By Stephen Oduntan
Contributing Writer
SOUTH LOS ANGELES — Gang intervention leader Clifford “Skipp” Townsend has accused the Los Angeles Police Department of damaging his reputation and jeopardizing jobs at his nonprofit organization after arresting him in a murder investigation that resulted in no charges being filed against him.
Speaking outside the LAPD’s 77th Street Community Police Station on Nov. 11, Townsend said his organization, 2nd Call, had lost two contracts following his arrest and that 17 workers were now unemployed. He blamed the fallout on what he described as an unnecessary and highly publicized police operation.
“They arrested me to highlight that one of those was my son,” Townsend said, referring to Kody Townsend, who has been charged in the killing of a 2nd Call employee. “I was used to gaslight the community.”
Townsend, 62, was arrested Nov. 4 outside 2nd Call’s headquarters on Obama Boulevard on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder. He said he was held for 72 hours on $2 million bail before being released after prosecutors declined to file charges against him.
His arrest came during an investigation into the Aug. 6 killing of Reginald Foreman, 51, a former gang member who worked for 2nd Call, a South Los Angeles organization that seeks to prevent violence and help formerly incarcerated people rebuild their lives.
Before addressing his arrest, Townsend acknowledged the victim.
“Before I even begin, I need to recognize that the reason we are here is because a good friend of mine was killed,” he said, offering condolences to Foreman’s family.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office charged Kody Townsend, 19, with murder, conspiracy to commit a crime and possession of a firearm by a felon on Nov. 6. Prosecutors allege he used an AR-style rifle to shoot Foreman while the victim was working with other 2nd Call employees near Crenshaw Boulevard and 59th Street.
Prosecutors described the killing as gang-motivated, alleging that Foreman and the younger Townsend had ties to rival Crips factions.
Kody Townsend remains at large. Another defendant, Jeremiah James Abdelhameed, 25, was charged with being an accessory after the fact for allegedly helping him evade arrest.
Skipp Townsend insisted he had no involvement in the alleged crimes and questioned why police arrested him instead of requesting an interview.
“All they have to do is call and say, ‘Skipp, come down. We wanna talk to you,’” he said. “And I would have came.”
He described a coordinated operation involving officers at his office, his home and his former wife’s residence. Townsend alleged that officers pointed AR-15-style rifles at him during the arrest and seized children’s electronic devices from his former wife’s home.
He estimated that approximately 60 officers participated in operations involving him and fellow intervention worker Shamond Bennett, who also was arrested and subsequently released without charges.
“Look at the resources the city spent,” Townsend said.
Townsend also alleged that the Los Angeles Times and other news organizations learned of his impending arrest before he was taken into custody, suggesting police sought to publicly associate him with the murder investigation. That allegation has not been independently substantiated.
Beyond the damage to his reputation, Townsend said the arrests had immediate financial consequences for 2nd Call and its employees.
He described one prospective contract involving five workers that had stalled after his arrest. He also said 17 people associated with the organization were unemployed as the holiday season approached.
“How do they feed their families, how do they pay their bills, and how do they make Christmas wonderful for their children and grandchildren?” Townsend asked.
Community activist Najee Ali, who organized the news conference, called on the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners and the Office of the Inspector General to investigate the arrests and review Police Chief Jim McDonnell’s leadership.
Ali also urged outgoing Mayor Karen Bass to decide whether McDonnell should remain police chief before her term ends, arguing that the arrests had damaged trust between LAPD and South Los Angeles residents.
“We have to hold Chief Jim McDonnell accountable,” Ali said.
Yolanda Davidson, an Inglewood resident who said she had worked with 2nd Call, described the organization’s efforts to steer people away from gangs and toward employment.
She recalled meeting a formerly incarcerated man who received training through 2nd Call and later became a construction foreman.
“We need these intervention programs,” Davidson said. “We need people like Skipp.”
Other supporters described Townsend’s decades of violence prevention work and warned that the arrests could undermine relationships between intervention workers and law enforcement.
Townsend said he had previously worked with senior LAPD officials and questioned why that relationship did not result in investigators approaching him voluntarily.
The LAPD previously described the murder investigation as active and ongoing but has not publicly detailed the evidence that prompted Townsend’s arrest. The department did not respond to requests for comments prior to press time.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office also did not respond to a request for comment.
Townsend said he was not challenging the investigation into Foreman’s death. Instead, he wanted police to explain why he had been arrested and publicly associated with the case.
“LAPD needs to be held accountable,” he said.
Stephen Oduntan is a freelance writer for Wave Newspapers.
