2019 certainly gave DTLA a great bunch of wonderful memories. Here’s our list of the Top 10 moments we still haven’t been able to fully figure out yet.
10. Rapper Blueface Makes It Rain on Skid Row
In the spirit of giving, or the spirit of an Atlanta strip club, South Los Angeles native and rising rapper, BlueFace thought it would be nice to pull up in Skid Row, hop on top of his 2019 Range Rover and begin tossing dollar bills into an ever growing crowd of America’s poor.
The artist whose hit single “Thotiana”, rose to the top of the charts last summer, had a camera man posted across the street to film the action as dozens scampered to pick up the falling money. Immediately after, social media and local news outlets began reporting the rapper was taking on backlash with comments accusing him of conducting a publicity stunt and being disrespectful by not funneling his donations “properly” through an established charity. Others would counter those arguments with statements of how said monies seldom seemed to find its way to the homeless or how adults should be able to give where and how they want. For those in Skid Row who serendipitously found their way to the rappers vehicle, surely there were no hard feelings.
9. Red Bulls Fake A** Meteorite Stunt
Look, DTLA is no stranger to film crews with elaborate stunts, car chases or loud explosions but if you’re gonna film a stunt where half the city thinks their about to be struck by a falling meteorite you better damn well tell somebody.
On March 21st, what many thought was doomsday brought on by the Supermoon turned out to be a stunt by Red Bull Air Force to celebrate the third and final Supermoon of 2019.
Red Bull gives you wings and also has a team assembled from the most accomplished and experienced skydivers in the world. A few of them jumped from a helicopter 4,000 feet far above our tallest skyscraper with one of them streaming red smoke and sparks from his tail. This was the first wing suit jump into downtown LA, according to Red Bull. But, who will believe them now, especially after the Los Angeles Police Department had to take to Twitter to calm public fears?
“PSA: A meteor did not crash into Downtown Los Angeles, and no, it’s not an alien invasion…just a film shoot. This is Tinseltown after all.”
Tinsel this Red Bull. We thought we were going to die.
8. Don’t Touch Me Like That!
On August 23rd, DTLA Proud threw a very successful 13,000 person pride event at Pershing Square and the party didn’t stop there. Later in the evening a group of transgender women and gay men found themselves in an altercation with security that ultimately led to them being forcibly removed from Las Perlas Tequila Bar on Main and 6th, with one of them yelling, “Don’t Touch Me Like That!”
Most people witnessed the event, captured on video, were appalled at how intoxicating times can turn into being bounced out of a DTLA bar so quickly. To make matters worse, the group of “priders” spent additional days protesting outside of Las Perlas with bullhorns, telling almost every major media outlet and social media the escalation followed an incident upon which they found themselves being harassed and assaulted by a homophobic couple backed by bar staff.
Video of their removal by bar security posted onto social media went viral, however, the video didn’t show the confrontation between the hetero-couple, nor did it depict what led to the removal of the individuals by security from the bar. In the end, the alleged assault was investigated by police as a potential hate crime, but no formal charges were filed. Yet, in true DTLA community fashion, rumors did circulate in the months that followed. Some alleging it was the “priders” who instigated their own removal by allegedly making lewd comments and foundling the female of the hetero-couple, upon which her male mate demanded, that the transexual not ,”Touch Her Like That!”
Two sides to every story or just more drama than DTLA can take?… Either way, one thing is for certain, DTLA security guards know Judo.
7. Rats at City Hall
Ah, the pitter patter of little feet; the tiny footprints across the desk and the security of nestling in cozy corners. That would be all fine if weren’t talking about RATS. And, when the phrase “Rats at City Hall” becomes cliche, well… Houston we have a problem.
When major news outlets began reporting evidence of rats in multiple offices at City Hall last June, including droppings and tiny paw prints on desks, word of mouth led to the story escalating to Los Angeles City Hall being totally infested with rats, and flea bites, all of which may or may not have been entirely true.
It all started when City County President Herb Wesson submitted a motion requesting the city conduct an investigation into the “scope of vermin and pest control issues” in City Hall and its adjoining buildings after employees have reported seeing rats in several offices and at least two workers say they had been bitten by fleas. However, despite the accusations of rodent problems, a vendor hired by the city, CatsUSA Pest Control, said in a report it found no traces of fleas in City Hall, City Hall East, City Hall South, the Metropolitan Communications Dispatch Center or a city child daycare center in the Civic Center after setting up more than 1,800 monitoring stations.
Despite the findings, President Herb Wesson did have all of the carpets removed from his office and also explored the idea of removing all carpets in City Hall.
6. More Cops, But Still More Crime?
In June, community group DTLA Strong in partnership with the LAPD Central Division, announced that up to 10 additional officers would be deployed to walk foot beats in Downtown Los Angeles at various times throughout the day.
