John Betz is once again beset by the flagrant oversight of the Los Angeles Police Department to keep the Westminster Park/Westminster Senior Center free of “tenters” and vagrants and also the area bordering Westminster Elementary School.

The law states that one cannot be in the park after closing, cannot sleep in the park, cannot erect a tent in the park. Yet.

Councilman Gilbert Gedillo of the LA City Homeless and Poverty, made the motion that Homeless encampments adjacent to school facilities continue to interfere with the City’s mission of safe and clean routes to schools. State of California Penal Code Section 626 defines ‘Safe School Zones’ as property within 1500 feet of a school. Yet.

“For the past two weeks two “traveling” lads, who I would estimate are about 28 years old, are living out of their car, and have been sleeping in a tent in the Westminster Park,” wrote John Betz. “And it is on Main Street right across the streets from the Westminster School. It is easy to find – right under the “School Crosswalk” sign meant to keep the school children safe while crossing the street (oh, the irony).

“I have called LAPD about 5 or 6 times to report this, usually at about 4 am when enforcement should be easy because no one is supposed to be sleeping in the park at night, but no results–apparently nothing meaningful has been done.

“I don’t understand why our community has to put up with this. The winter shelter is open and there were plenty of beds available last night, 17 Dec, (80 open beds at the shelter and 21 openings at S.H.A.R.E.). So why is this going on for so long? Why will the police not do anything? It is illegal to camp in the park and these people have a place to go. And now, because of LAPD inaction the problem in our park is growing, as it always does when the City turns a blind eye.

“This is what one mom found recently walking her child to school. The fence is the elementary school fence.”