Federal drug agents and Los Angeles police have announced a new phase of their campaign to drive narcotics out of MacArthur Park, one of the most troubled green spaces in the city. At a news conference, officials from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Los Angeles Police Department and the county district attorney's office described the latest stage of what they have called an effort to free the park and return it to the community.
Officials laid out the operation in stages. The first phase targeted the leadership of the 18th Street Gang, while the second phase, carried out last month, went after the drug dealers and suppliers operating in and around the park. The third phase, now under way, calls for a consistent law enforcement presence to enforce state laws that prohibit being under the influence of narcotics and possessing drugs with the intent to use them.
The commanding officer of the LAPD's Rampart Division said officers had issued six citations and made thirteen arrests in the park, tied to offenses such as smoking and drinking in public, being under the influence of narcotics, a misdemeanor arrest warrant and the presence of bulky items used for encampments. He framed the enforcement as a push to address the everyday quality of life problems that residents had complained about for years.
A special agent in charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration said the agency and the police had continued making arrests since the operation first began on May 6, holding accountable those who profit from selling fentanyl and other dangerous drugs around the park. He stressed that the campaign was not a one time event but an ongoing commitment, telling the public they would keep seeing decisive enforcement in the area.
The Los Angeles County district attorney was among the most pointed speakers, saying he refused to allow MacArthur Park to remain what he called a cemetery. He pointed to the toll of overdoses in the surrounding Westlake neighborhood, where firefighters at one of the busiest stations in the country are repeatedly called to revive people with Narcan, sometimes spending more time on overdoses than on fires.
Officials also tied the local effort to a new federal program. They said the president and the attorney general had announced a Model Cities Initiative that would provide up to three hundred million dollars in assistance to local law enforcement, and that Los Angeles would be eligible to apply for that funding to support its work in the park and across the city.
The district attorney went further, framing the goal in personal terms. He promised that by Labor Day this year he would bring his own family for a picnic at MacArthur Park, and invited federal agents, police, the mayor and members of the city council and county board of supervisors to join him, arguing the park would be safe enough by then for residents and visitors alike.
Several speakers linked the cleanup to the major sporting events coming to the region, saying they wanted the city presentable for the crowds expected during the games. They acknowledged that lasting change would take significant manpower and a long period of sustained effort, and pledged to pair the enforcement with outreach from community groups offering housing, drug treatment and mental health support to those living in the park.