VIDEO: Homeless Man Allegedly Attacked at Venice Beach amid Encampment Cleanup

Amy Furr

A video posted Friday reportedly showed a homeless man being attacked as he sat on the ground at the Venice Beach boardwalk, according to Fox News.

In the clip, a person wearing a dark-colored vest appeared to punch the man in his head and shoulder while another individual wearing a black hoodie stood nearby.

“Bitch! Go on! Touch me in my goddamn titties!” the person in the vest apparently told the man before kicking him. The man eventually got up and walked away.

Concerns from residents, business owners, and law enforcement have increased in the months after the tent encampments on the beach grew and issues continued to plague the area, the Fox report said:

Since the expansion of the Venice beach encampment, authorities have fielded reports of shootings, arson, assault and harassment. Some residents previously told Fox News they have refrained from going to the beach after certain times or altogether.

In response, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva has dispatched deputies with his department’s Homeless Outreach Services Team to address the homeless issue in Venice. Last month, he asked county leaders to declare a state of emergency in response.

Two weeks prior to his request, a Venice business owner said a security guard at his store was attacked and stabbed with a bottle by a homeless person once he was told he could not consume alcohol on the premises, according to Fox.

“Today in Venice we are completely on our own,” Bob Carlson commented during a June 21 press conference. “You don’t realize how much you need the police until they’re not there. Until they’re prevented from doing their job. Thank God the sheriff is willing to intervene.”

Outreach workers Friday finished the initial phase of the Venice Beach cleanup and persuaded dozens of homeless to move into shelters, the Los Angeles Times reported:

As the cleanup plan got underway, an anticipated crackdown by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies never materialized. Sheriff Alex Villanueva on Wednesday walked back earlier comments that were widely interpreted as a threat to arrest anyone still on the boardwalk by July 4. Villanueva said in a press conference that he was expressing a hope, not a deadline.

Breitbart News reported June 8 Villanueva declared his department would clear out the growing homeless encampments from Venice Beach by July 4.

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