Paparazzi matter more complex
As a Malibu resident for more than 15 years and a UCLA student, I feel that some of the points made in the column “Attackers are not heroes” (April 14) need clarification.
Malibu has in fact passed anti-paparazzi laws because of the violent and dangerous actions paparazzi demonstrate, including high-speed chases on Pacific Coast Highway.
Secondly, the beach where the fight took place was a privately owned beach. This means that if the paparazzi were encroaching on beach property above the median high tide line, they were trespassing on private property.
Furthermore, the amount of law enforcement officers in Malibu compared to the vast area they have to cover makes it nearly impossible to call on them to enforce any such rules. Malibu does not have its own police department and relies on sheriffs from the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff Station in Agoura.
While I am not defending the actions of Philip Hildebrand and Skylar Peak, one must consider how these disruptions are detrimental to Malibu residents. The more people are able to consider “celebrities” as normal people, the better everyone will be able to get along.
Jonathan Verham, fifth-year, biology