Police Officers and Mental Health Clinician Respond to Homeless Crisis at Palisades Park

On Tuesday, October 8, 2024, Santa Monica Police Officers from the Homeless Liaison Program (HLP) responded to reports of a homeless man behaving erratically at Palisades Park. Joined by a Public Health Clinician from the Los Angeles Department of Mental Health, officers observed the individual before engaging him. After an initial assessment, the man was handcuffed and taken for a clinical evaluation. No criminal charges are expected to be filed.
This incident highlights the ongoing efforts of the Santa Monica Police Department to address the complexities of homelessness in the city. The Homeless Liaison Program (HLP) plays a key role in supporting vulnerable individuals through relationship building, outreach, and collaboration with various city and county agencies. The goal of the HLP is to prioritize mental health services and alternatives to incarceration, ensuring that those in need receive appropriate care and resources while maintaining public safety.
The HLP works closely with the Santa Monica Fire Department, Human Services Division, and City Attorney’s Office to offer a holistic approach to homelessness, aiming to improve community well-being by addressing both individual needs and city regulations.
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Fabian Lewkowicz, an award-winning accredited photojournalist and press photographer based in Santa Monica, is renowned for his captivating imagery and storytelling. As the creator of Santa Monica Closeup, he draws on years of experience with local media outlets like the Santa Monica Daily Press and The Corsair to capture iconic moments in the city's history.
Santa Monica Closeup is a visual chronicle of the vibrant and diverse community of Santa Monica, brought to life through Fabian's seasoned lens. With deep roots in the city, he offers an authentic and intimate glimpse into everyday life, crafting compelling videos that resonate with both locals and visitors alike.
Fabian's photographs have been showcased in a wide range of venues, from museums and art galleries to hospitals, department stores, banks, and public institutions like fire and police stations. His photography captures the essence of Santa Monica, portraying everything from its breathtaking landscapes and stunning sunsets to its unique culture and diverse community.
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TAGS: Photojournalism, Photojournalist, Documentary, Cinema Verite, Fly-on-the-wall, Observational Photography, Press Photography
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(C) 2024 Fabian Lewkowicz/Santa Monica Closeup. All Rights Reserved.

[@LouieLewLou1]

It’s sad that people who are just trying to enjoy a jog or a walk-through the park had to be on guard because people like this guy are tweaking out.

[@muspobear]

Could not agree more!!!

[@freedomvideo995]

All that noise drive anyone crazy! I understand!

[@PauloHernandezXD]

You know what you can do if an area is noisy; move somewhere more quiet.

[@freedomvideo995]

@@PauloHernandezXD I did so 8 years ago. Off grid in the wilderness now. But im near deaf anyway so no biggy if there is noise. 🥴

[@PauloHernandezXD]

@@freedomvideo995 that's pretty cool; living in the wilderness :3

[@AlfonsoRamirez-j3h]

Funny thing, back in the day they weren't asked if they wanted help. They were just given help

[@b14m23]

They do not want help and lawyers will sue for forcing help.

[@muspobear]

@@b14m23Exactly!!! Liberals…

[@GingerWolf87]

"Back in the day"? Ah you must live a very blessed life due to your ignorance & lacking education. In reality for anyone who attended college / university education they'd know that back in the day people with mental health issues were rounded up - oftentimes against their will - and sent to asylums, etc. Were lobotomized against their will, sterilized even in the USA (1910s-1930s career criminals, mental health, etc were slated for sterilization), etc.

[@BG-qk6ek]

it only cost us $100k to have him arrested and released

[@DrGoochMBA]

The jackhammer noise is enough to drive a person nuts.

[@Vikingn6789]

So sad to see this happening I hope he gets the help he needs

[@sinebar]

Dude is either on meds or off his meds.

[@ZeeVee-t8g]

Give credit to these individuals doing a difficult job,always the unknown, unpredictable,dangerous,and political many times

[@zengrail]

I wonder how many people no longer take walks there with their children because of situations like this - sad for everyone.

[@JamesCrisp-iq4cs]

He needs to get with lazy Daisy and chill out😂

[@muspobear]

Lol

[@JohnValdez-q9s]

That poor soul, the tormented mind of his world.

[@Thepoetjewel]

They need to lease one of those abandoned buildings and make it a ward for people who need mental help, it's not healthy to be out and about and suddenly they lose control and hurt anyone.

[@wnewfmer]

Make sure one of those abandoned buildings are not by the beach...

[@elliotmann9787]

Would you walk by a raving lunatic, and act like he's normal? I wouldn't. Next thing you know, there's a machete in your back.

