LAPD officers clear rat-infested homeless encampment in Pico Union

Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department cleared a rat-infested homeless encampment in a Pico Union neighborhood on Thursday. But hours later, people started setting up tents on the sidewalk again. 

Neighbors and business owners said this is the frustrating cycle they've become accustomed to near the intersections along West Olympic Boulevard. 

The crackdown in District 1 was part of the city's CARE+ program, in which outreach teams, sanitation crews and LAPD work together to clear encampments. LAPD's Rampart Division posted videos and photos of rats darting through the sprawling encampment on Instagram.

"When people ask why we do enforcement at homeless encampments, this is why," officers wrote in the Instagram post. 

Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez said the area has been a longtime hotspot for public health and Americans with Disabilities Act violations.

"Staff from our office were on-site during the operation alongside outreach workers and community partners, and have been working to connect these individuals with housing and resources," Hernandez's office wrote in a statement.

City leaders said the operations, including Inside Safe, are part of a bigger effort to reduce homelessness across LA, something that the Mayor's Office said is working.

"This is why Mayor Bass, in contrast to past city leaders, created the city's first comprehensive strategy to address encampments," Mayor Karen Bass' office wrote. "Before she took office, homelessness was rising year after year. Under her leadership, it has declined for two consecutive years, including a nearly 18% drop in street homelessness."  

The neighboring businesses and residents believe the operations are short-term solutions. Similar to what happened on Thursday, they said they report it to 311, the area is cleared, and within hours, people are back on the sidewalk again.

"It is very difficult because people don't come inside," business owner Cruz Varilla said in Spanish. "They see the people who live on the street."

Varilla, who owns Varilla Pizza on Alvarado Street, said there's also a growing concern about safety. 

"I am afraid," Varilla said in Spanish. "I put cameras because of the people."

Hernandez's office said crews will continue working to connect people living in the area with housing and services. LAPD said the operation led to several arrests and multiple citations.