PACOIMA : 9 Suspects, Tons of Trash Seized in Police Sweep
Los Angeles police swept through a Pacoima neighborhood this week, arresting suspected drug dealers and prostitutes and supervising the collection of tons of trash and the removal of graffiti in a new program aimed at revitalizing a run-down portion of Van Nuys Boulevard.
Nine people were arrested and 17 tons of garbage collected in the four-hour operation Tuesday by about a dozen officers along Van Nuys near San Fernando Road. Capt. Gabe Ornelas said the sweep is part of an ongoing program to take back the fading business district from criminals and transients and return it to merchants and pedestrians.
“We’ve got to regain the beat,” Ornelas said. “We’ve got to regain the sense of civility along the boulevard.”
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