(CNN) The Los Angeles City Council president said surveillance camera footage taken outside City Hall in North Hollywood on Thursday showed officers from another police department dropping a homeless person off on the sidewalk and “abandoning” him, and he is calling for a state investigation.
“A Burbank Police Department vehicle pulled up in front of my office,” City Council President Paul Krekorian, a Democrat, said at a press conference Friday. “A handcuffed individual was removed from the vehicle. The handcuffs were removed. The individual collapsed on the sidewalk, apparently in a psychological crisis and also suffering from physical injuries. Burbank Police Department officers did not provide any assistance to this individual or check to see if there was anyone available to serve this individual, and then returned to their vehicle and drove back to Burbank.”
Security camera footage played at the press conference shows two officers removing the man from the back seat of a car and removing what appear to be handcuffs. The man attempts to leave the vehicle but appears to lose his balance, swinging his arms and falling to the sidewalk on his hands and knees. The man then lies flat on his stomach as the police vehicle drives away. The footage ends, and it is unclear how long the man was on the sidewalk.
Krekorian said he filed the motion Friday, asking the Los Angeles city attorney, the county district attorney and the California attorney general to investigate the matter and “identify what appropriate legal action should be taken.”
“The City of Burbank takes seriously the concerns raised by Los Angeles City Council Member Paul Krekorian,” Burbank Mayor Nick Schultz said in a post on X Friday, adding that the “City is gathering all the facts.”
The Burbank Police Department later released a statement saying they were aware of a video showing a Burbank officer dropping off the individual on a North Hollywood sidewalk.
According to police, they first responded to a call about a nude person sitting at a bus stop just outside Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank around 8:45 a.m. Thursday. Responding officers found the person “conscious and able to communicate,” and after speaking with officers, the man put on some clothing, the statement said.
Police said the man, who is homeless, was taken to the hospital from the Sunland-Tujunga neighborhood of Los Angeles for a leg injury he suffered “years ago.” Police said the man left the hospital voluntarily before officers arrived and refused any medical treatment.
Burbank police said officers offered to drive the man to “a location of his choice” and he asked to be taken to Sunland Tujunga, but “ultimately agreed to be transported to the Metro Red Line in North Hollywood.”
“He voluntarily got into the patrol vehicle and was driven to a Metro Red Line station. On the way there, he asked to be allowed to exit the patrol vehicle to get a cup of coffee. Officers promptly complied with his request, stopped the vehicle, and removed him from the patrol vehicle,” the statement continued.
Providence St. Joseph Medical Center said in a statement to CNN on Saturday that it was aware of the Thursday morning incident and that police had received “multiple calls,” including one from hospital security, about a person in apparent distress on a public sidewalk.
“I was outraged by this and I remain outraged,” Krekorian said at a press conference Friday. “You know, it’s inconceivable that professionals who are trained and paid to protect and serve the public would literally leave someone seeking medical care on the sidewalk to fend for themselves in this moment when they’re most vulnerable. It’s disgraceful.”
After learning of the security camera footage, officers drove around looking for the man, whom Krekorian did not identify, and found him around 3 p.m. and were able to provide medical attention through the Los Angeles Fire Department, according to the city council member.
“It’s widely assumed, and we hear anecdotally, that some neighboring cities and jurisdictions are not putting resources into providing services, not building shelters for their homeless residents, not investing in permanent supportive housing, not doing the basic human things that are needed to solve homelessness, and they’re allowing their homeless populations to drift into the city of Los Angeles,” Krekorian argues. “We know it’s happening, but it’s rare that we get to see it for ourselves, like in this video.”
“If you happen to come across a security camera and see something like this happening, I think it’s likely it’s happening more often,” he added.
The Burbank Police Department said it is currently conducting a “thorough investigation” into the incident, including the actions of the officers involved. The department said the investigation will include reviewing all available body camera and dash camera footage, interviewing witnesses and reviewing any other relevant evidence.
“The Burbank Police Department remains committed to treating our homeless community with compassion and respect, and we thank Los Angeles City Council Speaker Paul Krekorian for bringing this issue to our attention,” the police statement said.