Hermosa Beach police Thursday were investigating complaints about a man who posts videos on Instagram of himself approaching and filming women around the South Bay area while making lewd comments.
On Instagram, the man describes himself as a “dark comedian creating jokes.” But his page features various videos of himself approaching random women on or near the Hermosa Beach Pier and making vulgar or off-color comments. Other videos show him in the Redondo Beach area, in one case entering a coffee shop and filming a woman inside.
Other videos show him following women and making comments about their bodies or propositioning them.
One video showed a man confronting the person, who runs away shouting “Assault.”
“The Hermosa Beach Police Department is aware of multiple videos circulating on social media of an individual who has been live-streaming throughout the city,” police said in a statement. “We have viewed and documented these videos. We have received numerous messages from concerned community members. Please know that a report has been generated and these incidents are being investigated by our detectives. The investigation is ongoing.
“The Hermosa Beach Police Department encourages anyone who believes they have been a victim of a crime to contact us at 310-318-0360 or by coming to the police station at 540 Pier Ave. In many cases, a victim must be willing to press charges in order for officers to facilitate an arrest. Our number one goal is to keep our community safe, so we ask that anyone who feels they are being harassed to please contact us.”
A videographer who runs a breaking news social media site known as South Bay Responders reported that during the man’s most recent attempt to live-stream a video, somebody appeared to steal the man’s phone and possibly tossed it in the ocean.