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Cops close in on RV at night in Venice during sweeps in 2010
Since last night (Friday, April 19 2013), two uniformed LAPD officers –have been escorting a 5-person film crew around Venice; intentionally harassing homeless people and people in vehicles and others –and then extensively filming it.
For example, they woke up several homeless people near the Boardwalk last night for some pretty flimsy pretexts–just to get a rise out of disturbed homeless people on camera, it seems to people who’ve seen it now several times –and even experienced it themselves:
With blinding lights in their eyes –and cameras shoved into their confused faces!
For no rational, or official good policing reason –and yet with these police officers now seemingly ordering it!
Additionally, they somehow got some mysterious complaint lodged with the police that one particular law-abiding female homeless person’s RV here in Venice last night –parked on Rose –was “leaking” into the street last night.
They banged on her door; with cops, lights and cameras –and used it as a pretext to stick the cameras inside her RV last night –as, supposedly, all part of this spontaneous new police “investigation” by these two officers –to catch this poor homeless woman all upset and woke up and frightened and confused for this film crew inside her RV –and then, oh wonder of wonders, determined that “opps” well, no, there was nothing “leaking” into the street from outside her RV anyway.
Then, after getting all kinds of shots of this middle aged homeless woman here in Venice all flustered and such for the cameras in her RV –then the LAPD Officers told her, “Oh, hey, nothing to worry about after all –casuse we aren’t going to ticket you for leaking! So just forget about all this Lady, we’re the LAPD –no worries!”
You can go back to sleep now! and just forget about this!
I personally tracked some of this film crew down today on the Boardwalk; and I myself personally witnessed while they were filming an almost staged outburst of this gadfly from out of Venice –know as “Zuma Dog” –saying that “police should be shot for harrassing the homeless;” as he stood next to a bunch of local homeless, and appeared to be pretending for the cameras to be a part of this shocked local homeless group, that didn’t even know who this “Zuma Dog” guy was!
The crew I spoke to in the midst of this –denied it was staged –but claims that they are filming a pilot that they are “pitiching” to the “Travel Channel.” And they have two LAPD officers they seem to be following. But they wouldn’t tell me much more. So does anybody know anything about this? They seem like they are going to be doing this –harrassing, and entrapping the homeless around here with police escort; and staging such aweful stuff –for at least couple more days here.
This all seems pretty outrageous.
Might we all meet this week –to formulate a community response to this uglyness now being done here against our homeless –for these TV cameras?
Sincerely,
SOV BLOG ---- SPIRIT OF VENICE BLOG 