CHP Removes Activists From Empty El Sereno Homes Owned By Caltrans

California Highway Patrol officers detained several people during a tense Thanksgiving eve standoff after activists occupied a number of empty El Sereno homes owned by Caltrans.

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The transit agency previously bought the homes with taxpayer money (and, in some cases, eminent domain) as part of its plans to connect the 710 freeway in Alhambra to the 210 freeway in Pasadena. After six decades of debate and lawsuits, that project was officially killed in 2018.

Activists use their bodies to block CHP vehicles from leaving with detained "reclaimers" on Sheffield Ave. and Poplar Blvd.

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Brian Feinzimer for LAist

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Activists from Reclaim and Rebuild our Community think Caltrans should allow people who are experiencing homelessness to live in the empty houses.

In a press release issued before the action, the organization said:

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LAist has reached out to the California Highway Patrol to confirm details of yesterday's action but has not yet heard back from the agency.

Photojournalist Brian Feinzimer, who documented the protest, says when he arrived in the early afternoon, he saw a handful of CHP officers stationed outside a few houses. When he returned at around 9 p.m., he estimates he saw approximately 30 activists and 40 to 50 CHP officers, some in tactical or riot control gear, facing off in front of a house near the intersection of Concord Ave. and Midvale Place.

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According to Feinzimer, one of the CHP officers declared an unlawful assembly, but protestors ignored the announcement and continued demonstrating.

"CHP officers were moving between multiple homes to clear out activists," Feinzimer says. "It was a cat and mouse game, sort of. The activists were using themselves as a physical shield to try to prevent officers from getting into the homes."

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Lydia Ramos, a resident of Keats Street in El Sereno, told Feinzimer she does not support the activists and most of her neighbors feel the same way.

"I am all for advocacy for homelessness," Ramos said. "There's all kinds of resources out there, especially right now... but if they choose to come and just illegally, blatantly think that, 'I can take over,' I'm not okay with that.'"

Activists undertook a similar action in March of this year, "reclaiming" an empty home at 3135 Sheffield Avenue in El Sereno.

Earlier this month, members of Reclaim and Rebuild our Community announced they would be moving into some of those properties legally. It's part of an unprecedented partnership between Caltrans and the city of L.A.

The houses, which had previously been vacant, will be leased to the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles for up to three years. During that time, people such as "reclaimer" Marta Escudero, who spent more than a year and a half couch-surfing before occupying one of the El Sereno properties with her two daughters, will be allowed to live in the homes while they look for a more permanent living situation.

Ramos said the past occupation had been a magnet for drugs and crime.

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Feinzimer says that the CHP briefly retreated, then showed up en masse with more officers. At that point, according to Feinzimer, approximately two dozen officers formed a perimeter around the home while a small tactical entry team made its way inside.

"As they are entering the home, the activists outside are shouting, 'Shame on you? What are you doing? Why are you using these weapons?," Feinzimer says.

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CHP officers carried a few people out of the home and detained a couple more who were standing outside it. As officers attempted to move the detainees into patrol cars, protestors tried to block them, creating a standoff at Sheffield Ave. and Poplar Blvd.

"It basically turned into a scrimmage line and protest between 10 p.m. and midnight," Feinzimer says. "The CHP tried to disperse the group but the group didn't disperse. At one point, they fired some sort of audible munition into the air, kind of like a flash bang."

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Sometime between 11:30 p.m. and midnight, the CHP broke down its scrimmage line and left, according to Feinzimer. He says when he returned at approximately 2 a.m. and drove around, he says it looked as though the CHP had reassembled its teams

"I couldn't get any closer because several streets had been blocked off," Feinzimer says.

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The CHP has not responded to LAist's request for comment. A spokesperson from Caltrans issued a statement that says:

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Caltrans owns 163 homes in the 710 corridor.

In 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill that allows city entities and nonprofit tenants residing at Caltrans properties along the 710 corridor to purchase the homes at fair market value. But many of these homes still remain unsold and unoccupied.

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Additional reporting by Brian Feinzimer and Lita Martinez.