Tent City Organizer Arrested; Skid Row Park Is Fenced Off

On a day in which Los Angeles officials fenced off a park in Skid Row because of high crime among the homeless, the organizer of Tent City II was arrested Tuesday after he scuffled with state police officers in the temporary bivouac across from City Hall.

Ted Hayes, a self-appointed spokesman for the area’s downtrodden, was among three people arrested after being told they were in violation of a temporary agreement that allowed Tent City to remain on state-owned land with the condition that no one sleep inside.

No Insurance

Organizers scrambled to get an extension of insurance that would allow them keep the big tent standing. But several hours after Hayes’ arrest, state officials said the required insurance had not been obtained. They said a decision about the future of the makeshift home for transients during the holiday season would be made today.

There were conflicting versions of the events that led up to the arrests, which took place in the middle of a rainstorm.

State police spokeswoman Ann Garbeff in Sacramento said Hayes and two unidentified people were arrested shortly before 3 p.m. when they argued with about eight to 10 uniformed officers inside the large tent.

Standing Outside

Hayes, who was released after three hours in custody, joined about 50 homeless people around a barrel fire near 1st and Spring streets Tuesday evening. He said he had returned to the tent Tuesday afternoon after meeting with county officials to find about 75 people standing outside in the rain and cold.

“I called the people inside,” he said. “I knew we were in violation of our agreement with the state. I make no bones about it. But we had some food inside, and these people were standing in the cold and the rain.”

Hayes said the group was planning to leave the tent and return to a tunnel connecting the County Hall of Administration and the Music Center when a state police officer arrived. As he was explaining to the officer that the group was about to leave, Hayes said, a state police sergeant arrived “screaming and yelling that everyone was subject to arrest.”

Witnesses Report Fight

Heated words were exchanged and brief fighting broke out between Hayes and some of the officers, witnesses said.

“He refused to honor the agreement and he was arrested,” Garbeff said.

Hayes was arrested on suspicion of battery on a police officer and interfering with an investigation, both felonies, Garbeff said. The charges were later reduced to misdemeanors.

Supporters of Hayes charged that he and other Tent City II organizers had agreed to leave but asked for about 30 minutes to collect their belongings.

“The cops said they had to leave right away, and then they started pushing and shoving,” said free-lance photographer Amy Jo Cohen.

Garbeff denied it, saying that Hayes had initially shoved the officers.

“We’ve been trying to go along with them as much as we legally can on this,” she said. “We’re sorry it had to end this way.”

Hayes, however, said the scuffle broke out when the sergeant pushed a woman down.

“The state police had drawn their batons,” Hayes said, “and I didn’t touch this guy.”

Hours earlier, the Board of Supervisors refused a request by Hayes to waive insurance requirements so that Tent City could continue.

Earlier Tuesday, Los Angeles city work crews met with little resistance from the homeless “residents” of Skid Row Park as they fenced-off the small pocket of dirt and concrete at 6th and Gladys streets for renovation, which is expected to take nine months.

Drug Dealing

The park, operated by the Community Redevelopment Agency, in recent months became a source of problems for area businesses and residents because of drug-dealing and reputed criminals who lived among the homeless in the park, police said.

After several meetings, the CRA concluded that the park needed to be upgraded to deter crime and said that public safety outweighed the inconveniences to transients who were evicted.

Albert A. Santillanes, the CRA manager in charge of the project, said floodlighting, more concrete surfacing and some landscape changes would be made in the $300,000 project. An overhead sprinkler system, to discourage sleeping overnight, had been proposed, but it was later dropped because of opposition from several organizations that aid the homeless.