Homeless

I have to respond to the article regarding the L.A. Police Department’s monitoring of where the homeless “live” (Metro, Feb. 10). I will respond from a father’s point of view, and a policeman’s point of view.

After Christmas, my two daughters had money burning holes in their pockets (ages 16 and 11). They wanted me to take them downtown to shop, having heard what great deals were to be found in the garment district. We parked our car and began our journey. We hadn’t walked one block, when we came upon a 30-year-old man, urinating on Olympic Boulevard. He didn’t have to drop his pants. He had none.

Enough said from a father’s point of view. Now from a cop’s point of view.

Police officers have many jobs. We usually are forced to take action when society fails. Well, society has failed in the handling of the homeless. You can blame whomever you want: city, county or the federal government. Something has got to be done. But the fact remains, no one does anything, so the “problem” falls into the laps of police officers. Until funding for the homeless and mentally ill improves, the problem will not go away. And cops will appear to be the bad guys.

By the way, we won’t go shopping downtown again real soon.

CRAIG BUSHEY

Arcadia