[@muspobear]

Had that exact experience myself. These are FULLY OUTTA CONTROL folks…

[@PauloHernandezXD]

My aura makes regular people uncomfortable because of how monotone and serious my face and body language is. These individuals don't bother me, and I let them know through body language "I'm watching you" and they actually calm down around me, lol But it sucks for regular people walking by with kids or pets :(

[@DerekWill-p1b]

I think this guy has been in a previous video. He looks familiar. At least he doesn't have a ton of junk with him.

[@vanpearsall]

He looks like the same one from the Ambassador Guarding the bathrooms

[@imjustsayin6562]

I'm just amazed on how many transients/ homeless people in California are wearing Vans shoes. Did they go out there and give them them Shoes for advertisement?😆

[@tomr9661]

Put him on a bus to Sacramento.

[@jow_tora_ruela]

Or san Francisco 😅😅

[@fritzlanguish456]

Asking a rational question to an irrational person....how's that working for ya?

[@thatonekid71]

Normal day in Santa Monica

[@edbrophy4602]

Something more important than Food, Housing, Psyche Drugs, or Clothing is missing here: Remember this quote by James Clear from Atomic Habits: "Change your identity, and you change your habits and vice versa": ⦁ Change is closely linked to shifting the identity of "homeless people" because "housing" is a basic need like "food" but not a "higher" need. "The strongest force in the human personality is the need to stay consistent in how we define (identity) ourselves"-Tony Robbins. ⦁ Earlier "city settlers" in the U.S. also faced 'sink or swim' struggles driven by intentionally leaving their homes far behind to automatically imagine facing the journey of adversity while adapting and dreaming of the conditioning experience needed to resettle into a new lifestyle. ⦁ However, the true grit of this once-revered mindset has been socially deconstructed across the country because exaggerated superiority can only rest on class degradation. ⦁ Ambitious beliefs and resourceful habits to relocate for higher standards have become increasingly "unhoused" nationwide now, despite the significant role of settler populations enabling America's initial expanding identity. ⦁ "The remarkable thing about new words is that only about one percent are genuinely new. Most are 'old words' brought back to life and adapted." - Susie Dent, English lexicographer and etymologist.

[@donnaosuch5210]

Pray 🙏 he gets proper help .God bless him❤

[@DonnellOkafor-r2d]

Oh please

[@Mike_Davidson]

Make the Border Great Again. 🤦‍♂🤣🤣🤣

[@VEGANISTA269]

YES! Back east at Ellis Island 🤣

[@chuckschilling9113]

Love these fancy titles like Homeless "Liaison" and Bathroom "Ambassador". Too bad they don't act like ambassadors or liaisons...but hey the titles sound so important and helpful. What they really need is a Homeless "Ombudsman", but that would be losing some level of control and they don't want that.

[@GohAhweh]

I like your mind.. well said 👌

[@SherinaSpencer]

Isnt this the guy that was swinging around a sickle (farm implement) on the beach and said he was some kind of martial arts dude?

[@GohAhweh]

Different dude

[@anguselliott378]

Too bad that some of those readers don't understand mental health. If you don't understand it then don't make derogatory comments. It's sad. He's in a world of his own right now and not hurting anyone, who knows what his past was like.

[@GohAhweh]

@@anguselliott378I'm glad they removed him from our public space, he seemed quite unpredictable.. I understand this having been attacked by a similar person who seemed just crazy until he found a glass bottle to smash near my kid. perhaps you should have him over for tea..

[@tednguyen208]

So what difference did it make with the mental health guy there?

[@edword2874]

Sounds like they have a woodpecker problem too.

[@henryrivera4236]

I was wondering what law he broke?

[@sharonhyden3817]

Nut in the street law 😢

""King Osirus""->Great Observation and Reporting,->Fabian!

[@frontier9142]

I think this guy was one of the ones camping out in the public restrooms.

[@vanpearsall]

Did he get Pepper’s Sprayed by the Ambassador that he punched

[@KellyPc-x7o]

Did I miss something? Why did the Police suddenly grab him? 6 cops 👮‍♂️👮‍♂️👮‍♂️👮‍♂️👮‍♂️👮‍♀️ for this one guy 👨‍🚀

[@sunsensational]

Did you not see how he erratic and mentally unstable he was? Of course they’re gonna go hands-on with multiple officers. Mentally ill people can become very erratic with extreme adrenaline depending on the mental condition.

