Late-Night Police Sweep in Park Brings 110 Arrests

Acting on citizen complaints about drinking, drug dealing and bawdy behavior, police Friday night swept through Elysian Park, arresting 110 people and impounding 51 cars.

About 43 uniformed officers conducted the sweep after the park’s 10:30 p.m. curfew, police said. Rampart Division Sgt. Bob Freet said the park has become a favorite meeting place for young people, and the number who frequent it at night has been increasing each week. Police estimated that as many as 1,000 cars gathered at the park last Wednesday night. Friday night’s crowd was put at about 300 cars.

Freet said the crowds started getting bigger this summer and “for some reason the crowd got more hostile. . . . More assaults and more burglaries” were reported by neighborhood residents.

Police said three gang-related murders were committed at the park last year, and 27 assaults were reported during the first nine months of 1984, the latest period for which statistics are available. Freet said police have previously been met with bottles and rocks when they attempted to move groups out of the park. However, no such incidents were reported on Friday.

Most of those arrested were released to the custody of their parents. Police also issued 98 citations for parking and moving violations and said that three of the impounded cars had been reported stolen.