An email from a Los Angeles police officer that surfaced online Tuesday said law enforcement was planning to arrest homeless people en masse during a scheduled encampment cleanup — prompting the department to condemn the email, and the city controller to promise an investigation.
Hollywood resident and LAPD critic William Gude, who posts on Twitter under the account @FilmThePoliceLA, tweeted a screenshot just before noon Tuesday of an email written by Senior Lead Officer Brittney Gutierrez of the LAPD’s Topanga Division. The email, which was sent to community members in West Hills, described a sanitation cleanup scheduled for Thursday in that neighborhood.
“Everyone will be arrested and all their belongings will be taken away by sanitation,” the email said.
Gude said he was sent the screenshot by Katherine Tattersfield, a community activist based in the west San Fernando Valley who has long been outspoken on the city’s treatment of unhoused residents. He posted an email he sent to LAPD Chief Michel Moore inquiring about the veracity of the image.
“If this email is legit, the LAPD is planning to arrest homeless on Thursday,” he tweeted with the screenshot.
The email also suggested the action was covert.
“As always, do not approach these individuals experiencing homelessness. I want to make sure all are there at the encampment on the 29th so I can arrest them,” the officer’s email said. “This is a hush hush task force.”
On Tuesday evening, the LAPD issued a statement denouncing the email, calling it “highly inappropriate” and saying it did not reflect the department’s policies or practices. Thursday’s “Care Plus” encampment cleanup has been postponed, and the officer who wrote the email will receive “extensive training,” according to the LAPD statement.
Arrests at sanitation cleanups are typically made only in response to criminal activity, the department said.
“Enforcement will not be used as a means of creating a quick fix to a complicated situation, nor will it be based solely on the person’s homeless status.”
The statement was issued in direct response to the email screenshot circulating on social media, LAPD spokesperson Capt. Kelly Muniz said.
The email screenshot received more than 1,000 retweets and drew criticism from an array of elected officials.
Mayor Karen Bass said she was “horrified” by the email, calling its message “the exact opposite” of what her administration has been doing with Inside Safe, her ongoing initiative to move homeless people indoors.
“The spirit of that email is the exact opposite of what we believe in, what we’re committed to and what we’ve been doing,” she said.
Bass said she does not know of any example of “mass arrests” of homeless people at encampment cleanups. And she argued that the LAPD’s denunciation of the email shows that its contents do not reflect the department’s policies.
Councilmember John Lee, who represents the area where the cleanup was scheduled, did not respond to inquiries. Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, whose district also takes in part of the west Valley, called the email “disturbing.”
“I’m glad that command staff is taking this situation seriously by calling it out, taking remedial actions and setting up a community meeting,” he said.
City Controller Kenneth Mejia promised an investigation.
“This is troubling & reinforces the criminalization of homelessness in the City of LA,” he said on Twitter.
Care Plus cleanups are done each weekday in conjunction with the city’s Bureau of Sanitation. They are supposed to be announced multiple days in advance to give those living in encampments time to clear the area before the cleanup.
In addition to the cleanup postponement, the LAPD scheduled a community meeting for the Topanga area office at 6 p.m. July 11 led by the unit’s commanding officer, Capt. Francis Boateng, to discuss the department’s stance when it comes to homeless residents.
Tattersfield, the community activist, said she was pleased to see the email’s contents become public.
“The LAPD frequently harasses and arrests unhoused people just for being in poverty,” she said. “It’s disappointing to see this kind of conduct, but it’s good to see it come to light.”