Burbank PD accused of dropping off homeless man with broken leg in North Hollywood

LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles City Council President Paul Krekorian is calling for an investigation after he believes Burbank police dropped off an injured homeless man on the street outside their jurisdiction in North Hollywood.

Krekorian shared video of the incident with media members Friday afternoon. The incident happened Thursday morning outside Krekorian’s office along Lankershim Boulevard.

"They disregarded this person’s safety, personal well-being, healthcare status entirely, and just washed their hands of it," said Krekorian.

According to Krekorian, his staff members were able to track down the homeless man on nearby streets Thursday afternoon. The man told Krekorian’s staff that he’s homeless, and that police picked him up at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center for being "unruly." He then said he was handcuffed by police and dropped off along Lankershim Boulevard with what he believed was a broken leg.

Surveillance footage shared by Los Angeles City Council President Paul Krekorian, seemingly showing BPD officers dropping off a homeless man in North Hollywood.

In the surveillance video, the homeless man can be seen falling to the ground while police drive away.

"To take somebody at this moment of maximum vulnerability and dumping him, literally dumping him on a sidewalk to fend for himself, it’s a disgrace," said Krekorian.

In a statement Friday, the Burbank Police Department said that officers found the man naked outside the hospital, and offered to give him a ride to wherever he wanted if he'd put on clothes. The department said that the man got into the patrol car voluntarily, and that he agreed to be taken to the Metro Red Line in North Hollywood, but asked to be let out on Lankershim Boulevard, "to get coffee."

But still, some have questions.

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Workers at Horror Vibes Coffee, across the street from where the incident took place, described what happened as "tragic".

"I haven’t seen anything like that before," said Dane Archer. "It’s enraging. Why have people here who say they’re going to protect you, and they’re going to protect your friends, and people who are part of this community, and then do the exact opposite?"

Krekorian expressed a belief that the City of Los Angeles invests millions of dollars every year to help the homeless, while some surrounding jurisdictions don’t. FOX 11 asked Krekorian how often he believes outside cities drop homeless people off in Los Angeles.

"It’s a great question, one we ask ourselves a lot," said Krekorian. "If you see it happening like this on a random security camera, chances are it’s happening a lot more often at times [when] we don’t see it."

Krekorian filed a motion Friday calling for an investigation into what took place and possible legal action against the City of Burbank and the Burbank Police Department.

"Once you take that person in, it seems to me it’s your obligation to make sure that person is going to be safe, [or] at least get services," said Krekorian.  "This is the opposite of that."

The Burbank Police Department said it's "conducting an in-depth investigation," including a review of the officers' body cameras.