Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman is to hold a Labor Day picnic at MacArthur Park with his family, friends and colleagues, saying the troubled Los Angeles park is now safe enough for a public gathering.
Hochman made the commitment during a series of high-profile drug enforcement operations at the park in June. He said he would return with his family over the holiday weekend if conditions improved.
“My family, myself, along with many of my colleagues in the DA’s office, friends, will be celebrating a picnic this coming weekend in MacArthur Park,” Hochman told FOX 11.
The event is intended to demonstrate progress while keeping attention on the problems that remain. Hochman said the park was “not perfect”, but that he was prepared to bring those closest to him there as a sign of confidence in the continuing clean-up operation.
“If by having a picnic on Labor Day weekend in MacArthur Park [we] can keep the spotlight on MacArthur Park to both show progress with public safety but continuous need to keep our vigilance high, hopefully that is the point for this picnic to be,” he said.
Los Angeles Police Department officers have responded to at least 130 incidents at the park since June, according to crime-mapping data cited by FOX 11. Many involved drugs or alcohol, while police have also carried out regular patrols and additional random operations targeting narcotics activity.
The renewed enforcement followed a multi-agency operation in June during which 13 people were arrested, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Federal and local authorities said the wider campaign was aimed at disrupting drug dealing and returning the public space to residents.
There are signs of improvement. LAPD Captain Ben Fernandes told CBS Los Angeles that drug use and gang activity had fallen since the enforcement operations began. Police data cited by the broadcaster showed no one had been struck by gunfire at or around the park this year, while calls for service had fallen by nearly 4 per cent and arrests by 11 per cent. ([cbsnews.com](https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/macarthur-park-safey-targeted-police-enforcement/))
Visitors have also reported a change on parts of the site, with joggers, families with pushchairs and ducks seen around the lake. One park-goer told FOX 11 that an area previously associated with drug use was “so much better”.
But the improvement is uneven. Visible drug use has still been observed in other sections, including near areas where free needles and drug-smoking pipes are distributed, underlining the continuing tension over how the park should be managed.
Hochman said the picnic would be designed to show that MacArthur Park was worth reclaiming while making clear that law enforcement and city agencies would need to remain vigilant.
