Homeless advocates continuing to resist clearing of encampments at Echo Park Lake

ECHO PARK, LOS ANGELES (KABC) — A tense situation remains at Echo Park Lake as the city continues efforts to clear out homeless encampments.

Some homeless advocates faced off with LAPD Thursday evening after the groups clashed the previous night during a protest that police said was largely peaceful.

Police gave people until 10:30 p.m. Thursday to leave so that the city could perform what officials said were necessary repairs to the site. Those who leave have been offered temporary housing, and at least 166 people had already been sheltered, said Mitch O’Farrell, a city councilman whose district includes the park.

Eyewitness News observed officers using flashlights going through tents to see how many people remained.

LAPD said a crowd used “high-intensity lights” to try to blind officers, prompting them to declare an unlawful assembly in the area of Lemoyne Street and Park Avenue around 8:10 p.m. and issue a dispersal order shortly later. A designated protest zone was set up on Glendale Boulevard, north of Park Avenue.

AIR7 HD captured footage of police firing non-lethal rounds to break up a crowd as a handful of demonstrators were taken into custody.

“Nobody was acting forcefully against them, except for […]

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