As I went walking I saw a sign there
And on the sign it said “No Trespassing.”
But on the other side it didn’t say nothing,
That side was made for you and me.
1345/1355
EXTRA PATROL: 6765 SELMA AVE; SELMA PARK. CHECKED LOCATION FOR VIOLATORS OF NEW SIGNS POSTED PROHIBITING ADULTS WITHOUT CHILDREN AT PARK. NOTE 3 (H) MALES IN PARK IN VIOLATION AND ADVISED RE: NEW POSTED SIGNS. SUSPECTS DEPARTED WITHOUT INCIDENT.
Interestingly, this was foreshadowed as early as September, 2007. For instance, we find in the Footbeat 4 log for September 27, 2007 that OFFICERS CONTACTED SEVERAL HOMELESS RE: ISSUES IN THE PARK AND SURROUNDING AREA. WE ADVISED THE SUBJECTS RE: THE POSSIBILITY OF THE PARK BEING FOR CHILDREN ONLY. (END 1830 HOURS).
But the really unexpected fact I found in this material is that before the signs went up the BID Patrol actually encouraged homeless people to sleep in the park rather than on the sidewalk, where they were subject to arrest for violating LAMC 41.18(d). Now, this would certainly make sense in a sane world, since it was (and is) legal to sleep in the park, but not on the sidewalk. However, given the bitching and moaning that the BID put up about park-sleeping and the illegal lengths they went to to get the park declared off-limits to humans, I can’t help but suspect some kind of narrative-creating subterfuge here. It seems quite shady to intentionally fill the park up with homeless sleepers and then use the large numbers of homeless sleepers as a reason to get the park closed against them. It’s just another example of zillionaire ethics, I guess. See after the break for the evidence.
1345 CONTACT, FI-2, ADVISED OF PATH INFO. 1617 COSMO STREET “DOORWAY”. OBSERVED SUBJ’S GAFFKE, JASON DOB (12-01-75) AND KELLER, SIDNEY DOB (01-18-73) LYING IN FRONT OF THE ABOVE LOCATION / BLOCKING THE DOORWAY. WE ADVISED THEM OF THE TRESPASS VIOLATION & GAVE THEM A 24-HOUR NOTICE. THEY GOT UP FROM THE LOCATION W/O INCIDENT. WE ALSO ADVISED THEM TO GO TO SELMA PARK. THEY WALKED (W/B) ON SELMA.
5.ROSCITI, FRANK JOHN 11-8-69.doc:
ON THE ABOVE DATE AT APPROXIMATLY 0635HRS, THE OFFICERS WARNED THE DEFT. ROSCITI, FRANK JOHN 11-08-69 FOR SLEEPING ON THE SIDEWALK AT 6615 HOLLYWOOD BLVD. AFTER 0630HRS. HE WAS TOLD THAT HE COULD GO TO SELMA PARK, THREE BLOCKS AWAY, IF HE WANTED TO CONTINUE SLEEPING.
By October 22, 2007, the BID Patrol was getting more uptight, even whiny:
EXTRA PATROL: 6567 SELMA (SELMA PARK). DID A WALK THROUGH AND TALKED WITH SEVERAL REGULARS. THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF ANY VIOLATIONS EXCEPT THE FACT THAT IT IS TURNING INTO A DAYTIME CAMP SITE. SLEEPING BAGS, PERSONAL ITEMS AND TRASH WERE STREWN THROUGHOUT THE ADULT AREA OF THE PARK.
And of course, by December the fake signs were up and the civil rights violations were in full swing.
Images of Selma Park are ©2016 MichaelKohlhaas.org.
