L.A. City Council to Demand Answers from Burbank After Homeless `Dumping’
Eds: The Los Angeles City Council will meet at 10 a.m., Council Chambers, City Hall, 200 N. Spring St. Video can be obtained by contacting Krekorian’s office, or at www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwZlY7Hhiec. Contact: Hugh Esten, for Krekorian’s office, can be reached at 213-473-7002 (office), 818-747- 4089 (cell) or hugh.esten@lacity.org.
By JOSE HERRERA
City News Service
LOS ANGELES (CNS) – After video surfaced earlier this month showing a pair of Burbank police officers “dumping” a homeless man in the midst of a mental-heath crisis in North Hollywood — in the word of L.A. City Council President Paul Krekorian — the council Tuesday is expected to demand answers and accountability from Burbank officials.
Tuesday’s council motion — sponsored by Krekorian and Councilwoman Imelda Padilla — will follow Krikorian’s news conference June 7, one day after his office received the footage. In his news conference, Krekorian angrily denounced the BPD officers’ actions as “inhumane and inexcusable.”
“We have known for years that neighboring cities were dumping unhoused people on the streets of Los Angeles. Here is the proof,” Krekorian, whose district includes North Hollywood, said at the time.
As described by Krekorian on June 7, “A person was discharged from (a Burbank PD) … vehicle in handcuffs. The handcuffs were removed. The person fell to the sidewalk, clearly experiencing a mental-health crisis, as well as physical injuries, and the officers of the Burbank Police Department got back to their vehicle and drove back to Burbank without giving any aid to this person, without determining whether there was anyone who could provide services to this person.
“We in Los Angeles have worked long and hard to bring our unhoused neighbors off the streets by building interim shelters, tiny homes, navigation centers and supportive housing. Meanwhile, neighboring jurisdictions have simply removed unhoused people from their streets and dumped them on ours. This is inhumane and inexcusable.”
Krekorian’s office says the man was later located and given help in the city of Los Angeles.
The council president said at the time that he would get in contact with Burbank Mayor Nick Schultz and members of Burbank council — but, according to L.A. city officials, there have not been any developments since.
Hence the motion on Tuesday’s L.A. council agenda demanding answers from Burbank.
On June 7, the BPD responded to Krekorian’s criticism with a statement saying it was conducting an in-depth investigation, including a review of the officers’ actions, available body-worn and in-car camera footage, and interviews with witnesses.
“The Burbank Police Department remains committed to treating the unhoused community with compassion and respect, and thanks to the Los Angeles City Council President for bringing this matter to our attention,” the department said at the time.
On Monday, asked by City News Service if there were any updates, city spokesman Jonathan Jones said in an email: “Nothing has changed from the statement we issued on June 6 (actually June 7). Thank you.”
The L.A. council motion calls on the city attorney, L.A. County District Attorney and Attorney General of California to investigate both the June 6 incident and the alleged ongoing practice of one jurisdiction dumping its homeless and indigent residents on the streets of another. L.A. city officials said the investigations are underway.
In addition, the motion requests the city of Burbank respond to the incident and provide the city of Los Angeles with its policies on homelessness, relocation of unhoused individuals and policy changes that will be made as a result of the incident.
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