The city of Santa Monica began deploying enhanced police patrols this week at the Santa Monica Pier, Palisades Park, the beach and downtown, following two separate shootings over the weekend that left one man dead and another injured.
The increased presence, which started this week, is intended to give residents, businesses and visitors a visible and consistent public safety presence at some of the city's most heavily trafficked locations, according to the city.
The stepped-up deployment follows a shooting Sunday that injured a robbery victim in downtown Santa Monica and an officer-involved shooting Saturday in Palisades Park. Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD) officers rendered aid to the Sunday shooting victim and arrested a suspect within hours of the incident, according to the city. Detectives are continuing to pursue additional suspects, and further arrests are anticipated.
The Saturday officer-involved shooting is being investigated in accordance with established department protocol, and the city said it will release body-worn camera footage of the incident within the next few weeks.
"Our responsibility is to protect everyone who lives in, works in, and visits Santa Monica," Police Chief Darrick Jacob said. "That means being present, visible, and accessible. Our officers are on the Pier, in our parks, along the beach, throughout downtown, and in our residential neighborhoods, day and night. That presence builds trust, supports safety, and allows us to respond when our community needs us."
In addition to the added patrols, the city said it will conduct direct outreach to downtown and Pier-area businesses in the coming days to hear concerns and share safety resources. The department is also hosting two "Coffee with a Cop" events for residents and business owners to meet with officers and ask questions. The first is scheduled for Tuesday from noon to 2 p.m. at Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier. A second will be held Thursday from noon to 2 p.m. at the SMPD Downtown Substation, 395 Santa Monica Place.
"The events of this past weekend were unacceptable, and our community deserves to see how seriously we take our public safety responsibilities," City Manager Oliver Chi said. "That means swift accountability for anyone who commits violence here, more officers in the places where people gather, and meeting in person with our residents and businesses to hear their concerns. Public safety is the foundation that everything else in our community rests on, and keeping Santa Monica safe is work we pursue together, every single day."
The announcement comes after a violent weekend that began Saturday afternoon, when a Santa Monica police officer shot and killed a man who charged at officers with a knife in Palisades Park. Officers were in the 1400 block of Ocean Avenue at approximately 12:49 p.m. investigating a reported domestic violence incident when a man not connected to that case ran toward them while holding a knife, according to police. The man ignored repeated commands to drop the weapon and continued advancing on officers, Jacob said. One officer opened fire, striking him.
Officers immediately began lifesaving measures, and Santa Monica Fire Department paramedics continued providing emergency care, police said. The man was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at approximately 1:49 p.m. The officer was not injured, and no members of the public were hurt, according to police.
The man is described as being in his mid-40s and was homeless. Police said he was not previously known to the department and may have been new to the area. His identity will be released by the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office once identification is complete and his next of kin has been notified. A knife was recovered at the scene, and police said there was no ongoing threat to the public.
"Any incident resulting in the loss of life is significant," Jacob said. "We recognize the impact this has on the deceased's family and those who knew him, our community and the personnel who responded."
The following night, officers responded to a report of a shooting near the Pier ramp at approximately 7:49 p.m. Sunday. A preliminary investigation found that a group of individuals approached the victim and an altercation ensued during an attempted robbery, police said. One of the individuals fired a weapon during the altercation, striking the victim in the leg. Officers provided emergency aid at the scene before the victim was taken to a local hospital with injuries described as not life-threatening.
The suspects fled before officers arrived, but a juvenile suspect was taken into custody later that evening in connection with the incident. Investigators are working to determine the juvenile's role in the attempted robbery and shooting, and detectives continue working to identify and locate the remaining individuals involved.
The incidents come as Santa Monica has reported a sharp rise in arrests this year under the city's Realignment Plan, a public safety framework the City Council adopted unanimously on Oct. 28, 2025. The plan committed $60 million in one-time reserves over 24 months toward bolstering policing, including doubling the department's downtown unit, adding non-sworn public safety officers, opening a downtown substation and launching the $6.125 million SMART Center real-time crime hub.
City data show arrests climbed 68.5% year-over-year as of the week ending Aug. 1, with 3,113 recorded so far this year compared with 1,847 during the same period in 2025. The department reached full sworn staffing of roughly 232 officers earlier this year for the first time in more than two decades. City officials have pointed to a 12.5% drop in Part I crime in 2025 as evidence that the strategy is working.