Remember
when Drew Carey went around Los Angeles talking about how all those bacon wrapped hot dog carts are illegal for the most part (unless they are permitted, which most aren't)? At Hollywood and Highland last Friday night, police cracked down on the little ladies with the cars selling those street favorites. All the food and all their equipment were confiscated and trashed. Here's what happened witnessed by LAist Photographer
Tom Andrews...
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Wow. Throwing away everything, including the carts, coolers, etc. seems very questionable to me. Tossing the food (the illegal part of it) I can see, but I would think those carts would be personal property or something. Although, admittedly, I don't know the finer points of enforcement like this.
I was shocked to see everything go too, charmon. At the very least, I'm sure those coolers and carts could be of use to non-profits.
I agree that hotdog cart law is not my specialty, but complete confiscation seems a bit over-the-top. At some point, the components that make up the complete hotdog selling package are still private property. Unlawful search and seizure? It would be interesting to hear from LAPD, or find this on the books somewhere.
I feel like throwing away the whole cart is probably something they do to "send a message," as opposed to standard practice. They don't usually throw people in jail for selling bacon-wrapped dogs, but they'll do it occasionally to try to put the fear in people.
There's no doubt that it's a message-sender, but is it also legal for police officers to do this? That is my remaining question? Even if it's relatively isolated, police shouldn't be getting street-meat vigilante. That is, unless it's legal.
This isn't the first time this has happened. I've witnessed from across the street a few months back police stopping the hot dog carts and throwing away all the food only. I'm pretty sure the police are sending a message now by throwing away the equipment as well as the food.
bastards.
I would imagine that since the carts/coolers were being used in a "crime", that they would then become police property / evidence.
I'm not sure they have the right to just throw them away (and they most certainly could have gone to better use like a charity). I doubt that hot dog vendors would have the resources to challenge the police department, so the police figured they should make an example and go for the theatrics.
I would have volunteered to eat the contraband.
While I was taking these photos an undercover officer put his hand over my camera lens and said "NO PHOTOS, I HAVE UNDERCOVER OFFICERS OUT HERE" I was shocked and I knew that I had the right to continue taking photos.
I walked three feet away from the officer and continued to take photos as he threw the carts into the trash, ice chests and all!
During this raid a can of soda exploded and shot into the crowd, it was quite a scene!
I took these photos standing on a public sidewalk.
*of all the police on the scene there was only one rude officer, the undercover that placed his hand over my camera lens and told me that I couldn't take photos.
I took these photos very fast without using a flash.
I feel this is just wrong and police should be making better use of their time fighting REAL crime! How about patroling the streets and catching more drunk driving douchebags then worrying about some street vendor frying bacon hot dogs!
"I feel this is just wrong and police should be making better use of their time fighting REAL crime!"
Hot dog vendors aren't usually armed. Much safer than looking for kids in gangs that might be shooting innocent bystanders, or each other.
I'm appalled. ...while at the same time I figure it's like when enough neighbors on a street call to complain that people are racing down their street: eventually a cop or two gets posted and gives everyone going even just a tad over the speed-limit a ticket. Business owners (with declining sales?) who have to comply with all rules and pay all fees to run their business could argue that these folk threaten their own viability... after a while the cops (the city) have to do something to respond to the calls.
I did wonder about the inclusion of carts but if it's illegal to operate these (no food-handlers license, no permission to loiter, conceivably no health/safety components) then I'm guessing that, like any other material linked to illegal activity, everything can be confiscated.
...a "gift" was probably that no one was arrested for whatever misdemeanor charges could have been brought up.
Still, as much as I can rationalize this it's still an appalling scene. Anyone's means for a living destroyed wholesale is just an ugly sight.
Our Hollywood drunkard culture is being raped. What will absorb all the alcohol in our stomachs now?? You know the 5-0 just want to make more money writing up DUIs.
Conspiracy.
what about at least giving the remaining dogs to hungry people? like homeless folks. or me and raul. maybe i just come from a scrounger culture, but sheesh--how wasteful.
judge, jury, executioner. this is not right. just another example of how our constitution is slowly being tossed into the garbage one hot dog at a time!
I was at the Hollywood Bowl last week when I was mobbed by a handful of women pushing hot dog carts through the crowd. It was obvious they were running from some authority, though we couldn't tell which agency through the crowd. It was a little disheartening to see a couple of the women didn't make it fast enough when we pulled out of the parking lot and saw them being talked to by the police. I imagine it's a great loss to their income to lose the equipment and subsequent business.
