Child dragged out of home as California Highway Patrol evicts families from vacant homes

California Highway Patrol agents forcibly evicted people who had occupied vacant state-owned homes in Los Angeles, videos posted on social media show.

A video, posted by the Street Watch LA account, shows two officers dragging a child out of a house in the El Sereno neighborhood on the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday as people shout in protest. “Have a ****** heart!” you hear a person scream.

“Tonight in El Sereno, the CHP evicted a mother and child claiming legitimate public land. They dragged a child from her home, pinned her down and arrested her,” the tweet read.

Other clips showed officers in riot gear apparently using rams to enter some homes. TV stations reported that some of those deported were linked.

Another person at the scene wrote on Twitter that highway patrol officers fired tear gas at people who had gathered to protest the evictions.

ABC7 reported that around 100 policemen were in El Sereno, but it was not immediately clear how many people had been arrested.

A spokesperson for the California Highway Patrol said Newsweek: “At the request of the California Department of Transportation, CHP removed trespassers from state property.” The spokesperson did not say how many people had been arrested.

The move came after a group of activists and homeless families, looking for a safe place to shelter in the coronavirus pandemic, occupied several homes that had been bought by the transportation department of California (Caltrans) to demolish for the now defunct expansion of Highway 710..

On a GoFundMe page, the Reclaim and Rebuild Our Community group said it was made up of families, aged 3 months to over 70, who lived in cars or homeless camps.

They said they had moved “peacefully” to several of the empty houses this week and urged Gov. Gavin Newsom to make sure Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol did not arrest or deport them.

They also called on Newsom to order Caltrans to release the 170 empty homes for those in need of shelter during the pandemic.

“We people of color are certainly facing ‘Darkest Winter’ not only because COVID is on the rise again, but because for us the economic crisis has worsened and the tsunami has worsened. evictions overshadow the already minimal number of affordable housing available statewide, ”said a post on the page.

“As you said, we are safer if we have the ability to quarantine and isolate ourselves safely in a home.” We therefore ask you, as governor, to ask Caltrans to allow new families to immediately activate all their utilities: and running water and electricity are essential for safe shelter. “

In a statement, the group added that the move was “a last resort as the system has failed us all – especially communities of color – in creating this housing crisis that has worsened with COVID and the economic crisis.” .

Citing the order to stay at the governor’s house, they asked Newsom “for his immediate support because we believe sheltering is the right thing to do.”

In a statement to NBC Los Angeles, a spokesperson for Caltrans said the homes were “dangerous and uninhabitable.”

The spokesperson added, “As such, Caltrans has asked the California Highway Patrol to clear out intruders so the properties can be re-secured and boarded.”

Newsom’s office and Caltrans have been contacted for further comment.

This article was updated with a comment from a spokesperson for California Highway Patrol.