The Thorn West is a state and local news roundup compiled by members of DSA-LA. Our goal is to provide a weekly update on the latest developments in state and local politics, and to track the issues that are most important to our membership.
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Issue No. 60 - May 21, 2021
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Police Violence and Community Resistance
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- On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed a motion requiring the LA Sheriff’s Department to disclose information on deputy shootings, serious uses of force and other serious misconduct. The motion requires that information on deputy misconduct be made promptly available on a searchable public website. LASD has a history of noncompliance with state transparency laws and routinely withholds information regarding deputy violence and wrongdoings.
- The Los Angeles City Council voted to ratify a slightly modified version of the mayor’s budget, leaving in place a 3% spending bump for the LAPD.
- The same week that the Citizen app, at the direction of its CEO, offered a $30,000 bounty for information on a man they falsely claimed was responsible for setting the Palisades fire, a security vehicle with Citizen branding was spotted in Los Angeles. The vehicle was later revealed to be part of a pilot program for “security forces on demand” the company is exploring.
- Over the weekend, thousands of Angelenos rallied for Palestinan liberation, in solidarity with a growing international movement for a #freePalestine.
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- Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell gave a private tour of Echo Park Lake to a group of hand-selected alleged residents of the neighborhood. Private security was on hand to keep the press out. Shortly after the tour it was announced that the park would reopen on May 26, two months after the park was “closed for repairs” as pretext for a police-led displacement of an encampment. It will reopen with newly installed security cameras and round-the-clock guards enforcing strict adherence to park hours.
- The Unhoused Tenants Against Carceral Housing held a press conference outside of City Hall this week, denouncing “prison-like” conditions at Project Roomkey (PRK) sites. The group, comprising tenants living at PRK locations (several of them former residents of the Echo Park Lake encampment), have issued a list of demands aimed at reforming the program.
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- The Los Angeles City Council passed a motion asking Governor Newsom to support “legislation and regulatory efforts associated with reducing the need of the Aliso Canyon natural gas facility and its eventual decommissioning.” KNOCK-LA writes about the political apathy that led to the Aliso Canyon gas blowout five years ago, an environmental disaster with long term impacts on the health of San Fernando Valley residents.
- Neighborhood activists are calling attention to a five-story housing project in Lincoln Heights being developed on top of a polluted site that has yet to be tested for toxic substances.
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