Downtown Guards’ Conduct Monitored

Lawyers representing homeless residents have once again agreed to stay a suit against downtown property owners stemming from alleged conduct by private security guards on Los Angeles streets.

In that class-action lawsuit, filed last November, 12 homeless residents claimed they had been harassed and assaulted by private security guards working for four Business Improvement Districts (BID) downtown. The property owners and security companies denied any wrongdoing but agreed to mediate the dispute in an attempt to avoid litigation.

Both sides committed to an interim agreement under which BID security patrols would not photograph or unlawfully search homeless residents or tell them to “move along” from public property.

That pact expired in April, but was recently extended through September. As part of the extended agreement, both sides will continue to meet monthly, and the Inner City Law Center will keep monitoring the conduct of the BID security guards.

The new interim agreement does not preclude the homeless plaintiffs from moving ahead with their lawsuit if the agreement breaks down this summer.

“We need to get a sense of the level of compliance over the summer months when there are more people out on the streets,” said Dan Marmalefsky, one of the attorneys representing the homeless.