So who's going to help feed their family now?
I wonder if this is a new target for the police in the Hollywood area? I assume due to the close proximity of H&H and the bowl. I wonder if it's business owners that are complaining about the competition for food sales...
Whether you like them or not, selling dogs from a cart without a license is illegal. But still I wonder if what the cops did was absolutely legal. And of course none of these people will walk on over to police headquarters and complain.
Seems silly that even though they know it's illegal, and they were busted earlier in the week near the same location, they still thought the reward of selling the dogs on Hollywood Blvd were worth the risk of being busted again.
They should also arrest the customers. Wait, that's me!
Part of the problem here was that outbreak of hepatitis last year from illegals working in many Los Angeles restaurants. One of my favorite places to eat in L.A., La Golondrina Cafe, was shut down for this for a short time.
For anyone who cares to think about this one for a second, un-licensed food vendor, especially if most of them are illegals, is a public safety nightmare.
@Kevitivity
Your knack for logical fallacy is stupefying.
Maybe someone should write a song about this...is there a connection between the dogs and the LAPD, smell a story, or bacon. Are the all-beef dogs or pure pork?
@kevitivity
You're completely right. Cause hepatitis really is only carried by those dirty brown skinned illegals. As soon as they become citizens we sanitize them for your safety.
If you got back and watch the Reason.tv bit even the reformed vendor (Ms. Palacios) had reservations about the other, non-licensed, vendors selling bacon-dogs all around her; even she hinted that they threatened her viability* (and mortgage.)
Also, has anyone paid attention: it's the Bacon that's getting these (unlicensed) vendors in trouble.
People will joke and pick on cops and the health department until someone finally gets really, really sick and they'll demand those "damn cops" and the "lazy health department" to do something about it. Only then will it be a "REAL crime".
Anyway, as much as we gluttonous, righteous Americans want what we want we still have to admit that it's best to keep the unhealthy practices in our own homes. The bartender should keep serving you drinks 'til you're fall-down drunk and stumble toward your car (if you're that bad a drunk then do it at home); the food preparers should be serving potentially unsafe food that threatens to harm us (you can invite them to your home and have them do it there); and it's hardly good for people taking a chance on starting and running a business to have unlicensed people parking in front of that business ...
People who do business illegally are well aware of what the consequences might be; don't cry for them Argentina.
(*She was hauled into court and fined for selling the unsafe bacon dogs but going about it the right way selling just hot dogs she finds she can't recoup her money fast enough because of the unlicensed vendors nearby selling the bacon.) ...seems to me, if all the peace-loving, liberal Angelenos (of which I am one) wanted to really help street vendors then they'd buy from the licensed vendors selling sanctioned food.
@AlbertOMG (not really)
Your logical and thought-out arguments have no place in the comments section of LAist. Rather than further this healthy dialogue, I'm just going to covertly accuse you of racism, thus winning the argument and leaving you with no reasonable response.
GET A CLUE PEOPLE. These illegal vendors have caused families to get very ill from the latent bacteria food that has been sitting out in the hot sun for hours. They are making tax free money without the proper permits. They are taking away business customers from the legal business owners who pay the permits and fees to run a business. These illegal vendors are out of control all over the city and they cause blight to our communities. Take a drive to downtown LA and it looks like a 3rd World Country. BRAVO TO LAPD for cleaning up after these filthy people. I'm Latino and many of my friends can't stand the crap they leave behind. They sometimes have made up grills that are very dangerous and we've seen children get burnt by them. They are breaking the law. GET RID OF ALL OF THEM.
Would all this be happening if they were bacon wrapped doughnuts? I dont think so!
Shouldn't those officers have special jackets? Like the ATF?
I'm thinking French's mustard yellow Pleather with "Weenie Squad" in big, Red-Hot colored letters.
Soon, everyone would want one of those jackets to wear to clubs...
"I'm thinking French's mustard yellow Pleather with "Weenie Squad" in big, Red-Hot colored letters."
Or "Weenie Enforcement" and the blurb they put on their cars could be; "To protect against serving unlicensed weenies."
LAPD, making friends everywhere they go. This is so wrong, IMO. In the middle of a recession, they target their time, energy and resources at someone making an honest living. Well, and honest living illegally. But still. This type of thing makes me stabby.