A member of the Los Angeles City Council said questions remain a day after the Burbank Police Department announced two officers did not violate the agency's policy when they dropped off a man outside his North Hollywood office.
The police department announced its findings Wednesday, nearly three months after a camera outside Councilman Paul Krekorian's office showed a Burbank police SUV pull up to the curb. The officers dropped off a man, seemingly in distress, on the sidewalk and left. Krekorian released the video at a news conference the following day and accused police of dumping a homeless man out of the city of Burbank.
"We've only begun to review the Burbank Police Department’s summary of its review," Krekorian said in a statement Thursday. "There are many obvious inconsistencies and unanswered questions remaining. I look forward to working with the Burbank City Council to thoroughly review the Department’s report about this tragic incident, and more importantly, the broader practices of the Burbank Police Department and the City of Burbank in dealing with people who are unhoused or suffering from mental illness. All governments in our region need to work collaboratively to address this crisis and provide care to those who need it. We will follow up with additional questions shortly."
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Video showed man emerging from the back seat of a Burbank police cruiser and apparently being released from handcuffs before holding his hands to his head. He eventually dropped to the sidewalk as officers pulled away.
According to a statement from Burbank police in June, officers initially responded to a call at 8:45 a.m. June 6 regarding a naked individual sitting at a bus stop near Buena Vista Street and Alameda Avenue, just outside Providence St. Joseph Medical Center. Officers found the man lucid and communicative, and offered him clothing. The individual refused to accept the clothes, and put on clothing he had. The man told officers he was homeless and had been transported to the hospital from the Sunland/Tujunga area.
The man told officers that he had a leg injury he had suffered many years ago, and had left the hospital voluntarily. The department said the man declined any medical services.
The officers offered to drive the man to a place of his choosing, the department noted. The individual asked to be taken to the Metro B (Red) Line station in North Hollywood.
On the way, the man asked Burbank officers to let him out of the patrol vehicle to get coffee. The officers complied, pulled over, and dropped
off the man in the 5200 block of Lankershim Boulevard, near Magnolia Boulevard, one block from the station and near Krekorian's office at 5250 Lankershim Blvd.
The department's investigation determined the man was not homeless and had been renting a room in a house in Sylmar for several years.
The investigation included a review of body-worn camera and in-car camera footage as well as surveillance video footage, interviews with witnesses, a review of service calls and response logs for the Los Angeles Fire Department, and an interview of the man's landlord.
In addition to the investigation by the Burbank Police Department, the FBI's Civil Rights Division reviewed the incident and internal investigation. The FBI declined to take any further action, according to Burbank police.
