LA demanding answers after Burbank officers seen dumping homeless man
LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles City Council is demanding answers from Burbank officials Tuesday after video surfaced earlier this month showing a pair of Burbank police officers "dumping" a homeless man apparently in the midst of a mental-health crisis in North Hollywood.
Council members voted 13-0 in favor of a motion sponsored by Council President Paul Krekorian and Councilwoman Imelda Padilla. No further discussion was held.
Council members Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Kevin de León were absent during the vote.
The council's actions followed Krekorian's news conference on June 7, one day after his office received the footage. In the news conference, Krekorian angrily denounced the Burbank Police Department officers' actions as "inhumane and inexcusable."
LA city demands answer after alleged homeless dumping by Burbank officers
The Los Angeles City Council is demanding answers from Burbank officials after video surfaced earlier this month showing a pair of Burbank police officers "dumping" a homeless man apparently in the midst of a mental-health crisis in North Hollywood.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Burbank PD accused of dropping off homeless man with broken leg in North Hollywood
"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.
"A person was discharged from (a Burbank PD) ... vehicle in handcuffs," Krekorian said. "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 the Burbank City Council -- but according to L.A. officials, there have not been any developments since then.
On June 25, the city of Burbank released a statement saying, "The City of Burbank welcomes any investigation and is in the process of conducting its own rigorous internal investigation. As images depicted on video don’t always relay the entire situation, the City of Burbank cautions against inflammatory rhetoric and a rush to judgment without the benefits of the investigation findings."
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 those investigations are underway.
In addition, the motion requests the city of Burbank to 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.