Homeless encampments cleared from Dockweiler Beach in Playa Del Rey
Sanitation crews along with police and community volunteers were at Dockweiler Beach early Thursday morning, working to clear homeless encampments from the sand.
Police officers could be seen standing by as campers dismantled and packed up, while bulldozers hauled debris into dump trucks.
Los Angeles Councilwoman Traci Park led the effort, as notices were posted and handed out to people on the Playa Del Rey beach site that a cleanup was scheduled for 7 a.m. Thursday. It's not yet clear if the campers will be able to return to the site or not.
Residents in the area have been complaining about the growing number of people setting up camp on the sand, as tents and dwelling areas abutted the beach bike path.
One community member said the number of encampments had grown from about five to 20 in recent months.
"We've had homeless down here on the beach that throw rocks at people, we have them threatening people ... they've got needles, they are cooking in the sand ...," Lucy Han, co-founder of Friends of the Jungle, a nonprofit addressing issues in the Playa del Rey community.
One man said on Thursday that he has been living on the beach for eight years after losing a loved one and a job. He said for now he moved away from the sand, but plans to return.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Los Angeles County leaders have pushed back on California Gov. Gavin Newsom's order for local governments to clean up homeless encampments or lose state funding.
The executive order came after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling that said governments could not force people to leave encampments if there weren't any shelter beds available.
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors recently voted to prohibit the use of jails for people arrested at outdoor encampments where they're living and instead wanted to work on establishing a countywide strategy for dealing with the homelessness crisis.
KCAL News reached out to Park's office for comment on Thursday's encampment cleanup, asking if campers will be allowed to return. A response has yet to be received.
