MacArthur Park Sweep Targets Last Drug Holdouts

Police swept into MacArthur Park in Los Angeles on Tuesday in the latest MacArthur Park sweep, a push that officers say is driving back the drug-fueled disorder that long defined the area. Teams from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Rampart Division have started foot patrols in the park as part of what officials call a final cleanup of the public space.

Capt. Ben Fernandes, the Rampart Division commanding officer, said police and federal officers have already dealt a major blow to drug dealing in the park. He said the violent open-air market that once filled the area has been broken up, and that officers are now focused on the people still hanging around: users and low-level dealers. Fernandes described them as people who are moving through the park looking for drugs and said police need to break that pattern.

On Monday morning, officers walked the park in teams of nine and quickly arrested a woman who was smoking fentanyl from a piece of tin foil. Police said she was so disoriented that she did not see the officers approaching. After taking her into custody, officers found a pipe used for smoking meth and a container used to hold fentanyl. One officer said she gave them four names and had a warrant for $5,000, adding that it was time for her to see a judge.

The scene changed as officers moved through different parts of the park. On the north side, police mostly saw residents walking dogs and sitting on the grass. On the south side, however, users and small-time dealers scattered as officers approached. A homeless man left behind in the rush asked police for help finding a shelter, and officers gave him a referral. Later, an elderly woman sat on a bench and read a book once the crowd of addicts had cleared out.