done all the right things” by collaborating with community groups and being open about the incidents, Kennedy said.

His advice to city residents: “creating a campus climate and a community climate that does not tolerate bigotry against others.” Residents can speak up when people use inappropriate language, he said, and parents should be aware of their teenagers’ activities.

“Most kids aren’t going to get into it,” Kennedy said, “but there are those out there who are always looking for lonely kids or troubled kids to suck into their cliques.”

Ray Regalado, a human relations expert for the commission, commended Cypress College for how its students responded to problems on the campus this fall. One student group is planning a brochure about hate crimes, and a forum is planned after the holidays.

“It’s a real good example,” Regalado said, “of how a student body and a college can take the forefront in keeping this type of incident at bay.”