This followed by a prolonged campaign by the group, concerned locals, the police, local media, BIDs and members of City Hall to address concerns over public safety.
However, despite the spike in police presence crime in Downtown LA continued to rise. In 2018, 21 people were killed. Over the past 12 months, 21+ people have been killed in Downtown. Year to date, there has been 1,660 violent crimes in the Central Division, compared to 1,592 at the same time in 2018. The numbers are below the violent crime rate in 2017, which saw 1,765 violent crimes through from January 2018 to Nov. 2, 2018 by paramedics.
5. DTLA – Rocked by the FEDS
Downtown was rocked by Federal Investigations in 2018-19. The first being the raid on DTLA Council member Jose Huizar (aka the Mexican LL Cool Jay), in November, followed by a televised raid on the Dept. of Water and Power on Bunker Hill and on City Hall yet again on July 22, 2019.
The Feds sent a battalion of FBI agents armed with search warrants to enter the headquarters of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the City Hall East office of City Attorney Mike Feuer, and a couple other locations. Speculation suggest the raids may be part of a probe into the city’s handling of litigation and a settlement over the botched rollout of a DWP billing system. FBI authorities declined to comment on specifics of the investigation but they did say this…
“We are confirming a search warrant at Los Angeles DWP in downtown Los Angeles, but are prohibited from commenting further because affidavits involved in the warrant are sealed,” Katherine Gulotta of the FBI in Los Angeles.
Still, no one has been arrested and no one can be sure what evidence, damaging or otherwise, has been collected thus far, leaving most of DTLA asking themselves… WTF?
4. Stiffy for a Stiffy – Corpse Foundling POPO Gets Arrested!
On December 12th, a 27-year-old LAPD officer faced felony charges for allegedly touching a dead woman’s body inappropriately while on duty. Charged by prosecutors and arrested, authorities said David Rene Rojas was booked by LAPD internal affairs detectives on a warrant that accused him of having sexual contact with human remains, according to the LA County District Attorney’s Office. Time will tell if Rojas is a true necrophiliac or if he is just Necro-curious. WTF??
3. LAPD’s $300K Germ Killing Robot
With typhoid scares in Skid Row, City Hall, and at the Skid Row LAPD station, the POPO weren’t taking any chances. Instead of bullet proof vests, nightsticks, mace, tazors or new patrol SUVs, this year, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore ordered a new gadget, “Light Strike,” a robot designed to eliminate germs from an entire room.
“Light Strike,” is used in hospitals across the nation and now does its job of germ busting at 251 E. Sixth Street Station in Skid Row.
No, it doesn’t fight crime, but it does fight germs. No $99 cent bottle of ammonia, bleach or even a live-in maid will ever do the job better than “Light Strike”, and for that much money… they better not.
2. Halloween with the KKK
In the Historic Core, last Halloween, two DTLA rappers, ShaTown and BillyCEO could be heard arguing very loudly on the streets as they trailed a pair of Trick or Treaters out for a night on the Spring Street Strip. Also, visibly angry, making demands and pulling at two women wearing hooded costumes, was a snowballing crowd making its way thru the Core, block by block. Tensions rose as even more and more people began booing and screaming insults at the two Halloween celebrities. Oh, and their were threats of violence.
And for what?
Well, because the two tricksters were dressed up like the f*n Klan; robes, hoods, badges and all. After about ten minutes of threats from the snowballing mob, the two robed ladies then tried to make their way to safety inside the Living Room Smoke Shop on 6th and Spring.
“I’m not trying to offend you.” one of them defends, while actually trying to hug one of the shouting rappers. Uh?
In the end, due to their wanna be Klan stubbornness, the rappers ended up just yanking the hoods off and leaving the two ladies exposed and embarrassed to make their way back to what ever “land of idiot” they escaped from.
1. Punching Werewolf Strikes at Hot Dog Stand
On June 26th, America got a glimpse of what the term HANGRY is all about as witnesses captured video of a ravenous bearded man laying down combination after combination of vicious blows to what seemed like a small band of defenseless women.
Arka Sangbaran Oroojian, 30, of Sylmar, said he was defending himself and insisted that the women taking his combination punches attacked him first. The women however, describe the assault stemming from a verbal altercation they tried to interfere with, between Oroojian and a vendor over the price of a $6 bacon wrapped hot dog.
“This was a brutal assault,” said City Attorney Mike Feuer. “Attacks like this have no place in our city and won’t be tolerated.”
Oroojian, who pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery charges, was ordered to complete 24 anger management classes; write a letter of apology, pay restitution and to stay 100 yards away from both women and the location. He’s also been ordered not to possess any weapons, including guns, while on probation and that may be the best thing yet. If he can throw punches at women over a hot dog, imagine what he would do over a Popeyes a chicken Sandwich.
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