When a San Diego police officer was dispatched to a City Heights woman’s house, he was disgusted by what he saw.
The fence was broken down and a group of gang members were smoking and drinking in her backyard. They were tagging her property with graffiti.
Officer Dave Rodriguez left the house and he knew he had to do something.
What started as a small plan to clean up the lady’s house turned into a community project Thursday, drawing support from other officers, the Urban Corps of San Diego, residents, Project Clean and others.
It took some time to get the woman – only identified as Ms. Cox – on board, but she agreed and said Thursday she is very grateful.
“Officer Rodriguez is one heck of a guy,” she said.
Rodriguez said he never expected it to turn into such a big project.
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“I’m excited for her,” he said.
Crews said they’ll stay at Ms. Cox’s house in the 3800 block of 46th Street for the rest of the day and plan to put up a new fence.
Ms. Cox, who has difficulty walking and standing, only spoke with NBC 7 in the morning through a screen door. She said it was a big surprise and is grateful she can start working on her garden again, drought-willing.
Asked if she thinks this will deter gang members from coming onto her property, she said: “We’ll see.”
