A cleanup of a homeless encampment in West Hills planned for Thursday was postponed resulting from an email from a Los Angeles Police Department senior lead officer the department called “highly inappropriate.”
The statement from LAPD released Wednesday is in response to an email sent by Senior Lead Officer Brittney Gutierrez on June 14 regarding Thursday’s scheduled cleanup and sanitation, and being shared by Film The Police LA website on social media. The email states, “Everyone will be arrested and their belongings will be taken away by sanitation.”
The senior lead officer, who was not mentioned by name in the LAPD release, “will be provided extensive training by the department’s Homeless Coordinator’s Office,” police said.
The contents of the email related to the Care Plus cleanup set to be conducted by LA Sanitation & Environment do “not in any way represent the department’s values, policies or practices related to people experiencing homelessness,” police said.
In the email from Gutierrez, it states, “As always, do not approach these individuals experiencing homelessness. I want to make sure all are there at the encampment on the 29th so I can arrest them. This is a hush hush task force.”
Gutierrez is assigned to the LAPD’s Topanga Division and was hired in 2015.
LAPD Capt. Francis Boateng will host a community meeting at Shadow Ranch Park on July 11 “to reiterate the department stance of outreach, collaboration, community safety and assistance when dealing with” people experiencing homelessness, police said.