LAPD Resources ‘Strained' By Downtown LA Graffiti Tower Fiasco
Los Angeles Police Department officers have spent at least 3,000 hours on duty at the abandoned Oceanview Plaza site in Downtown LA where the unfinished high rise towers have attracted street artists, vandals, and others, and the need for round-the-clock security has begun to stress the already-understaffed police department. "This has strained our deployment," Chief Michel Moore said Tuesday. "We have called in some officers on an overtime basis, so that we can provide for these added patrols or station them at that site to deter vandals and others from gaining access to it while also ensuring that we meet the minimum deployment requirements for stations across the city," he said. Core patrol functions, such as responding to 911 calls, have not been affected, according to Moore. Officers stationed at the construction site that spans two city blocks between 11th and Figueroa and 12th and Flower Streets have made at least 18 arrests in recent days, including one for illegal gun possession and several others for felony vandalism. Many other individuals caught by officers at the site were questioned, checked for warrants, and released without arrests or citations, Moore said. The LA City Council was also asked Tuesday to direct more than $3 million in order to construct a more robust fence, clear debris, and possibly pay for private security so LAPD officers can leave.
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