Reality Stars Expose Californias Rising Crime Crisis

A star couple are calling for a crackdown on in after they say a road rage attack left them fearing for their lives.

Celebrity couturier Pol Atteu and his husband Patrik Simpson were at the intersection of Melrose Avenue and Vine Street in West Hollywood on Sunday when they say a man in a Toyota 4Runner cut off their Mercedes and attacked their vehicle. 

Simpson and Atteu are well known on Hollywood's social scene thanks to their A-list clientele, with the likes of , , and the late donning Pol' Atteu Couture.

The terrified couple, who have their own reality series on Amazon Prime, locked themselves inside the luxury car as the man punched the driver's side window and then kicked the door.

'I thought he was gonna kill us. I thought I was going to die,' Atteu told the Daily Mail.

'We were literally like trapped rats. And then he came running towards the car and I saw my life flash before my eyes,' Simpson added. 'I think if he had broken that window then we would not be here today.'

The man eventually went back to his Toyota and sped off as the couple followed him down Hollywood from a distance while calling 911 to report the incident. 

However, Atteu was shocked when the dispatcher told the couple to stop pursuing the driver, or else they could be held liable for damages resulting from them following the car.

'It was like they were trying to turn it around and say that we were in the wrong for following the guy,' said Simpson.

'All we were trying to do was to get the license plate, because if I did not have the license plate number we would not be able to do anything and we want to catch this man and prosecute him.'

After pulling over, the couple begged the dispatcher to send a police officer to inspect the damage to their Mercedes.

Once an officer eventually arrived, the couple claim that they were told to file a report online.

'You'd think they would want to take my name down, my information down, like different things that have to do with us so that they can find a way to get back to us,' Atteu said.

Simpson added, 'The fact is, if I'm being accosted or whatever this is that happened, whatever the right legal term is, the police weren't offering us any help.'

The couple ended up filing a report for vandalism, which the Daily Mail has seen, but they have also taken matters into their own hands by sharing a video of the incident to social media, where they boast over 320,000 followers. 

'I think in this day and age you have to be your own champion,' said Simpson.

'I'm not saying that you take justice into your own hands, but you have to seek accountability.'

Unfortunately, this incident isn't the first time that the couple say they have dealt with California's crime problem.

In 2019, Atteu was hospitalized after being viciously attacked during a charity fashion show at St. John’s Cathedral in downtown Los Angeles.

The culprit was Jesus Rodolfo Zepeda, who was upset that his daughter had not been selected to participate in the fashion show.

Zepeda was originally apprehended and jailed shortly after the incident, but was released due to Covid-related jail constraints. 

He wasn't sentenced until 2024, when he was convicted of assault and given a suspended sentence of five years in prison. He spent just four days in county jail and was credited with time already served. 

Simpson said that the couple fought to have the court acknowledge the attack as a hate crime, which they eventually did. 

'In the case of Pol's incident, when he was beaten up at the fashion show backstage, it was a homophobic hate crime and they didn't even want to prosecute the man as a homophobic hate crime,' Simpson explained.

'And we pushed and pushed and pushed and they finally did prosecute him and he was convicted.'

The couple also said that their home was broken into a few years ago and that thieves not only made off with their jewelry, but also stole Simpson's mother's ashes too.

They're now concerned that crime in Los Angeles is getting worse and that criminals are feeling emboldened by what they feel is a lack of accountability.

'I've been living in Los Angeles my whole life and it's become so much more dangerous,' Atteu said.

'I think people feel that they have permission to be able to just be unkind and uncouth, because they figure the police aren't gonna show up, nobody's gonna do anything, so who cares?'

'I feel like we're living in the wild, wild west,' Simpson added.

'The landscape has changed. People are living in a sense of desperation and they don't care what or who they hurt because there's no repercussions for them.'

The couple also claim that many of their wealthy friends have also been targeted by criminals in recent years.

'Half our friends have been broken into,' said Atteu.

'I was just talking to another one of my friends that lives in Bel Air, and [the thieves] came in the back door. They took her Birkin bags and whatever jewelry was out and they ran. They come in, they take what they can, and then they're selling it online.'

Despite the ordeal, the couple – who star in their own Amazon Prime reality series called Gown and Out in Beverly Hills – aren't going to let it ruin their lives. 

'We're not gonna stop living our life in the public or stop living our life the way we live it,' said Simpson.

'But if we can bring attention to the issues that are happening with this road rage incident and other incidents here, then we're doing the right thing.'