Yaroslavsky Asks Probe Into Raid on Homeless Camps

City Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky on Tuesday called for an investigation into last week’s Los Angeles police raid on two downtown homeless encampments in which the belongings of about 50 street people were loaded into a dump truck and hauled away.

In a City Council motion, Yaroslavsky said the raid by police officers and city Bureau of Street Maintenance workers “apparently disregarded” the city policy of notifying both the council and the homeless before a sweep is conducted.

Yaroslavsky also asked the council to consider banning sweeps of any homeless encampment, “whatever their size,” without prior approval of the council and mayor until the investigation is complete.

The probe would be undertaken by the City Administrative Office and chief legislative analyst in cooperation with the city attorney and other city agencies, Yaroslavsky said.

The council is tentatively scheduled to consider the motion next Tuesday, at which time Yaroslavsky will seek an immediate vote, an aide to the councilman said.

“It’s outrageous,” Yaroslavsky said in an interview. “It seems to me that we can handle this in a more sensitive manner.”

But Yaroslavsky’s proposal was immediately hit by Skid Row area businessmen, who favor routine police sweeps of the homeless.

‘Enforcing City Law’

“We have grave concerns” about any motion that would limit, or prohibit, regular cleanups of homeless encampments, said Tracy Lovejoy, a spokesman for the Central City East Assn. “In our view, the police are doing nothing more than enforcing the city law: you cannot sleep on the street.”

The incident that spurred Yaroslavsky’s motion occurred Friday morning, when police arrived at the homeless camps near 1st and Spring streets along with sanitation workers, two skip loaders and two dump trucks.

Men and women at the site were told to clear out their gear. Belongings of those who were not present were loaded up and carted to a landfill.

Members of the camp--including 41 who on Monday filed a claim against the city for unspecified damages--said they lost everything from medicine and identification papers to clothing, small appliances and bedrolls.

The police have maintained that their sweep was routine and that the same procedures have been used daily for most of the past year and have continued since Friday’s sweep, Capt. Greg Berg of the Central Division said.

“There has been no change in our direction or emphasis,” he said.

Homeless activists have complained for months about police sweeps in the Skid Row area, east of downtown. Police have been routinely working with city crews in the area and disbanded sizable camps at the intersections of Crocker and 5th streets and Los Angeles and 4th streets in recent weeks.

“This has been an on-going program since last June,” said police spokesman Cmdr. William Booth. “There is no evil in their heart,” he said of the officers assigned to the homeless detail. “They are just doing their job.”