The president of the Los Angeles City Council presented video Friday that he said shows Burbank officers dropping off a homeless man who appears to be in distress outside his district office and leaving the scene in their patrol SUV.
Los Angeles City Council President Paul Krekorian said the video was recorded Wednesday morning directly in front of his North Hollywood district office. He presented the video Friday at a City Hall news conference.
“We have known for years that neighboring cities were dumping unhoused people on the streets of Los Angeles. Here is the proof,” Krekorian said. “We in Los Angeles have worked long and hard to bring our unhoused neighbors off the streets by building interim shelters, tiny homes, navigation centers and supportive housing. Meanwhile, neighboring jurisdictions have simply removed unhoused people from their streets and dumped them on ours. This is inhumane and inexcusable.”
In the video recorded at about 8 a.m. Wednesday, the man appears to fall onto the sidewalk and drop onto his hands and knees after emerging from the patrol SUV. He eventually was facedown on the sidewalk.
Members of Krekorian’s office staff found the man and called the Los Angeles Fire Department to provide medical help.
He was later taken to a hospital. The location is near Providence St. Joseph’s Hospital.
“We are aware of an incident Thursday morning on public property near the hospital,” hospital spokesperson Patricia Aidem told NBCLA. “Our understanding is that multiple calls were made to police, including one from from a hospital security guard seeking help for a person on a city sidewalk who appeared to be in distress.”
Krekorian is asking the Los Angeles City Attorney, county District Attorney and the Attorney General of California to investigate the case. The council president said that he introduced a motion Thursday to have the full council vote on the issue.
Part of the motion also requests the city of Burbank and its mayor and City Council to respond. Krekorian said he believes the Burbank mayor and City Council were not aware of what happened.
“The City of Burbank takes the concerns raised by Los Angeles City Councilmember Paul Krekorian very seriously,” Burbank Mayor Nick Schultz said in a statement to NBCLA. “We are currently gathering all of the facts.”
Schultz said he expected an updated statement to be released later Friday after the review.
NBCLA reached out to the Burbank Police Department for comment, but had not heard back Friday afternoon.