Local News in Brief : No Vandalism Charges
Vandalism charges will not be filed against two disabled men for chipping the curb of the Hollywood Walk of Fame with sledgehammers during a March 5 protest, the city attorney’s office announced Monday after an administrative hearing.
The men were part of a group of 40 disabled people, most of them in wheelchairs, who demonstrated in front of the Mann’s Chinese Theater to call attention to the lack of curb ramps along the famous 1.5-mile stretch of Hollywood Boulevard.
The chipping away of the curb side lacked criminal intent, said Martin Vranicar Jr., supervising deputy city attorney at the Van Nuys courthouse.
“It’s a victory,” shouted Thomas Fambro, as he emerged from the hearing at the courthouse with William Bolte, the Southern California director of American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit, who also faced the vandalism charges.
About 14 other disabled people jammed the hallway outside the hearing room, holding plastic and foam sledgehammers and signs that read “I’d hammer out justice.”
Citing a state law requiring curb ramps whenever a sidewalk is remodeled, the group claims that the ramps should be placed along the Walk of Fame sidewalk whenever a star is added.
Councilman Michael Woo said some curb cuts will be installed by the end of the year.
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