[@themichaelmonroy7133]

He wasn't bothering anyone. ​@@sunsensational

[@PauloHernandezXD]

You really have never experienced physical confrontation; I have throughout my life. Life is not your Hollywood movies, and these individuals are not to be taken lightly.

[@ivanweirick3210]

As a former security guard in a hospital, whenever there was a mental health emergency there was always 2 security guards, the nursing supervisor, and quite a few nurses. it always a precaution for the staff/employees safety and health. So it's understandable there was 6 cops there.

[@Khawrlo5993]

Too bad there is no youtube channel that explains what all is going to happen next? Carry us through the steps of what all is going to happen to him and what HELP they are going to provide to him? WOW!

[@nickedmett1]

The correct (but politically avoided) term is Vagrant, as in 'Someone who wanders from place to place without lawful or visible means of support.'

[@gilbertcalifornia]

There we go tactic another good deed up for the citizens safety on the board and honesty these transplants safety who obviously could not handle Los Angeles. "Dishes are done"

[@mozilla63]

Why did they snatch him up ? He’s no different than that herd of zombies down on the boardwalk.

[@nancysantamarialatica1141]

Long Beach needs to catch up and do this with the mental health and the cleanup. Maybe start a new channel for Long beach.? come on Fabian

[@jdc8352]

It's all so tiresome. Gtfo and try to be somewhat productive...... I'm so glad it gets cold and snows where I live so that my city doesn't have to deal with this level of trash.

[@GohAhweh]

Yeah they all come here so our taxpayers can take care of them

[@nickedmett1]

Why call these people 'Homeless' when the last thing they want is a home with rent to pay along with gas & electric bills not to mention water bills and any other expenses connected with owning a 'Home'

[@ThoroughbredZone]

Matching hoodie and shoes. Gotta give some points for that.

[@tivobobo]

Make Meth A Felony Again. California has essentially as a whole legalized meth. Bring back harsh sentences. This man will be better in jail or prison, if he has any family out there, they likely would agree as well.

[@wnewfmer]

Cops are finally cracking down & the crazies don't like it...

[@bobbijogalatowitsch4980]

😢

[@slametriadi6790]

Crazy guy....

[@lukeknowles5700]

What is the "clinician" going to do? Have a little chat and turn this cat from a community risk to an upstanding citizen??

[@sharonhyden3817]

By the looks of that there used to him might be his everyday thing

[@seagal60]

Love the crazies❤😘😍

[@ZeeVee-t8g]

I wouldn't want this job no matter how much it pays, unpredictable people as this are dangerously unpredictable especially when approaching them, you don't know their criminal history,what country they came from ,they all know, come to a liberal state, city, you can get away with a lot, handled with kit gloves in a blue sanctuary state,where there's so many government freebee,handouts endlessly

[@FranklinNomad]

Lots of homeless people

[@williamwheatley1604]

It is not illegal to be crazy…..

[@DonnellOkafor-r2d]

When it's drug induced l have less than zero sympathy.

[@sunsensational]

No one says he’s going to jail. If you’re mentally unstable and unable to care for yourself and threat to others (which clearly he is by his erratic and unpredictable behavior.) you can be committed by the state, including any law-enforcement agency or family member for up to two years. You’re not going to jail you’re getting mental health treatment, but this can be done against your will. It’s called mental health conservatorship. That’s just common sense. Now if you’re crazy, but you look like you could care for yourself and you’re not a threat to others that’s different.

[@williamwheatley1604]

@@sunsensational you forgot to say…”or a danger to your self” 😜

[@williamwheatley1604]

@@sunsensational the first step is getting a “5150” signed on the person ( in Calif.)

[@fatihaltinyeleklioglu1314]

Çok zor bir iş..

[@bromion5123]

And after a cost of 1500 usd the beverley hills taxpayer can sleep at night.

[@canada.589]

canada opps my bag

[@themichaelmonroy7133]

Those cops were just looking for trouble from that homeless man. Smh.

[@keegangidley2071]

what an absolute shithole. what happened to California

[@carlosmedina42]

Eso es acoso ala jente de la calle

[@carlosmedina42]

Quería más vistas el que ISO el vídeo

[@carlosmedina42]

Es racismo

[@GohAhweh]

Nope

[@wnewfmer]

That thinking got us into this mess to begin with...

[@VEGANISTA269]

I think this needs to be retitled as JACKHAMMERING

[@SeanRyan-i2g]

Why do they just stand around for 15 minutes they guy is obviously under the influence of something just saying from someone who’s had about 20 drunk in publics

[@carlosmedina42]

Quería más vistas el que ISO el vídeo

[@GohAhweh]

Nope